Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹As Jesus looked up, he saw the rich putting their gifts into the temple treasury.

²He also saw a poor widow put in two very small copper coins.

³“Truly I tell you,” he said, “this poor widow has put in more than all the others.

⁴All these people gave their gifts out of their wealth; but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on.”

⁵Some of his disciples were remarking about how the temple was adorned with beautiful stones and with gifts dedicated to God. But Jesus said,

⁶“As for what you see here, the time will come when not one stone will be left on another; every one of them will be thrown down.”

⁷“Teacher,” they asked, “when will these things happen? And what will be the sign that they are about to take place?”

⁸He replied: “Watch out that you are not deceived. For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am he,’ and, ‘The time is near.’ Do not follow them.

⁹When you hear of wars and uprisings, do not be frightened. These things must happen first, but the end will not come right away.”

¹⁰Then he said to them: “Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom.

¹¹There will be great earthquakes, famines and pestilences in various places, and fearful events and great signs from heaven.

¹²“But before all this, they will seize you and persecute you. They will hand you over to synagogues and put you in prison, and you will be brought before kings and governors, and all on account of my name.

¹³And so you will bear testimony to me.

¹⁴But make up your mind not to worry beforehand how you will defend yourselves.

¹⁵For I will give you words and wisdom that none of your adversaries will be able to resist or contradict.

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

¹⁷Everyone will hate you because of me.

¹⁸But not a hair of your head will perish.

¹⁹Stand firm, and you will win life.

²⁰“When you see Jerusalem being surrounded by armies, you will know that its desolation is near.

²¹Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, let those in the city get out, and let those in the country not enter the city.

²²For this is the time of punishment in fulfillment of all that has been written.

²³How dreadful it will be in those days for pregnant women and nursing mothers! There will be great distress in the land and wrath against this people.

²⁴They will fall by the sword and will be taken as prisoners to all the nations. Jerusalem will be trampled on by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.

²⁵“There will be signs in the sun, moon and stars. On the earth, nations will be in anguish and perplexity at the roaring and tossing of the sea.

²⁶People will faint from terror, apprehensive of what is coming on the world, for the heavenly bodies will be shaken.

²⁷At that time they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.

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

²⁹He told them this parable: “Look at the fig tree and all the trees.

³⁰When they sprout leaves, you can see for yourselves and know that summer is near.

³¹Even so, when you see these things happening, you know that the kingdom of God is near.

³²“Truly I tell you, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened.

³³Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.

³⁴“Be careful, or your hearts will be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness and the anxieties of life, and that day will close on you suddenly like a trap.

³⁵For it will come on all those who live on the face of the whole earth.

³⁶Be always on the watch, and pray that you may be able to escape all that is about to happen, and that you may be able to stand before the Son of Man.”

³⁷Each day Jesus was teaching at the temple, and each evening he went out to spend the night on the hill called the Mount of Olives,

³⁸and all the people came early in the morning to hear him at the temple.

¹The LORD said to Moses,

²“Give this command to the Israelites and say to them: ‘Make sure that you present to me at the appointed time my food offerings, as an aroma pleasing to me.’

³Say to them: ‘This is the food offering you are to present to the LORD: two lambs a year old without defect, as a regular burnt offering each day.

⁴Offer one lamb in the morning and the other at twilight,

⁵together with a grain offering of a tenth of an ephah of the finest flour mixed with a quarter of a hin of oil from pressed olives.

⁶This is the regular burnt offering instituted at Mount Sinai as a pleasing aroma, a food offering presented to the LORD.

⁷The accompanying drink offering is to be a quarter of a hin of fermented drink with each lamb. Pour out the drink offering to the LORD at the sanctuary.

⁸Offer the second lamb at twilight, along with the same kind of grain offering and drink offering that you offer in the morning. This is a food offering, an aroma pleasing to the LORD.

⁹“ ‘On the Sabbath day, make an offering of two lambs a year old without defect, together with its drink offering and a grain offering of two-tenths of an ephah of the finest flour mixed with olive oil.

¹⁰This is the burnt offering for every Sabbath, in addition to the regular burnt offering and its drink offering.

¹¹“ ‘On the first of every month, present to the LORD a burnt offering of two young bulls, one ram and seven male lambs a year old, all without defect.

¹²With each bull there is to be a grain offering of three-tenths of an ephah of the finest flour mixed with oil; with the ram, a grain offering of two-tenths of an ephah of the finest flour mixed with oil;

¹³and with each lamb, a grain offering of a tenth of an ephah of the finest flour mixed with oil. This is for a burnt offering, a pleasing aroma, a food offering presented to the LORD.

¹⁴With each bull there is to be a drink offering of half a hin of wine; with the ram, a third of a hin; and with each lamb, a quarter of a hin. This is the monthly burnt offering to be made at each new moon during the year.

¹⁵Besides the regular burnt offering with its drink offering, one male goat is to be presented to the LORD as a sin offering.

¹⁶“ ‘On the fourteenth day of the first month the LORD’s Passover is to be held.

¹⁷On the fifteenth day of this month there is to be a festival; for seven days eat bread made without yeast.

¹⁸On the first day hold a sacred assembly and do no regular work.

¹⁹Present to the LORD a food offering consisting of a burnt offering of two young bulls, one ram and seven male lambs a year old, all without defect.

²⁰With each bull offer a grain offering of three-tenths of an ephah of the finest flour mixed with oil; with the ram, two-tenths;

²¹and with each of the seven lambs, one-tenth.

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

²³Offer these in addition to the regular morning burnt offering.

²⁴In this way present the food offering every day for seven days as an aroma pleasing to the LORD; it is to be offered in addition to the regular burnt offering and its drink offering.

²⁵On the seventh day hold a sacred assembly and do no regular work.

²⁶“ ‘On the day of firstfruits, when you present to the LORD an offering of new grain during the Festival of Weeks, hold a sacred assembly and do no regular work.

²⁷Present a burnt offering of two young bulls, one ram and seven male lambs a year old as an aroma pleasing to the LORD.

²⁸With each bull there is to be a grain offering of three-tenths of an ephah of the finest flour mixed with oil; with the ram, two-tenths;

²⁹and with each of the seven lambs, one-tenth.

³⁰Include one male goat to make atonement for you.

³¹Offer these together with their drink offerings, in addition to the regular burnt offering and its grain offering. Be sure the animals are without defect.

¹This, then, is how you ought to regard us: as servants of Christ and as those entrusted with the mysteries God has revealed.

²Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful.

³I care very little if I am judged by you or by any human court; indeed, I do not even judge myself.

⁴My conscience is clear, but that does not make me innocent. It is the Lord who judges me.

⁵Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait until the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of the heart. At that time each will receive their praise from God.

⁶Now, brothers and sisters, I have applied these things to myself and Apollos for your benefit, so that you may learn from us the meaning of the saying, “Do not go beyond what is written.” Then you will not be puffed up in being a follower of one of us over against the other.

⁷For who makes you different from anyone else? What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as though you did not?

⁸Already you have all you want! Already you have become rich! You have begun to reign—and that without us! How I wish that you really had begun to reign so that we also might reign with you!

⁹For it seems to me that God has put us apostles on display at the end of the procession, like those condemned to die in the arena. We have been made a spectacle to the whole universe, to angels as well as to human beings.

¹⁰We are fools for Christ, but you are so wise in Christ! We are weak, but you are strong! You are honored, we are dishonored!

¹¹To this very hour we go hungry and thirsty, we are in rags, we are brutally treated, we are homeless.

¹²We work hard with our own hands. When we are cursed, we bless; when we are persecuted, we endure it;

¹³when we are slandered, we answer kindly. We have become the scum of the earth, the garbage of the world—right up to this moment.

¹⁴I am writing this not to shame you but to warn you as my dear children.

¹⁵Even if you had ten thousand guardians in Christ, you do not have many fathers, for in Christ Jesus I became your father through the gospel.

¹⁶Therefore I urge you to imitate me.

¹⁷For this reason I have sent to you Timothy, my son whom I love, who is faithful in the Lord. He will remind you of my way of life in Christ Jesus, which agrees with what I teach everywhere in every church.

¹⁸Some of you have become arrogant, as if I were not coming to you.

¹⁹But I will come to you very soon, if the Lord is willing, and then I will find out not only how these arrogant people are talking, but what power they have.

²⁰For the kingdom of God is not a matter of talk but of power.

²¹What do you prefer? Shall I come to you with a rod of discipline, or shall I come in love and with a gentle spirit?

¹Then Eliphaz the Temanite replied:

²“Can a man be of benefit to God? Can even a wise person benefit him?

³What pleasure would it give the Almighty if you were righteous? What would he gain if your ways were blameless?

⁴“Is it for your piety that he rebukes you and brings charges against you?

⁵Is not your wickedness great? Are not your sins endless?

⁶You demanded security from your relatives for no reason; you stripped people of their clothing, leaving them naked.

⁷You gave no water to the weary and you withheld food from the hungry,

⁸though you were a powerful man, owning land— an honored man, living on it.

⁹And you sent widows away empty-handed and broke the strength of the fatherless.

¹⁰That is why snares are all around you, why sudden peril terrifies you,

¹¹why it is so dark you cannot see, and why a flood of water covers you.

¹²“Is not God in the heights of heaven? And see how lofty are the highest stars!

¹³Yet you say, ‘What does God know? Does he judge through such darkness?

¹⁴Thick clouds veil him, so he does not see us as he goes about in the vaulted heavens.’

¹⁵Will you keep to the old path that the wicked have trod?

¹⁶They were carried off before their time, their foundations washed away by a flood.

¹⁷They said to God, ‘Leave us alone! What can the Almighty do to us?’

¹⁸Yet it was he who filled their houses with good things, so I stand aloof from the plans of the wicked.

¹⁹The righteous see their ruin and rejoice; the innocent mock them, saying,

²⁰‘Surely our foes are destroyed, and fire devours their wealth.’

²¹“Submit to God and be at peace with him; in this way prosperity will come to you.

²²Accept instruction from his mouth and lay up his words in your heart.

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

²⁴and assign your nuggets to the dust, your gold of Ophir to the rocks in the ravines,

²⁵then the Almighty will be your gold, the choicest silver for you.

²⁶Surely then you will find delight in the Almighty and will lift up your face to God.

²⁷You will pray to him, and he will hear you, and you will fulfill your vows.

²⁸What you decide on will be done, and light will shine on your ways.

²⁹When people are brought low and you say, ‘Lift them up!’ then he will save the downcast.

³⁰He will deliver even one who is not innocent, who will be delivered through the cleanness of your hands.”

¹Of David. A maskil. Blessed is the one whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered.

²Blessed is the one whose sin the LORD does not count against them and in whose spirit is no deceit.

³When I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long.

⁴For day and night your hand was heavy on me; my strength was sapped as in the heat of summer.

⁵Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the LORD.” And you forgave the guilt of my sin.

⁶Therefore let all the faithful pray to you while you may be found; surely the rising of the mighty waters will not reach them.

⁷You are my hiding place; you will protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance.

⁸I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my loving eye on you.

⁹Do not be like the horse or the mule, which have no understanding but must be controlled by bit and bridle or they will not come to you.

¹⁰Many are the woes of the wicked, but the LORD’s unfailing love surrounds the one who trusts in him.

¹¹Rejoice in the LORD and be glad, you righteous; sing, all you who are upright in heart!

¹A good name is more desirable than great riches; to be esteemed is better than silver or gold.

²Rich and poor have this in common: The LORD is the Maker of them all.

³The prudent see danger and take refuge, but the simple keep going and pay the penalty.

⁴Humility is the fear of the LORD; its wages are riches and honor and life.

⁵In the paths of the wicked are snares and pitfalls, but those who would preserve their life stay far from them.

⁶Start children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old they will not turn from it.

⁷The rich rule over the poor, and the borrower is slave to the lender.

⁸Whoever sows injustice reaps calamity, and the rod they wield in fury will be broken.

⁹The generous will themselves be blessed, for they share their food with the poor.

¹⁰Drive out the mocker, and out goes strife; quarrels and insults are ended.

¹¹One who loves a pure heart and who speaks with grace will have the king for a friend.

¹²The eyes of the LORD keep watch over knowledge, but he frustrates the words of the unfaithful.

¹³The sluggard says, “There’s a lion outside! I’ll be killed in the public square!”

¹⁴The mouth of an adulterous woman is a deep pit; a man who is under the LORD’s wrath falls into it.

¹⁵Folly is bound up in the heart of a child, but the rod of discipline will drive it far away.

¹⁶One who oppresses the poor to increase his wealth and one who gives gifts to the rich—both come to poverty.

¹⁷Pay attention and turn your ear to the sayings of the wise; apply your heart to what I teach,

¹⁸for it is pleasing when you keep them in your heart and have all of them ready on your lips.

¹⁹So that your trust may be in the LORD, I teach you today, even you.

²⁰Have I not written thirty sayings for you, sayings of counsel and knowledge,

²¹teaching you to be honest and to speak the truth, so that you bring back truthful reports to those you serve?

²²Do not exploit the poor because they are poor and do not crush the needy in court,

²³for the LORD will take up their case and will exact life for life.

²⁴Do not make friends with a hot-tempered person, do not associate with one easily angered,

²⁵or you may learn their ways and get yourself ensnared.

²⁶Do not be one who shakes hands in pledge or puts up security for debts;

²⁷if you lack the means to pay, your very bed will be snatched from under you.

²⁸Do not move an ancient boundary stone set up by your ancestors.

²⁹Do you see someone skilled in their work? They will serve before kings; they will not serve before officials of low rank.

¹The war between the house of Saul and the house of David lasted a long time. David grew stronger and stronger, while the house of Saul grew weaker and weaker.

²Sons were born to David in Hebron: His firstborn was Amnon the son of Ahinoam of Jezreel;

³his second, Kileab the son of Abigail the widow of Nabal of Carmel; the third, Absalom the son of Maakah daughter of Talmai king of Geshur;

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

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

⁶During the war between the house of Saul and the house of David, Abner had been strengthening his own position in the house of Saul.

⁷Now Saul had had a concubine named Rizpah daughter of Aiah. And Ish-Bosheth said to Abner, “Why did you sleep with my father’s concubine?”

⁸Abner was very angry because of what Ish-Bosheth said. So he answered, “Am I a dog’s head—on Judah’s side? This very day I am loyal to the house of your father Saul and to his family and friends. I haven’t handed you over to David. Yet now you accuse me of an offense involving this woman!

⁹May God deal with Abner, be it ever so severely, if I do not do for David what the LORD promised him on oath

¹⁰and transfer the kingdom from the house of Saul and establish David’s throne over Israel and Judah from Dan to Beersheba.”

¹¹Ish-Bosheth did not dare to say another word to Abner, because he was afraid of him.

¹²Then Abner sent messengers on his behalf to say to David, “Whose land is it? Make an agreement with me, and I will help you bring all Israel over to you.”

¹³“Good,” said David. “I will make an agreement with you. But I demand one thing of you: Do not come into my presence unless you bring Michal daughter of Saul when you come to see me.”

¹⁴Then David sent messengers to Ish-Bosheth son of Saul, demanding, “Give me my wife Michal, whom I betrothed to myself for the price of a hundred Philistine foreskins.”

¹⁵So Ish-Bosheth gave orders and had her taken away from her husband Paltiel son of Laish.

¹⁶Her husband, however, went with her, weeping behind her all the way to Bahurim. Then Abner said to him, “Go back home!” So he went back.

¹⁷Abner conferred with the elders of Israel and said, “For some time you have wanted to make David your king.

¹⁸Now do it! For the LORD promised David, ‘By my servant David I will rescue my people Israel from the hand of the Philistines and from the hand of all their enemies.’ ”

¹⁹Abner also spoke to the Benjamites in person. Then he went to Hebron to tell David everything that Israel and the whole tribe of Benjamin wanted to do.

²⁰When Abner, who had twenty men with him, came to David at Hebron, David prepared a feast for him and his men.

²¹Then Abner said to David, “Let me go at once and assemble all Israel for my lord the king, so that they may make a covenant with you, and that you may rule over all that your heart desires.” So David sent Abner away, and he went in peace.

²²Just then David’s men and Joab returned from a raid and brought with them a great deal of plunder. But Abner was no longer with David in Hebron, because David had sent him away, and he had gone in peace.

²³When Joab and all the soldiers with him arrived, he was told that Abner son of Ner had come to the king and that the king had sent him away and that he had gone in peace.

²⁴So Joab went to the king and said, “What have you done? Look, Abner came to you. Why did you let him go? Now he is gone!

²⁵You know Abner son of Ner; he came to deceive you and observe your movements and find out everything you are doing.”

²⁶Joab then left David and sent messengers after Abner, and they brought him back from the cistern at Sirah. But David did not know it.

²⁷Now when Abner returned to Hebron, Joab took him aside into an inner chamber, as if to speak with him privately. And there, to avenge the blood of his brother Asahel, Joab stabbed him in the stomach, and he died.

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

²⁹May his blood fall on the head of Joab and on his whole family! May Joab’s family never be without someone who has a running sore or leprosy or who leans on a crutch or who falls by the sword or who lacks food.”

³⁰(Joab and his brother Abishai murdered Abner because he had killed their brother Asahel in the battle at Gibeon.)

³¹Then David said to Joab and all the people with him, “Tear your clothes and put on sackcloth and walk in mourning in front of Abner.” King David himself walked behind the bier.

³²They buried Abner in Hebron, and the king wept aloud at Abner’s tomb. All the people wept also.

³³The king sang this lament for Abner: “Should Abner have died as the lawless die?

³⁴Your hands were not bound, your feet were not fettered. You fell as one falls before the wicked.” And all the people wept over him again.

³⁵Then they all came and urged David to eat something while it was still day; but David took an oath, saying, “May God deal with me, be it ever so severely, if I taste bread or anything else before the sun sets!”

³⁶All the people took note and were pleased; indeed, everything the king did pleased them.

³⁷So on that day all the people there and all Israel knew that the king had no part in the murder of Abner son of Ner.

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

³⁹And today, though I am the anointed king, I am weak, and these sons of Zeruiah are too strong for me. May the LORD repay the evildoer according to his evil deeds!”

¹Then the word of the LORD came to me:

²“You must not marry and have sons or daughters in this place.”

³For this is what the LORD says about the sons and daughters born in this land and about the women who are their mothers and the men who are their fathers:

⁴“They will die of deadly diseases. They will not be mourned or buried but will be like dung lying on the ground. They will perish by sword and famine, and their dead bodies will become food for the birds and the wild animals.”

⁵For this is what the LORD says: “Do not enter a house where there is a funeral meal; do not go to mourn or show sympathy, because I have withdrawn my blessing, my love and my pity from this people,” declares the LORD.

⁶“Both high and low will die in this land. They will not be buried or mourned, and no one will cut themselves or shave their head for the dead.

⁷No one will offer food to comfort those who mourn for the dead—not even for a father or a mother—nor will anyone give them a drink to console them.

⁸“And do not enter a house where there is feasting and sit down to eat and drink.

⁹For this is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Before your eyes and in your days I will bring an end to the sounds of joy and gladness and to the voices of bride and bridegroom in this place.

¹⁰“When you tell these people all this and they ask you, ‘Why has the LORD decreed such a great disaster against us? What wrong have we done? What sin have we committed against the LORD our God?’

¹¹then say to them, ‘It is because your ancestors forsook me,’ declares the LORD, ‘and followed other gods and served and worshiped them. They forsook me and did not keep my law.

¹²But you have behaved more wickedly than your ancestors. See how all of you are following the stubbornness of your evil hearts instead of obeying me.

¹³So I will throw you out of this land into a land neither you nor your ancestors have known, and there you will serve other gods day and night, for I will show you no favor.’

¹⁴“However, the days are coming,” declares the LORD, “when it will no longer be said, ‘As surely as the LORD lives, who brought the Israelites up out of Egypt,’

¹⁵but it will be said, ‘As surely as the LORD lives, who brought the Israelites up out of the land of the north and out of all the countries where he had banished them.’ For I will restore them to the land I gave their ancestors.

¹⁶“But now I will send for many fishermen,” declares the LORD, “and they will catch them. After that I will send for many hunters, and they will hunt them down on every mountain and hill and from the crevices of the rocks.

¹⁷My eyes are on all their ways; they are not hidden from me, nor is their sin concealed from my eyes.

¹⁸I will repay them double for their wickedness and their sin, because they have defiled my land with the lifeless forms of their vile images and have filled my inheritance with their detestable idols.”

¹⁹LORD, my strength and my fortress, my refuge in time of distress, to you the nations will come from the ends of the earth and say, “Our ancestors possessed nothing but false gods, worthless idols that did them no good.

²⁰Do people make their own gods? Yes, but they are not gods!”

²¹“Therefore I will teach them— this time I will teach them my power and might. Then they will know that my name is the LORD.

¹Five days later the high priest Ananias went down to Caesarea with some of the elders and a lawyer named Tertullus, and they brought their charges against Paul before the governor.

²When Paul was called in, Tertullus presented his case before Felix: “We have enjoyed a long period of peace under you, and your foresight has brought about reforms in this nation.

³Everywhere and in every way, most excellent Felix, we acknowledge this with profound gratitude.

⁴But in order not to weary you further, I would request that you be kind enough to hear us briefly.

⁵“We have found this man to be a troublemaker, stirring up riots among the Jews all over the world. He is a ringleader of the Nazarene sect

⁶and even tried to desecrate the temple; so we seized him.

⁷

⁸By examining him yourself you will be able to learn the truth about all these charges we are bringing against him.”

⁹The other Jews joined in the accusation, asserting that these things were true.

¹⁰When the governor motioned for him to speak, Paul replied: “I know that for a number of years you have been a judge over this nation; so I gladly make my defense.

¹¹You can easily verify that no more than twelve days ago I went up to Jerusalem to worship.

¹²My accusers did not find me arguing with anyone at the temple, or stirring up a crowd in the synagogues or anywhere else in the city.

¹³And they cannot prove to you the charges they are now making against me.

¹⁴However, I admit that I worship the God of our ancestors as a follower of the Way, which they call a sect. I believe everything that is in accordance with the Law and that is written in the Prophets,

¹⁵and I have the same hope in God as these men themselves have, that there will be a resurrection of both the righteous and the wicked.

¹⁶So I strive always to keep my conscience clear before God and man.

¹⁷“After an absence of several years, I came to Jerusalem to bring my people gifts for the poor and to present offerings.

¹⁸I was ceremonially clean when they found me in the temple courts doing this. There was no crowd with me, nor was I involved in any disturbance.

¹⁹But there are some Jews from the province of Asia, who ought to be here before you and bring charges if they have anything against me.

²⁰Or these who are here should state what crime they found in me when I stood before the Sanhedrin—

²¹unless it was this one thing I shouted as I stood in their presence: ‘It is concerning the resurrection of the dead that I am on trial before you today.’ ”

²²Then Felix, who was well acquainted with the Way, adjourned the proceedings. “When Lysias the commander comes,” he said, “I will decide your case.”

²³He ordered the centurion to keep Paul under guard but to give him some freedom and permit his friends to take care of his needs.

²⁴Several days later Felix came with his wife Drusilla, who was Jewish. He sent for Paul and listened to him as he spoke about faith in Christ Jesus.

²⁵As Paul talked about righteousness, self-control and the judgment to come, Felix was afraid and said, “That’s enough for now! You may leave. When I find it convenient, I will send for you.”

²⁶At the same time he was hoping that Paul would offer him a bribe, so he sent for him frequently and talked with him.

²⁷When two years had passed, Felix was succeeded by Porcius Festus, but because Felix wanted to grant a favor to the Jews, he left Paul in prison.