Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they came to the tomb, bringing the spices they had prepared.

²They found the stone rolled away from the tomb.

³They went in but did not find the body of the Lord Jesus.

⁴While they were perplexed about this, suddenly two men stood by them in dazzling clothes.

⁵So the women were terrified and bowed down to the ground. “Why are you looking for the living among the dead?” asked the men.

⁶“He is not here, but he has risen! Remember how he spoke to you when he was still in Galilee,

⁷saying, ‘It is necessary that the Son of Man be betrayed into the hands of sinful men, be crucified, and rise on the third day’?”

⁸And they remembered his words.

⁹Returning from the tomb, they reported all these things to the Eleven and to all the rest.

¹⁰Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the other women with them were telling the apostles these things.

¹¹But these words seemed like nonsense to them, and they did not believe the women.

¹²Peter, however, got up and ran to the tomb. When he stooped to look in, he saw only the linen cloths. So he went away, amazed at what had happened.

¹³Now that same day two of them were on their way to a village called Emmaus, which was about seven miles from Jerusalem.

¹⁴Together they were discussing everything that had taken place.

¹⁵And while they were discussing and arguing, Jesus himself came near and began to walk along with them.

¹⁶But they were prevented from recognizing him.

¹⁷Then he asked them, “What is this dispute that you’re having with each other as you are walking?” And they stopped walking and looked discouraged.

¹⁸The one named Cleopas answered him, “Are you the only visitor in Jerusalem who doesn’t know the things that happened there in these days?”

¹⁹“What things?” he asked them. So they said to him, “The things concerning Jesus of Nazareth, who was a prophet powerful in action and speech before God and all the people,

²⁰and how our chief priests and leaders handed him over to be sentenced to death, and they crucified him.

²¹But we were hoping that he was the one who was about to redeem Israel. Besides all this, it’s the third day since these things happened.

²²Moreover, some women from our group astounded us. They arrived early at the tomb,

²³and when they didn’t find his body, they came and reported that they had seen a vision of angels who said he was alive.

²⁴Some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but they didn’t see him.”

²⁵He said to them, “How foolish and slow you are to believe all that the prophets have spoken!

²⁶Wasn’t it necessary for the Messiah to suffer these things and enter into his glory?”

²⁷Then beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted for them the things concerning himself in all the Scriptures.

²⁸They came near the village where they were going, and he gave the impression that he was going farther.

²⁹But they urged him, “Stay with us, because it’s almost evening, and now the day is almost over.” So he went in to stay with them.

³⁰It was as he reclined at the table with them that he took the bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them.

³¹Then their eyes were opened, and they recognized him, but he disappeared from their sight.

³²They said to each other, “Weren’t our hearts burning within us while he was talking with us on the road and explaining the Scriptures to us?”

³³That very hour they got up and returned to Jerusalem. They found the Eleven and those with them gathered together,

³⁴who said, “The Lord has truly been raised and has appeared to Simon!”

³⁵Then they began to describe what had happened on the road and how he was made known to them in the breaking of the bread.

³⁶As they were saying these things, he himself stood in their midst. He said to them, “Peace to you!”

³⁷But they were startled and terrified and thought they were seeing a ghost.

³⁸“Why are you troubled?” he asked them. “And why do doubts arise in your hearts?

³⁹Look at my hands and my feet, that it is I myself! Touch me and see, because a ghost does not have flesh and bones as you can see I have.”

⁴⁰Having said this, he showed them his hands and feet.

⁴¹But while they still were amazed and in disbelief because of their joy, he asked them, “Do you have anything here to eat?”

⁴²So they gave him a piece of a broiled fish,

⁴³and he took it and ate in their presence.

⁴⁴He told them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you — that everything written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets, and the Psalms must be fulfilled.”

⁴⁵Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures.

⁴⁶He also said to them, “This is what is written: The Messiah would suffer and rise from the dead the third day,

⁴⁷and repentance for forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed in his name to all the nations, beginning at Jerusalem.

⁴⁸You are witnesses of these things.

⁴⁹And look, I am sending you what my Father promised. As for you, stay in the city until you are empowered from on high.”

⁵⁰Then he led them out to the vicinity of Bethany, and lifting up his hands he blessed them.

⁵¹And while he was blessing them, he left them and was carried up into heaven.

⁵²After worshiping him, they returned to Jerusalem with great joy.

⁵³And they were continually in the temple praising God.

¹The LORD spoke to Moses,

²“Execute vengeance for the Israelites against the Midianites. After that, you will be gathered to your people.”

³So Moses spoke to the people, “Equip some of your men for war. They will go against Midian to inflict the LORD’s vengeance on them.

⁴Send one thousand men to war from each Israelite tribe.”

⁵So one thousand were recruited from each Israelite tribe out of the thousands in Israel — twelve thousand equipped for war.

⁶Moses sent one thousand from each tribe to war. They went with Phinehas son of Eleazar the priest, in whose care were the holy objects and signal trumpets.

⁷They waged war against Midian, as the LORD had commanded Moses, and killed every male.

⁸Along with the others slain by them, they killed the Midianite kings — Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur, and Reba, the five kings of Midian. They also killed Balaam son of Beor with the sword.

⁹The Israelites took the Midianite women and their dependents captive, and they plundered all their cattle, flocks, and property.

¹⁰Then they burned all the cities where the Midianites lived, as well as all their encampments,

¹¹and took away all the spoils of war and the captives, both people and animals.

¹²They brought the prisoners, animals, and spoils of war to Moses, the priest Eleazar, and the Israelite community at the camp on the plains of Moab by the Jordan across from Jericho.

¹³Moses, the priest Eleazar, and all the leaders of the community went to meet them outside the camp.

¹⁴But Moses became furious with the officers, the commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds, who were returning from the military campaign.

¹⁵“Have you let every female live?” he asked them.

¹⁶“Yet they are the ones who, at Balaam’s advice, incited the Israelites to unfaithfulness against the LORD in the Peor incident, so that the plague came against the LORD’s community.

¹⁷So now, kill every male among the dependents and kill every woman who has gone to bed with a man,

¹⁸but keep alive for yourselves all the young females who have not gone to bed with a man.

¹⁹“You are to remain outside the camp for seven days. All of you and your prisoners who have killed a person or touched the dead are to purify yourselves on the third day and the seventh day.

²⁰Also purify everything: garments, leather goods, things made of goat hair, and every article of wood.”

²¹Then the priest Eleazar said to the soldiers who had gone to battle, “This is the legal statute the LORD commanded Moses:

²²The gold, silver, bronze, iron, tin, and lead —

²³everything that can withstand fire — you are to pass through fire, and it will be clean. It must still be purified with the purification water. Anything that cannot withstand fire, pass through the water.

²⁴On the seventh day wash your clothes, and you will be clean. After that you may enter the camp.”

²⁵The LORD told Moses,

²⁶“You, the priest Eleazar, and the family heads of the community are to take a count of what was captured, people and animals.

²⁷Then divide the captives between the troops who went out to war and the entire community.

²⁸Set aside a tribute for the LORD from what belongs to the fighting men who went out to war: one out of every five hundred people, cattle, donkeys, sheep, and goats.

²⁹Take the tribute from their half and give it to the priest Eleazar as a contribution to the LORD.

³⁰From the Israelites’ half, take one out of every fifty from the people, cattle, donkeys, sheep, and goats, all the livestock, and give them to the Levites who perform the duties of the LORD’s tabernacle.”

³¹So Moses and the priest Eleazar did as the LORD commanded Moses.

³²The captives remaining from the plunder the army had taken totaled: 675,000 sheep and goats,

³³72,000 cattle,

³⁴61,000 donkeys,

³⁵and 32,000 people, all the females who had not gone to bed with a man.

³⁶The half portion for those who went out to war numbered: 337,500 sheep and goats,

³⁷and the tribute to the LORD was 675 from the sheep and goats;

³⁸from the 36,000 cattle, the tribute to the LORD was 72;

³⁹from the 30,500 donkeys, the tribute to the LORD was 61;

⁴⁰and from the 16,000 people, the tribute to the LORD was 32 people.

⁴¹Moses gave the tribute to the priest Eleazar as a contribution for the LORD, as the LORD had commanded Moses.

⁴²From the Israelites’ half, which Moses separated from the men who fought,

⁴³the community’s half was: 337,500 sheep and goats,

⁴⁴36,000 cattle,

⁴⁵30,500 donkeys,

⁴⁶and 16,000 people.

⁴⁷Moses took one out of every fifty, selected from the people and the livestock of the Israelites’ half. He gave them to the Levites who perform the duties of the LORD’s tabernacle, as the LORD had commanded him.

⁴⁸The officers who were over the thousands of the army, the commanders of thousands and of hundreds, approached Moses

⁴⁹and told him, “Your servants have taken a census of the fighting men under our command, and not one of us is missing.

⁵⁰So we have presented to the LORD an offering of the gold articles each man found — armlets, bracelets, rings, earrings, and necklaces — to make atonement for ourselves before the LORD.”

⁵¹Moses and the priest Eleazar received from them all the articles made out of gold.

⁵²All the gold of the contribution they offered to the LORD, from the commanders of thousands and of hundreds, was 420 pounds.

⁵³Each of the soldiers had taken plunder for himself.

⁵⁴Moses and the priest Eleazar received the gold from the commanders of thousands and of hundreds and brought it into the tent of meeting as a memorial for the Israelites before the LORD.

¹Now in response to the matters you wrote about: “It is good for a man not to use a woman for sex.”

²But because sexual immorality is so common, each man should have sexual relations with his own wife, and each woman should have sexual relations with her own husband.

³A husband should fulfill his marital duty to his wife, and likewise a wife to her husband.

⁴A wife does not have the right over her own body, but her husband does. In the same way, a husband does not have the right over his own body, but his wife does.

⁵Do not deprive one another — except when you agree for a time, to devote yourselves to prayer. Then come together again; otherwise, Satan may tempt you because of your lack of self-control.

⁶I say this as a concession, not as a command.

⁷I wish that all people were as I am. But each has his own gift from God, one person has this gift, another has that.

⁸I say to the unmarried and to widows: It is good for them if they remain as I am.

⁹But if they do not have self-control, they should marry, since it is better to marry than to burn with desire.

¹⁰To the married I give this command  — not I, but the Lord — a wife is not to leave her husband.

¹¹But if she does leave, she must remain unmarried or be reconciled to her husband — and a husband is not to divorce his wife.

¹²But I (not the Lord) say to the rest: If any brother has an unbelieving wife and she is willing to live with him, he must not divorce her.

¹³Also, if any woman has an unbelieving husband and he is willing to live with her, she must not divorce her husband.

¹⁴For the unbelieving husband is made holy by the wife, and the unbelieving wife is made holy by the husband. Otherwise your children would be unclean, but as it is they are holy.

¹⁵But if the unbeliever leaves, let him leave. A brother or a sister is not bound in such cases. God has called you to live in peace.

¹⁶Wife, for all you know, you might save your husband. Husband, for all you know, you might save your wife.

¹⁷Let each one live his life in the situation the Lord assigned when God called him. This is what I command in all the churches.

¹⁸Was anyone already circumcised when he was called? He should not undo his circumcision. Was anyone called while uncircumcised? He should not get circumcised.

¹⁹Circumcision does not matter and uncircumcision does not matter. Keeping God’s commands is what matters.

²⁰Let each of you remain in the situation in which he was called.

²¹Were you called while a slave? Don’t let it concern you. But if you can become free, by all means take the opportunity.

²²For he who is called by the Lord as a slave is the Lord’s freedman. Likewise he who is called as a free man is Christ’s slave.

²³You were bought at a price; do not become slaves of people.

²⁴Brothers and sisters, each person is to remain with God in the situation in which he was called.

²⁵Now about virgins: I have no command from the Lord, but I do give an opinion as one who by the Lord’s mercy is faithful.

²⁶Because of the present distress, I think that it is good for a man to remain as he is.

²⁷Are you bound to a wife? Do not seek to be released. Are you released from a wife? Do not seek a wife.

²⁸However, if you do get married, you have not sinned, and if a virgin marries, she has not sinned. But such people will have trouble in this life, and I am trying to spare you.

²⁹This is what I mean, brothers and sisters: The time is limited, so from now on those who have wives should be as though they had none,

³⁰those who weep as though they did not weep, those who rejoice as though they did not rejoice, those who buy as though they didn’t own anything,

³¹and those who use the world as though they did not make full use of it. For this world in its current form is passing away.

³²I want you to be without concerns. The unmarried man is concerned about the things of the Lord — how he may please the Lord.

³³But the married man is concerned about the things of the world — how he may please his wife —

³⁴and his interests are divided. The unmarried woman or virgin is concerned about the things of the Lord, so that she may be holy both in body and in spirit. But the married woman is concerned about the things of the world — how she may please her husband.

³⁵I am saying this for your own benefit, not to put a restraint on you, but to promote what is proper and so that you may be devoted to the Lord without distraction.

³⁶If any man thinks he is acting improperly toward the virgin he is engaged to, if she is getting beyond the usual age for marriage, and he feels he should marry — he can do what he wants. He is not sinning; they can get married.

³⁷But he who stands firm in his heart (who is under no compulsion, but has control over his own will ) and has decided in his heart to keep her as his fiancée, will do well.

³⁸So then he who marries his fiancée does well, but he who does not marry will do better.

³⁹A wife is bound as long as her husband is living. But if her husband dies, she is free to be married to anyone she wants — only in the Lord.

⁴⁰But she is happier if she remains as she is, in my opinion. And I think that I also have the Spirit of God.

¹First of all, then, I urge that petitions, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for everyone,

²for kings and all those who are in authority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity.

³This is good, and it pleases God our Savior,

⁴who wants everyone to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.

⁵For there is one God and one mediator between God and humanity, the man Christ Jesus,

⁶who gave himself as a ransom for all, a testimony at the proper time.

⁷For this I was appointed a herald, an apostle (I am telling the truth; I am not lying), and a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth.

⁸Therefore, I want the men in every place to pray, lifting up holy hands without anger or argument.

⁹Also, the women are to dress themselves in modest clothing, with decency and good sense, not with elaborate hairstyles, gold, pearls, or expensive apparel,

¹⁰but with good works, as is proper for women who profess to worship God.

¹¹A woman is to learn quietly with full submission.

¹²I do not allow a woman to teach or to have authority over a man; instead, she is to remain quiet.

¹³For Adam was formed first, then Eve.

¹⁴And Adam was not deceived, but the woman was deceived and transgressed.

¹⁵But she will be saved through childbearing, if they continue in faith, love, and holiness, with good sense.

¹Then Bildad the Shuhite replied:

²Dominion and dread belong to him, the one who establishes harmony in his heights.

³Can his troops be numbered? Does his light not shine on everyone?

⁴How can a human be justified before God? How can one born of woman be pure?

⁵If even the moon does not shine and the stars are not pure in his sight,

⁶how much less a human, who is a maggot, a son of man, who is a worm!

¹Of David. [1] Oppose my opponents, LORD; fight those who fight me.

²Take your shields — large and small — and come to my aid.

³Draw the spear and javelin against my pursuers, and assure me: “I am your deliverance.”

⁴Let those who intend to take my life be disgraced and humiliated; let those who plan to harm me be turned back and ashamed.

⁵Let them be like chaff in the wind, with the angel of the LORD driving them away.

⁶Let their way be dark and slippery, with the angel of the LORD pursuing them.

⁷They hid their net for me without cause; they dug a pit for me without cause.

⁸Let ruin come on him unexpectedly, and let the net that he hid ensnare him; let him fall into it — to his ruin.

⁹Then I will rejoice in the LORD; I will delight in his deliverance.

¹⁰All my bones will say, “LORD, who is like you, rescuing the poor from one too strong for him, the poor or the needy from one who robs him?”

¹¹Malicious witnesses come forward; they question me about things I do not know.

¹²They repay me evil for good, making me desolate.

¹³Yet when they were sick, my clothing was sackcloth; I humbled myself with fasting, and my prayer was genuine.

¹⁴I went about mourning as if for my friend or brother; I was bowed down with grief, like one mourning for a mother.

¹⁵But when I stumbled, they gathered in glee; they gathered against me. Assailants I did not know tore at me and did not stop.

¹⁶With godless mockery they gnashed their teeth at me.

¹⁷Lord, how long will you look on? Rescue me from their ravages; rescue my precious life from the young lions.

¹⁸I will praise you in the great assembly; I will exalt you among many people.

¹⁹Do not let my deceitful enemies rejoice over me; do not let those who hate me without cause wink at me maliciously.

²⁰For they do not speak in friendly ways, but contrive fraudulent schemes against those who live peacefully in the land.

²¹They open their mouths wide against me and say, “Aha, aha! We saw it!”

²²You saw it, LORD; do not be silent. Lord, do not be far from me.

²³Wake up and rise to my defense, to my cause, my God and my Lord!

²⁴Vindicate me, LORD my God, in keeping with your righteousness, and do not let them rejoice over me.

²⁵Do not let them say in their hearts, “Aha! Just what we wanted.” Do not let them say, “We have swallowed him up!”

²⁶Let those who rejoice at my misfortune be disgraced and humiliated; let those who exalt themselves over me be clothed with shame and reproach.

²⁷Let those who want my vindication shout for joy and be glad; let them continually say, “The LORD be exalted. He takes pleasure in his servant’s well-being.”

²⁸And my tongue will proclaim your righteousness, your praise all day long.

¹These too are proverbs of Solomon, which the men of King Hezekiah of Judah, copied.

²It is the glory of God to conceal a matter and the glory of kings to investigate a matter.

³As the heavens are high and the earth is deep, so the hearts of kings cannot be investigated.

⁴Remove impurities from silver, and material will be produced for a silversmith.

⁵Remove the wicked from the king’s presence, and his throne will be established in righteousness.

⁶Don’t boast about yourself before the king, and don’t stand in the place of the great;

⁷for it is better for him to say to you, “Come up here!” than to demote you in plain view of a noble.

⁸Don’t take a matter to court hastily. Otherwise, what will you do afterward if your opponent humiliates you?

⁹Make your case with your opponent without revealing another’s secret;

¹⁰otherwise, the one who hears will disgrace you, and you’ll never live it down.

¹¹A word spoken at the right time is like gold apples in silver settings.

¹²A wise correction to a receptive ear is like a gold ring or an ornament of gold.

¹³To those who send him, a trustworthy envoy is like the coolness of snow on a harvest day; he refreshes the life of his masters.

¹⁴The one who boasts about a gift that does not exist is like clouds and wind without rain.

¹⁵A ruler can be persuaded through patience, and a gentle tongue can break a bone.

¹⁶If you find honey, eat only what you need; otherwise, you’ll get sick from it and vomit.

¹⁷Seldom set foot in your neighbor’s house; otherwise, he’ll get sick of you and hate you.

¹⁸A person giving false testimony against his neighbor is like a club, a sword, or a sharp arrow.

¹⁹Trusting an unreliable person in a difficult time is like a rotten tooth or a faltering foot.

²⁰Singing songs to a troubled heart is like taking off clothing on a cold day or like pouring vinegar on soda.

²¹If your enemy is hungry, give him food to eat, and if he is thirsty, give him water to drink;

²²for you will heap burning coals on his head, and the LORD will reward you.

²³The north wind produces rain, and a backbiting tongue, angry looks.

²⁴Better to live on the corner of a roof than to share a house with a nagging wife.

²⁵Good news from a distant land is like cold water to a parched throat.

²⁶A righteous person who yields to the wicked is like a muddied spring or a polluted well.

²⁷It is not good to eat too much honey or to seek glory after glory.

²⁸A person who does not control his temper is like a city whose wall is broken down.

¹David again assembled all the fit young men in Israel: thirty thousand.

²He and all his troops set out to bring the ark of God from Baale-judah. The ark bears the Name, the name of the LORD of Armies who is enthroned between the cherubim.

³They set the ark of God on a new cart and transported it from Abinadab’s house, which was on the hill. Uzzah and Ahio, sons of Abinadab, were guiding the cart

⁴and brought it with the ark of God from Abinadab’s house on the hill. Ahio walked in front of the ark.

⁵David and the whole house of Israel were dancing before the LORD with all kinds of fir wood instruments, lyres, harps, tambourines, sistrums, and cymbals.

⁶When they came to Nacon’s threshing floor, Uzzah reached out to the ark of God and took hold of it because the oxen had stumbled.

⁷Then the LORD’s anger burned against Uzzah, and God struck him dead on the spot for his irreverence, and he died there next to the ark of God.

⁸David was angry because of the LORD’s outburst against Uzzah, so he named that place Outburst Against Uzzah, as it is today.

⁹David feared the LORD that day and said, “How can the ark of the LORD ever come to me?”

¹⁰So he was not willing to bring the ark of the LORD to the city of David; instead, he diverted it to the house of Obed-edom of Gath.

¹¹The ark of the LORD remained in his house three months, and the LORD blessed Obed-edom and his whole family.

¹²It was reported to King David: “The LORD has blessed Obed-edom’s family and all that belongs to him because of the ark of God.” So David went and had the ark of God brought up from Obed-edom’s house to the city of David with rejoicing.

¹³When those carrying the ark of the LORD advanced six steps, he sacrificed an ox and a fattened calf.

¹⁴David was dancing with all his might before the LORD wearing a linen ephod.

¹⁵He and the whole house of Israel were bringing up the ark of the LORD with shouts and the sound of the ram’s horn.

¹⁶As the ark of the LORD was entering the city of David, Saul’s daughter Michal looked down from the window and saw King David leaping and dancing before the LORD, and she despised him in her heart.

¹⁷They brought the ark of the LORD and set it in its place inside the tent David had pitched for it. Then David offered burnt offerings and fellowship offerings in the LORD’s presence.

¹⁸When David had finished offering the burnt offering and the fellowship offerings, he blessed the people in the name of the LORD of Armies.

¹⁹Then he distributed a loaf of bread, a date cake, and a raisin cake to each one in the entire Israelite community, both men and women. Then all the people went home.

²⁰When David returned home to bless his household, Saul’s daughter Michal came out to meet him. “How the king of Israel honored himself today!” she said. “He exposed himself today in the sight of the slave girls of his subjects like a vulgar person would expose himself.”

²¹David replied to Michal, “It was before the LORD who chose me over your father and his whole family to appoint me ruler over the LORD’s people Israel. I will dance before the LORD,

²²and I will dishonor myself and humble myself even more. However, by the slave girls you spoke about, I will be honored.”

²³And Saul’s daughter Michal had no child to the day of her death.

¹This is what the LORD says: “Go, buy a potter’s clay jar. Take some of the elders of the people and some of the leading priests

²and go out to Ben Hinnom Valley near the entrance of the Potsherd Gate. Proclaim there the words I speak to you.

³Say, ‘Hear the word of the LORD, kings of Judah and residents of Jerusalem. This is what the LORD of Armies, the God of Israel, says: I am going to bring such disaster on this place that everyone who hears about it will shudder

⁴because they have abandoned me and made this a foreign place. They have burned incense in it to other gods that they, their fathers, and the kings of Judah have never known. They have filled this place with the blood of the innocent.

⁵They have built high places to Baal on which to burn their children in the fire as burnt offerings to Baal, something I have never commanded or mentioned; I never entertained the thought.

⁶“‘Therefore, look, the days are coming  — this is the LORD’s declaration — when this place will no longer be called Topheth and Ben Hinnom Valley, but Slaughter Valley.

⁷I will spoil the plans of Judah and Jerusalem in this place. I will make them fall by the sword before their enemies, by the hand of those who intend to take their life. I will provide their corpses as food for the birds of the sky and for the wild animals of the land.

⁸I will make this city desolate, an object of scorn. Everyone who passes by it will be appalled and scoff because of all its wounds.

⁹I will make them eat the flesh of their sons and their daughters, and they will eat each other’s flesh in the distressing siege inflicted on them by their enemies who intend to take their life.’

¹⁰“Then you are to shatter the jar in the presence of the people going with you,

¹¹and you are to proclaim to them, ‘This is what the LORD of Armies says: I will shatter these people and this city, like one shatters a potter’s jar that can never again be mended. They will bury the dead in Topheth because there is no other place for burials.

¹²That is what I will do to this place — this is the declaration of the LORD  — and to its residents, making this city like Topheth.

¹³The houses of Jerusalem and the houses of the kings of Judah will become impure like that place Topheth — all the houses on whose rooftops they have burned incense to all the stars in the sky and poured out drink offerings to other gods.’”

¹⁴Jeremiah returned from Topheth, where the LORD had sent him to prophesy, stood in the courtyard of the LORD’s temple, and proclaimed to all the people,

¹⁵“This is what the LORD of Armies, the God of Israel, says: ‘I am about to bring on this city — and on all its cities — every disaster that I spoke against it, for they have become obstinate, not obeying my words.’”

¹When it was decided that we were to sail to Italy, they handed over Paul and some other prisoners to a centurion named Julius, of the Imperial Regiment.

²When we had boarded a ship of Adramyttium, we put to sea, intending to sail to ports along the coast of Asia. Aristarchus, a Macedonian of Thessalonica, was with us.

³The next day we put in at Sidon, and Julius treated Paul kindly and allowed him to go to his friends to receive their care.

⁴When we had put out to sea from there, we sailed along the northern coast of Cyprus because the winds were against us.

⁵After sailing through the open sea off Cilicia and Pamphylia, we reached Myra in Lycia.

⁶There the centurion found an Alexandrian ship sailing for Italy and put us on board.

⁷Sailing slowly for many days, with difficulty we arrived off Cnidus. Since the wind did not allow us to approach it, we sailed along the south side of Crete off Salmone.

⁸With still more difficulty we sailed along the coast and came to a place called Fair Havens near the city of Lasea.

⁹By now much time had passed, and the voyage was already dangerous. Since the Day of Atonement was already over, Paul gave his advice

¹⁰and told them, “Men, I can see that this voyage is headed toward disaster and heavy loss, not only of the cargo and the ship but also of our lives.”

¹¹But the centurion paid attention to the captain and the owner of the ship rather than to what Paul said.

¹²Since the harbor was unsuitable to winter in, the majority decided to set sail from there, hoping somehow to reach Phoenix, a harbor on Crete facing the southwest and northwest, and to winter there.

¹³When a gentle south wind sprang up, they thought they had achieved their purpose. They weighed anchor and sailed along the shore of Crete.

¹⁴But before long, a fierce wind called the “northeaster” rushed down from the island.

¹⁵Since the ship was caught and unable to head into the wind, we gave way to it and were driven along.

¹⁶After running under the shelter of a little island called Cauda, we were barely able to get control of the skiff.

¹⁷After hoisting it up, they used ropes and tackle and girded the ship. Fearing they would run aground on the Syrtis, they lowered the drift-anchor, and in this way they were driven along.

¹⁸Because we were being severely battered by the storm, they began to jettison the cargo the next day.

¹⁹On the third day, they threw the ship’s tackle overboard with their own hands.

²⁰For many days neither sun nor stars appeared, and the severe storm kept raging. Finally all hope was fading that we would be saved.

²¹Since they had been without food for a long time, Paul then stood up among them and said, “You men should have followed my advice not to sail from Crete and sustain this damage and loss.

²²Now I urge you to take courage, because there will be no loss of any of your lives, but only of the ship.

²³For last night an angel of the God I belong to and serve stood by me

²⁴and said, ‘Don’t be afraid, Paul. It is necessary for you to appear before Caesar. And indeed, God has graciously given you all those who are sailing with you.’

²⁵So take courage, men, because I believe God that it will be just the way it was told to me.

²⁶But we have to run aground on some island.”

²⁷When the fourteenth night came, we were drifting in the Adriatic Sea, and about midnight the sailors thought they were approaching land.

²⁸They took soundings and found it to be a hundred and twenty feet deep; when they had sailed a little farther and sounded again, they found it to be ninety feet deep.

²⁹Then, fearing we might run aground on the rocks, they dropped four anchors from the stern and prayed for daylight to come.

³⁰Some sailors tried to escape from the ship; they had let down the skiff into the sea, pretending that they were going to put out anchors from the bow.

³¹Paul said to the centurion and the soldiers, “Unless these men stay in the ship, you cannot be saved.”

³²Then the soldiers cut the ropes holding the skiff and let it drop away.

³³When it was about daylight, Paul urged them all to take food, saying, “Today is the fourteenth day that you have been waiting and going without food, having eaten nothing.

³⁴So I urge you to take some food. For this is for your survival, since none of you will lose a hair from your head.”

³⁵After he said these things and had taken some bread, he gave thanks to God in the presence of all of them, and after he broke it, he began to eat.

³⁶They all were encouraged and took food themselves.

³⁷In all there were 276 of us on the ship.

³⁸When they had eaten enough, they began to lighten the ship by throwing the grain overboard into the sea.

³⁹When daylight came, they did not recognize the land but sighted a bay with a beach. They planned to run the ship ashore if they could.

⁴⁰After cutting loose the anchors, they left them in the sea, at the same time loosening the ropes that held the rudders. Then they hoisted the foresail to the wind and headed for the beach.

⁴¹But they struck a sandbar and ran the ship aground. The bow jammed fast and remained immovable, while the stern began to break up by the pounding of the waves.

⁴²The soldiers’ plan was to kill the prisoners so that no one could swim away and escape.

⁴³But the centurion kept them from carrying out their plan because he wanted to save Paul, and so he ordered those who could swim to jump overboard first and get to land.

⁴⁴The rest were to follow, some on planks and some on debris from the ship. In this way, everyone safely reached the shore.