Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹On one of the days while He was teaching the people in the temple and preaching the gospel, the chief priests and the scribes with the elders confronted Him,

²and they declared, saying to Him, “Tell us by what authority You are doing these things, or who is the one who gave You this authority?”

³But He replied to them, “I will also ask you aquestion, and you tell Me:

⁴Was the baptism of John from heaven or from men?”

⁵They discussed among themselves, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ He will say, ‘Why did you not believe him?’

⁶But if we say, ‘From men,’ all the people will stone us to death, since they are convinced that John was a prophet.”

⁷And so they answered that they did not know where it came from.

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

⁹But He began to tell the people this parable: “A man planted a vineyard and leased it tovine-growers, and went on a journey for a long time.

¹⁰At the harvest time he sent a slave to the vine-growers, so that they would give him his share of the produce of the vineyard; but the vine-growers beat him and sent him away empty-handed.

¹¹And he proceeded to send another slave; but they beat him also and treated him shamefully, and sent him away empty-handed.

¹²And he proceeded to send a third; but this one too they wounded and threw out.

¹³Now theowner of the vineyard said, ‘What am I to do? I will send my beloved son; perhaps they will respect him.’

¹⁴But when the vine-growers saw him, they discussed with one another, saying, ‘This is the heir; let’s kill him so that the inheritance will be ours.’

¹⁵And so they threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. What, then, will theowner of the vineyard do to them?

¹⁶He will come and put these vine-growers to death, and will give the vineyard to others.” However, when they heard this, they said, “May it never happen!”

¹⁷But Jesus looked at them and said, “Then what is this statement that has been written: ‘A STONE WHICH THE BUILDERS REJECTED, THIS HAS BECOME THE CHIEF CORNERSTONE’?

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

¹⁹The scribes and the chief priests tried to lay hands on Him that very hour, and yet they feared the people; for they were aware that He had spoken this parable against them.

²⁰And so they watched Him closely, and sent spies who pretended to be righteous, in order that they might catch Him in some statement, so that they could hand Him over to the jurisdiction and authority of the governor.

²¹And the spies questioned Him, saying, “Teacher, we know that You speak and teach correctly, and You are not partial to anyone, but You teach the way of God on the basis of truth.

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

²³But He saw through their trickery and said to them,

²⁴“Show Me adenarius. Whose image and inscription does it have?” They said, “Caesar’s.”

²⁵And He said to them, “Then pay to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”

²⁶And they were unable to catch Him in a statement in the presence of the people; and they were amazed at His answer, and said nothing.

²⁷Now some of the Sadducees (who maintain that there is no resurrection) came to Him,

²⁸and they questioned Him, saying, “Teacher, Moses wrote for us that if a man’s brother dies, leaving a wife, and he is childless, that his brother is to marry the wife and raise up children for his brother.

²⁹So then, there were seven brothers; and the first took a wife and died childless;

³⁰and the second

³¹and the third married her; and in the same way all seven died, leaving no children.

³²Finally the woman also died.

³³Therefore, in the resurrection, which one’s wife does the woman become? For all seven married her.”

³⁴Jesus said to them, “The sons of this age marry and the women are given in marriage,

³⁵but those who are considered worthy to attain to that age and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry nor are given in marriage;

³⁶for they cannot even die anymore, for they are like angels, and are sons of God, beingsons of the resurrection.

³⁷But as for the fact that the dead are raised, even Moses revealed this in the passage about the burning bush, where he calls the Lord THE GOD OF ABRAHAM, THE GOD OF ISAAC, AND THE GOD OF JACOB.

³⁸Now He is not the God of the dead, but of the living; for all live to Him.”

³⁹Some of the scribes answered and said, “Teacher, You have spoken well.”

⁴⁰For they did not have the courage to question Him any longer about anything.

⁴¹But He said to them, “How is it that they say theChrist is David’s son?

⁴²For David himself says in the book of Psalms, ‘THE LORD SAID TO MY LORD, “SIT AT MY RIGHT HAND,

⁴³UNTIL I MAKE YOUR ENEMIES A FOOTSTOOL FOR YOUR FEET.” ’

⁴⁴Therefore David calls Him ‘Lord,’ and so how is He his son?”

⁴⁵And while all the people were listening, He said to the disciples,

⁴⁶“Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes, and love personal greetings in the marketplaces, and chief seats in the synagogues and places of honor at banquets,

⁴⁷whodevour widows’ houses, and for appearance’s sake offer long prayers. These will receive all the more condemnation.”

¹Then the daughters of Zelophehad, the son of Hepher, the son of Gilead, the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh, of the families of Manasseh the son of Joseph, came forward; and these are the names of his daughters: Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah.

²They stood before Moses, before Eleazar the priest, before the leaders, and all the congregation at the entrance of the tent of meeting, saying,

³“Our father died in the wilderness, yet he was not among the group of those who gathered together against the LORD, in the group of Korah; but he died in his own sin, and he had no sons.

⁴Why should the name of our father be withdrawn from among his family simply because he had no son? Give us property among our father’s brothers.”

⁵So Moses brought their case before the LORD.

⁶Then the LORD said to Moses,

⁷“The daughters of Zelophehad are right about their statements. You shall certainly give them hereditary property among their father’s brothers, and you shall transfer the inheritance of their father to them.

⁸Further, you shall speak to the sons of Israel, saying, ‘If a man dies and has no son, then you shall transfer his inheritance to his daughter.

⁹And if he has no daughter, then you shall give his inheritance to his brothers.

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

¹¹And if his father has no brothers, then you shall give his inheritance to his nearest relative in his own family, and he shall take possession of it; and it shall be a statutory ordinance to the sons of Israel, just as the LORD has commanded Moses.’ ”

¹²Then the LORD said to Moses, “Go up to this mountain of Abarim, and see the land which I have given to the sons of Israel.

¹³When you have seen it, you too will be gathered to your people, just as Aaron your brother was;

¹⁴for in the wilderness of Zin, during the strife of the congregation, you rebelled against My command to treat Me as holy before their eyes at the water.” (These are the waters of Meribah of Kadesh in the wilderness of Zin.)

¹⁵Then Moses spoke to the LORD, saying,

¹⁶“May the LORD, the God of the spirits of humanity, appoint a man over the congregation,

¹⁷who will go out and come in before them, and lead them out and bring them in, so that the congregation of the LORD will not be like sheep that have no shepherd.”

¹⁸So the LORD said to Moses, “Take Joshua the son of Nun, a man in whom is the Spirit, and lay your hand on him;

¹⁹and have him stand before Eleazar the priest and before all the congregation, and commission him in their sight.

²⁰And you shall put some of your authority on him, so that all the congregation of the sons of Israel will obey him.

²¹Moreover, he shall stand before Eleazar the priest, who shall inquire for him by the judgment of the Urim before the LORD. At his command they shall go out, and at his command they shall come in, both he and all the sons of Israel with him, all the congregation.”

²²Then Moses did just as the LORD commanded him; he took Joshua and had him stand before Eleazar the priest and before all the congregation.

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

¹And I, brothers and sisters, could not speak to you as spiritual people, but only as fleshly, as to infants in Christ.

²I gave you milk to drink, not solid food; for you were not yet able to consume it. But even now you are not yet able,

³for you are still fleshly. For since there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not fleshly, and are you not walking like ordinary people?

⁴For when one person says, “I am with Paul,” and another, “I am with Apollos,” are you not ordinary people?

⁵What then is Apollos? And what is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, even as the Lord gave opportunity to each one.

⁶I planted, Apollos watered, but God was causing the growth.

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

⁸Now the one who plants and the one who waters are one; but each will receive his own reward according to his own labor.

⁹For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, God’s building.

¹⁰According to the grace of God which was given to me, like a wise master builder I laid a foundation, and another is building on it. But each person must be careful how he builds on it.

¹¹For no one can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.

¹²Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, or straw,

¹³each one’s work will become evident; for the day will show it because it is to be revealed with fire, and the fire itself will test the quality of each one’s work.

¹⁴If anyone’s work which he has built on it remains, he will receive a reward.

¹⁵If anyone’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet only so as through fire.

¹⁶Do you not know that you are a temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?

¹⁷If anyone destroys the temple of God, God will destroy that person; for the temple of God is holy, and that is what you are.

¹⁸Take care that no one deceives himself. If anyone among you thinks that he is wise in this age, he must become foolish, so that he may become wise.

¹⁹For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in the sight of God. For it is written: “He is THE ONE WHO CATCHES THE WISE BY THEIR CRAFTINESS”;

²⁰and again, “THE LORD KNOWS THE THOUGHTS of the wise, THAT THEY ARE useless.”

²¹So then, no one is to be boasting in people. For all things belong to you,

²²whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas, or the world or life or death, or things present or things to come; all things belong to you,

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

¹Then Job responded,

²“Listen carefully to my speech, And let this be your way of consolation.

³Bear with me that I may speak; Then after I have spoken, you may mock me.

⁴As for me, is my complaint to a mortal? Or why should I not be impatient?

⁵Look at me, and be astonished, And put your hand over your mouth.

⁶Even when I remember, I am disturbed, And horror takes hold of my flesh.

⁷Why do the wicked still live, Grow old, and also become very powerful?

⁸Their descendants endure with them in their sight, And their offspring before their eyes,

⁹Their houses are safe from fear, And the rod of God is not on them.

¹⁰His ox mates without fail; His cow calves and does not miscarry.

¹¹They send out their boys like the flock, And their children dance.

¹²They sing with the tambourine and harp, And rejoice at the sound of the flute.

¹³They spend their days in prosperity, And suddenly they go down to Sheol.

¹⁴Yet they say to God, ‘Go away from us! We do not even desire the knowledge of Your ways.

¹⁵Who is the Almighty, that we should serve Him, And what would we gain if we plead with Him?’

¹⁶Behold, their prosperity is not in their hand; The advice of the wicked is far from me.

¹⁷“How often is the lamp of the wicked put out, Or does their disaster fall on them? Does God apportion destruction in His anger?

¹⁸Are they as straw before the wind, And like chaff which the storm carries away?

¹⁹You say, ‘God saves up a person’s wrongdoing for his sons.’ Let God repay him so that he may know it.

²⁰Let his own eyes see his destruction, And let him drink of the wrath of the Almighty.

²¹For what does he care about his household after him, When the number of his months is at an end?

²²Can anyone teach God knowledge, In that He judges those on high?

²³One dies in his full strength, Being wholly undisturbed and at ease;

²⁴His sides are filled with fat, And the marrow of his bones is wet,

²⁵While another dies with a bitter soul, Never even tasting anything good.

²⁶Together they lie down in the dust, And maggots cover them.

²⁷“Behold, I know your thoughts, And the plots you devise against me.

²⁸For you say, ‘Where is the house of the nobleman, And where is the tent, the dwelling places of the wicked?’

²⁹Have you not asked travelers, And do you not examine their evidence?

³⁰For the wicked person is spared a day of disaster; They are led away from a day of fury.

³¹Who confronts him with his actions, And who repays him for what he has done?

³²When he is carried to the grave, People will keep watch over his tomb.

³³The clods of the valley will gently cover him; Moreover, all mankind will follow after him, While countless others go before him.

³⁴So how dare you give me empty comfort? For your answers remain nothing but falsehood!”

¹In You, LORD, I have taken refuge; Let me never be put to shame; In Your righteousness rescue me.

²Incline Your ear to me, rescue me quickly; Be a rock of strength for me, A stronghold to save me.

³For You are my rock and my fortress; For the sake of Your name You will lead me and guide me.

⁴You will pull me out of the net which they have secretly laid for me, For You are my strength.

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

⁶I hate those who devote themselves to worthless idols, But I trust in the LORD.

⁷I will rejoice and be glad in Your faithfulness, Because You have seen my misery; You have known the troubles of my soul,

⁸And You have not handed me over to the enemy; You have set my feet in a large place.

⁹Be gracious to me, LORD, for I am in distress; My eye is wasted away from grief, my soul and my body too.

¹⁰For my life is spent with sorrow And my years with sighing; My strength has failed because of my guilt, And my body has wasted away.

¹¹Because of all my adversaries, I have become a disgrace, Especially to my neighbors, And an object of dread to my acquaintances; Those who see me in the street flee from me.

¹²I am forgotten like a dead person, out of mind; I am like a broken vessel.

¹³For I have heard the slander of many, Terror is on every side; While they took counsel together against me, They schemed to take away my life.

¹⁴But as for me, I trust in You, LORD, I say, “You are my God.”

¹⁵My times are in Your hand; Rescue me from the hand of my enemies and from those who persecute me.

¹⁶Make Your face shine upon Your servant; Save me in Your faithfulness.

¹⁷Let me not be put to shame, LORD, for I call upon You; Let the wicked be put to shame, let them be silent in Sheol.

¹⁸Let the lying lips be speechless, Which speak arrogantly against the righteous With pride and contempt.

¹⁹How great is Your goodness, Which You have stored up for those who fear You, Which You have performed for those who take refuge in You, Before the sons of mankind!

²⁰You hide them in the secret place of Your presence from the conspiracies of mankind; You keep them secretly in a shelter from the strife of tongues.

²¹Blessed be the LORD, For He has shown His marvelous faithfulness to me in a besieged city.

²²As for me, I said in my alarm, “I am cut off from Your eyes”; Nevertheless You heard the sound of my pleadings When I called to You for help.

²³Love the LORD, all His godly ones! The LORD watches over the faithful But fully repays the one who acts arrogantly.

²⁴Be strong and let your heart take courage, All you who wait for the LORD.

¹The king’s heart is like channels of water in the hand of the LORD; He turns it wherever He pleases.

²Every person’s way is right in his own eyes, But the LORD examines the hearts.

³To do righteousness and justice Is preferred by the LORD more than sacrifice.

⁴Haughty eyes and a proud heart, The lamp of the wicked, is sin.

⁵The plans of the diligent certainly lead to advantage, But everyone who is in a hurry certainly comes to poverty.

⁶The acquisition of treasures by a lying tongue Is a fleeting vapor, the pursuit of death.

⁷The violence of the wicked will sweep them away, Because they refuse to act with justice.

⁸The way of a guilty person is crooked, But as for the pure, his conduct is upright.

⁹It is better to live on a corner of a roof Than in a house shared with a contentious woman.

¹⁰The soul of the wicked desires evil; His neighbor is shown no compassion in his eyes.

¹¹When the scoffer is punished, the naive becomes wise; But when the wise is instructed, he receives knowledge.

¹²The righteous one considers the house of the wicked, Bringing the wicked to ruin.

¹³One who shuts his ear to the outcry of the poor Will also call out himself, and not be answered.

¹⁴A gift in secret subdues anger, And a bribe in an inside pocket, strong wrath.

¹⁵The exercise of justice is joy for the righteous, But terror to those who practice injustice.

¹⁶A person who wanders from the way of understanding Will rest in the assembly of the dead.

¹⁷One who loves pleasure will become a poor person; One who loves wine and oil will not become rich.

¹⁸The wicked is a ransom for the righteous, And the treacherous is in the place of the upright.

¹⁹It is better to live in a desert land Than with a contentious and irritating woman.

²⁰There is precious treasure and oil in the home of the wise, But a foolish person swallows it up.

²¹One who pursues righteousness and loyalty Finds life, righteousness, and honor.

²²A wise person scales the city of the mighty And brings down the stronghold in which they trust.

²³One who guards his mouth and his tongue, Guards his soul from troubles.

²⁴“Proud,” “Arrogant,” “Scoffer,” are his names, One who acts with insolent pride.

²⁵The desire of the lazy one puts him to death, For his hands refuse to work;

²⁶All day long he is craving, While the righteous gives and does not hold back.

²⁷The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination, How much more when he brings it with evil intent!

²⁸A false witness will perish, But a person who listens will speak forever.

²⁹A wicked person displays a bold face, But as for the upright, he makes his way sure.

³⁰There is no wisdom, no understanding, And no plan against the LORD.

³¹The horse is prepared for the day of battle, But the victory belongs to the LORD.

¹Then it came about afterward that David inquired of the LORD, saying, “Shall I go up to one of the cities of Judah?” And the LORD said to him, “Go up.” So David said, “Where shall I go up?” And He said, “To Hebron.”

²So David went up there, and his two wives also, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess and Abigail the widow of Nabal the Carmelite.

³And David brought up his men who were with him, each with his household; and they settled in the cities of Hebron.

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

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

⁶And now may the LORD show kindness and truth to you; and I also will show this goodness to you, because you have done this thing.

⁷Now then, let your hands be strong and be valiant, since Saul your lord is dead, and also the house of Judah has anointed me king over them.”

⁸But Abner the son of Ner, commander of Saul’s army, had taken Ish-bosheth the son of Saul and brought him over to Mahanaim.

⁹And he made him king over Gilead, over the Ashurites, over Jezreel, over Ephraim, and over Benjamin, even over all Israel.

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

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

¹²Now Abner the son of Ner, went from Mahanaim to Gibeon with the servants of Ish-bosheth the son of Saul.

¹³And Joab the son of Zeruiah and the servants of David went out and met them by the pool of Gibeon; and they sat down, Abner’s men on the one side of the pool and Joab’s men on the other side of the pool.

¹⁴Then Abner said to Joab, “Now have the young men arise and hold a martial skills match in our presence.” And Joab said, “Have them arise!”

¹⁵So they got up and went over by count, twelve for Benjamin and Ish-bosheth the son of Saul, and twelve from the servants of David.

¹⁶And each one of them seized his opponent by the head and thrust his sword in his opponent’s side; so they fell down together. Therefore that place was called Helkath-hazzurim, which is in Gibeon.

¹⁷That day the battle was very severe, and Abner and the men of Israel were defeated by the servants of David.

¹⁸Now the three sons of Zeruiah were there, Joab, Abishai, and Asahel; and Asahel was as swift-footed as one of the gazelles that is in the field.

¹⁹Asahel pursued Abner and did not turn to the right or to the left from following Abner.

²⁰Then Abner looked behind himself and said, “Is that you, Asahel?” And he said, “It is I!”

²¹So Abner said to him, “Turn aside for your own good to your right or to your left, and take hold of one of the young men for yourself, and take for yourself his equipment.” But Asahel was unwilling to turn aside from following him.

²²Then Abner repeated again to Asahel, “Turn aside for your own good from following me. Why should I strike you to the ground? How then could I show my face to your brother Joab?”

²³However, he refused to turn aside; so Abner struck him in the belly with the butt end of the spear, so that the spear came out at his back. And he fell there and died on the spot. And it happened that all who came thereafter to the place where Asahel had fallen and died, stood still.

²⁴But Joab and Abishai pursued Abner, and when the sun was going down, they came to the hill of Ammah, which is opposite Giah by way of the wilderness of Gibeon.

²⁵And the sons of Benjamin gathered together behind Abner and became one troop, and they stood on the top of a hill.

²⁶Then Abner called to Joab and said, “Should the sword devour forever? Do you not realize that it will be bitter in the end? So how long will you refrain from telling the people to turn back from pursuing their kinsmen?”

²⁷Joab said, “As God lives, if you had not spoken, then the people of Judah certainly would have withdrawn in the morning, each from pursuing his brother.”

²⁸So Joab blew the trumpet, and all the people halted and no longer pursued Israel, nor did they continue to fight anymore.

²⁹Abner and his men then went through the Arabah all that night; so they crossed the Jordan, walked all morning, and came to Mahanaim.

³⁰Then Joab returned from pursuing Abner; but he gathered all the people together, and nineteen of David’s servants were missing, besides Asahel.

³¹However, the servants of David had struck and killed many of Benjamin and Abner’s men; 360 men were dead.

³²And they carried Asahel away and buried him in his father’s tomb, which was in Bethlehem. Then Joab and his men traveled all night until the day dawned at Hebron.

¹Then the LORD said to me, “Even if Moses and Samuel were to stand before Me, My heart would not be with this people. Send them away from My presence and have them go!

²And it shall be that when they say to you, ‘Where should we go?’ then you are to tell them, ‘This is what the LORD says: “Those destined for death, to death; And those destined for the sword, to the sword; And those destined for famine, to famine; And those destined for captivity, to captivity.” ’

³And I will appoint over them four kinds of doom,” declares the LORD: “the sword to kill, the dogs to drag away, and the birds of the sky and the animals of the earth to devour and destroy.

⁴I will make them an object of terror among all the kingdoms of the earth because of Manasseh, the son of Hezekiah, the king of Judah, for what he did in Jerusalem.

⁵“Indeed, who will have pity on you, Jerusalem, Or who will mourn for you, Or who will turn aside to ask about your welfare?

⁶You who have forsaken Me,” declares the LORD, “You keep going backward. So I will stretch out My hand against you and destroy you; I am tired of relenting!

⁷I will winnow them with a winnowing fork At the gates of the land; I will bereave them of children, I will destroy My people; They did not repent of their ways.

⁸Their widows will be more numerous before Me Than the sand of the seas; I will bring against them, against the mother of a young man, A destroyer at noon; I will suddenly bring down on her Shock and horror.

⁹She who gave birth to seven sons withers away; Her breathing is labored. Her sun has set while it was still day; She has been shamed and humiliated. So I will turn over their survivors to the sword Before their enemies,” declares the LORD.

¹⁰Woe to me, my mother, that you have given birth to me As a man of strife and a man of contention to all the land! I have not lent, nor have people lent money to me, Yet everyone curses me.

¹¹The LORD said, “I will certainly set you free for purposes of good; I will certainly make the enemy plead with you In a time of disaster and a time of distress.

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

¹³I will give your wealth and your treasures As plunder without cost, For all your sins And within all your borders.

¹⁴Then I will make your enemies bring your possessions Into a land that you do not know; For a fire has been kindled in My anger, And it will burn upon you.”

¹⁵You know, LORD; Remember me, take notice of me, And take vengeance for me on my persecutors. Do not, in view of Your patience, take me away; Know that for Your sake I endure reproach.

¹⁶Your words were found and I ate them, And Your words became a joy to me and the delight of my heart; For I have been called by Your name, LORD God of armies.

¹⁷I did not sit in a circle of revelers and celebrate. Because of Your hand upon me I sat alone, For You filled me with indignation.

¹⁸Why has my pain been endless And my wound incurable, refusing to be healed? Will You indeed be to me like a deceptive stream With water that is unreliable?

¹⁹Therefore, this is what the LORD says: “If you return, then I will restore you— You will stand before Me; And if you extract the precious from the worthless, You will become My spokesman. They, for their part, may turn to you, But as for you, you are not to turn to them.

²⁰Then I will make you to this people A fortified wall of bronze; And though they fight against you, They will not prevail over you; For I am with you to save you And rescue you,” declares the LORD.

²¹“So I will rescue you from the hand of the wicked, And I will redeem you from the grasp of the violent.”

¹Now looking intently at the Council, Paul said, “Brothers, I have lived my life with an entirely good conscience before God up to this day.”

²But the high priest Ananias commanded those standing beside him to strike him on the mouth.

³Then Paul said to him, “God is going to strike you, you whitewashed wall! Do you sit to try me according to the Law, and in violation of the Law, order me to be struck?”

⁴But those present said, “Are you insulting God’s high priest?”

⁵And Paul said, “I was not aware, brothers, that he is high priest; for it is written: ‘YOU SHALL NOT SPEAK EVIL OF A RULER OF YOUR PEOPLE.’ ”

⁶But Paul, perceiving that one group were Sadducees and the other Pharisees, began crying out in the Council, “Brothers, I am a Pharisee, a son of Pharisees; I am on trial for the hope and resurrection of the dead!”

⁷When he said this, a dissension occurred between the Pharisees and Sadducees, and the assembly was divided.

⁸For the Sadducees say that there is no resurrection, nor an angel, nor a spirit, but the Pharisees acknowledge them all.

⁹And a great uproar occurred; and some of the scribes of the Pharisaic party stood up and started arguing heatedly, saying, “We find nothing wrong with this man; suppose a spirit or an angel has spoken to him?”

¹⁰And when a great dissension occurred, the commander was afraid that Paul would be torn to pieces by them, and he ordered the troops to go down and take him away from them by force, and bring him into the barracks.

¹¹But on the following night, the Lord stood near him and said, “Be courageous! For as you have testified to the truth about Me in Jerusalem, so you must testify in Rome also.”

¹²When it was day, the Jews formed a conspiracy and put themselves under an oath, saying that they would neither eat nor drink until they had killed Paul.

¹³There were more than forty who formed this plot.

¹⁴They came to the chief priests and the elders and said, “We have put ourselves under an oath to taste nothing until we have killed Paul.

¹⁵Now therefore, you and the Council notify the commander to bring him down to you, as though you were going to investigate his case more thoroughly; and as for us, we are ready to kill him before he comes near the place.”

¹⁶But the son of Paul’s sister heard about their ambush, and he came and entered the barracks and told Paul.

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

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

¹⁹The commander took him by the hand, and stepping aside, began to inquire of him privately, “What is it that you have to report to me?”

²⁰And he said, “The Jews have agreed to ask you to bring Paul down tomorrow to the Council, as though they were going to inquire somewhat more thoroughly about him.

²¹So do not listen to them, for more than forty of them are in hiding to ambush him, and these men have put themselves under an oath not to eat or drink until they kill him; and now they are ready and waiting for assurance from you.”

²²Then the commander let the young man go, instructing him, “Tell no one that you have notified me of these things.”

²³And he called to him two of the centurions and said, “Get two hundred soldiers ready by the third hour of the night to proceed to Caesarea, with seventy horsemen and two hundred spearmen.”

²⁴They were also to provide mounts to put Paul on and bring him safely to Felix the governor.

²⁵And he wrote a letter with the following content:

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

²⁷When this man was seized by the Jews and was about to be killed by them, I came up to them with the troops and rescued him, after learning that he was a Roman.

²⁸And wanting to ascertain the basis for the charges they were bringing against him, I brought him down to their Council;

²⁹and I found that he was being accused regarding questions in their Law, but was not charged with anything deserving death or imprisonment.

³⁰When I was informed that there would be a plot against the man, I sent him to you at once, also instructing his accusers to bring charges against him before you.”

³¹So the soldiers, in accordance with their orders, took Paul and brought him by night to Antipatris.

³²But on the next day they let the horsemen go on with him, and they returned to the barracks.

³³When these horsemen had come to Caesarea and delivered the letter to the governor, they also presented Paul to him.

³⁴Now when he had read it, he also asked from what province Paul was, and when he learned that he was from Cilicia,

³⁵he said, “I will give you a hearing when your accusers arrive as well,” giving orders for Paul to be kept in Herod’s Praetorium.