Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹And He looked up and saw the rich putting their gifts into the treasury,

²and He saw also a certain poor widow putting in two mites.

³So He said, “Truly I say to you that this poor widow has put in more than all;

⁴for all these out of their abundance have put in offerings for God, but she out of her poverty put in all the livelihood that she had.”

⁵Then, as some spoke of the temple, how it was adorned with beautiful stones and donations, He said,

⁶“These things which you see—the days will come in which not one stone shall be left upon another that shall not be thrown down.”

⁷So they asked Him, saying, “Teacher, but when will these things be? And what sign will there be when these things are about to take place?”

⁸And He said: “Take heed that you not be deceived. For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am He,’ and, ‘The time has drawn near.’ Therefore do not go after them.

⁹But when you hear of wars and commotions, do not be terrified; for these things must come to pass first, but the end will not come immediately.”

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

¹¹And there will be great earthquakes in various places, and famines and pestilences; and there will be fearful sights and great signs from heaven.

¹²But before all these things, they will lay their hands on you and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues and prisons. You will be brought before kings and rulers for My name’s sake.

¹³But it will turn out for you as an occasion for testimony.

¹⁴Therefore settle it in your hearts not to meditate beforehand on what you will answer;

¹⁵for I will give you a mouth and wisdom which all your adversaries will not be able to contradict or resist.

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

¹⁷And you will be hated by all for My name’s sake.

¹⁸But not a hair of your head shall be lost.

¹⁹By your patience possess your souls.

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

²¹Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, let those who are in the midst of her depart, and let not those who are in the country enter her.

²²For these are the days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled.

²³But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days! For there will be great distress in the land and wrath upon this people.

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

²⁵“And there will be signs in the sun, in the moon, and in the stars; and on the earth distress of nations, with perplexity, the sea and the waves roaring;

²⁶men’s hearts failing them from fear and the expectation of those things which are coming on the earth, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken.

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

²⁸Now when these things begin to happen, look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near.”

²⁹Then He spoke to them a parable: “Look at the fig tree, and all the trees.

³⁰When they are already budding, you see and know for yourselves that summer is now near.

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

³²Assuredly, I say to you, this generation will by no means pass away till all things take place.

³³Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away.

³⁴“But take heed to yourselves, lest your hearts be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness, and cares of this life, and that Day come on you unexpectedly.

³⁵For it will come as a snare on all those who dwell on the face of the whole earth.

³⁶Watch therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man.”

³⁷And in the daytime He was teaching in the temple, but at night He went out and stayed on the mountain called Olivet.

³⁸Then early in the morning all the people came to Him in the temple to hear Him.

¹Now the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,

²“Command the children of Israel, and say to them, ‘My offering, My food for My offerings made by fire as a sweet aroma to Me, you shall be careful to offer to Me at their appointed time.’

³“And you shall say to them, ‘This is the offering made by fire which you shall offer to the LORD: two male lambs in their first year without blemish, day by day, as a regular burnt offering.

⁴The one lamb you shall offer in the morning, the other lamb you shall offer in the evening,

⁵and one-tenth of an ephah of fine flour as a grain offering mixed with one-fourth of a hin of pressed oil.

⁶It is a regular burnt offering which was ordained at Mount Sinai for a sweet aroma, an offering made by fire to the LORD.

⁷And its drink offering shall be one-fourth of a hin for each lamb; in a holy place you shall pour out the drink to the LORD as an offering.

⁸The other lamb you shall offer in the evening; as the morning grain offering and its drink offering, you shall offer it as an offering made by fire, a sweet aroma to the LORD.

⁹‘And on the Sabbath day two lambs in their first year, without blemish, and two-tenths of an ephah of fine flour as a grain offering, mixed with oil, with its drink offering—

¹⁰this is the burnt offering for every Sabbath, besides the regular burnt offering with its drink offering.

¹¹‘At the beginnings of your months you shall present a burnt offering to the LORD: two young bulls, one ram, and seven lambs in their first year, without blemish;

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

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

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

¹⁵Also one kid of the goats as a sin offering to the LORD shall be offered, besides the regular burnt offering and its drink offering.

¹⁶‘On the fourteenth day of the first month is the Passover of the LORD.

¹⁷And on the fifteenth day of this month is the feast; unleavened bread shall be eaten for seven days.

¹⁸On the first day you shall have a holy convocation. You shall do no customary work.

¹⁹And you shall present an offering made by fire as a burnt offering to the LORD: two young bulls, one ram, and seven lambs in their first year. Be sure they are without blemish.

²⁰Their grain offering shall be of fine flour mixed with oil: three-tenths of an ephah you shall offer for a bull, and two-tenths for a ram;

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

²²also one goat as a sin offering, to make atonement for you.

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

²⁴In this manner you shall offer the food of the offering made by fire daily for seven days, as a sweet aroma to the LORD; it shall be offered besides the regular burnt offering and its drink offering.

²⁵And on the seventh day you shall have a holy convocation. You shall do no customary work.

²⁶‘Also on the day of the firstfruits, when you bring a new grain offering to the LORD at your Feast of Weeks, you shall have a holy convocation. You shall do no customary work.

²⁷You shall present a burnt offering as a sweet aroma to the LORD: two young bulls, one ram, and seven lambs in their first year,

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

²⁹and one-tenth for each of the seven lambs;

³⁰also one kid of the goats, to make atonement for you.

³¹Be sure they are without blemish. You shall present them with their drink offerings, besides the regular burnt offering with its grain offering.

¹Let a man so consider us, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God.

²Moreover it is required in stewards that one be found faithful.

³But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged by you or by a human court. In fact, I do not even judge myself.

⁴For I know of nothing against myself, yet I am not justified by this; but He who judges me is the Lord.

⁵Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord comes, who will both bring to light the hidden things of darkness and reveal the counsels of the hearts. Then each one’s praise will come from God.

⁶Now these things, brethren, I have figuratively transferred to myself and Apollos for your sakes, that you may learn in us not to think beyond what is written, that none of you may be puffed up on behalf of one against the other.

⁷For who makes you differ from another? And what do you have that you did not receive? Now if you did indeed receive it, why do you boast as if you had not received it?

⁸You are already full! You are already rich! You have reigned as kings without us—and indeed I could wish you did reign, that we also might reign with you!

⁹For I think that God has displayed us, the apostles, last, as men condemned to death; for we have been made a spectacle to the world, both to angels and to men.

¹⁰We are fools for Christ’s sake, but you are wise in Christ! We are weak, but you are strong! You are distinguished, but we are dishonored!

¹¹To the present hour we both hunger and thirst, and we are poorly clothed, and beaten, and homeless.

¹²And we labor, working with our own hands. Being reviled, we bless; being persecuted, we endure;

¹³being defamed, we entreat. We have been made as the filth of the world, the offscouring of all things until now.

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

¹⁵For though you might have ten thousand instructors in Christ, yet you do not have many fathers; for in Christ Jesus I have begotten you through the gospel.

¹⁶Therefore I urge you, imitate me.

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

¹⁸Now some are puffed up, as though I were not coming to you.

¹⁹But I will come to you shortly, if the Lord wills, and I will know, not the word of those who are puffed up, but the power.

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

²¹What do you want? Shall I come to you with a rod, or in love and a spirit of gentleness?

¹Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered and said:

²“Can a man be profitable to God, Though he who is wise may be profitable to himself?

³Is it any pleasure to the Almighty that you are righteous? Or is it gain to Him that you make your ways blameless?

⁴“Is it because of your fear of Him that He corrects you, And enters into judgment with you?

⁵Is not your wickedness great, And your iniquity without end?

⁶For you have taken pledges from your brother for no reason, And stripped the naked of their clothing.

⁷You have not given the weary water to drink, And you have withheld bread from the hungry.

⁸But the mighty man possessed the land, And the honorable man dwelt in it.

⁹You have sent widows away empty, And the strength of the fatherless was crushed.

¹⁰Therefore snares are all around you, And sudden fear troubles you,

¹¹Or darkness so that you cannot see; And an abundance of water covers you.

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

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

¹⁴Thick clouds cover Him, so that He cannot see, And He walks above the circle of heaven.’

¹⁵Will you keep to the old way Which wicked men have trod,

¹⁶Who were cut down before their time, Whose foundations were swept away by a flood?

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

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

¹⁹“The righteous see it and are glad, And the innocent laugh at them:

²⁰‘Surely our adversaries are cut down, And the fire consumes their remnant.’

²¹“Now acquaint yourself with Him, and be at peace; Thereby good will come to you.

²²Receive, please, instruction from His mouth, And lay up His words in your heart.

²³If you return to the Almighty, you will be built up; You will remove iniquity far from your tents.

²⁴Then you will lay your gold in the dust, And the gold of Ophir among the stones of the brooks.

²⁵Yes, the Almighty will be your gold And your precious silver;

²⁶For then you will have your delight in the Almighty, And lift up your face to God.

²⁷You will make your prayer to Him, He will hear you, And you will pay your vows.

²⁸You will also declare a thing, And it will be established for you; So light will shine on your ways.

²⁹When they cast you down, and you say, ‘Exaltation will come!’ Then He will save the humble person.

³⁰He will even deliver one who is not innocent; Yes, he will be delivered by the purity of your hands.”

¹A Psalm of David. A Contemplation. [1] Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, Whose sin is covered.

²Blessed is the man to whom the LORD does not impute iniquity, And in whose spirit there is no deceit.

³When I kept silent, my bones grew old Through my groaning all the day long.

⁴For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me; My vitality was turned into the drought of summer. Selah

⁵I acknowledged my sin to You, And my iniquity I have not hidden. I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the LORD,” And You forgave the iniquity of my sin. Selah

⁶For this cause everyone who is godly shall pray to You In a time when You may be found; Surely in a flood of great waters They shall not come near him.

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

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

⁹Do not be like the horse or like the mule, Which have no understanding, Which must be harnessed with bit and bridle, Else they will not come near you.

¹⁰Many sorrows shall be to the wicked; But he who trusts in the LORD, mercy shall surround him.

¹¹Be glad in the LORD and rejoice, you righteous; And shout for joy, all you upright in heart!

¹A good name is to be chosen rather than great riches, Loving favor rather than silver and gold.

²The rich and the poor have this in common, The LORD is the maker of them all.

³A prudent man foresees evil and hides himself, But the simple pass on and are punished.

⁴By humility and the fear of the LORD Are riches and honor and life.

⁵Thorns and snares are in the way of the perverse; He who guards his soul will be far from them.

⁶Train up a child in the way he should go, And when he is old he will not depart from it.

⁷The rich rules over the poor, And the borrower is servant to the lender.

⁸He who sows iniquity will reap sorrow, And the rod of his anger will fail.

⁹He who has a generous eye will be blessed, For he gives of his bread to the poor.

¹⁰Cast out the scoffer, and contention will leave; Yes, strife and reproach will cease.

¹¹He who loves purity of heart And has grace on his lips, The king will be his friend.

¹²The eyes of the LORD preserve knowledge, But He overthrows the words of the faithless.

¹³The lazy man says, “There is a lion outside! I shall be slain in the streets!”

¹⁴The mouth of an immoral woman is a deep pit; He who is abhorred by the LORD will fall there.

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

¹⁶He who oppresses the poor to increase his riches, And he who gives to the rich, will surely come to poverty.

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

¹⁸For it is a pleasant thing if you keep them within you; Let them all be fixed upon your lips,

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

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

²¹That I may make you know the certainty of the words of truth, That you may answer words of truth To those who send to you?

²²Do not rob the poor because he is poor, Nor oppress the afflicted at the gate;

²³For the LORD will plead their cause, And plunder the soul of those who plunder them.

²⁴Make no friendship with an angry man, And with a furious man do not go,

²⁵Lest you learn his ways And set a snare for your soul.

²⁶Do not be one of those who shakes hands in a pledge, One of those who is surety for debts;

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

²⁸Do not remove the ancient landmark Which your fathers have set.

²⁹Do you see a man who excels in his work? He will stand before kings; He will not stand before unknown men.

¹Now there was a long war between the house of Saul and the house of David. But David grew stronger and stronger, and the house of Saul grew weaker and weaker.

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

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

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

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

⁶Now it was so, while there was war between the house of Saul and the house of David, that Abner was strengthening his hold on the house of Saul.

⁷And Saul had a concubine, whose name was Rizpah, the daughter of Aiah. So Ishbosheth said to Abner, “Why have you gone in to my father’s concubine?”

⁸Then Abner became very angry at the words of Ishbosheth, and said, “Am I a dog’s head that belongs to Judah? Today I show loyalty to the house of Saul your father, to his brothers, and to his friends, and have not delivered you into the hand of David; and you charge me today with a fault concerning this woman?

⁹May God do so to Abner, and more also, if I do not do for David as the LORD has sworn to him—

¹⁰to transfer the kingdom from the house of Saul, and set up the throne of David over Israel and over Judah, from Dan to Beersheba.”

¹¹And he could not answer Abner another word, because he feared him.

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

¹³And David said, “Good, I will make a covenant with you. But one thing I require of you: you shall not see my face unless you first bring Michal, Saul’s daughter, when you come to see my face.”

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

¹⁵And Ishbosheth sent and took her from her husband, from Paltiel the son of Laish.

¹⁶Then her husband went along with her to Bahurim, weeping behind her. So Abner said to him, “Go, return!” And he returned.

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

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

¹⁹And Abner also spoke in the hearing of Benjamin. Then Abner also went to speak in the hearing of David in Hebron all that seemed good to Israel and the whole house of Benjamin.

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

²¹Then Abner said to David, “I will arise and go, and gather all Israel to my lord the king, that they may make a covenant with you, and that you may reign over all that your heart desires.” So David sent Abner away, and he went in peace.

²²At that moment the servants of David and Joab came from a raid and brought much spoil with them. But Abner was not with David in Hebron, for he had sent him away, and he had gone in peace.

²³When Joab and all the troops that were with him had come, they told Joab, saying, “Abner the son of Ner came to the king, and he sent him away, and he has gone in peace.”

²⁴Then Joab came to the king and said, “What have you done? Look, Abner came to you; why is it that you sent him away, and he has already gone?

²⁵Surely you realize that Abner the son of Ner came to deceive you, to know your going out and your coming in, and to know all that you are doing.”

²⁶And when Joab had gone from David’s presence, he sent messengers after Abner, who brought him back from the well of Sirah. But David did not know it.

²⁷Now when Abner had returned to Hebron, Joab took him aside in the gate to speak with him privately, and there stabbed him in the stomach, so that he died for the blood of Asahel his brother.

²⁸Afterward, when David heard it, he said, “My kingdom and I are guiltless before the LORD forever of the blood of Abner the son of Ner.

²⁹Let it rest on the head of Joab and on all his father’s house; and let there never fail to be in the house of Joab one who has a discharge or is a leper, who leans on a staff or falls by the sword, or who lacks bread.”

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

³¹Then David said to Joab and to all the people who were with him, “Tear your clothes, gird yourselves with sackcloth, and mourn for Abner.” And King David followed the coffin.

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

³³And the king sang a lament over Abner and said: “Should Abner die as a fool dies?

³⁴Your hands were not bound Nor your feet put into fetters; As a man falls before wicked men, so you fell.” Then all the people wept over him again.

³⁵And when all the people came to persuade David to eat food while it was still day, David took an oath, saying, “God do so to me, and more also, if I taste bread or anything else till the sun goes down!”

³⁶Now all the people took note of it, and it pleased them, since whatever the king did pleased all the people.

³⁷For all the people and all Israel understood that day that it had not been the king’s intent to kill Abner the son of Ner.

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

³⁹And I am weak today, though anointed king; and these men, the sons of Zeruiah, are too harsh for me. The LORD shall repay the evildoer according to his wickedness.”

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

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

³For thus says the LORD concerning the sons and daughters who are born in this place, and concerning their mothers who bore them and their fathers who begot them in this land:

⁴“They shall die gruesome deaths; they shall not be lamented nor shall they be buried, but they shall be like refuse on the face of the earth. They shall be consumed by the sword and by famine, and their corpses shall be meat for the birds of heaven and for the beasts of the earth.”

⁵For thus says the LORD: “Do not enter the house of mourning, nor go to lament or bemoan them; for I have taken away My peace from this people,” says the LORD, “lovingkindness and mercies.

⁶Both the great and the small shall die in this land. They shall not be buried; neither shall men lament for them, cut themselves, nor make themselves bald for them.

⁷Nor shall men break bread in mourning for them, to comfort them for the dead; nor shall men give them the cup of consolation to drink for their father or their mother.

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

⁹For thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: “Behold, I will cause to cease from this place, before your eyes and in your days, the voice of mirth and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride.

¹⁰“And it shall be, when you show this people all these words, and they say to you, ‘Why has the LORD pronounced all this great disaster against us? Or what is our iniquity? Or what is our sin that we have committed against the LORD our God?’

¹¹then you shall say to them, ‘Because your fathers have forsaken Me,’ says the LORD; ‘they have walked after other gods and have served them and worshiped them, and have forsaken Me and not kept My law.

¹²And you have done worse than your fathers, for behold, each one follows the dictates of his own evil heart, so that no one listens to Me.

¹³Therefore I will cast you out of this land into a land that you do not know, neither you nor your fathers; and there you shall serve other gods day and night, where I will not show you favor.’

¹⁴“Therefore behold, the days are coming,” says the LORD, “that it shall no more be said, ‘The LORD lives who brought up the children of Israel from the land of Egypt,’

¹⁵but, ‘The LORD lives who brought up the children of Israel from the land of the north and from all the lands where He had driven them.’ For I will bring them back into their land which I gave to their fathers.

¹⁶“Behold, I will send for many fishermen,” says the LORD, “and they shall fish them; and afterward I will send for many hunters, and they shall hunt them from every mountain and every hill, and out of the holes of the rocks.

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

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

¹⁹O LORD, my strength and my fortress, My refuge in the day of affliction, The Gentiles shall come to You From the ends of the earth and say, “Surely our fathers have inherited lies, Worthlessness and unprofitable things.”

²⁰Will a man make gods for himself, Which are not gods?

²¹“Therefore behold, I will this once cause them to know, I will cause them to know My hand and My might; And they shall know that My name is the LORD.

¹Now after five days Ananias the high priest came down with the elders and a certain orator named Tertullus. These gave evidence to the governor against Paul.

²And when he was called upon, Tertullus began his accusation, saying: “Seeing that through you we enjoy great peace, and prosperity is being brought to this nation by your foresight,

³we accept it always and in all places, most noble Felix, with all thankfulness.

⁴Nevertheless, not to be tedious to you any further, I beg you to hear, by your courtesy, a few words from us.

⁵For we have found this man a plague, a creator of dissension among all the Jews throughout the world, and a ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes.

⁶He even tried to profane the temple, and we seized him, and wanted to judge him according to our law.

⁷But the commander Lysias came by and with great violence took him out of our hands,

⁸commanding his accusers to come to you. By examining him yourself you may ascertain all these things of which we accuse him.”

⁹And the Jews also assented, maintaining that these things were so.

¹⁰Then Paul, after the governor had nodded to him to speak, answered: “Inasmuch as I know that you have been for many years a judge of this nation, I do the more cheerfully answer for myself,

¹¹because you may ascertain that it is no more than twelve days since I went up to Jerusalem to worship.

¹²And they neither found me in the temple disputing with anyone nor inciting the crowd, either in the synagogues or in the city.

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

¹⁴But this I confess to you, that according to the Way which they call a sect, so I worship the God of my fathers, believing all things which are written in the Law and in the Prophets.

¹⁵I have hope in God, which they themselves also accept, that there will be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and the unjust.

¹⁶This being so, I myself always strive to have a conscience without offense toward God and men.

¹⁷“Now after many years I came to bring alms and offerings to my nation,

¹⁸in the midst of which some Jews from Asia found me purified in the temple, neither with a mob nor with tumult.

¹⁹They ought to have been here before you to object if they had anything against me.

²⁰Or else let those who are here themselves say if they found any wrongdoing in me while I stood before the council,

²¹unless it is for this one statement which I cried out, standing among them, ‘Concerning the resurrection of the dead I am being judged by you this day.’ ”

²²But when Felix heard these things, having more accurate knowledge of the Way, he adjourned the proceedings and said, “When Lysias the commander comes down, I will make a decision on your case.”

²³So he commanded the centurion to keep Paul and to let him have liberty, and told him not to forbid any of his friends to provide for or visit him.

²⁴And after some days, when Felix came with his wife Drusilla, who was Jewish, he sent for Paul and heard him concerning the faith in Christ.

²⁵Now as he reasoned about righteousness, self-control, and the judgment to come, Felix was afraid and answered, “Go away for now; when I have a convenient time I will call for you.”

²⁶Meanwhile he also hoped that money would be given him by Paul, that he might release him. Therefore he sent for him more often and conversed with him.

²⁷But after two years Porcius Festus succeeded Felix; and Felix, wanting to do the Jews a favor, left Paul bound.