Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹Now He looked up and saw the wealthy putting their gifts into the temple treasury.

²And He saw a poor widow putting in two lepta coins.

³And He said, “Truly I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all of them;

⁴for they allcontributed to theoffering from theirsurplus; but she, from her poverty, put in allthat she had to live on.”

⁵And while some were talking about the temple, that it was decorated with beautiful stones and vowed gifts, He said,

⁶“As for these things which you are observing, the days will come when there will not be left one stone uponanother, which will not be torn down.”

⁷They asked Him questions, saying, “Teacher, when therefore will these things happen? And what will be the sign when these things are about to take place?”

⁸And He said, “See to it that you are not misled; for many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am He,’ and, ‘The time is near.’ Do not go after them.

⁹And when you hear of wars and revolts, do not be alarmed; for these things must take place first, but the end will not follow immediately.”

¹⁰Then He continued by saying to them, “Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom,

¹¹and there will bemassive earthquakes, and in various places plagues and famines; and there will be terrible sights and greatsigns from heaven.

¹²“But before all these things, they will lay their hands on you and persecute you, turning you over to the synagogues and prisons, bringing you before kings and governors on account of My name.

¹³It will lead toan opportunity for your testimony.

¹⁴Somake up your minds not to prepare beforehand to defend yourselves;

¹⁵for I will provide youeloquence and wisdom which none of your adversaries will be able to oppose or refute.

¹⁶But you will be betrayed even by parents, brothers and sisters, other relatives, and friends, and they will put some of you to death,

¹⁷and you will be hated by all people because of My name.

¹⁸And yet not a hair of your head will perish.

¹⁹By your endurance you will gain yourlives.

²⁰“But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then recognize that her desolation is near.

²¹Then those who are in Judea must flee to the mountains, and those who are insidethe city must leave, and those who are in the country must not enterthe city;

²²because these are days of punishment, so that all things which have been written will be fulfilled.

²³Woe to those women who are pregnant, and to those who are nursing babies in those days; for there will be great distress upon theland, and wrath to this people;

²⁴and they will fall by the edge of the sword, and will be led captive into all the nations; and Jerusalem will be trampled underfoot by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.

²⁵“There will be signs in the sun and moon and stars, and on the earth distress among nations, in perplexity at the roaring of the sea and the waves,

²⁶people fainting from fear and the expectation of the things that are coming upon theworld; for the powers ofthe heavens will be shaken.

²⁷And then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.

²⁸But when these things begin to take place, straighten up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.”

²⁹And He told them a parable: “Look at the fig tree and all the trees:

³⁰as soon as they put forth leaves, you see for yourselves and know that summer is now near.

³¹So you too, when you see these things happening,recognize that the kingdom of God is near.

³²Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all things take place.

³³Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away.

³⁴“But be on your guard, so that your hearts will not be weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and the worries of life, and that this day will not come on you suddenly, like a trap;

³⁵for it will come upon all those who live on the face of all the earth.

³⁶But stay alert at all times, praying that you will have strength to escape all these things that are going to take place, and to stand before the Son of Man.”

³⁷Now during the day He was teaching in the temple, but at evening He would go out and spend the night on the mountain that is called Olivet.

³⁸And all the people would get up very early in the morning to come to Him in the temple to listen to Him.

¹Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,

²“Command the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘You shall be careful to present to Me My offering, My food for My offerings by fire, of a soothing aroma to Me, at their appointed time.’

³And you shall say to them, ‘This is the offering by fire which you shall offer to the LORD: two male lambs one year old without defect as a continual burnt offering every day.

⁴You shall offer the one lamb in the morning, and the other lamb you shall offer at twilight;

⁵also a tenth of an ephah of fine flour as a grain offering, mixed with a fourth of a hin of pure oil.

⁶It is a continual burnt offering which was ordained on Mount Sinai as a soothing aroma, an offering by fire to the LORD.

⁷Then the drink offering with it shall be a fourth of a hin for each lamb; in the Holy Place pour out a drink offering of strong drink to the LORD.

⁸The other lamb you shall offer at twilight; as the grain offering of the morning and as its drink offering, you shall offer it, an offering by fire, a soothing aroma to the LORD.

⁹‘Then on the Sabbath day two male lambs one year old without defect, and two-tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with oil as a grain offering, and its drink offering:

¹⁰This is the burnt offering of every Sabbath in addition to the continual burnt offering and its drink offering.

¹¹‘Then at the beginning of each of your months you shall present a burnt offering to the LORD: two bulls and one ram, seven male lambs one year old without defect;

¹²and three-tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with oil as a grain offering, for each bull; and two-tenths of fine flour mixed with oil as a grain offering, for the one ram;

¹³and a tenth of an ephah of fine flour mixed with oil as a grain offering for each lamb, as a burnt offering of a soothing aroma, an offering by fire to the LORD.

¹⁴Their drink offerings shall be half a hin of wine for a bull and a third of a hin for the ram and a fourth of a hin for a lamb; this is the burnt offering of each month throughout the months of the year.

¹⁵And one male goat as a sin offering to the LORD; it shall be offered with its drink offering in addition to the continual burnt offering.

¹⁶‘The LORD’S Passover shall be on the fourteenth day of the first month.

¹⁷On the fifteenth day of this month there shall be a feast; unleavened bread shall be eaten for seven days.

¹⁸On the first day there shall be a holy assembly; you shall do no laborious work.

¹⁹But you shall present an offering by fire, a burnt offering to the LORD: two bulls and one ram, and seven male lambs one year old, that you have without defect.

²⁰For their grain offering, you shall offer fine flour mixed with oil: three-tenths of an ephah for a bull, and two-tenths for the ram.

²¹A tenth of an ephah you shall offer for each of the seven lambs;

²²and one male goat as a sin offering to make atonement for you.

²³You shall present these besides the burnt offering of the morning, which is for a continual burnt offering.

²⁴In this way you shall present daily, for seven days, the food of the offering by fire, of a soothing aroma to the LORD; it shall be presented with its drink offering in addition to the continual burnt offering.

²⁵On the seventh day you shall have a holy assembly; you shall do no laborious work.

²⁶‘Also on the day of the first fruits, when you present a new grain offering to the LORD in your Feast of Weeks, you shall have a holy assembly; you shall do no laborious work.

²⁷But you shall offer a burnt offering as a soothing aroma to the LORD: two bulls, one ram, and seven male lambs one year old;

²⁸and as their grain offering, fine flour mixed with oil: three-tenths of an ephah for each bull, two-tenths for the one ram,

²⁹and a tenth for each of the seven lambs;

³⁰also one male goat to make atonement for you.

³¹Besides the continual burnt offering and its grain offering, you shall present them with their drink offerings. They shall be without defect.

¹This is the way any person is to regard us: as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God.

²In this case, moreover, it is required of stewards that one be found trustworthy.

³But to me it is an insignificant matter that I would be examined by you, or by any human court; in fact, I do not even examine myself.

⁴For I am not aware of anything against myself; however I am not vindicated by this, but the one who examines me is the Lord.

⁵Therefore do not go on passing judgment before the time, but wait until the Lord comes, who will both bring to light the things hidden in the darkness and disclose the motives of human hearts; and then praise will come to each person from God.

⁶Now these things, brothers and sisters, I have figuratively applied to myself and Apollos on your account, so that in us you may learn not to exceed what is written, so that no one of you will become arrogant in behalf of one against the other.

⁷For who considers you as superior? What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as if you had not received it?

⁸You are already filled, you have already become rich, you have become kings without us; and indeed, I wish that you had become kings so that we also might reign with you!

⁹For I think, God has exhibited us, the apostles, last of all as men condemned to death, because we have become a spectacle to the world, both to angels and to mankind.

¹⁰We are fools on account of Christ, but you are prudent in Christ! We are weak, but you are strong! You are distinguished, but we are without honor!

¹¹Up to this present hour we are both hungry and thirsty, and are poorly clothed and roughly treated and homeless;

¹²and we labor, working with our own hands; when we are verbally abused, we bless; when we are persecuted, we endure it;

¹³when we are slandered, we reply as friends; we have become as the scum of the world, the dregs of all things, even until now.

¹⁴I do not write these things to shame you, but to admonish you as my beloved children.

¹⁵For if you were to have countless tutors in Christ, yet you would not have many fathers, for in Christ Jesus I became your father through the gospel.

¹⁶Therefore I urge you, be imitators of me.

¹⁷For this reason I have sent to you Timothy, who is my beloved and faithful child in the Lord, and he will remind you of my ways which are in Christ, just as I teach everywhere in every church.

¹⁸Now some have become arrogant, as though I were not coming to you.

¹⁹But I will come to you soon, if the Lord wills, and I shall find out, not the words of those who are arrogant, but their power.

²⁰For the kingdom of God is not in words, but in power.

²¹What do you desire? That I come to you with a rod, or with love and a spirit of gentleness?

¹Then Eliphaz the Temanite responded,

²“Can a strong man be of use to God, Or a wise one be useful to himself?

³Is it any pleasure to the Almighty if you are righteous, Or gain if you make your ways blameless?

⁴Is it because of your reverence that He punishes you, That He enters into judgment against you?

⁵Is your wickedness not abundant, And is there no end to your guilty deeds?

⁶For you have seized pledges from your brothers without cause, And stripped people naked.

⁷You have given the weary no water to drink, And you have withheld bread from the hungry.

⁸But the earth belongs to the powerful man, And the one who is honorable dwells on it.

⁹You have sent widows away empty, And the strength of orphans has been crushed.

¹⁰Therefore traps surround you, And sudden dread terrifies you,

¹¹Or darkness, so that you cannot see, And a flood of water covers you.

¹²“Is God not in the height of heaven? Look also at the highest stars, how high they are!

¹³But you say, ‘What does God know? Can He judge through the thick darkness?

¹⁴Clouds are a hiding place for Him, so that He cannot see; And He walks on the vault of heaven.’

¹⁵Will you keep to the ancient path Which wicked people have walked,

¹⁶Who were snatched away before their time, Whose foundations were washed away by a river?

¹⁷They said to God, ‘Go away from us!’ And ‘What can the Almighty do to them?’

¹⁸Yet He filled their houses with good things; But the advice of the wicked is far from me.

¹⁹The righteous see and are glad, And the innocent mock them, saying,

²⁰‘Truly our enemies are eliminated, And fire has consumed their abundance.’

²¹“Be reconciled with Him, and be at peace; Thereby good will come to you.

²²Please receive instruction from His mouth, And put His words in your heart.

²³If you return to the Almighty, you will be restored; If you remove injustice far from your tent,

²⁴And put your gold in the dust, And the gold of Ophir among the stones of the brooks,

²⁵Then the Almighty will be your gold And abundant silver to you.

²⁶For then you will take pleasure in the Almighty And lift up your face to God.

²⁷You will pray to Him, and He will hear you; And you will pay your vows.

²⁸You will also decide something, and it will be established for you; And light will shine on your ways.

²⁹When they have brought you low, you will speak with confidence, And He will save the humble person.

³⁰He will rescue one who is not innocent, And he will be rescued due to the cleanness of your hands.”

¹How blessed is he whose wrongdoing is forgiven, Whose sin is covered!

²How blessed is a person whose guilt the LORD does not take into account, And in whose spirit there is no deceit!

³When I kept silent about my sin, my body wasted away Through my groaning all day long.

⁴For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me; My vitality failed as with the dry heat of summer. Selah

⁵I acknowledged my sin to You, And I did not hide my guilt; I said, “I will confess my wrongdoings to the LORD”; And You forgave the guilt of my sin. Selah

⁶Therefore, let everyone who is godly pray to You in a time when You may be found; Certainly in a flood of great waters, they will not reach him.

⁷You are my hiding place; You keep me from trouble; You surround me with songs of deliverance. Selah

⁸I will instruct you and teach you in the way which you should go; I will advise you with My eye upon you.

⁹Do not be like the horse or like the mule, which have no understanding, Whose trappings include bit and bridle to hold them in check, Otherwise they will not come near to you.

¹⁰The sorrows of the wicked are many, But the one who trusts in the LORD, goodness will surround him.

¹¹Be glad in the LORD and rejoice, you righteous ones; And shout for joy, all you who are upright in heart.

¹A good name is to be more desired than great wealth; Favor is better than silver and gold.

²The rich and the poor have a common bond, The LORD is the Maker of them all.

³A prudent person sees evil and hides himself, But the naive proceed, and pay the penalty.

⁴The reward of humility and the fear of the LORD Are riches, honor, and life.

⁵Thorns and snares are in the way of the perverse; One who guards himself will be far from them.

⁶Train up a child in the way he should go, Even when he grows older he will not abandon it.

⁷The rich rules over the poor, And the borrower becomes the lender’s slave.

⁸One who sows injustice will reap disaster, And the rod of his fury will perish.

⁹One who is generous will be blessed, Because he gives some of his food to the poor.

¹⁰Drive out the scoffer, and strife will leave, Even quarreling and dishonor will cease.

¹¹One who loves purity of heart And whose speech is gracious, the king is his friend.

¹²The eyes of the LORD protect knowledge, But He overthrows the words of the treacherous person.

¹³The lazy one says, “There is a lion outside; I will be killed in the streets!”

¹⁴The mouth of an adulteress is a deep pit; He who is cursed of the LORD will fall into it.

¹⁵Foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child; The rod of discipline will remove it far from him.

¹⁶One who oppresses the poor to make more for himself, Or gives to the rich, will only come to poverty.

¹⁷Extend your ear and hear the words of the wise, And apply your mind to my knowledge;

¹⁸For it will be pleasant if you keep them within you, So that they may be ready on your lips.

¹⁹So that your trust may be in the LORD, I have taught you today, you indeed.

²⁰Have I not written to you excellent things Of counsels and knowledge,

²¹To make you know the certainty of the words of truth, So that you may correctly answer him who sent you?

²²Do not rob the poor because he is poor, Nor crush the needy at the gate;

²³For the LORD will plead their case And take the life of those who rob them.

²⁴Do not make friends with a person given to anger, Or go with a hot-tempered person,

²⁵Or you will learn his ways And find a snare for yourself.

²⁶Do not be among those who shake hands, Among those who become guarantors for debts.

²⁷If you have nothing with which to repay, Why should he take your bed from under you?

²⁸Do not move the ancient boundary Which your fathers have set.

²⁹Do you see a person skilled in his work? He will stand before kings; He will not stand before obscure people.

¹Now there was a long war between the house of Saul and the house of David; and David became steadily stronger, while the house of Saul became steadily weaker.

²Sons were born to David in Hebron: his firstborn was Amnon, by Ahinoam the Jezreelitess;

³and his second, Chileab, by Abigail the widow of Nabal the Carmelite; and the third, Absalom the son of Maacah, the daughter of Talmai, king of Geshur;

⁴and the fourth, Adonijah the son of Haggith; and the fifth, Shephatiah the son of Abital;

⁵and the sixth, Ithream, by David’s wife Eglah. These sons were born to David in Hebron.

⁶Now it happened that while there was war between the house of Saul and the house of David, Abner was strengthening himself in the house of Saul.

⁷And Saul had a concubine whose name was Rizpah, the daughter of Aiah; and Ish-bosheth said to Abner, “Why have you gone in to my father’s concubine?”

⁸Then Abner became very angry over Ish-bosheth’s question and said, “Am I a dog’s head that belongs to Judah? Today I show kindness to the house of Saul your father, to his brothers and to his friends, and have not let you fall into the hands of David; yet today you call me to account for wrongdoing with that woman?

⁹May God do so to me, and more so, if as the LORD has sworn to David, I do not accomplish this for him:

¹⁰to transfer the kingdom from the house of Saul, and to establish the throne of David over Israel and over Judah, from Dan even to Beersheba!”

¹¹And Ish-bosheth could no longer say a word in response to Abner, because he was afraid of him.

¹²Then Abner sent messengers to David at his place, saying, “Whose is the land? Make your covenant with me, and behold, my hand shall be with you to bring all Israel over to you.”

¹³And he said, “Good! I will make a covenant with you, only I require one thing of you, namely, that you shall not see my face unless you first bring Michal, Saul’s daughter, when you come to see me.”

¹⁴So David sent messengers to Ish-bosheth, Saul’s son, saying, “Give me my wife Michal, to whom I was betrothed for a hundred foreskins of the Philistines.”

¹⁵Ish-bosheth sent men and had her taken from her husband, from Paltiel the son of Laish.

¹⁶And her husband went with her, weeping as he went, following her as far as Bahurim. Then Abner said to him, “Go, return.” So he returned.

¹⁷Now Abner had a consultation with the elders of Israel, saying, “In times past you were seeking for David to be king over you.

¹⁸Now then, do it! For the LORD has spoken regarding David, saying, ‘By the hand of My servant David I will save My people Israel from the hand of the Philistines, and from the hands of all their enemies.’ ”

¹⁹Abner also spoke to Benjamin; and in addition Abner went to speak to David in Hebron everything that seemed good to Israel and to the entire house of Benjamin.

²⁰Then Abner and twenty men with him came to David at Hebron. And David held a feast for Abner and the men who were with him.

²¹Abner said to David, “Let me set out and go and gather all Israel to my lord the king, so that they may make a covenant with you, and that you may be king over all that your soul desires.” So David let Abner go, and he went in peace.

²²And behold, the servants of David and Joab came from a raid and brought a large amount of plunder with them; but Abner was not with David in Hebron, since he had let him go, and he had gone in peace.

²³When Joab and all the army that was with him arrived, they informed Joab, saying, “Abner the son of Ner came to the king, and he has let him go on his way, and he has gone in peace.”

²⁴Then Joab came to the king and said, “What have you done? Behold, Abner came to you; why then have you let him go, so that he is already gone?

²⁵You know Abner the son of Ner, that he came to gain your confidence, and to learn of your going out and coming in and to find out everything that you are doing.”

²⁶When Joab left David’s presence, he sent messengers after Abner, and they brought him back from the well of Sirah; but David did not know about it.

²⁷So when Abner returned to Hebron, Joab took him aside into the middle of the gate to speak with him privately, and there he struck him in the belly, so that he died on account of the blood of his brother Asahel.

²⁸Afterward, when David heard about this, he said, “I and my kingdom are innocent before the LORD forever of the blood of Abner the son of Ner.

²⁹May it turn upon the head of Joab and on all his father’s house; and may there not be eliminated from the house of Joab someone who suffers a discharge, or has leprosy, or holds the spindle, or falls by the sword, or lacks bread.”

³⁰So Joab and his brother Abishai killed Abner because he had put their brother Asahel to death in the battle at Gibeon.

³¹Then David said to Joab and to all the people who were with him, “Tear your clothes and put on sackcloth, and mourn before Abner.” And King David walked behind the bier.

³²And they buried Abner in Hebron; and the king raised his voice and wept at the grave of Abner, and all the people wept.

³³And the king sang a song of mourning for Abner and said, “Should Abner die as a fool dies?

³⁴Your hands were not bound, nor your feet put in bronze shackles; As one falls before the wicked, you have fallen.” And all the people wept over him again.

³⁵Then all the people came to provide food for David in his distress while it was still day; but David vowed, saying, “May God do so to me, and more so, if I taste bread or anything else before the sun goes down.”

³⁶Now all the people took note of David’s vow, and it pleased them, just as everything that the king did pleased all the people.

³⁷So all the people and all Israel understood on that day that it had not been the desire of the king to put Abner the son of Ner to death.

³⁸Then the king said to his servants, “Do you not know that a leader and a great man has fallen in Israel this day?

³⁹And I am weak today, though anointed king; and these men, the sons of Zeruiah, are too difficult for me. May the LORD repay the evildoer in proportion to his evil.”

¹The word of the LORD also came to me, saying,

²“You shall not take a wife for yourself nor have sons or daughters in this place.”

³For this is what the LORD says concerning the sons and daughters born in this place, and concerning their mothers who give birth to them, and their fathers who father them in this land:

⁴“They will die of deadly diseases, they will not be mourned or buried; they will be like dung on the surface of the ground. And they will perish by sword and famine, and their dead bodies will become food for the birds of the sky and for the animals of the earth.”

⁵For this is what the LORD says: “Do not enter a house of mourning, or go to mourn or to console them; for I have withdrawn My peace from this people,” declares the LORD, “and My favor and compassion.

⁶Both great people and small will die in this land; they will not be buried, people will not mourn for them, nor will anyone make cuts on himself or have his head shaved for them.

⁷People will not break bread in mourning for them, to comfort anyone for the dead, nor give them a cup of consolation to drink for anyone’s father or mother.

⁸Moreover, you shall not go into a house of feasting to sit with them to eat and drink.”

⁹For this is what the LORD of armies, the God of Israel says: “Behold, I am going to eliminate from this place, before your eyes and in your time, the voice of rejoicing and the voice of joy, the voice of the groom and the voice of the bride.

¹⁰“Now it will happen that, when you tell this people all these words, they will say to you, ‘For what reason has the LORD declared all this great disaster against us? And what is our wrongdoing, or what is our sin that we have committed against the LORD our God?’

¹¹Then you are to say to them, ‘It is because your forefathers have abandoned Me,’ declares the LORD, ‘and have followed other gods, and served and worshiped them; but they have abandoned Me and have not kept My Law.

¹²You too have done evil, even more than your forefathers; for behold, each one of you is following the stubbornness of his own evil heart, without listening to Me.

¹³So I will hurl you off this land to the land which you have not known, neither you nor your fathers; and there you will serve other gods day and night, because I will show you no compassion.’

¹⁴“Therefore behold, days are coming,” declares the LORD, “when it will no longer be said, ‘As the LORD lives, who brought up the sons of Israel out of the land of Egypt,’

¹⁵but, ‘As the LORD lives, who brought up the sons of Israel from the land of the north and from all the lands where He had banished them.’ For I will restore them to their own land which I gave to their fathers.

¹⁶“Behold, I am going to send for many fishermen,” declares the LORD, “and they will fish for them; and afterward I will send for many hunters, and they will hunt them from every mountain and every hill and from the clefts of the rocks.

¹⁷For My eyes are on all their ways; they are not hidden from My face, nor is their wrongdoing concealed from My eyes.

¹⁸I will first repay them double for their wrongdoing and their sin, because they have defiled My land; they have filled My inheritance with the carcasses of their detestable idols and their abominations.”

¹⁹LORD, my strength and my stronghold, And my refuge in the day of distress, To You the nations will come From the ends of the earth and say, “Our fathers have inherited nothing but falsehood, Futility, and things of no benefit.”

²⁰Can a person make gods for himself? But they are not gods!

²¹“Therefore behold, I am going to make them know— This time I will make them know My power and My might; And they will know that My name is the LORD.”

¹Now after five days the high priest Ananias came down with some elders and an attorney named Tertullus, and they brought charges against Paul to the governor.

²After Paul had been summoned, Tertullus began accusing him, saying to the governor, “Since we have attained great peace through you, and since reforms are being carried out for this nation by your foresight,

³we acknowledge this in every way and everywhere, most excellent Felix, with all thankfulness.

⁴But, that I may not weary you further, I beg you to grant us a brief hearing, by your kindness.

⁵For we have found this man a public menace and one who stirs up dissensions among all the Jews throughout the world, and a ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes.

⁶And he even tried to desecrate the temple, so indeed we arrested him.

⁷

⁸By interrogating him yourself concerning all these matters, you will be able to ascertain the things of which we are accusing him.”

⁹The Jews also joined in the attack, asserting that these things were so.

¹⁰And when the governor had nodded for him to speak, Paul responded: “Knowing that for many years you have been a judge to this nation, I cheerfully make my defense,

¹¹since you can take note of the fact that no more than twelve days ago I went up to Jerusalem to worship.

¹²And neither in the temple did they find me carrying on a discussion with anyone or causing a riot, nor in the synagogues, nor in the city itself.

¹³Nor can they prove to you the things of which they now accuse me.

¹⁴But I confess this to you, that in accordance with the Way, which they call a sect, I do serve the God of our fathers, believing everything that is in accordance with the Law and is written in the Prophets;

¹⁵having a hope in God, which these men cherish themselves, that there shall certainly be a resurrection of both the righteous and the wicked.

¹⁶In view of this I also do my best to maintain a blameless conscience both before God and before other people, always.

¹⁷Now after several years I came to bring charitable gifts to my nation and to present offerings,

¹⁸in which they found me occupied in the temple, having been purified, without any crowd or uproar. But there were some Jews from Asia—

¹⁹who ought to have been present before you and to have been bringing charges, if they should have anything against me.

²⁰Or else have these men themselves declare what violation they discovered when I stood before the Council,

²¹other than in regard to this one declaration which I shouted while standing among them, ‘For the resurrection of the dead I am on trial before you today!’ ”

²²But Felix, having quite accurate knowledge about the Way, adjourned them, saying, “When Lysias the commander comes down, I will decide your case.”

²³He gave orders to the centurion for Paul to be kept in custody and yet have some freedom, and not to prevent any of his friends from providing for his needs.

²⁴Now some days later Felix arrived with Drusilla his wife, who was Jewish, and he sent for Paul and heard him speak about faith in Christ Jesus.

²⁵But as he was discussing righteousness, self-control, and the judgment to come, Felix became frightened and responded, “Go away for now, and when I have an opportunity, I will summon you.”

²⁶At the same time he was also hoping that money would be given to him by Paul; therefore he also used to send for him quite often and talk with him.

²⁷But after two years had passed, Felix was succeeded by Porcius Festus; and Felix, wanting to do the Jews a favor, left Paul imprisoned.