Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹Now the Festival of Unleavened Bread, called the Passover, was approaching,

²and the chief priests and the teachers of the law were looking for some way to get rid of Jesus, for they were afraid of the people.

³Then Satan entered Judas, called Iscariot, one of the Twelve.

⁴And Judas went to the chief priests and the officers of the temple guard and discussed with them how he might betray Jesus.

⁵They were delighted and agreed to give him money.

⁶He consented, and watched for an opportunity to hand Jesus over to them when no crowd was present.

⁷Then came the day of Unleavened Bread on which the Passover lamb had to be sacrificed.

⁸Jesus sent Peter and John, saying, “Go and make preparations for us to eat the Passover.”

⁹“Where do you want us to prepare for it?” they asked.

¹⁰He replied, “As you enter the city, a man carrying a jar of water will meet you. Follow him to the house that he enters,

¹¹and say to the owner of the house, ‘The Teacher asks: Where is the guest room, where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?’

¹²He will show you a large room upstairs, all furnished. Make preparations there.”

¹³They left and found things just as Jesus had told them. So they prepared the Passover.

¹⁴When the hour came, Jesus and his apostles reclined at the table.

¹⁵And he said to them, “I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer.

¹⁶For I tell you, I will not eat it again until it finds fulfillment in the kingdom of God.”

¹⁷After taking the cup, he gave thanks and said, “Take this and divide it among you.

¹⁸For I tell you I will not drink again from the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.”

¹⁹And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me.”

²⁰In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.

²¹But the hand of him who is going to betray me is with mine on the table.

²²The Son of Man will go as it has been decreed. But woe to that man who betrays him!”

²³They began to question among themselves which of them it might be who would do this.

²⁴A dispute also arose among them as to which of them was considered to be greatest.

²⁵Jesus said to them, “The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them; and those who exercise authority over them call themselves Benefactors.

²⁶But you are not to be like that. Instead, the greatest among you should be like the youngest, and the one who rules like the one who serves.

²⁷For who is greater, the one who is at the table or the one who serves? Is it not the one who is at the table? But I am among you as one who serves.

²⁸You are those who have stood by me in my trials.

²⁹And I confer on you a kingdom, just as my Father conferred one on me,

³⁰so that you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom and sit on thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.

³¹“Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift all of you as wheat.

³²But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.”

³³But he replied, “Lord, I am ready to go with you to prison and to death.”

³⁴Jesus answered, “I tell you, Peter, before the rooster crows today, you will deny three times that you know me.”

³⁵Then Jesus asked them, “When I sent you without purse, bag or sandals, did you lack anything?” “Nothing,” they answered.

³⁶He said to them, “But now if you have a purse, take it, and also a bag; and if you don’t have a sword, sell your cloak and buy one.

³⁷It is written: ‘And he was numbered with the transgressors’; and I tell you that this must be fulfilled in me. Yes, what is written about me is reaching its fulfillment.”

³⁸The disciples said, “See, Lord, here are two swords.” “That’s enough!” he replied.

³⁹Jesus went out as usual to the Mount of Olives, and his disciples followed him.

⁴⁰On reaching the place, he said to them, “Pray that you will not fall into temptation.”

⁴¹He withdrew about a stone’s throw beyond them, knelt down and prayed,

⁴²“Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.”

⁴³An angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him.

⁴⁴And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground.

⁴⁵When he rose from prayer and went back to the disciples, he found them asleep, exhausted from sorrow.

⁴⁶“Why are you sleeping?” he asked them. “Get up and pray so that you will not fall into temptation.”

⁴⁷While he was still speaking a crowd came up, and the man who was called Judas, one of the Twelve, was leading them. He approached Jesus to kiss him,

⁴⁸but Jesus asked him, “Judas, are you betraying the Son of Man with a kiss?”

⁴⁹When Jesus’ followers saw what was going to happen, they said, “Lord, should we strike with our swords?”

⁵⁰And one of them struck the servant of the high priest, cutting off his right ear.

⁵¹But Jesus answered, “No more of this!” And he touched the man’s ear and healed him.

⁵²Then Jesus said to the chief priests, the officers of the temple guard, and the elders, who had come for him, “Am I leading a rebellion, that you have come with swords and clubs?

⁵³Every day I was with you in the temple courts, and you did not lay a hand on me. But this is your hour—when darkness reigns.”

⁵⁴Then seizing him, they led him away and took him into the house of the high priest. Peter followed at a distance.

⁵⁵And when some there had kindled a fire in the middle of the courtyard and had sat down together, Peter sat down with them.

⁵⁶A servant girl saw him seated there in the firelight. She looked closely at him and said, “This man was with him.”

⁵⁷But he denied it. “Woman, I don’t know him,” he said.

⁵⁸A little later someone else saw him and said, “You also are one of them.” “Man, I am not!” Peter replied.

⁵⁹About an hour later another asserted, “Certainly this fellow was with him, for he is a Galilean.”

⁶⁰Peter replied, “Man, I don’t know what you’re talking about!” Just as he was speaking, the rooster crowed.

⁶¹The Lord turned and looked straight at Peter. Then Peter remembered the word the Lord had spoken to him: “Before the rooster crows today, you will disown me three times.”

⁶²And he went outside and wept bitterly.

⁶³The men who were guarding Jesus began mocking and beating him.

⁶⁴They blindfolded him and demanded, “Prophesy! Who hit you?”

⁶⁵And they said many other insulting things to him.

⁶⁶At daybreak the council of the elders of the people, both the chief priests and the teachers of the law, met together, and Jesus was led before them.

⁶⁷“If you are the Messiah,” they said, “tell us.” Jesus answered, “If I tell you, you will not believe me,

⁶⁸and if I asked you, you would not answer.

⁶⁹But from now on, the Son of Man will be seated at the right hand of the mighty God.”

⁷⁰They all asked, “Are you then the Son of God?” He replied, “You say that I am.”

⁷¹Then they said, “Why do we need any more testimony? We have heard it from his own lips.”

¹“ ‘On the first day of the seventh month hold a sacred assembly and do no regular work. It is a day for you to sound the trumpets.

²As an aroma pleasing to the LORD, offer a burnt offering of one young bull, one ram and seven male lambs a year old, all without defect.

³With the bull offer a grain offering of three-tenths of an ephah of the finest flour mixed with olive oil; with the ram, two-tenths;

⁴and with each of the seven lambs, one-tenth.

⁵Include one male goat as a sin offering to make atonement for you.

⁶These are in addition to the monthly and daily burnt offerings with their grain offerings and drink offerings as specified. They are food offerings presented to the LORD, a pleasing aroma.

⁷“ ‘On the tenth day of this seventh month hold a sacred assembly. You must deny yourselves and do no work.

⁸Present as an aroma pleasing to the LORD a burnt offering of one young bull, one ram and seven male lambs a year old, all without defect.

⁹With the bull offer a grain offering of three-tenths of an ephah of the finest flour mixed with oil; with the ram, two-tenths;

¹⁰and with each of the seven lambs, one-tenth.

¹¹Include one male goat as a sin offering, in addition to the sin offering for atonement and the regular burnt offering with its grain offering, and their drink offerings.

¹²“ ‘On the fifteenth day of the seventh month, hold a sacred assembly and do no regular work. Celebrate a festival to the LORD for seven days.

¹³Present as an aroma pleasing to the LORD a food offering consisting of a burnt offering of thirteen young bulls, two rams and fourteen male lambs a year old, all without defect.

¹⁴With each of the thirteen bulls offer a grain offering of three-tenths of an ephah of the finest flour mixed with oil; with each of the two rams, two-tenths;

¹⁵and with each of the fourteen lambs, one-tenth.

¹⁶Include one male goat as a sin offering, in addition to the regular burnt offering with its grain offering and drink offering.

¹⁷“ ‘On the second day offer twelve young bulls, two rams and fourteen male lambs a year old, all without defect.

¹⁸With the bulls, rams and lambs, offer their grain offerings and drink offerings according to the number specified.

¹⁹Include one male goat as a sin offering, in addition to the regular burnt offering with its grain offering, and their drink offerings.

²⁰“ ‘On the third day offer eleven bulls, two rams and fourteen male lambs a year old, all without defect.

²¹With the bulls, rams and lambs, offer their grain offerings and drink offerings according to the number specified.

²²Include one male goat as a sin offering, in addition to the regular burnt offering with its grain offering and drink offering.

²³“ ‘On the fourth day offer ten bulls, two rams and fourteen male lambs a year old, all without defect.

²⁴With the bulls, rams and lambs, offer their grain offerings and drink offerings according to the number specified.

²⁵Include one male goat as a sin offering, in addition to the regular burnt offering with its grain offering and drink offering.

²⁶“ ‘On the fifth day offer nine bulls, two rams and fourteen male lambs a year old, all without defect.

²⁷With the bulls, rams and lambs, offer their grain offerings and drink offerings according to the number specified.

²⁸Include one male goat as a sin offering, in addition to the regular burnt offering with its grain offering and drink offering.

²⁹“ ‘On the sixth day offer eight bulls, two rams and fourteen male lambs a year old, all without defect.

³⁰With the bulls, rams and lambs, offer their grain offerings and drink offerings according to the number specified.

³¹Include one male goat as a sin offering, in addition to the regular burnt offering with its grain offering and drink offering.

³²“ ‘On the seventh day offer seven bulls, two rams and fourteen male lambs a year old, all without defect.

³³With the bulls, rams and lambs, offer their grain offerings and drink offerings according to the number specified.

³⁴Include one male goat as a sin offering, in addition to the regular burnt offering with its grain offering and drink offering.

³⁵“ ‘On the eighth day hold a closing special assembly and do no regular work.

³⁶Present as an aroma pleasing to the LORD a food offering consisting of a burnt offering of one bull, one ram and seven male lambs a year old, all without defect.

³⁷With the bull, the ram and the lambs, offer their grain offerings and drink offerings according to the number specified.

³⁸Include one male goat as a sin offering, in addition to the regular burnt offering with its grain offering and drink offering.

³⁹“ ‘In addition to what you vow and your freewill offerings, offer these to the LORD at your appointed festivals: your burnt offerings, grain offerings, drink offerings and fellowship offerings.’ ”

⁴⁰Moses told the Israelites all that the LORD commanded him.

¹It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and of a kind that even pagans do not tolerate: A man is sleeping with his father’s wife.

²And you are proud! Shouldn’t you rather have gone into mourning and have put out of your fellowship the man who has been doing this?

³For my part, even though I am not physically present, I am with you in spirit. As one who is present with you in this way, I have already passed judgment in the name of our Lord Jesus on the one who has been doing this.

⁴So when you are assembled and I am with you in spirit, and the power of our Lord Jesus is present,

⁵hand this man over to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved on the day of the Lord.

⁶Your boasting is not good. Don’t you know that a little yeast leavens the whole batch of dough?

⁷Get rid of the old yeast, so that you may be a new unleavened batch—as you really are. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed.

⁸Therefore let us keep the Festival, not with the old bread leavened with malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.

⁹I wrote to you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people—

¹⁰not at all meaning the people of this world who are immoral, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters. In that case you would have to leave this world.

¹¹But now I am writing to you that you must not associate with anyone who claims to be a brother or sister but is sexually immoral or greedy, an idolater or slanderer, a drunkard or swindler. Do not even eat with such people.

¹²What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? Are you not to judge those inside?

¹³God will judge those outside. “Expel the wicked person from among you.”

¹Then Job replied:

²“Even today my complaint is bitter; his hand is heavy in spite of my groaning.

³If only I knew where to find him; if only I could go to his dwelling!

⁴I would state my case before him and fill my mouth with arguments.

⁵I would find out what he would answer me, and consider what he would say to me.

⁶Would he vigorously oppose me? No, he would not press charges against me.

⁷There the upright can establish their innocence before him, and there I would be delivered forever from my judge.

⁸“But if I go to the east, he is not there; if I go to the west, I do not find him.

⁹When he is at work in the north, I do not see him; when he turns to the south, I catch no glimpse of him.

¹⁰But he knows the way that I take; when he has tested me, I will come forth as gold.

¹¹My feet have closely followed his steps; I have kept to his way without turning aside.

¹²I have not departed from the commands of his lips; I have treasured the words of his mouth more than my daily bread.

¹³“But he stands alone, and who can oppose him? He does whatever he pleases.

¹⁴He carries out his decree against me, and many such plans he still has in store.

¹⁵That is why I am terrified before him; when I think of all this, I fear him.

¹⁶God has made my heart faint; the Almighty has terrified me.

¹⁷Yet I am not silenced by the darkness, by the thick darkness that covers my face.

¹Sing joyfully to the LORD, you righteous; it is fitting for the upright to praise him.

²Praise the LORD with the harp; make music to him on the ten-stringed lyre.

³Sing to him a new song; play skillfully, and shout for joy.

⁴For the word of the LORD is right and true; he is faithful in all he does.

⁵The LORD loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of his unfailing love.

⁶By the word of the LORD the heavens were made, their starry host by the breath of his mouth.

⁷He gathers the waters of the sea into jars; he puts the deep into storehouses.

⁸Let all the earth fear the LORD; let all the people of the world revere him.

⁹For he spoke, and it came to be; he commanded, and it stood firm.

¹⁰The LORD foils the plans of the nations; he thwarts the purposes of the peoples.

¹¹But the plans of the LORD stand firm forever, the purposes of his heart through all generations.

¹²Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD, the people he chose for his inheritance.

¹³From heaven the LORD looks down and sees all mankind;

¹⁴from his dwelling place he watches all who live on earth—

¹⁵he who forms the hearts of all, who considers everything they do.

¹⁶No king is saved by the size of his army; no warrior escapes by his great strength.

¹⁷A horse is a vain hope for deliverance; despite all its great strength it cannot save.

¹⁸But the eyes of the LORD are on those who fear him, on those whose hope is in his unfailing love,

¹⁹to deliver them from death and keep them alive in famine.

²⁰We wait in hope for the LORD; he is our help and our shield.

²¹In him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in his holy name.

²²May your unfailing love be with us, LORD, even as we put our hope in you.

¹When you sit to dine with a ruler, note well what is before you,

²and put a knife to your throat if you are given to gluttony.

³Do not crave his delicacies, for that food is deceptive.

⁴Do not wear yourself out to get rich; do not trust your own cleverness.

⁵Cast but a glance at riches, and they are gone, for they will surely sprout wings and fly off to the sky like an eagle.

⁶Do not eat the food of a begrudging host, do not crave his delicacies;

⁷for he is the kind of person who is always thinking about the cost. “Eat and drink,” he says to you, but his heart is not with you.

⁸You will vomit up the little you have eaten and will have wasted your compliments.

⁹Do not speak to fools, for they will scorn your prudent words.

¹⁰Do not move an ancient boundary stone or encroach on the fields of the fatherless,

¹¹for their Defender is strong; he will take up their case against you.

¹²Apply your heart to instruction and your ears to words of knowledge.

¹³Do not withhold discipline from a child; if you punish them with the rod, they will not die.

¹⁴Punish them with the rod and save them from death.

¹⁵My son, if your heart is wise, then my heart will be glad indeed;

¹⁶my inmost being will rejoice when your lips speak what is right.

¹⁷Do not let your heart envy sinners, but always be zealous for the fear of the LORD.

¹⁸There is surely a future hope for you, and your hope will not be cut off.

¹⁹Listen, my son, and be wise, and set your heart on the right path:

²⁰Do not join those who drink too much wine or gorge themselves on meat,

²¹for drunkards and gluttons become poor, and drowsiness clothes them in rags.

²²Listen to your father, who gave you life, and do not despise your mother when she is old.

²³Buy the truth and do not sell it— wisdom, instruction and insight as well.

²⁴The father of a righteous child has great joy; a man who fathers a wise son rejoices in him.

²⁵May your father and mother rejoice; may she who gave you birth be joyful!

²⁶My son, give me your heart and let your eyes delight in my ways,

²⁷for an adulterous woman is a deep pit, and a wayward wife is a narrow well.

²⁸Like a bandit she lies in wait and multiplies the unfaithful among men.

²⁹Who has woe? Who has sorrow? Who has strife? Who has complaints? Who has needless bruises? Who has bloodshot eyes?

³⁰Those who linger over wine, who go to sample bowls of mixed wine.

³¹Do not gaze at wine when it is red, when it sparkles in the cup, when it goes down smoothly!

³²In the end it bites like a snake and poisons like a viper.

³³Your eyes will see strange sights, and your mind will imagine confusing things.

³⁴You will be like one sleeping on the high seas, lying on top of the rigging.

³⁵“They hit me,” you will say, “but I’m not hurt! They beat me, but I don’t feel it! When will I wake up so I can find another drink?”

¹When Ish-Bosheth son of Saul heard that Abner had died in Hebron, he lost courage, and all Israel became alarmed.

²Now Saul’s son had two men who were leaders of raiding bands. One was named Baanah and the other Rekab; they were sons of Rimmon the Beerothite from the tribe of Benjamin—Beeroth is considered part of Benjamin,

³because the people of Beeroth fled to Gittaim and have resided there as foreigners to this day.

⁴(Jonathan son of Saul had a son who was lame in both feet. He was five years old when the news about Saul and Jonathan came from Jezreel. His nurse picked him up and fled, but as she hurried to leave, he fell and became disabled. His name was Mephibosheth.)

⁵Now Rekab and Baanah, the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, set out for the house of Ish-Bosheth, and they arrived there in the heat of the day while he was taking his noonday rest.

⁶They went into the inner part of the house as if to get some wheat, and they stabbed him in the stomach. Then Rekab and his brother Baanah slipped away.

⁷They had gone into the house while he was lying on the bed in his bedroom. After they stabbed and killed him, they cut off his head. Taking it with them, they traveled all night by way of the Arabah.

⁸They brought the head of Ish-Bosheth to David at Hebron and said to the king, “Here is the head of Ish-Bosheth son of Saul, your enemy, who tried to kill you. This day the LORD has avenged my lord the king against Saul and his offspring.”

⁹David answered Rekab and his brother Baanah, the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, “As surely as the LORD lives, who has delivered me out of every trouble,

¹⁰when someone told me, ‘Saul is dead,’ and thought he was bringing good news, I seized him and put him to death in Ziklag. That was the reward I gave him for his news!

¹¹How much more—when wicked men have killed an innocent man in his own house and on his own bed—should I not now demand his blood from your hand and rid the earth of you!”

¹²So David gave an order to his men, and they killed them. They cut off their hands and feet and hung the bodies by the pool in Hebron. But they took the head of Ish-Bosheth and buried it in Abner’s tomb at Hebron.

¹“Judah’s sin is engraved with an iron tool, inscribed with a flint point, on the tablets of their hearts and on the horns of their altars.

²Even their children remember their altars and Asherah poles beside the spreading trees and on the high hills.

³My mountain in the land and your wealth and all your treasures I will give away as plunder, together with your high places, because of sin throughout your country.

⁴Through your own fault you will lose the inheritance I gave you. I will enslave you to your enemies in a land you do not know, for you have kindled my anger, and it will burn forever.”

⁵This is what the LORD says: “Cursed is the one who trusts in man, who draws strength from mere flesh and whose heart turns away from the LORD.

⁶That person will be like a bush in the wastelands; they will not see prosperity when it comes. They will dwell in the parched places of the desert, in a salt land where no one lives.

⁷“But blessed is the one who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is in him.

⁸They will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit.”

⁹The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?

¹⁰“I the LORD search the heart and examine the mind, to reward each person according to their conduct, according to what their deeds deserve.”

¹¹Like a partridge that hatches eggs it did not lay are those who gain riches by unjust means. When their lives are half gone, their riches will desert them, and in the end they will prove to be fools.

¹²A glorious throne, exalted from the beginning, is the place of our sanctuary.

¹³LORD, you are the hope of Israel; all who forsake you will be put to shame. Those who turn away from you will be written in the dust because they have forsaken the LORD, the spring of living water.

¹⁴Heal me, LORD, and I will be healed; save me and I will be saved, for you are the one I praise.

¹⁵They keep saying to me, “Where is the word of the LORD? Let it now be fulfilled!”

¹⁶I have not run away from being your shepherd; you know I have not desired the day of despair. What passes my lips is open before you.

¹⁷Do not be a terror to me; you are my refuge in the day of disaster.

¹⁸Let my persecutors be put to shame, but keep me from shame; let them be terrified, but keep me from terror. Bring on them the day of disaster; destroy them with double destruction.

¹⁹This is what the LORD said to me: “Go and stand at the Gate of the People, through which the kings of Judah go in and out; stand also at all the other gates of Jerusalem.

²⁰Say to them, ‘Hear the word of the LORD, you kings of Judah and all people of Judah and everyone living in Jerusalem who come through these gates.

²¹This is what the LORD says: Be careful not to carry a load on the Sabbath day or bring it through the gates of Jerusalem.

²²Do not bring a load out of your houses or do any work on the Sabbath, but keep the Sabbath day holy, as I commanded your ancestors.

²³Yet they did not listen or pay attention; they were stiff-necked and would not listen or respond to discipline.

²⁴But if you are careful to obey me, declares the LORD, and bring no load through the gates of this city on the Sabbath, but keep the Sabbath day holy by not doing any work on it,

²⁵then kings who sit on David’s throne will come through the gates of this city with their officials. They and their officials will come riding in chariots and on horses, accompanied by the men of Judah and those living in Jerusalem, and this city will be inhabited forever.

²⁶People will come from the towns of Judah and the villages around Jerusalem, from the territory of Benjamin and the western foothills, from the hill country and the Negev, bringing burnt offerings and sacrifices, grain offerings and incense, and bringing thank offerings to the house of the LORD.

²⁷But if you do not obey me to keep the Sabbath day holy by not carrying any load as you come through the gates of Jerusalem on the Sabbath day, then I will kindle an unquenchable fire in the gates of Jerusalem that will consume her fortresses.’ ”

¹Three days after arriving in the province, Festus went up from Caesarea to Jerusalem,

²where the chief priests and the Jewish leaders appeared before him and presented the charges against Paul.

³They requested Festus, as a favor to them, to have Paul transferred to Jerusalem, for they were preparing an ambush to kill him along the way.

⁴Festus answered, “Paul is being held at Caesarea, and I myself am going there soon.

⁵Let some of your leaders come with me, and if the man has done anything wrong, they can press charges against him there.”

⁶After spending eight or ten days with them, Festus went down to Caesarea. The next day he convened the court and ordered that Paul be brought before him.

⁷When Paul came in, the Jews who had come down from Jerusalem stood around him. They brought many serious charges against him, but they could not prove them.

⁸Then Paul made his defense: “I have done nothing wrong against the Jewish law or against the temple or against Caesar.”

⁹Festus, wishing to do the Jews a favor, said to Paul, “Are you willing to go up to Jerusalem and stand trial before me there on these charges?”

¹⁰Paul answered: “I am now standing before Caesar’s court, where I ought to be tried. I have not done any wrong to the Jews, as you yourself know very well.

¹¹If, however, I am guilty of doing anything deserving death, I do not refuse to die. But if the charges brought against me by these Jews are not true, no one has the right to hand me over to them. I appeal to Caesar!”

¹²After Festus had conferred with his council, he declared: “You have appealed to Caesar. To Caesar you will go!”

¹³A few days later King Agrippa and Bernice arrived at Caesarea to pay their respects to Festus.

¹⁴Since they were spending many days there, Festus discussed Paul’s case with the king. He said: “There is a man here whom Felix left as a prisoner.

¹⁵When I went to Jerusalem, the chief priests and the elders of the Jews brought charges against him and asked that he be condemned.

¹⁶“I told them that it is not the Roman custom to hand over anyone before they have faced their accusers and have had an opportunity to defend themselves against the charges.

¹⁷When they came here with me, I did not delay the case, but convened the court the next day and ordered the man to be brought in.

¹⁸When his accusers got up to speak, they did not charge him with any of the crimes I had expected.

¹⁹Instead, they had some points of dispute with him about their own religion and about a dead man named Jesus who Paul claimed was alive.

²⁰I was at a loss how to investigate such matters; so I asked if he would be willing to go to Jerusalem and stand trial there on these charges.

²¹But when Paul made his appeal to be held over for the Emperor’s decision, I ordered him held until I could send him to Caesar.”

²²Then Agrippa said to Festus, “I would like to hear this man myself.” He replied, “Tomorrow you will hear him.”

²³The next day Agrippa and Bernice came with great pomp and entered the audience room with the high-ranking military officers and the prominent men of the city. At the command of Festus, Paul was brought in.

²⁴Festus said: “King Agrippa, and all who are present with us, you see this man! The whole Jewish community has petitioned me about him in Jerusalem and here in Caesarea, shouting that he ought not to live any longer.

²⁵I found he had done nothing deserving of death, but because he made his appeal to the Emperor I decided to send him to Rome.

²⁶But I have nothing definite to write to His Majesty about him. Therefore I have brought him before all of you, and especially before you, King Agrippa, so that as a result of this investigation I may have something to write.

²⁷For I think it is unreasonable to send a prisoner on to Rome without specifying the charges against him.”