Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹One day as he was teaching the people in the temple and proclaiming the good news, the chief priests and the scribes, with the elders, came

²and said to him: “Tell us, by what authority are you doing these things? Who is it who gave you this authority?”

³He answered them, “I will also ask you a question. Tell me,

⁴was the baptism of John from heaven or of human origin?”

⁵They discussed it among themselves: “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say, ‘Why didn’t you believe him?’

⁶But if we say, ‘Of human origin,’ all the people will stone us, because they are convinced that John was a prophet.”

⁷So they answered that they did not know its origin.

⁸And Jesus said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.”

⁹Now he began to tell the people this parable: “A man planted a vineyard, leased it to tenant farmers, and went away for a long time.

¹⁰At harvest time he sent a servant to the farmers so that they might give him some fruit from the vineyard. But the farmers beat him and sent him away empty-handed.

¹¹He sent yet another servant, but they beat that one too, treated him shamefully, and sent him away empty-handed.

¹²And he sent yet a third, but they wounded this one too and threw him out.

¹³“Then the owner of the vineyard said, ‘What should I do? I will send my beloved son. Perhaps they will respect him.’

¹⁴“But when the tenant farmers saw him, they discussed it among themselves and said, ‘This is the heir. Let’s kill him, so that the inheritance will be ours.’

¹⁵So they threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. “What then will the owner of the vineyard do to them?

¹⁶He will come and kill those farmers and give the vineyard to others.” But when they heard this they said, “That must never happen!”

¹⁷But he looked at them and said, “Then what is the meaning of this Scripture: The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone?

¹⁸Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces, but on whomever it falls, it will shatter him.”

¹⁹Then the scribes and the chief priests looked for a way to get their hands on him that very hour, because they knew he had told this parable against them, but they feared the people.

²⁰They watched closely and sent spies who pretended to be righteous, so that they could catch him in what he said, to hand him over to the governor’s rule and authority.

²¹They questioned him, “Teacher, we know that you speak and teach correctly, and you don’t show partiality but teach truthfully the way of God.

²²Is it lawful for us to pay taxes to Caesar or not?”

²³But detecting their craftiness, he said to them,

²⁴“Show me a denarius. Whose image and inscription does it have?” “Caesar’s,” they said.

²⁵“Well then,” he told them, “give to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”

²⁶They were not able to catch him in what he said in public, and being amazed at his answer, they became silent.

²⁷Some of the Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came up and questioned him:

²⁸“Teacher, Moses wrote for us that if a man’s brother has a wife, and dies childless, his brother should take the wife and produce offspring for his brother.

²⁹Now there were seven brothers. The first took a wife and died without children.

³⁰Also the second

³¹and the third took her. In the same way, all seven died and left no children.

³²Finally, the woman died too.

³³In the resurrection, therefore, whose wife will the woman be? For all seven had married her.”

³⁴Jesus told them, “The children of this age marry and are given in marriage.

³⁵But those who are counted worthy to take part in that age and in the resurrection from the dead neither marry nor are given in marriage.

³⁶For they can no longer die, because they are like angels and are children of God, since they are children of the resurrection.

³⁷Moses even indicated in the passage about the burning bush that the dead are raised, where he calls the Lord the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob.

³⁸He is not the God of the dead but of the living, because all are living to him.”

³⁹Some of the scribes answered, “Teacher, you have spoken well.”

⁴⁰And they no longer dared to ask him anything.

⁴¹Then he said to them, “How can they say that the Christ is the son of David?

⁴²For David himself says in the Book of Psalms: The Lord declared to my Lord, ‘Sit at my right hand

⁴³ until I make your enemies your footstool.’

⁴⁴David calls him ‘Lord’ how then can the Christ be his son?”

⁴⁵While all the people were listening, he said to his disciples,

⁴⁶“Beware of the scribes, who want to go around in long robes and who love greetings in the marketplaces, the best seats in the synagogues, and the places of honor at banquets.

⁴⁷They devour widows’ houses and say long prayers just for show. These will receive harsher judgment.”

¹The daughters of Zelophehad approached; Zelophehad was the son of Hepher, son of Gilead, son of Machir, son of Manasseh from the clans of Manasseh, the son of Joseph. These were the names of his daughters: Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah.

²They stood before Moses, the priest Eleazar, the leaders, and the entire community at the entrance to the tent of meeting and said,

³“Our father died in the wilderness, but he was not among Korah’s followers, who gathered together against the LORD. Instead, he died because of his own sin, and he had no sons.

⁴Why should the name of our father be taken away from his clan? Since he had no son, give us property among our father’s brothers.”

⁵Moses brought their case before the LORD,

⁶and the LORD answered him,

⁷“What Zelophehad’s daughters say is correct. You are to give them hereditary property among their father’s brothers and transfer their father’s inheritance to them.

⁸Tell the Israelites: When a man dies without having a son, transfer his inheritance to his daughter.

⁹If he has no daughter, give his inheritance to his brothers.

¹⁰If he has no brothers, give his inheritance to his father’s brothers.

¹¹If his father has no brothers, give his inheritance to the nearest relative of his clan, and he will take possession of it. This is to be a statutory ordinance for the Israelites as the LORD commanded Moses.”

¹²Then the LORD said to Moses, “Go up this mountain of the Abarim range and see the land that I have given the Israelites.

¹³After you have seen it, you will also be gathered to your people, as Aaron your brother was.

¹⁴When the community quarreled in the Wilderness of Zin, both of you rebelled against my command to demonstrate my holiness in their sight at the waters.” Those were the Waters of Meribah-kadesh in the Wilderness of Zin.

¹⁵So Moses appealed to the LORD,

¹⁶“May the LORD, the God who gives breath to all, appoint a man over the community

¹⁷who will go out before them and come back in before them, and who will bring them out and bring them in, so that the LORD’s community won’t be like sheep without a shepherd.”

¹⁸The LORD replied to Moses, “Take Joshua son of Nun, a man who has the Spirit in him, and lay your hands on him.

¹⁹Have him stand before the priest Eleazar and the whole community, and commission him in their sight.

²⁰Confer some of your authority on him so that the entire Israelite community will obey him.

²¹He will stand before the priest Eleazar who will consult the LORD for him with the decision of the Urim. He and all the Israelites with him, even the entire community, will go out and come back in at his command.”

²²Moses did as the LORD commanded him. He took Joshua, had him stand before the priest Eleazar and the entire community,

²³laid his hands on him, and commissioned him, as the LORD had spoken through Moses.

¹For my part, brothers and sisters, I was not able to speak to you as spiritual people but as people of the flesh, as babies in Christ.

²I gave you milk to drink, not solid food, since you were not yet ready for it. In fact, you are still not ready,

³because you are still worldly. For since there is envy and strife among you, are you not worldly and behaving like mere humans?

⁴For whenever someone says, “I belong to Paul,” and another, “I belong to Apollos,” are you not acting like mere humans?

⁵What then is Apollos? What is Paul? They are servants through whom you believed, and each has the role the Lord has given.

⁶I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth.

⁷So then neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth.

⁸Now he who plants and he who waters are one, and each will receive his own reward according to his own labor.

⁹For we are God’s coworkers. You are God’s field, God’s building.

¹⁰According to God’s grace that was given to me, I have laid a foundation as a skilled master builder, and another builds on it. But each one is to be careful how he builds on it.

¹¹For no one can lay any other foundation than what has been laid down. That foundation is Jesus Christ.

¹²If anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay, or straw,

¹³each one’s work will become obvious. For the day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire; the fire will test the quality of each one’s work.

¹⁴If anyone’s work that he has built survives, he will receive a reward.

¹⁵If anyone’s work is burned up, he will experience loss, but he himself will be saved  — but only as through fire.

¹⁶Don’t you yourselves know that you are God’s temple and that the Spirit of God lives in you?

¹⁷If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him; for God’s temple is holy, and that is what you are.

¹⁸Let no one deceive himself. If anyone among you thinks he is wise in this age, let him become a fool so that he can become wise.

¹⁹For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God, since it is written, He catches the wise in their craftiness;

²⁰and again, The Lord knows that the reasonings of the wise are futile.

²¹So let no one boast in human leaders, for everything is yours  —

²²whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or things present or things to come  — everything is yours,

²³and you belong to Christ, and Christ belongs to God.

¹Then Job answered:

²Pay close attention to my words; let this be the consolation you offer.

³Bear with me while I speak; then after I have spoken, you may continue mocking.

⁴As for me, is my complaint against a human being? Then why shouldn’t I be impatient?

⁵Look at me and shudder; put your hand over your mouth.

⁶When I think about it, I am terrified and my body trembles in horror.

⁷Why do the wicked continue to live, growing old and becoming powerful?

⁸Their children are established while they are still alive, and their descendants, before their eyes.

⁹Their homes are secure and free of fear; no rod from God strikes them.

¹⁰Their bulls breed without fail; their cows calve and do not miscarry.

¹¹They let their little ones run around like lambs; their children skip about,

¹²singing to the tambourine and lyre and rejoicing at the sound of the flute.

¹³They spend their days in prosperity and go down to Sheol in peace.

¹⁴Yet they say to God, “Leave us alone! We don’t want to know your ways.

¹⁵Who is the Almighty, that we should serve him, and what will we gain by pleading with him?”

¹⁶But their prosperity is not of their own doing. The counsel of the wicked is far from me!

¹⁷How often is the lamp of the wicked put out? Does disaster come on them? Does he apportion destruction in his anger?

¹⁸Are they like straw before the wind, like chaff a storm sweeps away?

¹⁹God reserves a person’s punishment for his children. Let God repay the person himself, so that he may know it.

²⁰Let his own eyes see his demise; let him drink from the Almighty’s wrath!

²¹For what does he care about his family once he is dead, when the number of his months has run out?

²²Can anyone teach God knowledge, since he judges the exalted ones?

²³One person dies in excellent health, completely secure and at ease.

²⁴His body is well fed, and his bones are full of marrow.

²⁵Yet another person dies with a bitter soul, having never tasted prosperity.

²⁶But they both lie in the dust, and worms cover them.

²⁷I know your thoughts very well, the schemes by which you would wrong me.

²⁸For you say, “Where now is the nobleman’s house?” and “Where are the tents the wicked lived in?”

²⁹Have you never consulted those who travel the roads? Don’t you accept their reports?

³⁰Indeed, the evil person is spared from the day of disaster, rescued from the day of wrath.

³¹Who would denounce his behavior to his face? Who would repay him for what he has done?

³²He is carried to the grave, and someone keeps watch over his tomb.

³³The dirt on his grave is sweet to him. Everyone follows behind him, and those who go before him are without number.

³⁴So how can you offer me such futile comfort? Your answers are deceptive.

¹For the choir director. A psalm of David. [1] LORD, I seek refuge in you; let me never be disgraced. Save me by your righteousness.

²Listen closely to me; rescue me quickly. Be a rock of refuge for me, a mountain fortress to save me.

³For you are my rock and my fortress; you lead and guide me for your name’s sake.

⁴You will free me from the net that is secretly set for me, for you are my refuge.

⁵Into your hand I entrust my spirit; you have redeemed me, LORD, God of truth.

⁶I hate those who are devoted to worthless idols, but I trust in the LORD.

⁷I will rejoice and be glad in your faithful love because you have seen my affliction. You know the troubles of my soul

⁸and have not handed me over to the enemy. You have set my feet in a spacious place.

⁹Be gracious to me, LORD, because I am in distress; my eyes are worn out from frustration — my whole being as well.

¹⁰Indeed, my life is consumed with grief and my years with groaning; my strength has failed because of my iniquity, and my bones waste away.

¹¹I am ridiculed by all my adversaries and even by my neighbors. I am dreaded by my acquaintances; those who see me in the street run from me.

¹²I am forgotten: gone from memory like a dead person — like broken pottery.

¹³I have heard the gossip of many; terror is on every side. When they conspired against me, they plotted to take my life.

¹⁴But I trust in you, LORD; I say, “You are my God.”

¹⁵The course of my life is in your power; rescue me from the power of my enemies and from my persecutors.

¹⁶Make your face shine on your servant; save me by your faithful love.

¹⁷LORD, do not let me be disgraced when I call on you. Let the wicked be disgraced; let them be quiet in Sheol.

¹⁸Let lying lips that arrogantly speak against the righteous in proud contempt be silenced.

¹⁹How great is your goodness that you have stored up for those who fear you and accomplished in the sight of everyone for those who take refuge in you.

²⁰You hide them in the protection of your presence; you conceal them in a shelter from human schemes, from quarrelsome tongues.

²¹Blessed be the LORD, for he has wondrously shown his faithful love to me in a city under siege.

²²In my alarm I said, “I am cut off from your sight.” But you heard the sound of my pleading when I cried to you for help.

²³Love the LORD, all his faithful ones. The LORD protects the loyal, but fully repays the arrogant.

²⁴Be strong, and let your heart be courageous, all you who put your hope in the LORD.

¹A king’s heart is like channeled water in the LORD’s hand: He directs it wherever he chooses.

²All a person’s ways seem right to him, but the LORD weighs hearts.

³Doing what is righteous and just is more acceptable to the LORD than sacrifice.

⁴The lamp that guides the wicked — haughty eyes and an arrogant heart  — is sin.

⁵The plans of the diligent certainly lead to profit, but anyone who is reckless certainly becomes poor.

⁶Making a fortune through a lying tongue is a vanishing mist, a pursuit of death.

⁷The violence of the wicked sweeps them away because they refuse to act justly.

⁸A guilty one’s conduct is crooked, but the behavior of the innocent is upright.

⁹Better to live on the corner of a roof than to share a house with a nagging wife.

¹⁰A wicked person desires evil; he has no consideration for his neighbor.

¹¹When a mocker is punished, the inexperienced become wiser; when one teaches a wise man, he acquires knowledge.

¹²The Righteous One considers the house of the wicked; he brings the wicked to ruin.

¹³The one who shuts his ears to the cry of the poor will himself also call out and not be answered.

¹⁴A secret gift soothes anger, and a covert bribe, fierce rage.

¹⁵Justice executed is a joy to the righteous but a terror to those who practice iniquity.

¹⁶The person who strays from the way of prudence will come to rest in the assembly of the departed spirits.

¹⁷The one who loves pleasure will become poor; whoever loves wine and oil will not get rich.

¹⁸The wicked are a ransom for the righteous, and the treacherous, for the upright.

¹⁹Better to live in a wilderness than with a nagging and hot-tempered wife.

²⁰Precious treasure and oil are in the dwelling of a wise person, but a fool consumes them.

²¹The one who pursues righteousness and faithful love will find life, righteousness, and honor.

²²A wise person went up against a city of warriors and brought down its secure fortress.

²³The one who guards his mouth and tongue keeps himself out of trouble.

²⁴The arrogant and proud person, named “Mocker,” acts with excessive arrogance.

²⁵A slacker’s craving will kill him because his hands refuse to work.

²⁶He is filled with craving all day long, but the righteous give and don’t hold back.

²⁷The sacrifice of a wicked person is detestable — how much more so when he brings it with ulterior motives!

²⁸A lying witness will perish, but the one who listens will speak successfully.

²⁹A wicked person puts on a bold face, but the upright one considers his way.

³⁰No wisdom, no understanding, and no counsel will prevail against the LORD.

³¹A horse is prepared for the day of battle, but victory comes from the LORD.

¹Some time later, David inquired of the LORD: “Should I go to one of the towns of Judah?” The LORD answered him, “Go.” Then David asked, “Where should I go?” “To Hebron,” the LORD replied.

²So David went there with his two wives, Ahinoam the Jezreelite and Abigail, the widow of Nabal the Carmelite.

³In addition, David brought the men who were with him, each one with his family, and they settled in the towns near Hebron.

⁴Then the men of Judah came, and there they anointed David king over the house of Judah. They told David: “It was the men of Jabesh-gilead who buried Saul.”

⁵David sent messengers to the men of Jabesh-gilead and said to them, “The LORD bless you, because you have shown this kindness to Saul your lord when you buried him.

⁶Now, may the LORD show kindness and faithfulness to you, and I will also show the same goodness to you because you have done this deed.

⁷Therefore, be strong and valiant, for though Saul your lord is dead, the house of Judah has anointed me king over them.”

⁸Abner son of Ner, commander of Saul’s army, took Saul’s son Ish-bosheth and moved him to Mahanaim.

⁹He made him king over Gilead, Asher, Jezreel, Ephraim, Benjamin — over all Israel.

¹⁰Saul’s son Ish-bosheth was forty years old when he became king over Israel; he reigned for two years. The house of Judah, however, followed David.

¹¹The length of time that David was king in Hebron over the house of Judah was seven years and six months.

¹²Abner son of Ner and soldiers of Ish-bosheth son of Saul marched out from Mahanaim to Gibeon.

¹³So Joab son of Zeruiah and David’s soldiers marched out and met them by the pool of Gibeon. The two groups took up positions on opposite sides of the pool.

¹⁴Then Abner said to Joab, “Let’s have the young men get up and compete in front of us.” “Let them get up,” Joab replied.

¹⁵So they got up and were counted off — twelve for Benjamin and Ish-bosheth son of Saul, and twelve from David’s soldiers.

¹⁶Then each man grabbed his opponent by the head and thrust his sword into his opponent’s side so that they all died together. So this place, which is in Gibeon, is named Field of Blades.

¹⁷The battle that day was extremely fierce, and Abner and the men of Israel were defeated by David’s soldiers.

¹⁸The three sons of Zeruiah were there: Joab, Abishai, and Asahel. Asahel was a fast runner, like one of the wild gazelles.

¹⁹He chased Abner and did not turn to the right or the left in his pursuit of him.

²⁰Abner glanced back and said, “Is that you, Asahel?” “Yes it is,” Asahel replied.

²¹Abner said to him, “Turn to your right or left, seize one of the young soldiers, and take whatever you can get from him.” But Asahel would not stop chasing him.

²²Once again, Abner warned Asahel, “Stop chasing me. Why should I strike you to the ground? How could I ever look your brother Joab in the face?”

²³But Asahel refused to turn away, so Abner hit him in the stomach with the butt of his spear. The spear went through his body, and he fell and died right there. As they all came to the place where Asahel had fallen and died, they stopped,

²⁴but Joab and Abishai pursued Abner. By sunset, they had gone as far as the hill of Ammah, which is opposite Giah on the way to the wilderness of Gibeon.

²⁵The Benjaminites rallied to Abner; they formed a unit and took their stand on top of a hill.

²⁶Then Abner called out to Joab: “Must the sword devour forever? Don’t you realize this will only end in bitterness? How long before you tell the troops to stop pursuing their brothers?”

²⁷“As God lives,” Joab replied, “if you had not spoken up, the troops wouldn’t have stopped pursuing their brothers until morning.”

²⁸Then Joab blew the ram’s horn, and all the troops stopped; they no longer pursued Israel or continued to fight.

²⁹So Abner and his men marched through the Arabah all that night. They crossed the Jordan, marched all morning, and arrived at Mahanaim.

³⁰When Joab had turned back from pursuing Abner, he gathered all the troops. In addition to Asahel, nineteen of David’s soldiers were missing,

³¹but they had killed 360 of the Benjaminites and Abner’s men.

³²Afterward, they carried Asahel to his father’s tomb in Bethlehem and buried him. Then Joab and his men marched all night and reached Hebron at dawn.

¹Then the LORD said to me: “Even if Moses and Samuel should stand before me, my compassions would not reach out to these people. Send them from my presence, and let them go.

²If they ask you, ‘Where will we go? ’ tell them: This is what the LORD says: Those destined for death, to death; those destined for the sword, to the sword. Those destined for famine, to famine; those destined for captivity, to captivity.

³“I will ordain four kinds of judgment for them” — this is the LORD’s declaration — “the sword to kill, the dogs to drag away, and the birds of the sky and the wild animals of the land to devour and destroy.

⁴I will make them a horror to all the kingdoms of the earth because of Manasseh son of Hezekiah, the king of Judah, for what he did in Jerusalem.

⁵Who will have pity on you, Jerusalem? Who will show sympathy toward you? Who will turn aside to ask about your well-being?

⁶You have left me.” This is the LORD’s declaration. “You have turned your back, so I have stretched out my hand against you and destroyed you. I am tired of showing compassion.

⁷I scattered them with a winnowing fork at the city gates of the land. I made them childless; I destroyed my people. They would not turn from their ways.

⁸I made their widows more numerous than the sand of the seas. I brought a destroyer at noon against the mother of young men. I suddenly released on her agitation and terrors.

⁹The mother of seven grew faint; she breathed her last breath. Her sun set while it was still day; she was ashamed and humiliated. The rest of them I will give over to the sword in the presence of their enemies.” This is the LORD’s declaration.

¹⁰Woe is me, my mother, that you gave birth to me, a man who incites dispute and conflict in all the land. I did not lend or borrow, yet everyone curses me.

¹¹The LORD said: Haven’t I set you loose for your good? Haven’t I punished you in a time of trouble, in a time of distress with the enemy?

¹²Can anyone smash iron, iron from the north, or bronze?

¹³I will give up your wealth and your treasures as plunder, without cost, for all your sins in all your borders.

¹⁴Then I will make you serve your enemies in a land you do not know, for my anger will kindle a fire that will burn against you.

¹⁵You know, LORD; remember me and take note of me. Avenge me against my persecutors. In your patience, don’t take me away. Know that I suffer disgrace for your honor.

¹⁶Your words were found, and I ate them. Your words became a delight to me and the joy of my heart, for I bear your name, LORD God of Armies.

¹⁷I never sat with the band of revelers, and I did not celebrate with them. Because your hand was on me, I sat alone, for you filled me with indignation.

¹⁸Why has my pain become unending, my wound incurable, refusing to be healed? You truly have become like a mirage to me — water that is not reliable.

¹⁹Therefore, this is what the LORD says: If you return, I will take you back; you will stand in my presence. And if you speak noble words, rather than worthless ones, you will be my spokesman. It is they who must return to you; you must not return to them.

²⁰Then I will make you a fortified wall of bronze to this people. They will fight against you but will not overcome you, for I am with you to save you and rescue you. This is the LORD’s declaration.

²¹I will rescue you from the power of evil people and redeem you from the grasp of the ruthless.

¹Paul looked straight at the Sanhedrin and said, “Brothers, I have lived my life before God in all good conscience to this day.”

²The high priest Ananias ordered those who were standing next to him to strike him on the mouth.

³Then Paul said to him, “God is going to strike you, you whitewashed wall! You are sitting there judging me according to the law, and yet in violation of the law are you ordering me to be struck?”

⁴Those standing nearby said, “Do you dare revile God’s high priest?”

⁵“I did not know, brothers, that he was the high priest,” replied Paul. “For it is written, You must not speak evil of a ruler of your people.”

⁶When Paul realized that one part of them were Sadducees and the other part were Pharisees, he cried out in the Sanhedrin, “Brothers, I am a Pharisee, a son of Pharisees. I am being judged because of the hope of the resurrection of the dead!”

⁷When he said this, a dispute broke out between the Pharisees and the Sadducees, and the assembly was divided.

⁸For the Sadducees say there is no resurrection, and neither angel nor spirit, but the Pharisees affirm them all.

⁹The shouting grew loud, and some of the scribes of the Pharisees’ party got up and argued vehemently: “We find nothing evil in this man. What if a spirit or an angel has spoken to him?”

¹⁰When the dispute became violent, the commander feared that Paul might be torn apart by them and ordered the troops to go down, take him away from them, and bring him into the barracks.

¹¹The following night, the Lord stood by him and said, “Have courage! For as you have testified about me in Jerusalem, so it is necessary for you to testify in Rome.”

¹²When it was morning, the Jews formed a conspiracy and bound themselves under a curse not to eat or drink until they had killed Paul.

¹³There were more than forty who had formed this plot.

¹⁴These men went to the chief priests and elders and said, “We have bound ourselves under a solemn curse that we won’t eat anything until we have killed Paul.

¹⁵So now you, along with the Sanhedrin, make a request to the commander that he bring him down to you as if you were going to investigate his case more thoroughly. But, before he gets near, we are ready to kill him.”

¹⁶But the son of Paul’s sister, hearing about their ambush, came and entered the barracks and reported it to Paul.

¹⁷Paul called one of the centurions and said, “Take this young man to the commander, because he has something to report to him.”

¹⁸So he took him, brought him to the commander, and said, “The prisoner Paul called me and asked me to bring this young man to you, because he has something to tell you.”

¹⁹The commander took him by the hand, led him aside, and inquired privately, “What is it you have to report to me?”

²⁰“The Jews,” he said, “have agreed to ask you to bring Paul down to the Sanhedrin tomorrow, as though they are going to hold a somewhat more careful inquiry about him.

²¹Don’t let them persuade you, because there are more than forty of them lying in ambush — men who have bound themselves under a curse not to eat or drink until they have killed him. Now they are ready, waiting for your consent.”

²²So the commander dismissed the young man and instructed him, “Don’t tell anyone that you have informed me about this.”

²³He summoned two of his centurions and said, “Get two hundred soldiers ready with seventy cavalry and two hundred spearmen to go to Caesarea at nine tonight.

²⁴Also provide mounts for Paul to ride and bring him safely to Felix the governor.”

²⁵He wrote the following letter:

²⁶Claudius Lysias, To the most excellent governor Felix: Greetings.

²⁷When this man had been seized by the Jews and was about to be killed by them, I arrived with my troops and rescued him because I learned that he is a Roman citizen.

²⁸Wanting to know the charge they were accusing him of, I brought him down before their Sanhedrin.

²⁹I found out that the accusations were concerning questions of their law, and that there was no charge that merited death or imprisonment.

³⁰When I was informed that there was a plot against the man, I sent him to you right away. I also ordered his accusers to state their case against him in your presence.

³¹So the soldiers took Paul during the night and brought him to Antipatris as they were ordered.

³²The next day, they returned to the barracks, allowing the cavalry to go on with him.

³³When these men entered Caesarea and delivered the letter to the governor, they also presented Paul to him.

³⁴After he read it, he asked what province he was from. When he learned he was from Cilicia,

³⁵he said, “I will give you a hearing whenever your accusers also get here.” He ordered that he be kept under guard in Herod’s palace.