Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹Now Jesus was also saying to the disciples, "There was a certain rich man who had a manager [of his estate], and accusations [against this man] were brought to him, that this man was squandering his [master's] possessions.

²So he called him and said to him, 'What is this I hear about you? Give an accounting of your management [of my affairs], for you can no longer be [my] manager.'

³The manager [of the estate] said to himself, 'What will I do, since my master is taking the management away from me? I am not strong enough to dig [for a living], and I am ashamed to beg.

⁴I know what I will do, so that when I am removed from the management, people [who are my master's debtors] will welcome me into their homes.'

⁵So he summoned his master's debtors one by one, and he said to the first, 'How much do you owe my master?'

⁶He said, 'A hundred measures of [olive] oil.' And he said to him, 'Take your bill, and sit down quickly and write fifty.'

⁷Then he said to another, 'And how much do you owe?' He said, 'A hundred measures of wheat.' He said to him, 'Take your bill, and write eighty.'

⁸And his master commended the unjust manager [not for his misdeeds, but] because he had acted shrewdly [by preparing for his future unemployment]; for the sons of this age [the non-believers] are shrewder in relation to their own kind [that is, to the ways of the secular world] than are the sons of light [the believers].

⁹And I tell you [learn from this], make friends for yourselves [for eternity] by means of the wealth of unrighteousness [that is, use material resources as a way to further the work of God], so that when it runs out, they will welcome you into the eternal dwellings.

¹⁰"He who is faithful in a very little thing is also faithful in much; and he who is dishonest in a very little thing is also dishonest in much.

¹¹Therefore if you have not been faithful in the use of earthly wealth, who will entrust the true riches to you?

¹²And if you have not been faithful in the use of that [earthly wealth] which belongs to another [whether God or man, and of which you are a trustee], who will give you that which is your own?

¹³No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will stand devotedly by the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and mammon [that is, your earthly possessions or anything else you trust in and rely on instead of God]."

¹⁴Now the Pharisees, who were lovers of money, were listening to all these things and were sneering and ridiculing Him.

¹⁵So He said to them, "You are the ones who declare yourselves just and upright in the sight of men, but God knows your hearts [your thoughts, your desires, your secrets]; for that which is highly esteemed among men is detestable in the sight of God.

¹⁶"The Law and the [writings of the] Prophets were proclaimed until John; since then the gospel of the kingdom of God has been and continues to be preached, and everyone tries forcefully to go into it.

¹⁷Yet it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for a single stroke of a letter of the Law to fail and become void.

¹⁸"Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery, and he who marries one who is divorced from her husband commits adultery.

¹⁹"Now there was a certain rich man who was habitually dressed in expensive purple and fine linen, and celebrated and lived joyously in splendor every day.

²⁰And a poor man named Lazarus, was laid at his gate, covered with sores.

²¹He [eagerly] longed to eat the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table. Besides, even the dogs were coming and licking his sores.

²²Now it happened that the poor man died and his spirit was carried away by the angels to Abraham's bosom (paradise); and the rich man also died and was buried.

²³In Hades (the realm of the dead), being in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away and Lazarus in his bosom (paradise).

²⁴And he cried out, 'Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus so that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in severe agony in this flame.'

²⁵But Abraham said, 'Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things [all the comforts and delights], and Lazarus likewise bad things [all the discomforts and distresses]; but now he is comforted here [in paradise], while you are in severe agony.

²⁶And besides all this, between us and you [people] a great chasm has been fixed, so that those who want to come over from here to you will not be able, and none may cross over from there to us.'

²⁷So the rich man said, 'Then, father [Abraham], I beg you to send Lazarus to my father's house—

²⁸for I have five brothers—in order that he may solemnly warn them and witness to them, so that they too will not come to this place of torment.'

²⁹But Abraham said, 'They have [the Scriptures given by] Moses and the [writings of the] Prophets; let them listen to them.'

³⁰He replied, 'No, father Abraham, but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent [they will change their old way of thinking and seek God and His righteousness].'

³¹And he said to him, 'If they do not listen to [the messages of] Moses and the Prophets, they will not be persuaded even if someone rises from the dead.'"

¹Then Balaam said to Balak, "Build seven altars for me here, and prepare for me seven bulls and seven rams here."

²Balak did just as Balaam had said, and Balak and Balaam offered a bull and a ram on each altar.

³Then Balaam said to Balak, "Stand beside your burnt offering and I will go. Perhaps the LORD will come to meet me; and whatever He shows me I will tell you." So he went to a desolate hill.

⁴Now God met Balaam, who said to Him, "I have prepared seven altars, and I have offered a bull and a ram on each altar."

⁵Then the LORD put a speech in Balaam's mouth, and said, "Return to Balak, and you shall speak thus."

⁶Balaam returned to Balak, and behold, he was standing by his burnt sacrifice, he and all the leaders of Moab.

⁷Balaam took up his [first] discourse (oracle) and said: "Balak, the king of Moab, has brought me from Aram (Syria), from the mountains of the east, [saying,] 'Come, curse [the descendants of] Jacob for me; And come, [violently] denounce Israel.'

⁸"How shall I curse those whom God has not cursed? Or how can I [violently] denounce those the LORD has not denounced?

⁹"For from the top of the rocks I see Israel, And from the hills I look at him. Behold, the people [of Israel] shall dwell alone And will not be reckoned among the nations.

¹⁰"Who can count the dust (the descendants) of Jacob And the number of even the fourth part of Israel? Let me die the death of the righteous [those who are upright and in right standing with God], And let my end be like his!"

¹¹Then Balak said to Balaam, "What have you done to me? I brought you to curse my enemies, but here you have [thoroughly] blessed them instead!"

¹²Balaam answered, "Must I not be obedient and careful to speak what the LORD has put in my mouth?"

¹³Balak said to him, "Come with me, I implore you, to another place from where you can see them, although you will see only the nearest and not all of them; and curse them for me from there."

¹⁴So he took Balaam to the field of Zophim to the top of [Mount] Pisgah, and built seven altars, and offered a bull and a ram on each altar.

¹⁵Balaam said to Balak, "Stand here beside your burnt offering while I go to meet the LORD over there."

¹⁶Then the LORD met Balaam and put a speech in his mouth, and said, "Go back to Balak and you shall speak thus."

¹⁷When Balaam returned to Balak, he was standing beside his burnt offering, and the leaders of Moab were with him. And Balak said to him, "What has the LORD spoken?"

¹⁸Balaam took up his [second] discourse (oracle) and said: "Rise up, O Balak, and hear; Listen [closely] to me, son of Zippor.

¹⁹"God is not a man, that He should lie, Nor a son of man, that He should repent. Has He said, and will He not do it? Or has He spoken and will He not make it good and fulfill it?

²⁰"Behold, I have received His command to bless [Israel]. He has blessed, and I cannot reverse it.

²¹"God has not observed wickedness in Jacob [for he is forgiven], Nor has He seen trouble in Israel. The LORD their God is with Israel, And the shout of their King is among the people.

²²"God brought them out of Egypt; They have the strength of a wild ox.

²³"For there is no enchantment or omen against Jacob, Nor is there any divination against Israel. At the proper time it shall be said to Jacob And to Israel, what has God done!

²⁴"Behold, a people rises up like a lioness And lifts itself up like a lion; He will not lie down until he devours the prey And drinks the blood of the slain."

²⁵Then Balak said to Balaam, "Neither curse them at all nor bless them at all!"

²⁶But Balaam answered Balak, "Did I not say to you, 'All that the LORD speaks, that I must do?'"

²⁷Then Balak said to Balaam, "Please come; I will take you to another place. Perhaps it will please God to let you curse them for me from there."

²⁸So Balak brought Balaam to the top of [Mount] Peor, that overlooks the wasteland.

²⁹And Balaam said to Balak, "Build seven altars for me here, and prepare for me seven bulls and seven rams here."

³⁰Balak did just as Balaam had said, and offered a bull and a ram on each altar.

¹Now we who are strong [in our convictions and faith] ought to [patiently] put up with the weaknesses of those who are not strong, and not just please ourselves.

²Let each one of us [make it a practice to] please his neighbor for his good, to build him up spiritually.

³For even Christ did not please Himself; but as it is written [in Scripture], "The reproaches of those who reproached You (the Father) fell on Me (the Son)."

⁴For whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope and overflow with confidence in His promises.

⁵Now may the God who gives endurance and who supplies encouragement grant that you be of the same mind with one another according to Christ Jesus,

⁶so that with one accord you may with one voice glorify and praise and honor the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

⁷Therefore, [continue to] accept and welcome one another, just as Christ has accepted and welcomed us to the glory of [our great] God.

⁸For I tell you that Christ has become a servant and a minister to the circumcision (Jews) on behalf of God's truth, to confirm and verify the promises made to the fathers,

⁹and for the Gentiles to glorify God for His mercy [to them, since God had no covenant with them]. As it is written and forever remains written, "Therefore I praise You among the Gentiles, And sing praises to Your name."

¹⁰Again it says, "Rejoice and celebrate, O Gentiles, along with His people."

¹¹And again, "Praise the Lord all you Gentiles, And let all the peoples praise Him!"

¹²Again Isaiah says, "There shall be a root ofJesse, He who arises to rule [as King] over the Gentiles, In Him shall the Gentiles hope."

¹³May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing [through the experience of your faith] that by the power of the Holy Spirit you will abound in hope and overflow with confidence in His promises.

¹⁴Personally I am convinced about you, my brothers and sisters, that you yourselves are full of goodness, amply filled with all [spiritual] knowledge, and competent to admonish and counsel and instruct one another.

¹⁵Still, on some points I have written to you very boldly and without reservation to remind you [about them] again, because of the grace that was given to me from God,

¹⁶to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles. I minister as a priest the gospel of God, in order that my offering of the Gentiles may become acceptable [to Him], sanctified [made holy and set apart for His purpose] by the Holy Spirit.

¹⁷In Christ Jesus, then, I have found [legitimate] reason for boasting in things related [to my service] to God.

¹⁸For I will not [even] presume to speak of anything except what Christ has done through me [as an instrument in His hands], resulting in the obedience of the Gentiles [to the gospel], by word and deed,

¹⁹with the power of signs and wonders, [and all of it] in the power of the Spirit. So [starting] from Jerusalem and as far away as Illyricum, I have fully preached the gospel [faithfully preaching the good news] of Christ [where it had not before been preached].

²⁰Accordingly I set a goal to preach the gospel, not where Christ's name was already known, so that I would not build on another man's foundation;

²¹but [instead I would act on this goal] as it is written [in Scripture], "They who had no news of Him shall see, And they who have not heard [of Him] shall understand."

²²This [goal—my commitment to this principle] is the reason why I have often been prevented from coming to you [in Rome].

²³But now, with no further place for work in these regions, and since I have longed for many years to come to you—

²⁴whenever I go [on my trip] to Spain—I hope to see you as I pass through [Rome], and to be helped on my journey there by you, after I have first enjoyed your company for a little while.

²⁵But for now, I am going to Jerusalem to serve the saints (Jewish believers).

²⁶For [Gentile believers in] Macedonia and Achaia have been pleased to make a contribution for the poor among the saints (Jewish believers) in Jerusalem.

²⁷They were pleased to do it, and they are indebted to them. For if the Gentiles have come to share in their spiritual things, then they are indebted to serve them also in [tangible] material things.

²⁸Therefore, when I have finished this [mission] and have safely given to them what has been raised, I will go on by way of you to Spain.

²⁹I know that when I do come to you, I will come in the abundant blessing of Christ.

³⁰I urge you, believers, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to join together with me in your prayers to God in my behalf,

³¹[and pray] that I may be rescued from the unbelievers in Judea, and that my service for Jerusalem may be acceptable to the saints (Jewish believers) there;

³²so that by God's will I may come to you with joy and find rest in your company.

³³May the God of peace be with you all! Amen.

¹"My spirit is broken, my days are extinguished, The grave is ready for me.

²"Surely there are mockers and mockery with me, And my eye gazes on their obstinacy and provocation.

³"Give me a pledge (guarantee, promise) with Yourself [acknowledge my innocence before my death]; Who is there that will be my guarantor and give security for me?

⁴"But You [Lord] have closed their hearts to understanding, Therefore You will not exalt them [by giving a verdict against me].

⁵"He who denounces and informs against his friends for a share of the spoil, The eyes of his children will also languish and fail.

⁶"But He has made me a byword and mockery among the people, And I have become one in whose face people spit.

⁷"My eye has grown dim (unexpressive) because of grief, And all my [body's] members are [wasted away] like a shadow.

⁸"The upright will be [astonished and] appalled at this, And the innocent will stir himself up against the godless and polluted.

⁹"Nevertheless the righteous will hold to his ways, And he who has clean hands will grow stronger and stronger.

¹⁰"But as for all of you, come back again, Even though I do not find a wise man among you.

¹¹"My days are past, my purposes and plans are frustrated and torn apart; The wishes of my heart [are broken].

¹²"These [thoughts try to] make the night into the day; 'The light is near,' they say in the presence of darkness [but they pervert the truth].

¹³"But if I look to Sheol (the nether world, the place of the dead) as my home, If I make my bed in the darkness,

¹⁴If I call out to the pit (grave), 'You are my father'; And to the worm [that feeds on decay], 'You are my mother and my sister [because I will soon be closest to you],'

¹⁵Where now is my hope? And who regards or considers or is even concerned about my hope?

¹⁶"Will my hope go down with me to Sheol (the nether world, the place of the dead)? Shall we go down together in the dust?"

¹A Psalm of David. The LORD is my light and my salvation— Whom shall I fear? The LORD is the refuge and fortress of my life— Whom shall I dread?

²When the wicked came against me to eat up my flesh, My adversaries and my enemies, they stumbled and fell.

³Though an army encamp against me, My heart will not fear; Though war arise against me, Even in this I am confident.

⁴One thing I have asked of the LORD, and that I will seek: That I may dwell in the house of the LORD [in His presence] all the days of my life, To gaze upon the beauty [the delightful loveliness and majestic grandeur] of the LORD And to meditate in His temple.

⁵For in the day of trouble He will hide me in His shelter; In the secret place of His tent He will hide me; He will lift me up on a rock.

⁶And now my head will be lifted up above my enemies around me, In His tent I will offer sacrifices with shouts of joy; I will sing, yes, I will sing praises to the LORD.

⁷Hear, O LORD, when I cry aloud; Be gracious and compassionate to me and answer me.

⁸When You said, "Seek My face [in prayer, require My presence as your greatest need]," my heart said to You, "Your face, O LORD, I will seek [on the authority of Your word]."

⁹Do not hide Your face from me, Do not turn Your servant away in anger; You have been my help; Do not abandon me nor leave me, O God of my salvation!

¹⁰Although my father and my mother have abandoned me, Yet the LORD will take me up [adopt me as His child].

¹¹Teach me Your way, O LORD, And lead me on a level path Because of my enemies [who lie in wait].

¹²Do not give me up to the will of my adversaries, For false witnesses have come against me; They breathe out violence.

¹³I would have despaired had I not believed that I would see the goodness of the LORD In the land of the living.

¹⁴Wait for and confidently expect the LORD; Be strong and let your heart take courage; Yes, wait for and confidently expect the LORD.

¹Better is a dry morsel [of food served] with quietness and peace Than a house full of feasting [served] with strife and contention.

²A wise servant will rule over the [unworthy] son who acts shamefully and brings disgrace [to the family] And [the worthy servant] will share in the inheritance among the brothers.

³The refining pot is for silver and the furnace for gold, But the LORD tests hearts.

⁴An evildoer listens closely to wicked lips; And a liar pays attention to a destructive and malicious tongue.

⁵Whoever mocks the poor taunts his Maker, And he who rejoices at [another's] disaster will not go unpunished.

⁶Grandchildren are the crown of aged men, And the glory of children is their fathers [who live godly lives].

⁷Excellent speech does not benefit a fool [who is spiritually blind], Much less do lying lips benefit a prince.

⁸A bribe is like a bright, precious stone in the eyes of its owner; Wherever he turns, he prospers.

⁹He who covers and forgives an offense seeks love, But he who repeats or gossips about a matter separates intimate friends.

¹⁰A reprimand goes deeper into one who has understanding and a teachable spirit Than a hundred lashes into a fool.

¹¹A rebellious man seeks only evil; Therefore a cruel messenger will be sent against him.

¹²Let a man meet a [ferocious] bear robbed of her cubs Rather than the [angry, narcissistic] fool in his folly.

¹³Whoever returns evil for good, Evil will not depart from his house.

¹⁴The beginning of strife is like letting out water [as from a small break in a dam; first it trickles and then it gushes]; Therefore abandon the quarrel before it breaks out and tempers explode.

¹⁵He who justifies the wicked, and he who condemns the righteous Are both repulsive to the LORD.

¹⁶Why is there money in the hand of a fool to buy wisdom, When he has no common sense or even a heart for it?

¹⁷A friend loves at all times, And a brother is born for adversity.

¹⁸A man lacking common sense gives a pledge And becomes guarantor [for the debt of another] in the presence of his neighbor.

¹⁹He who loves transgression loves strife and is quarrelsome; He who [proudly] raises his gate seeks destruction [because of his arrogant pride].

²⁰He who has a crooked mind finds no good, And he who is perverted in his language falls into evil.

²¹He who becomes the parent of a fool [who is spiritually blind] does so to his sorrow, And the father of a fool [who is spiritually blind] has no joy.

²²A happy heart is good medicine and a joyful mind causes healing, But a broken spirit dries up the bones.

²³A wicked man receives a bribe from the [hidden] pocket To pervert the ways of justice.

²⁴[Skillful and godly] wisdom is in the presence of a person of understanding [and he recognizes it], But the eyes of a [thickheaded] fool are on the ends of the earth.

²⁵A foolish son is a grief and anguish to his father And bitterness to her who gave birth to him.

²⁶It is also not good to fine the righteous, Nor to strike the noble for their uprightness.

²⁷He who has knowledge restrains and is careful with his words, And a man of understanding and wisdom has a cool spirit (self-control, an even temper).

²⁸Even a [callous, arrogant] fool, when he keeps silent, is considered wise; When he closes his lips he is regarded as sensible (prudent, discreet) and a man of understanding.

¹Now the Philistines gathered all their forces at Aphek, while Israel camped by the spring in Jezreel.

²As the Philistine lords (governors) were proceeding on [marching] by hundreds and by thousands, and David and his men were proceeding on in the rear with Achish [the king of Gath],

³the Philistine commanders [having noticed David] said, "What are these Hebrews doing here?" Achish said to the Philistine commanders, "Is this not David, the servant of Saul king of Israel, who has been with me these days and years, and I have found no fault in him from the day he deserted to me to this day?"

⁴But the Philistine commanders were angry with Achish and they said to him, "Make this man return, so that he may go back to his place where you have assigned him, and do not let him go down to battle with us, or in the battle he may [turn and] become our adversary. For how could David reconcile himself to his lord [Saul]? Would it not be with the heads of these [Philistine] men?

⁵Is this not David, of whom they used to sing in dances, 'Saul killed his thousands, And David his ten thousands'?"

⁶Then Achish called David and said to him, "As the LORD lives, you have been upright (righteous), and your behavior in the army is pleasing in my sight. For from the day you came to me to this day I have found no evil in you. Nevertheless, the [Philistine] lords do not approve of you.

⁷So return now and go in peace [to your place], so that you do not displease the Philistine lords."

⁸David said to Achish, "But what have I done? What have you found in your servant from the day when I [first] came before you to this day, that I may not go and fight against the enemies of my lord the king?"

⁹Achish answered David, "I know that you are blameless in my sight, like an angel of God; nevertheless the commanders of the Philistines have said, 'He must not go up with us to the battle.'

¹⁰So now, get up early in the morning with your master's servants who have come with you, and as soon as you are up in the morning and have light, leave."

¹¹So David and his men got up early to leave in the morning, to return to the land of the Philistines. But the Philistines went up to Jezreel [to fight against Israel].

¹The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD,

²"Hear the words of this [solemn] covenant, and speak to the men of Judah and to the people of Jerusalem.

³Say to them, 'Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, "Cursed is the man who does not heed the words of this covenant

⁴which I commanded your fathers at the time that I brought them out of the land of Egypt, from the iron furnace, saying, 'Listen to My voice and do according to all that I command you. So you shall be My people, and I will be your God,'

⁵that I may complete the oath which I swore to your fathers, to give them a land [of plenty] flowing with milk and honey, as it is this day."'" Then I answered, "Amen (so be it), O LORD."

⁶And the LORD said to me, "Proclaim all these words in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem: 'Hear the words of this [solemn] covenant and do them.

⁷For I solemnly warned your fathers at the time that I brought them up from the land of Egypt, even to this day, warning them persistently, saying, "Obey My voice."

⁸Yet they did not obey or incline their ear [to listen to Me], but everyone walked in the stubborn way of his [own] evil heart. Therefore I brought on them all [the suffering threatened in] the words of this covenant, which I commanded them to do, but they did not.'"

⁹Then the LORD said to me, "A conspiracy has been found among the men of Judah and among the people of Jerusalem.

¹⁰They have returned to the wickedness of their ancestors who refused to hear My words; they have followed other gods [in order] to serve them. The house of Israel and the house of Judah have broken My [solemn] covenant which I made with their fathers."

¹¹Therefore thus says the LORD, "Behold I am bringing disaster and suffering on them which they will not be able to escape; though they cry to Me, I will not listen to them.

¹²Then the cities of Judah and the people of Jerusalem will go and cry to the [man-made] gods to whom they burn incense, but they cannot save them in the time of their disaster.

¹³For [as many as] the number of your cities are your gods, O Judah; and [as many as] the number of the streets of Jerusalem are the altars you have set up to the shameful thing, altars to burn incense to Baal.

¹⁴"Therefore do not pray for this people, nor lift up a cry or prayer for them, for I shall not listen when they cry to Me in the time of their disaster.

¹⁵"What right has My beloved [to be] in My house When she has done many vile things and acted treacherously [over and over again]? Can vows and the meat of your sacrifices remove your wickedness from you and cancel the consequences of your sin, So that you can [escape your judgment and] rejoice?"

¹⁶The LORD [acknowledged you once as worthy and] called your name, "A green olive tree, fair and beautiful in fruit and form"; But with the roar of a great tempest He has set fire to it, And its branches are worthless.

¹⁷For the LORD of hosts, who planted you, has pronounced evil and horror against you because of the evil of the house of Israel and of the house of Judah, which they have done to provoke Me [to anger] by offering sacrifices and burning incense to Baal.

¹⁸Then the LORD gave me knowledge [of their plot], and I knew it; So You [O LORD] revealed their deeds to me.

¹⁹But I was like a gentle and tame lamb brought to the slaughter; And I did not know that they had devised plots and schemes against me, saying, "Let us destroy the tree with its fruit; Let us cut him off from the land of the living, That his name be remembered no longer."

²⁰But, O LORD of hosts, who judges righteously, Who tests the feelings and the heart (mind), Let me see Your vengeance on them, For to You I have committed my cause.

²¹Therefore thus says the LORD regarding the men of Anathoth, who seek your life, saying, "Do not prophesy in the name of the LORD, so that you will not die by our hand."

²²Therefore, thus says the LORD of hosts, "Behold, I am about to punish them. Their young men will die by the sword, their sons and their daughters will die by famine;

²³and there will be no remnant [of the conspirators] left, for I will bring disaster and horror on the men of Anathoth in the year of their punishment."

¹It happened that while Apollos was in Corinth, Paul went through the upper [inland] districts and came down to Ephesus, and found some disciples.

²He asked them, "Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed [in Jesus as the Christ]?" And they said, "No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit."

³And he asked, "Into what then were you baptized?" They said, "Into John's baptism."

⁴Paul said, "John performed a baptism of repentance, continually telling the people to believe in Him who was coming after him, that is, [to confidently accept and joyfully believe] in Jesus [the Messiah and Savior]."

⁵After hearing this, they were baptized [again, this time] in the name of the Lord Jesus.

⁶And when Paul laid his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they began speaking in [unknown] tongues (languages) and prophesying.

⁷There were about twelve men in all.

⁸And he went into the synagogue and for three months spoke boldly, reasoning and arguing and persuading them about the kingdom of God.

⁹But when some were becoming hardened and disobedient [to the word of God], discrediting and speaking evil of the Way (Jesus, Christianity) before the congregation, Paul left them, taking the disciples with him, and went on holding daily discussions in the lecture hall of Tyrannus [instead of in the synagogue].

¹⁰This continued for two years, so that all the inhabitants of [the west coast province of] Asia [Minor], Jews as well as Greeks, heard the word of the Lord [concerning eternal salvation through faith in Christ].

¹¹God was doing extraordinary and unusual miracles by the hands of Paul,

¹²so that even handkerchiefs or face-towels or aprons that had touched his skin were brought to the sick, and their diseases left them and the evil spirits came out [of them].

¹³Then some of the traveling Jewish exorcists also attempted to call the name of the Lord Jesus over those who had evil spirits, saying, "I implore you and solemnly command you by the Jesus whom Paul preaches!"

¹⁴Seven sons of one [named] Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, were doing this.

¹⁵But the evil spirit retorted, "I know and recognize and acknowledge Jesus, and I know about Paul, but as for you, who are you?"

¹⁶Then the man, in whom was the evil spirit, leaped on them and subdued all of them and overpowered them, so that they ran out of that house [in terror, stripped] naked and wounded.

¹⁷This became known to all who lived in Ephesus, both Jews and Greeks. And fear fell upon them all, and the name of the Lord Jesus was magnified and exalted.

¹⁸Many of those who had become believers were coming, confessing and disclosing their [former sinful] practices.

¹⁹And many of those who had practiced magical arts collected their books and [throwing book after book on the pile] began burning them in front of everyone. They calculated their value and found it to be50,000 pieces of silver.

²⁰So the word of the Lord [concerning eternal salvation through faith in Christ] was growing greatly and prevailing.

²¹Now after these events, Paul determined in the Spirit that he would travel through Macedonia and Achaia (most of the Greek mainland), and go to Jerusalem, saying, "After I have been there, I must also see Rome [and preach the good news of salvation]."

²²And after sending two of his assistants, Timothy and Erastus, to Macedonia [ahead of him], he stayed on in [the west coast province of] Asia [Minor] for a while.

²³About that time there occurred no small disturbance concerning the Way (Jesus, Christianity).

²⁴Now a man named Demetrius, a silversmith, who made silver shrines of [the goddess] Artemis (Diana), was bringing no small profit to the craftsmen.

²⁵These [craftsmen] he called together, along with the workmen of similar trades, and said, "Men, you are well aware that we make a good living from this business.

²⁶You see and hear that not only at Ephesus, but almost all over [the province of] Asia, this Paul has persuaded [people to believe his teaching] and has misled a large number of people, claiming that gods made by [human] hands are not really gods at all.

²⁷Not only is there danger that this trade of ours will be discredited, but also that the [magnificent] temple of the great goddess Artemis will be discredited, and that she whom all Asia and the world worship will even be dethroned and lose her glorious magnificence."

²⁸When they heard this, they were filled with rage, and they began shouting, "Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!"

²⁹Then the city was filled with confusion; and people rushed together [as a group] into the amphitheater, dragging along with them Gaius and Aristarchus, Macedonians who were Paul's traveling companions.

³⁰Paul wanted to go into the [pagan] assembly, but the disciples would not let him.

³¹Even some of the Asiarchs (officials) who were his friends sent word to him and repeatedly warned him not to venture into the amphitheater.

³²Now some shouted one thing and some another, for the gathering was in confusion and most of the people did not know why they had come together.

³³Some of the crowd advised Alexander [to speak], since the Jews had pushed him forward; and Alexander motioned with his hand [for attention] and intended to make a defense to the people.

³⁴But when they realized that he was a Jew, a single outcry went up from the crowd as they shouted for about two hours, "Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!"

³⁵After the town clerk had quieted the crowd, he said, "Men of Ephesus, what person is there who does not know that the city of the Ephesians is the guardian of the temple of the great Artemis and of that [ sacred stone image of her] which fell from the sky?

³⁶So, since these things cannot be denied, you ought to be quiet and stay calm and not do anything rash.

³⁷For you have brought these men here who are neither temple robbers nor blasphemers of our goddess.

³⁸So then, if Demetrius and the craftsmen who are with him have a complaint against anyone, the courts are in session and proconsuls are available; let them bring charges against one another there.

³⁹But if you want anything beyond this, it will be settled in the lawful assembly.

⁴⁰For we are running the risk of being accused of rioting in regard to today's events, and since there is no reason for it, we will be unable to give an account and justify this disorderly gathering."

⁴¹And when he had said these things, he dismissed the assembly.