Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹When Jesus had spoken these words, He went out with His disciples over the Brook Kidron, where there was a garden, which He and His disciples entered.

²And Judas, who betrayed Him, also knew the place; for Jesus often met there with His disciples.

³Then Judas, having received a detachment of troops, and officers from the chief priests and Pharisees, came there with lanterns, torches, and weapons.

⁴Jesus therefore, knowing all things that would come upon Him, went forward and said to them, “Whom are you seeking?”

⁵They answered Him, “Jesus of Nazareth.” Jesus said to them, “I am He.” And Judas, who betrayed Him, also stood with them.

⁶Now when He said to them, “I am He,” they drew back and fell to the ground.

⁷Then He asked them again, “Whom are you seeking?” And they said, “Jesus of Nazareth.”

⁸Jesus answered, “I have told you that I am He. Therefore, if you seek Me, let these go their way,”

⁹that the saying might be fulfilled which He spoke, “Of those whom You gave Me I have lost none.”

¹⁰Then Simon Peter, having a sword, drew it and struck the high priest’s servant, and cut off his right ear. The servant’s name was Malchus.

¹¹So Jesus said to Peter, “Put your sword into the sheath. Shall I not drink the cup which My Father has given Me?”

¹²Then the detachment of troops and the captain and the officers of the Jews arrested Jesus and bound Him.

¹³And they led Him away to Annas first, for he was the father-in-law of Caiaphas who was high priest that year.

¹⁴Now it was Caiaphas who advised the Jews that it was expedient that one man should die for the people.

¹⁵And Simon Peter followed Jesus, and so did another disciple. Now that disciple was known to the high priest, and went with Jesus into the courtyard of the high priest.

¹⁶But Peter stood at the door outside. Then the other disciple, who was known to the high priest, went out and spoke to her who kept the door, and brought Peter in.

¹⁷Then the servant girl who kept the door said to Peter, “You are not also one of this Man’s disciples, are you?” He said, “I am not.”

¹⁸Now the servants and officers who had made a fire of coals stood there, for it was cold, and they warmed themselves. And Peter stood with them and warmed himself.

¹⁹The high priest then asked Jesus about His disciples and His doctrine.

²⁰Jesus answered him, “I spoke openly to the world. I always taught in synagogues and in the temple, where the Jews always meet, and in secret I have said nothing.

²¹Why do you ask Me? Ask those who have heard Me what I said to them. Indeed they know what I said.”

²²And when He had said these things, one of the officers who stood by struck Jesus with the palm of his hand, saying, “Do You answer the high priest like that?”

²³Jesus answered him, “If I have spoken evil, bear witness of the evil; but if well, why do you strike Me?”

²⁴Then Annas sent Him bound to Caiaphas the high priest.

²⁵Now Simon Peter stood and warmed himself. Therefore they said to him, “You are not also one of His disciples, are you?” He denied it and said, “I am not!”

²⁶One of the servants of the high priest, a relative of him whose ear Peter cut off, said, “Did I not see you in the garden with Him?”

²⁷Peter then denied again; and immediately a rooster crowed.

²⁸Then they led Jesus from Caiaphas to the Praetorium, and it was early morning. But they themselves did not go into the Praetorium, lest they should be defiled, but that they might eat the Passover.

²⁹Pilate then went out to them and said, “What accusation do you bring against this Man?”

³⁰They answered and said to him, “If He were not an evildoer, we would not have delivered Him up to you.”

³¹Then Pilate said to them, “You take Him and judge Him according to your law.” Therefore the Jews said to him, “It is not lawful for us to put anyone to death,”

³²that the saying of Jesus might be fulfilled which He spoke, signifying by what death He would die.

³³Then Pilate entered the Praetorium again, called Jesus, and said to Him, “Are You the King of the Jews?”

³⁴Jesus answered him, “Are you speaking for yourself about this, or did others tell you this concerning Me?”

³⁵Pilate answered, “Am I a Jew? Your own nation and the chief priests have delivered You to me. What have You done?”

³⁶Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, My servants would fight, so that I should not be delivered to the Jews; but now My kingdom is not from here.”

³⁷Pilate therefore said to Him, “Are You a king then?” Jesus answered, “You say rightly that I am a king. For this cause I was born, and for this cause I have come into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice.”

³⁸Pilate said to Him, “What is truth?” And when he had said this, he went out again to the Jews, and said to them, “I find no fault in Him at all.

³⁹“But you have a custom that I should release someone to you at the Passover. Do you therefore want me to release to you the King of the Jews?”

⁴⁰Then they all cried again, saying, “Not this Man, but Barabbas!” Now Barabbas was a robber.

¹“If there arises among you a prophet or a dreamer of dreams, and he gives you a sign or a wonder,

²and the sign or the wonder comes to pass, of which he spoke to you, saying, ‘Let us go after other gods’—which you have not known—‘and let us serve them,’

³you shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams, for the LORD your God is testing you to know whether you love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul.

⁴You shall walk after the LORD your God and fear Him, and keep His commandments and obey His voice; you shall serve Him and hold fast to Him.

⁵But that prophet or that dreamer of dreams shall be put to death, because he has spoken in order to turn you away from the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt and redeemed you from the house of bondage, to entice you from the way in which the LORD your God commanded you to walk. So you shall put away the evil from your midst.

⁶“If your brother, the son of your mother, your son or your daughter, the wife of your bosom, or your friend who is as your own soul, secretly entices you, saying, ‘Let us go and serve other gods,’ which you have not known, neither you nor your fathers,

⁷of the gods of the people which are all around you, near to you or far off from you, from one end of the earth to the other end of the earth,

⁸you shall not consent to him or listen to him, nor shall your eye pity him, nor shall you spare him or conceal him;

⁹but you shall surely kill him; your hand shall be first against him to put him to death, and afterward the hand of all the people.

¹⁰And you shall stone him with stones until he dies, because he sought to entice you away from the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage.

¹¹So all Israel shall hear and fear, and not again do such wickedness as this among you.

¹²“If you hear someone in one of your cities, which the LORD your God gives you to dwell in, saying,

¹³‘Corrupt men have gone out from among you and enticed the inhabitants of their city, saying, “Let us go and serve other gods” ’—which you have not known—

¹⁴then you shall inquire, search out, and ask diligently. And if it is indeed true and certain that such an abomination was committed among you,

¹⁵you shall surely strike the inhabitants of that city with the edge of the sword, utterly destroying it, all that is in it and its livestock—with the edge of the sword.

¹⁶And you shall gather all its plunder into the middle of the street, and completely burn with fire the city and all its plunder, for the LORD your God. It shall be a heap forever; it shall not be built again.

¹⁷So none of the accursed things shall remain in your hand, that the LORD may turn from the fierceness of His anger and show you mercy, have compassion on you and multiply you, just as He swore to your fathers,

¹⁸because you have listened to the voice of the LORD your God, to keep all His commandments which I command you today, to do what is right in the eyes of the LORD your God.

¹Now concerning the ministering to the saints, it is superfluous for me to write to you;

²for I know your willingness, about which I boast of you to the Macedonians, that Achaia was ready a year ago; and your zeal has stirred up the majority.

³Yet I have sent the brethren, lest our boasting of you should be in vain in this respect, that, as I said, you may be ready;

⁴lest if some Macedonians come with me and find you unprepared, we (not to mention you!) should be ashamed of this confident boasting.

⁵Therefore I thought it necessary to exhort the brethren to go to you ahead of time, and prepare your generous gift beforehand, which you had previously promised, that it may be ready as a matter of generosity and not as a grudging obligation.

⁶But this I say: He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.

⁷So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver.

⁸And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work.

⁹As it is written: “He has dispersed abroad, He has given to the poor; His righteousness endures forever.”

¹⁰Now may He who supplies seed to the sower, and bread for food, supply and multiply the seed you have sown and increase the fruits of your righteousness,

¹¹while you are enriched in everything for all liberality, which causes thanksgiving through us to God.

¹²For the administration of this service not only supplies the needs of the saints, but also is abounding through many thanksgivings to God,

¹³while, through the proof of this ministry, they glorify God for the obedience of your confession to the gospel of Christ, and for your liberal sharing with them and all men,

¹⁴and by their prayer for you, who long for you because of the exceeding grace of God in you.

¹⁵Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!

¹Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, To the pilgrims of the Dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia,

²elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace to you and peace be multiplied.

³Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,

⁴to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you,

⁵who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

⁶In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials,

⁷that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ,

⁸whom having not seen you love. Though now you do not see Him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory,

⁹receiving the end of your faith—the salvation of your souls.

¹⁰Of this salvation the prophets have inquired and searched carefully, who prophesied of the grace that would come to you,

¹¹searching what, or what manner of time, the Spirit of Christ who was in them was indicating when He testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow.

¹²To them it was revealed that, not to themselves, but to us they were ministering the things which now have been reported to you through those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven—things which angels desire to look into.

¹³Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ;

¹⁴as obedient children, not conforming yourselves to the former lusts, as in your ignorance;

¹⁵but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct,

¹⁶because it is written, “Be holy, for I am holy.”

¹⁷And if you call on the Father, who without partiality judges according to each one’s work, conduct yourselves throughout the time of your stay here in fear;

¹⁸knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers,

¹⁹but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.

²⁰He indeed was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you

²¹who through Him believe in God, who raised Him from the dead and gave Him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God.

²²Since you have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit in sincere love of the brethren, love one another fervently with a pure heart,

²³having been born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the word of God which lives and abides forever,

²⁴because “All flesh is as grass, And all the glory of man as the flower of the grass. The grass withers, And its flower falls away,

²⁵But the word of the LORD endures forever.” Now this is the word which by the gospel was preached to you.

¹The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem.

²“Vanity of vanities,” says the Preacher; “Vanity of vanities, all is vanity.”

³What profit has a man from all his labor In which he toils under the sun?

⁴One generation passes away, and another generation comes; But the earth abides forever.

⁵The sun also rises, and the sun goes down, And hastens to the place where it arose.

⁶The wind goes toward the south, And turns around to the north; The wind whirls about continually, And comes again on its circuit.

⁷All the rivers run into the sea, Yet the sea is not full; To the place from which the rivers come, There they return again.

⁸All things are full of labor; Man cannot express it. The eye is not satisfied with seeing, Nor the ear filled with hearing.

⁹That which has been is what will be, That which is done is what will be done, And there is nothing new under the sun.

¹⁰Is there anything of which it may be said, “See, this is new”? It has already been in ancient times before us.

¹¹There is no remembrance of former things, Nor will there be any remembrance of things that are to come By those who will come after.

¹²I, the Preacher, was king over Israel in Jerusalem.

¹³And I set my heart to seek and search out by wisdom concerning all that is done under heaven; this burdensome task God has given to the sons of man, by which they may be exercised.

¹⁴I have seen all the works that are done under the sun; and indeed, all is vanity and grasping for the wind.

¹⁵What is crooked cannot be made straight, And what is lacking cannot be numbered.

¹⁶I communed with my heart, saying, “Look, I have attained greatness, and have gained more wisdom than all who were before me in Jerusalem. My heart has understood great wisdom and knowledge.”

¹⁷And I set my heart to know wisdom and to know madness and folly. I perceived that this also is grasping for the wind.

¹⁸For in much wisdom is much grief, And he who increases knowledge increases sorrow.

¹To the Chief Musician. Set to “Mahalath.” A Contemplation of David. [1] The fool has said in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, and have done abominable iniquity; There is none who does good.

²God looks down from heaven upon the children of men, To see if there are any who understand, who seek God.

³Every one of them has turned aside; They have together become corrupt; There is none who does good, No, not one.

⁴Have the workers of iniquity no knowledge, Who eat up my people as they eat bread, And do not call upon God?

⁵There they are in great fear Where no fear was, For God has scattered the bones of him who encamps against you; You have put them to shame, Because God has despised them.

⁶Oh, that the salvation of Israel would come out of Zion! When God brings back the captivity of His people, Let Jacob rejoice and Israel be glad.

¹Whoever loves instruction loves knowledge, But he who hates correction is stupid.

²A good man obtains favor from the LORD, But a man of wicked intentions He will condemn.

³A man is not established by wickedness, But the root of the righteous cannot be moved.

⁴An excellent wife is the crown of her husband, But she who causes shame is like rottenness in his bones.

⁵The thoughts of the righteous are right, But the counsels of the wicked are deceitful.

⁶The words of the wicked are, “Lie in wait for blood,” But the mouth of the upright will deliver them.

⁷The wicked are overthrown and are no more, But the house of the righteous will stand.

⁸A man will be commended according to his wisdom, But he who is of a perverse heart will be despised.

⁹Better is the one who is slighted but has a servant, Than he who honors himself but lacks bread.

¹⁰A righteous man regards the life of his animal, But the tender mercies of the wicked are cruel.

¹¹He who tills his land will be satisfied with bread, But he who follows frivolity is devoid of understanding.

¹²The wicked covet the catch of evil men, But the root of the righteous yields fruit.

¹³The wicked is ensnared by the transgression of his lips, But the righteous will come through trouble.

¹⁴A man will be satisfied with good by the fruit of his mouth, And the recompense of a man’s hands will be rendered to him.

¹⁵The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, But he who heeds counsel is wise.

¹⁶A fool’s wrath is known at once, But a prudent man covers shame.

¹⁷He who speaks truth declares righteousness, But a false witness, deceit.

¹⁸There is one who speaks like the piercings of a sword, But the tongue of the wise promotes health.

¹⁹The truthful lip shall be established forever, But a lying tongue is but for a moment.

²⁰Deceit is in the heart of those who devise evil, But counselors of peace have joy.

²¹No grave trouble will overtake the righteous, But the wicked shall be filled with evil.

²²Lying lips are an abomination to the LORD, But those who deal truthfully are His delight.

²³A prudent man conceals knowledge, But the heart of fools proclaims foolishness.

²⁴The hand of the diligent will rule, But the lazy man will be put to forced labor.

²⁵Anxiety in the heart of man causes depression, But a good word makes it glad.

²⁶The righteous should choose his friends carefully, For the way of the wicked leads them astray.

²⁷The lazy man does not roast what he took in hunting, But diligence is man’s precious possession.

²⁸In the way of righteousness is life, And in its pathway there is no death.

¹Again the anger of the LORD was aroused against Israel, and He moved David against them to say, “Go, number Israel and Judah.”

²So the king said to Joab the commander of the army who was with him, “Now go throughout all the tribes of Israel, from Dan to Beersheba, and count the people, that I may know the number of the people.”

³And Joab said to the king, “Now may the LORD your God add to the people a hundred times more than there are, and may the eyes of my lord the king see it. But why does my lord the king desire this thing?”

⁴Nevertheless the king’s word prevailed against Joab and against the captains of the army. Therefore Joab and the captains of the army went out from the presence of the king to count the people of Israel.

⁵And they crossed over the Jordan and camped in Aroer, on the right side of the town which is in the midst of the ravine of Gad, and toward Jazer.

⁶Then they came to Gilead and to the land of Tahtim Hodshi; they came to Dan Jaan and around to Sidon;

⁷and they came to the stronghold of Tyre and to all the cities of the Hivites and the Canaanites. Then they went out to South Judah as far as Beersheba.

⁸So when they had gone through all the land, they came to Jerusalem at the end of nine months and twenty days.

⁹Then Joab gave the sum of the number of the people to the king. And there were in Israel eight hundred thousand valiant men who drew the sword, and the men of Judah were five hundred thousand men.

¹⁰And David’s heart condemned him after he had numbered the people. So David said to the LORD, “I have sinned greatly in what I have done; but now, I pray, O LORD, take away the iniquity of Your servant, for I have done very foolishly.”

¹¹Now when David arose in the morning, the word of the LORD came to the prophet Gad, David’s seer, saying,

¹²“Go and tell David, ‘Thus says the LORD: “I offer you three things; choose one of them for yourself, that I may do it to you.” ’ ”

¹³So Gad came to David and told him; and he said to him, “Shall seven years of famine come to you in your land? Or shall you flee three months before your enemies, while they pursue you? Or shall there be three days’ plague in your land? Now consider and see what answer I should take back to Him who sent me.”

¹⁴And David said to Gad, “I am in great distress. Please let us fall into the hand of the LORD, for His mercies are great; but do not let me fall into the hand of man.”

¹⁵So the LORD sent a plague upon Israel from the morning till the appointed time. From Dan to Beersheba seventy thousand men of the people died.

¹⁶And when the angel stretched out His hand over Jerusalem to destroy it, the LORD relented from the destruction, and said to the angel who was destroying the people, “It is enough; now restrain your hand.” And the angel of the LORD was by the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.

¹⁷Then David spoke to the LORD when he saw the angel who was striking the people, and said, “Surely I have sinned, and I have done wickedly; but these sheep, what have they done? Let Your hand, I pray, be against me and against my father’s house.”

¹⁸And Gad came that day to David and said to him, “Go up, erect an altar to the LORD on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.”

¹⁹So David, according to the word of Gad, went up as the LORD commanded.

²⁰Now Araunah looked, and saw the king and his servants coming toward him. So Araunah went out and bowed before the king with his face to the ground.

²¹Then Araunah said, “Why has my lord the king come to his servant?” And David said, “To buy the threshing floor from you, to build an altar to the LORD, that the plague may be withdrawn from the people.”

²²Now Araunah said to David, “Let my lord the king take and offer up whatever seems good to him. Look, here are oxen for burnt sacrifice, and threshing implements and the yokes of the oxen for wood.

²³All these, O king, Araunah has given to the king.” And Araunah said to the king, “May the LORD your God accept you.”

²⁴Then the king said to Araunah, “No, but I will surely buy it from you for a price; nor will I offer burnt offerings to the LORD my God with that which costs me nothing.” So David bought the threshing floor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver.

²⁵And David built there an altar to the LORD, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings. So the LORD heeded the prayers for the land, and the plague was withdrawn from Israel.

¹Now King Zedekiah the son of Josiah reigned instead of Coniah the son of Jehoiakim, whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon made king in the land of Judah.

²But neither he nor his servants nor the people of the land gave heed to the words of the LORD which He spoke by the prophet Jeremiah.

³And Zedekiah the king sent Jehucal the son of Shelemiah, and Zephaniah the son of Maaseiah, the priest, to the prophet Jeremiah, saying, “Pray now to the LORD our God for us.”

⁴Now Jeremiah was coming and going among the people, for they had not yet put him in prison.

⁵Then Pharaoh’s army came up from Egypt; and when the Chaldeans who were besieging Jerusalem heard news of them, they departed from Jerusalem.

⁶Then the word of the LORD came to the prophet Jeremiah, saying,

⁷“Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, ‘Thus you shall say to the king of Judah, who sent you to Me to inquire of Me: “Behold, Pharaoh’s army which has come up to help you will return to Egypt, to their own land.

⁸And the Chaldeans shall come back and fight against this city, and take it and burn it with fire.” ’

⁹Thus says the LORD: ‘Do not deceive yourselves, saying, “The Chaldeans will surely depart from us,” for they will not depart.

¹⁰For though you had defeated the whole army of the Chaldeans who fight against you, and there remained only wounded men among them, they would rise up, every man in his tent, and burn the city with fire.’ ”

¹¹And it happened, when the army of the Chaldeans left the siege of Jerusalem for fear of Pharaoh’s army,

¹²that Jeremiah went out of Jerusalem to go into the land of Benjamin to claim his property there among the people.

¹³And when he was in the Gate of Benjamin, a captain of the guard was there whose name was Irijah the son of Shelemiah, the son of Hananiah; and he seized Jeremiah the prophet, saying, “You are defecting to the Chaldeans!”

¹⁴Then Jeremiah said, “False! I am not defecting to the Chaldeans.” But he did not listen to him. So Irijah seized Jeremiah and brought him to the princes.

¹⁵Therefore the princes were angry with Jeremiah, and they struck him and put him in prison in the house of Jonathan the scribe. For they had made that the prison.

¹⁶When Jeremiah entered the dungeon and the cells, and Jeremiah had remained there many days,

¹⁷then Zedekiah the king sent and took him out. The king asked him secretly in his house, and said, “Is there any word from the LORD?” And Jeremiah said, “There is.” Then he said, “You shall be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon!”

¹⁸Moreover Jeremiah said to King Zedekiah, “What offense have I committed against you, against your servants, or against this people, that you have put me in prison?

¹⁹Where now are your prophets who prophesied to you, saying, ‘The king of Babylon will not come against you or against this land’?

²⁰Therefore please hear now, O my lord the king. Please, let my petition be accepted before you, and do not make me return to the house of Jonathan the scribe, lest I die there.”

²¹Then Zedekiah the king commanded that they should commit Jeremiah to the court of the prison, and that they should give him daily a piece of bread from the bakers’ street, until all the bread in the city was gone. Thus Jeremiah remained in the court of the prison.

¹Now when they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a synagogue of the Jews.

²Then Paul, as his custom was, went in to them, and for three Sabbaths reasoned with them from the Scriptures,

³explaining and demonstrating that the Christ had to suffer and rise again from the dead, and saying, “This Jesus whom I preach to you is the Christ.”

⁴And some of them were persuaded; and a great multitude of the devout Greeks, and not a few of the leading women, joined Paul and Silas.

⁵But the Jews who were not persuaded, becoming envious, took some of the evil men from the marketplace, and gathering a mob, set all the city in an uproar and attacked the house of Jason, and sought to bring them out to the people.

⁶But when they did not find them, they dragged Jason and some brethren to the rulers of the city, crying out, “These who have turned the world upside down have come here too.

⁷Jason has harbored them, and these are all acting contrary to the decrees of Caesar, saying there is another king—Jesus.”

⁸And they troubled the crowd and the rulers of the city when they heard these things.

⁹So when they had taken security from Jason and the rest, they let them go.

¹⁰Then the brethren immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea. When they arrived, they went into the synagogue of the Jews.

¹¹These were more fair-minded than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so.

¹²Therefore many of them believed, and also not a few of the Greeks, prominent women as well as men.

¹³But when the Jews from Thessalonica learned that the word of God was preached by Paul at Berea, they came there also and stirred up the crowds.

¹⁴Then immediately the brethren sent Paul away, to go to the sea; but both Silas and Timothy remained there.

¹⁵So those who conducted Paul brought him to Athens; and receiving a command for Silas and Timothy to come to him with all speed, they departed.

¹⁶Now while Paul waited for them at Athens, his spirit was provoked within him when he saw that the city was given over to idols.

¹⁷Therefore he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and with the Gentile worshipers, and in the marketplace daily with those who happened to be there.

¹⁸Then certain Epicurean and Stoic philosophers encountered him. And some said, “What does this babbler want to say?” Others said, “He seems to be a proclaimer of foreign gods,” because he preached to them Jesus and the resurrection.

¹⁹And they took him and brought him to the Areopagus, saying, “May we know what this new doctrine is of which you speak?

²⁰For you are bringing some strange things to our ears. Therefore we want to know what these things mean.”

²¹For all the Athenians and the foreigners who were there spent their time in nothing else but either to tell or to hear some new thing.

²²Then Paul stood in the midst of the Areopagus and said, “Men of Athens, I perceive that in all things you are very religious;

²³for as I was passing through and considering the objects of your worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: TO THE UNKNOWN GOD. Therefore, the One whom you worship without knowing, Him I proclaim to you:

²⁴“God, who made the world and everything in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands.

²⁵Nor is He worshiped with men’s hands, as though He needed anything, since He gives to all life, breath, and all things.

²⁶And He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their preappointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings,

²⁷so that they should seek the Lord, in the hope that they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us;

²⁸for in Him we live and move and have our being, as also some of your own poets have said, ‘For we are also His offspring.’

²⁹Therefore, since we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold or silver or stone, something shaped by art and man’s devising.

³⁰Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent,

³¹because He has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained. He has given assurance of this to all by raising Him from the dead.”

³²And when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked, while others said, “We will hear you again on this matter.”

³³So Paul departed from among them.

³⁴However, some men joined him and believed, among them Dionysius the Areopagite, a woman named Damaris, and others with them.