Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹After saying these things, Jesus crossed the Kidron Valley with his disciples and entered a grove of olive trees.

²Judas, the betrayer, knew this place, because Jesus had often gone there with his disciples.

³The leading priests and Pharisees had given Judas a contingent of Roman soldiers and Temple guards to accompany him. Now with blazing torches, lanterns, and weapons, they arrived at the olive grove.

⁴Jesus fully realized all that was going to happen to him, so he stepped forward to meet them. “Who are you looking for?” he asked.

⁵“Jesus the Nazarene,” they replied. “I AM he,” Jesus said. (Judas, who betrayed him, was standing with them.)

⁶As Jesus said “I AM he,” they all drew back and fell to the ground!

⁷Once more he asked them, “Who are you looking for?” And again they replied, “Jesus the Nazarene.”

⁸“I told you that I AM he,” Jesus said. “And since I am the one you want, let these others go.”

⁹He did this to fulfill his own statement: “I did not lose a single one of those you have given me.”

¹⁰Then Simon Peter drew a sword and slashed off the right ear of Malchus, the high priest’s slave.

¹¹But Jesus said to Peter, “Put your sword back into its sheath. Shall I not drink from the cup of suffering the Father has given me?”

¹²So the soldiers, their commanding officer, and the Temple guards arrested Jesus and tied him up.

¹³First they took him to Annas, since he was the father-in-law of Caiaphas, the high priest at that time.

¹⁴Caiaphas was the one who had told the other Jewish leaders, “It’s better that one man should die for the people.”

¹⁵Simon Peter followed Jesus, as did another of the disciples. That other disciple was acquainted with the high priest, so he was allowed to enter the high priest’s courtyard with Jesus.

¹⁶Peter had to stay outside the gate. Then the disciple who knew the high priest spoke to the woman watching at the gate, and she let Peter in.

¹⁷The woman asked Peter, “You’re not one of that man’s disciples, are you?” “No,” he said, “I am not.”

¹⁸Because it was cold, the household servants and the guards had made a charcoal fire. They stood around it, warming themselves, and Peter stood with them, warming himself.

¹⁹Inside, the high priest began asking Jesus about his followers and what he had been teaching them.

²⁰Jesus replied, “Everyone knows what I teach. I have preached regularly in the synagogues and the Temple, where the people gather. I have not spoken in secret.

²¹Why are you asking me this question? Ask those who heard me. They know what I said.”

²²Then one of the Temple guards standing nearby slapped Jesus across the face. “Is that the way to answer the high priest?” he demanded.

²³Jesus replied, “If I said anything wrong, you must prove it. But if I’m speaking the truth, why are you beating me?”

²⁴Then Annas bound Jesus and sent him to Caiaphas, the high priest.

²⁵Meanwhile, as Simon Peter was standing by the fire warming himself, they asked him again, “You’re not one of his disciples, are you?” He denied it, saying, “No, I am not.”

²⁶But one of the household slaves of the high priest, a relative of the man whose ear Peter had cut off, asked, “Didn’t I see you out there in the olive grove with Jesus?”

²⁷Again Peter denied it. And immediately a rooster crowed.

²⁸Jesus’ trial before Caiaphas ended in the early hours of the morning. Then he was taken to the headquarters of the Roman governor. His accusers didn’t go inside because it would defile them, and they wouldn’t be allowed to celebrate the Passover.

²⁹So Pilate, the governor, went out to them and asked, “What is your charge against this man?”

³⁰“We wouldn’t have handed him over to you if he weren’t a criminal!” they retorted.

³¹“Then take him away and judge him by your own law,” Pilate told them. “Only the Romans are permitted to execute someone,” the Jewish leaders replied.

³²(This fulfilled Jesus’ prediction about the way he would die. )

³³Then Pilate went back into his headquarters and called for Jesus to be brought to him. “Are you the king of the Jews?” he asked him.

³⁴Jesus replied, “Is this your own question, or did others tell you about me?”

³⁵“Am I a Jew?” Pilate retorted. “Your own people and their leading priests brought you to me for trial. Why? What have you done?”

³⁶Jesus answered, “My Kingdom is not an earthly kingdom. If it were, my followers would fight to keep me from being handed over to the Jewish leaders. But my Kingdom is not of this world.”

³⁷Pilate said, “So you are a king?” Jesus responded, “You say I am a king. Actually, I was born and came into the world to testify to the truth. All who love the truth recognize that what I say is true.”

³⁸“What is truth?” Pilate asked. Then he went out again to the people and told them, “He is not guilty of any crime.

³⁹But you have a custom of asking me to release one prisoner each year at Passover. Would you like me to release this ‘King of the Jews’?”

⁴⁰But they shouted back, “No! Not this man. We want Barabbas!” (Barabbas was a revolutionary.)

¹“Suppose there are prophets among you or those who dream dreams about the future, and they promise you signs or miracles,

²and the predicted signs or miracles occur. If they then say, ‘Come, let us worship other gods’ — gods you have not known before —

³do not listen to them. The LORD your God is testing you to see if you truly love him with all your heart and soul.

⁴Serve only the LORD your God and fear him alone. Obey his commands, listen to his voice, and cling to him.

⁵The false prophets or visionaries who try to lead you astray must be put to death, for they encourage rebellion against the LORD your God, who redeemed you from slavery and brought you out of the land of Egypt. Since they try to lead you astray from the way the LORD your God commanded you to live, you must put them to death. In this way you will purge the evil from among you.

⁶“Suppose someone secretly entices you — even your brother, your son or daughter, your beloved wife, or your closest friend — and says, ‘Let us go worship other gods’ — gods that neither you nor your ancestors have known.

⁷They might suggest that you worship the gods of peoples who live nearby or who come from the ends of the earth.

⁸But do not give in or listen. Have no pity, and do not spare or protect them.

⁹You must put them to death! Strike the first blow yourself, and then all the people must join in.

¹⁰Stone the guilty ones to death because they have tried to draw you away from the LORD your God, who rescued you from the land of Egypt, the place of slavery.

¹¹Then all Israel will hear about it and be afraid, and no one will act so wickedly again.

¹²“When you begin living in the towns the LORD your God is giving you, you may hear

¹³that scoundrels among you are leading their fellow citizens astray by saying, ‘Let us go worship other gods’ — gods you have not known before.

¹⁴In such cases, you must examine the facts carefully. If you find that the report is true and such a detestable act has been committed among you,

¹⁵you must attack that town and completely destroy all its inhabitants, as well as all the livestock.

¹⁶Then you must pile all the plunder in the middle of the open square and burn it. Burn the entire town as a burnt offering to the LORD your God. That town must remain a ruin forever; it may never be rebuilt.

¹⁷Keep none of the plunder that has been set apart for destruction. Then the LORD will turn from his fierce anger and be merciful to you. He will have compassion on you and make you a large nation, just as he swore to your ancestors.

¹⁸“The LORD your God will be merciful only if you listen to his voice and keep all his commands that I am giving you today, doing what pleases him.

¹I really don’t need to write to you about this ministry of giving for the believers in Jerusalem.

²For I know how eager you are to help, and I have been boasting to the churches in Macedonia that you in Greece were ready to send an offering a year ago. In fact, it was your enthusiasm that stirred up many of the Macedonian believers to begin giving.

³But I am sending these brothers to be sure you really are ready, as I have been telling them, and that your money is all collected. I don’t want to be wrong in my boasting about you.

⁴We would be embarrassed — not to mention your own embarrassment — if some Macedonian believers came with me and found that you weren’t ready after all I had told them!

⁵So I thought I should send these brothers ahead of me to make sure the gift you promised is ready. But I want it to be a willing gift, not one given grudgingly.

⁶Remember this — a farmer who plants only a few seeds will get a small crop. But the one who plants generously will get a generous crop.

⁷You must each decide in your heart how much to give. And don’t give reluctantly or in response to pressure. “For God loves a person who gives cheerfully.”

⁸And God will generously provide all you need. Then you will always have everything you need and plenty left over to share with others.

⁹As the Scriptures say, “They share freely and give generously to the poor. Their good deeds will be remembered forever.”

¹⁰For God is the one who provides seed for the farmer and then bread to eat. In the same way, he will provide and increase your resources and then produce a great harvest of generosity in you.

¹¹Yes, you will be enriched in every way so that you can always be generous. And when we take your gifts to those who need them, they will thank God.

¹²So two good things will result from this ministry of giving — the needs of the believers in Jerusalem will be met, and they will joyfully express their thanks to God.

¹³As a result of your ministry, they will give glory to God. For your generosity to them and to all believers will prove that you are obedient to the Good News of Christ.

¹⁴And they will pray for you with deep affection because of the overflowing grace God has given to you.

¹⁵Thank God for this gift too wonderful for words!

¹This letter is from Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ. I am writing to God’s chosen people who are living as foreigners in the provinces of Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia.

²God the Father knew you and chose you long ago, and his Spirit has made you holy. As a result, you have obeyed him and have been cleansed by the blood of Jesus Christ. May God give you more and more grace and peace.

³All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is by his great mercy that we have been born again, because God raised Jesus Christ from the dead. Now we live with great expectation,

⁴and we have a priceless inheritance — an inheritance that is kept in heaven for you, pure and undefiled, beyond the reach of change and decay.

⁵And through your faith, God is protecting you by his power until you receive this salvation, which is ready to be revealed on the last day for all to see.

⁶So be truly glad. There is wonderful joy ahead, even though you must endure many trials for a little while.

⁷These trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold — though your faith is far more precious than mere gold. So when your faith remains strong through many trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world.

⁸You love him even though you have never seen him. Though you do not see him now, you trust him; and you rejoice with a glorious, inexpressible joy.

⁹The reward for trusting him will be the salvation of your souls.

¹⁰This salvation was something even the prophets wanted to know more about when they prophesied about this gracious salvation prepared for you.

¹¹They wondered what time or situation the Spirit of Christ within them was talking about when he told them in advance about Christ’s suffering and his great glory afterward.

¹²They were told that their messages were not for themselves, but for you. And now this Good News has been announced to you by those who preached in the power of the Holy Spirit sent from heaven. It is all so wonderful that even the angels are eagerly watching these things happen.

¹³So prepare your minds for action and exercise self-control. Put all your hope in the gracious salvation that will come to you when Jesus Christ is revealed to the world.

¹⁴So you must live as God’s obedient children. Don’t slip back into your old ways of living to satisfy your own desires. You didn’t know any better then.

¹⁵But now you must be holy in everything you do, just as God who chose you is holy.

¹⁶For the Scriptures say, “You must be holy because I am holy.”

¹⁷And remember that the heavenly Father to whom you pray has no favorites. He will judge or reward you according to what you do. So you must live in reverent fear of him during your time here as “temporary residents.”

¹⁸For you know that God paid a ransom to save you from the empty life you inherited from your ancestors. And it was not paid with mere gold or silver, which lose their value.

¹⁹It was the precious blood of Christ, the sinless, spotless Lamb of God.

²⁰God chose him as your ransom long before the world began, but now in these last days he has been revealed for your sake.

²¹Through Christ you have come to trust in God. And you have placed your faith and hope in God because he raised Christ from the dead and gave him great glory.

²²You were cleansed from your sins when you obeyed the truth, so now you must show sincere love to each other as brothers and sisters. Love each other deeply with all your heart.

²³For you have been born again, but not to a life that will quickly end. Your new life will last forever because it comes from the eternal, living word of God.

²⁴As the Scriptures say, “People are like grass; their beauty is like a flower in the field. The grass withers and the flower fades.

²⁵But the word of the Lord remains forever.” And that word is the Good News that was preached to you.

¹These are the words of the Teacher, King David’s son, who ruled in Jerusalem.

²“Everything is meaningless,” says the Teacher, “completely meaningless!”

³What do people get for all their hard work under the sun?

⁴Generations come and generations go, but the earth never changes.

⁵The sun rises and the sun sets, then hurries around to rise again.

⁶The wind blows south, and then turns north. Around and around it goes, blowing in circles.

⁷Rivers run into the sea, but the sea is never full. Then the water returns again to the rivers and flows out again to the sea.

⁸Everything is wearisome beyond description. No matter how much we see, we are never satisfied. No matter how much we hear, we are not content.

⁹History merely repeats itself. It has all been done before. Nothing under the sun is truly new.

¹⁰Sometimes people say, “Here is something new!” But actually it is old; nothing is ever truly new.

¹¹We don’t remember what happened in the past, and in future generations, no one will remember what we are doing now.

¹²I, the Teacher, was king of Israel, and I lived in Jerusalem.

¹³I devoted myself to search for understanding and to explore by wisdom everything being done under heaven. I soon discovered that God has dealt a tragic existence to the human race.

¹⁴I observed everything going on under the sun, and really, it is all meaningless — like chasing the wind.

¹⁵What is wrong cannot be made right. What is missing cannot be recovered.

¹⁶I said to myself, “Look, I am wiser than any of the kings who ruled in Jerusalem before me. I have greater wisdom and knowledge than any of them.”

¹⁷So I set out to learn everything from wisdom to madness and folly. But I learned firsthand that pursuing all this is like chasing the wind.

¹⁸The greater my wisdom, the greater my grief. To increase knowledge only increases sorrow.

¹Only fools say in their hearts, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, and their actions are evil; not one of them does good!

²God looks down from heaven on the entire human race; he looks to see if anyone is truly wise, if anyone seeks God.

³But no, all have turned away; all have become corrupt. No one does good, not a single one!

⁴Will those who do evil never learn? They eat up my people like bread and wouldn’t think of praying to God.

⁵Terror will grip them, terror like they have never known before. God will scatter the bones of your enemies. You will put them to shame, for God has rejected them.

⁶Who will come from Mount Zion to rescue Israel? When God restores his people, Jacob will shout with joy, and Israel will rejoice.

¹To learn, you must love discipline; it is stupid to hate correction.

²The LORD approves of those who are good, but he condemns those who plan wickedness.

³Wickedness never brings stability, but the godly have deep roots.

⁴A worthy wife is a crown for her husband, but a disgraceful woman is like cancer in his bones.

⁵The plans of the godly are just; the advice of the wicked is treacherous.

⁶The words of the wicked are like a murderous ambush, but the words of the godly save lives.

⁷The wicked die and disappear, but the family of the godly stands firm.

⁸A sensible person wins admiration, but a warped mind is despised.

⁹Better to be an ordinary person with a servant than to be self-important but have no food.

¹⁰The godly care for their animals, but the wicked are always cruel.

¹¹A hard worker has plenty of food, but a person who chases fantasies has no sense.

¹²Thieves are jealous of each other’s loot, but the godly are well rooted and bear their own fruit.

¹³The wicked are trapped by their own words, but the godly escape such trouble.

¹⁴Wise words bring many benefits, and hard work brings rewards.

¹⁵Fools think their own way is right, but the wise listen to others.

¹⁶A fool is quick-tempered, but a wise person stays calm when insulted.

¹⁷An honest witness tells the truth; a false witness tells lies.

¹⁸Some people make cutting remarks, but the words of the wise bring healing.

¹⁹Truthful words stand the test of time, but lies are soon exposed.

²⁰Deceit fills hearts that are plotting evil; joy fills hearts that are planning peace!

²¹No harm comes to the godly, but the wicked have their fill of trouble.

²²The LORD detests lying lips, but he delights in those who tell the truth.

²³The wise don’t make a show of their knowledge, but fools broadcast their foolishness.

²⁴Work hard and become a leader; be lazy and become a slave.

²⁵Worry weighs a person down; an encouraging word cheers a person up.

²⁶The godly give good advice to their friends; the wicked lead them astray.

²⁷Lazy people don’t even cook the game they catch, but the diligent make use of everything they find.

²⁸The way of the godly leads to life; that path does not lead to death.

¹Once again the anger of the LORD burned against Israel, and he caused David to harm them by taking a census. “Go and count the people of Israel and Judah,” the LORD told him.

²So the king said to Joab and the commanders of the army, “Take a census of all the tribes of Israel — from Dan in the north to Beersheba in the south — so I may know how many people there are.”

³But Joab replied to the king, “May the LORD your God let you live to see a hundred times as many people as there are now! But why, my lord the king, do you want to do this?”

⁴But the king insisted that they take the census, so Joab and the commanders of the army went out to count the people of Israel.

⁵First they crossed the Jordan and camped at Aroer, south of the town in the valley, in the direction of Gad. Then they went on to Jazer,

⁶then to Gilead in the land of Tahtim-hodshi and to Dan-jaan and around to Sidon.

⁷Then they came to the fortress of Tyre, and all the towns of the Hivites and Canaanites. Finally, they went south to Judah as far as Beersheba.

⁸Having gone through the entire land for nine months and twenty days, they returned to Jerusalem.

⁹Joab reported the number of people to the king. There were 800,000 capable warriors in Israel who could handle a sword, and 500,000 in Judah.

¹⁰But after he had taken the census, David’s conscience began to bother him. And he said to the LORD, “I have sinned greatly by taking this census. Please forgive my guilt, LORD, for doing this foolish thing.”

¹¹The next morning the word of the LORD came to the prophet Gad, who was David’s seer. This was the message:

¹²“Go and say to David, ‘This is what the LORD says: I will give you three choices. Choose one of these punishments, and I will inflict it on you.’”

¹³So Gad came to David and asked him, “Will you choose three years of famine throughout your land, three months of fleeing from your enemies, or three days of severe plague throughout your land? Think this over and decide what answer I should give the LORD who sent me.”

¹⁴“I’m in a desperate situation!” David replied to Gad. “But let us fall into the hands of the LORD, for his mercy is great. Do not let me fall into human hands.”

¹⁵So the LORD sent a plague upon Israel that morning, and it lasted for three days. A total of 70,000 people died throughout the nation, from Dan in the north to Beersheba in the south.

¹⁶But as the angel was preparing to destroy Jerusalem, the LORD relented and said to the death angel, “Stop! That is enough!” At that moment the angel of the LORD was by the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.

¹⁷When David saw the angel, he said to the LORD, “I am the one who has sinned and done wrong! But these people are as innocent as sheep — what have they done? Let your anger fall against me and my family.”

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

¹⁹So David went up to do what the LORD had commanded him.

²⁰When Araunah saw the king and his men coming toward him, he came and bowed before the king with his face to the ground.

²¹“Why have you come, my lord the king?” Araunah asked. David replied, “I have come to buy your threshing floor and to build an altar to the LORD there, so that he will stop the plague.”

²²“Take it, my lord the king, and use it as you wish,” Araunah said to David. “Here are oxen for the burnt offering, and you can use the threshing boards and ox yokes for wood to build a fire on the altar.

²³I will give it all to you, Your Majesty, and may the LORD your God accept your sacrifice.”

²⁴But the king replied to Araunah, “No, I insist on buying it, for I will not present burnt offerings to the LORD my God that have cost me nothing.” So David paid him fifty pieces of silver for the threshing floor and the oxen.

²⁵David built an altar there to the LORD and sacrificed burnt offerings and peace offerings. And the LORD answered his prayer for the land, and the plague on Israel was stopped.

¹Zedekiah son of Josiah succeeded Jehoiachin son of Jehoiakim as the king of Judah. He was appointed by King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon.

²But neither King Zedekiah nor his attendants nor the people who were left in the land listened to what the LORD said through Jeremiah.

³Nevertheless, King Zedekiah sent Jehucal son of Shelemiah, and Zephaniah the priest, son of Maaseiah, to ask Jeremiah, “Please pray to the LORD our God for us.”

⁴Jeremiah had not yet been imprisoned, so he could come and go among the people as he pleased.

⁵At this time the army of Pharaoh Hophra of Egypt appeared at the southern border of Judah. When the Babylonian army heard about it, they withdrew from their siege of Jerusalem.

⁶Then the LORD gave this message to Jeremiah:

⁷“This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: The king of Judah sent you to ask me what is going to happen. Tell him, ‘Pharaoh’s army is about to return to Egypt, though he came here to help you.

⁸Then the Babylonians will come back and capture this city and burn it to the ground.’

⁹“This is what the LORD says: Do not fool yourselves into thinking that the Babylonians are gone for good. They aren’t!

¹⁰Even if you were to destroy the entire Babylonian army, leaving only a handful of wounded survivors, they would still stagger from their tents and burn this city to the ground!”

¹¹When the Babylonian army left Jerusalem because of Pharaoh’s approaching army,

¹²Jeremiah started to leave the city on his way to the territory of Benjamin, to claim his share of the property among his relatives there.

¹³But as he was walking through the Benjamin Gate, a sentry arrested him and said, “You are defecting to the Babylonians!” The sentry making the arrest was Irijah son of Shelemiah, grandson of Hananiah.

¹⁴“That’s not true!” Jeremiah protested. “I had no intention of doing any such thing.” But Irijah wouldn’t listen, and he took Jeremiah before the officials.

¹⁵They were furious with Jeremiah and had him flogged and imprisoned in the house of Jonathan the secretary. Jonathan’s house had been converted into a prison.

¹⁶Jeremiah was put into a dungeon cell, where he remained for many days.

¹⁷Later King Zedekiah secretly requested that Jeremiah come to the palace, where the king asked him, “Do you have any messages from the LORD?” “Yes, I do!” said Jeremiah. “You will be defeated by the king of Babylon.”

¹⁸Then Jeremiah asked the king, “What crime have I committed? What have I done against you, your attendants, or the people that I should be imprisoned like this?

¹⁹Where are your prophets now who told you the king of Babylon would not attack you or this land?

²⁰Listen, my lord the king, I beg you. Don’t send me back to the dungeon in the house of Jonathan the secretary, for I will die there.”

²¹So King Zedekiah commanded that Jeremiah not be returned to the dungeon. Instead, he was imprisoned in the courtyard of the guard in the royal palace. The king also commanded that Jeremiah be given a loaf of fresh bread every day as long as there was any left in the city. So Jeremiah was put in the palace prison.

¹Paul and Silas then traveled through the towns of Amphipolis and Apollonia and came to Thessalonica, where there was a Jewish synagogue.

²As was Paul’s custom, he went to the synagogue service, and for three Sabbaths in a row he used the Scriptures to reason with the people.

³He explained the prophecies and proved that the Messiah must suffer and rise from the dead. He said, “This Jesus I’m telling you about is the Messiah.”

⁴Some of the Jews who listened were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, along with many God-fearing Greek men and quite a few prominent women.

⁵But some of the Jews were jealous, so they gathered some troublemakers from the marketplace to form a mob and start a riot. They attacked the home of Jason, searching for Paul and Silas so they could drag them out to the crowd.

⁶Not finding them there, they dragged out Jason and some of the other believers instead and took them before the city council. “Paul and Silas have caused trouble all over the world,” they shouted, “and now they are here disturbing our city, too.

⁷And Jason has welcomed them into his home. They are all guilty of treason against Caesar, for they profess allegiance to another king, named Jesus.”

⁸The people of the city, as well as the city council, were thrown into turmoil by these reports.

⁹So the officials forced Jason and the other believers to post bond, and then they released them.

¹⁰That very night the believers sent Paul and Silas to Berea. When they arrived there, they went to the Jewish synagogue.

¹¹And the people of Berea were more open-minded than those in Thessalonica, and they listened eagerly to Paul’s message. They searched the Scriptures day after day to see if Paul and Silas were teaching the truth.

¹²As a result, many Jews believed, as did many of the prominent Greek women and men.

¹³But when some Jews in Thessalonica learned that Paul was preaching the word of God in Berea, they went there and stirred up trouble.

¹⁴The believers acted at once, sending Paul on to the coast, while Silas and Timothy remained behind.

¹⁵Those escorting Paul went with him all the way to Athens; then they returned to Berea with instructions for Silas and Timothy to hurry and join him.

¹⁶While Paul was waiting for them in Athens, he was deeply troubled by all the idols he saw everywhere in the city.

¹⁷He went to the synagogue to reason with the Jews and the God-fearing Gentiles, and he spoke daily in the public square to all who happened to be there.

¹⁸He also had a debate with some of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers. When he told them about Jesus and his resurrection, they said, “What’s this babbler trying to say with these strange ideas he’s picked up?” Others said, “He seems to be preaching about some foreign gods.”

¹⁹Then they took him to the high council of the city. “Come and tell us about this new teaching,” they said.

²⁰“You are saying some rather strange things, and we want to know what it’s all about.”

²¹(It should be explained that all the Athenians as well as the foreigners in Athens seemed to spend all their time discussing the latest ideas.)

²²So Paul, standing before the council, addressed them as follows: “Men of Athens, I notice that you are very religious in every way,

²³for as I was walking along I saw your many shrines. And one of your altars had this inscription on it: ‘To an Unknown God.’ This God, whom you worship without knowing, is the one I’m telling you about.

²⁴“He is the God who made the world and everything in it. Since he is Lord of heaven and earth, he doesn’t live in man-made temples,

²⁵and human hands can’t serve his needs — for he has no needs. He himself gives life and breath to everything, and he satisfies every need.

²⁶From one man he created all the nations throughout the whole earth. He decided beforehand when they should rise and fall, and he determined their boundaries.

²⁷“His purpose was for the nations to seek after God and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him — though he is not far from any one of us.

²⁸For in him we live and move and exist. As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’

²⁹And since this is true, we shouldn’t think of God as an idol designed by craftsmen from gold or silver or stone.

³⁰“God overlooked people’s ignorance about these things in earlier times, but now he commands everyone everywhere to repent of their sins and turn to him.

³¹For he has set a day for judging the world with justice by the man he has appointed, and he proved to everyone who this is by raising him from the dead.”

³²When they heard Paul speak about the resurrection of the dead, some laughed in contempt, but others said, “We want to hear more about this later.”

³³That ended Paul’s discussion with them,

³⁴but some joined him and became believers. Among them were Dionysius, a member of the council, a woman named Damaris, and others with them.