Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹After this, Jesus revealed himself again to his disciples by the Sea of Tiberias. He revealed himself in this way:

²Simon Peter, Thomas (called “Twin” ), Nathanael from Cana of Galilee, Zebedee’s sons, and two others of his disciples were together.

³“I’m going fishing,” Simon Peter said to them. “We’re coming with you,” they told him. They went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing.

⁴When daybreak came, Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples did not know it was Jesus.

⁵“Friends,” Jesus called to them, “you don’t have any fish, do you?” “No,” they answered.

⁶“Cast the net on the right side of the boat,” he told them, “and you’ll find some.” So they did, and they were unable to haul it in because of the large number of fish.

⁷The disciple, the one Jesus loved, said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he tied his outer clothing around him (for he had taken it off) and plunged into the sea.

⁸Since they were not far from land (about a hundred yards away), the other disciples came in the boat, dragging the net full of fish.

⁹When they got out on land, they saw a charcoal fire there, with fish lying on it, and bread.

¹⁰“Bring some of the fish you’ve just caught,” Jesus told them.

¹¹So Simon Peter climbed up and hauled the net ashore, full of large fish — 153 of them. Even though there were so many, the net was not torn.

¹²“Come and have breakfast,” Jesus told them. None of the disciples dared ask him, “Who are you?” because they knew it was the Lord.

¹³Jesus came, took the bread, and gave it to them. He did the same with the fish.

¹⁴This was now the third time Jesus appeared to the disciples after he was raised from the dead.

¹⁵When they had eaten breakfast, Jesus asked Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?” “Yes, Lord,” he said to him, “you know that I love you.” “Feed my lambs,” he told him.

¹⁶A second time he asked him, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” “Yes, Lord,” he said to him, “you know that I love you.” “Shepherd my sheep,” he told him.

¹⁷He asked him the third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” Peter was grieved that he asked him the third time, “Do you love me?” He said, “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.” “Feed my sheep,” Jesus said.

¹⁸“Truly I tell you, when you were younger, you would tie your belt and walk wherever you wanted. But when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands and someone else will tie you and carry you where you don’t want to go.”

¹⁹He said this to indicate by what kind of death Peter would glorify God. After saying this, he told him, “Follow me.”

²⁰So Peter turned around and saw the disciple Jesus loved following them, the one who had leaned back against Jesus at the supper and asked, “Lord, who is the one that’s going to betray you?”

²¹When Peter saw him, he said to Jesus, “Lord, what about him?”

²²“If I want him to remain until I come,” Jesus answered, “what is that to you? As for you, follow me.”

²³So this rumor spread to the brothers and sisters that this disciple would not die. Yet Jesus did not tell him that he would not die, but, “If I want him to remain until I come, what is that to you?”

²⁴This is the disciple who testifies to these things and who wrote them down. We know that his testimony is true.

²⁵And there are also many other things that Jesus did, which, if every one of them were written down, I suppose not even the world itself could contain the books that would be written.

¹“Set aside the month of Abib and observe the Passover to the LORD your God, because the LORD your God brought you out of Egypt by night in the month of Abib.

²Sacrifice to the LORD your God a Passover animal from the herd or flock in the place where the LORD chooses to have his name dwell.

³Do not eat leavened bread with it. For seven days you are to eat unleavened bread with it, the bread of hardship — because you left the land of Egypt in a hurry  — so that you may remember for the rest of your life the day you left the land of Egypt.

⁴No yeast is to be found anywhere in your territory for seven days, and none of the meat you sacrifice in the evening of the first day is to remain until morning.

⁵You are not to sacrifice the Passover animal in any of the towns the LORD your God is giving you.

⁶Sacrifice the Passover animal only at the place where the LORD your God chooses to have his name dwell. Do this in the evening as the sun sets at the same time of day you departed from Egypt.

⁷You are to cook and eat it in the place the LORD your God chooses, and you are to return to your tents in the morning.

⁸Eat unleavened bread for six days. On the seventh day there is to be a solemn assembly to the LORD your God; do not do any work.

⁹“You are to count seven weeks, counting the weeks from the time the sickle is first put to the standing grain.

¹⁰You are to celebrate the Festival of Weeks to the LORD your God with a freewill offering that you give in proportion to how the LORD your God has blessed you.

¹¹Rejoice before the LORD your God in the place where he chooses to have his name dwell — you, your son and daughter, your male and female slave, the Levite within your city gates, as well as the resident alien, the fatherless, and the widow among you.

¹²Remember that you were slaves in Egypt; carefully follow these statutes.

¹³“You are to celebrate the Festival of Shelters for seven days when you have gathered in everything from your threshing floor and winepress.

¹⁴Rejoice during your festival — you, your son and daughter, your male and female slave, as well as the Levite, the resident alien, the fatherless, and the widow within your city gates.

¹⁵You are to hold a seven-day festival for the LORD your God in the place he chooses, because the LORD your God will bless you in all your produce and in all the work of your hands, and you will have abundant joy.

¹⁶“All your males are to appear three times a year before the LORD your God in the place he chooses: at the Festival of Unleavened Bread, the Festival of Weeks, and the Festival of Shelters. No one is to appear before the LORD empty-handed.

¹⁷Everyone must appear with a gift suited to his means, according to the blessing the LORD your God has given you.

¹⁸“Appoint judges and officials for your tribes in all your towns the LORD your God is giving you. They are to judge the people with righteous judgment.

¹⁹Do not deny justice or show partiality to anyone. Do not accept a bribe, for it blinds the eyes of the wise and twists the words of the righteous.

²⁰Pursue justice and justice alone, so that you will live and possess the land the LORD your God is giving you.

²¹“Do not set up an Asherah of any kind of wood next to the altar you will build for the LORD your God,

²²and do not set up a sacred pillar; the LORD your God hates them.

¹Boasting is necessary. It is not profitable, but I will move on to visions and revelations of the Lord.

²I know a man in Christ who was caught up to the third heaven fourteen years ago. Whether he was in the body or out of the body, I don’t know; God knows.

³I know that this man — whether in the body or out of the body I don’t know; God knows —

⁴was caught up into paradise and heard inexpressible words, which a human being is not allowed to speak.

⁵I will boast about this person, but not about myself, except of my weaknesses.

⁶For if I want to boast, I wouldn’t be a fool, because I would be telling the truth. But I will spare you, so that no one can credit me with something beyond what he sees in me or hears from me,

⁷especially because of the extraordinary revelations. Therefore, so that I would not exalt myself, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to torment me so that I would not exalt myself.

⁸Concerning this, I pleaded with the Lord three times that it would leave me.

⁹But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is perfected in weakness.” Therefore, I will most gladly boast all the more about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may reside in me.

¹⁰So I take pleasure in weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and in difficulties, for the sake of Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

¹¹I have been a fool; you forced it on me. You ought to have commended me, since I am not in any way inferior to those “super-apostles,” even though I am nothing.

¹²The signs of an apostle were performed with unfailing endurance among you, including signs and wonders and miracles.

¹³So in what way are you worse off than the other churches, except that I personally did not burden you? Forgive me for this wrong!

¹⁴Look, I am ready to come to you this third time. I will not burden you, since I am not seeking what is yours, but you. For children ought not save up for their parents, but parents for their children.

¹⁵I will most gladly spend and be spent for you. If I love you more, am I to be loved less?

¹⁶Now granted, I did not burden you; yet sly as I am, I took you in by deceit!

¹⁷Did I take advantage of you by any of those I sent you?

¹⁸I urged Titus to go, and I sent the brother with him. Titus didn’t take advantage of you, did he? Didn’t we walk in the same spirit and in the same footsteps?

¹⁹Have you been thinking all along that we were defending ourselves to you? No, in the sight of God we are speaking in Christ, and everything, dear friends, is for building you up.

²⁰For I fear that perhaps when I come I will not find you to be what I want, and you may not find me to be what you want. Perhaps there will be quarreling, jealousy, angry outbursts, selfish ambitions, slander, gossip, arrogance, and disorder.

²¹I fear that when I come my God will again humiliate me in your presence, and I will grieve for many who sinned before and have not repented of the moral impurity, sexual immorality, and sensuality they practiced.

¹Therefore, since Christ suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same understanding  — because the one who suffers in the flesh is finished with sin  —

²in order to live the remaining time in the flesh no longer for human desires, but for God’s will.

³For there has already been enough time spent in doing what the Gentiles choose to do: carrying on in unrestrained behavior, evil desires, drunkenness, orgies, carousing, and lawless idolatry.

⁴They are surprised that you don’t join them in the same flood of wild living — and they slander you.

⁵They will give an account to the one who stands ready to judge the living and the dead.

⁶For this reason the gospel was also preached to those who are now dead, so that, although they might be judged in the flesh according to human standards, they might live in the spirit according to God’s standards.

⁷The end of all things is near; therefore, be alert and sober-minded for prayer.

⁸Above all, maintain constant love for one another, since love covers a multitude of sins.

⁹Be hospitable to one another without complaining.

¹⁰Just as each one has received a gift, use it to serve others, as good stewards of the varied grace of God.

¹¹If anyone speaks, let it be as one who speaks God’s words; if anyone serves, let it be from the strength God provides, so that God may be glorified through Jesus Christ in everything. To him be the glory and the power forever and ever. Amen.

¹²Dear friends, don’t be surprised when the fiery ordeal comes among you to test you as if something unusual were happening to you.

¹³Instead, rejoice as you share in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may also rejoice with great joy when his glory is revealed.

¹⁴If you are ridiculed for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you.

¹⁵Let none of you suffer as a murderer, a thief, an evildoer, or a meddler.

¹⁶But if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed but let him glorify God in having that name.

¹⁷For the time has come for judgment to begin with God’s household, and if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who disobey the gospel of God?

¹⁸And if a righteous person is saved with difficulty, what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?

¹⁹So then, let those who suffer according to God’s will entrust themselves to a faithful Creator while doing what is good.

¹Again, I observed all the acts of oppression being done under the sun. Look at the tears of those who are oppressed; they have no one to comfort them. Power is with those who oppress them; they have no one to comfort them.

²So I commended the dead, who have already died, more than the living, who are still alive.

³But better than either of them is the one who has not yet existed, who has not seen the evil activity that is done under the sun.

⁴I saw that all labor and all skillful work is due to one person’s jealousy of another. This too is futile and a pursuit of the wind.

⁵The fool folds his arms and consumes his own flesh.

⁶Better one handful with rest than two handfuls with effort and a pursuit of the wind.

⁷Again, I saw futility under the sun:

⁸There is a person without a companion, without even a son or brother, and though there is no end to all his struggles, his eyes are still not content with riches. “Who am I struggling for,” he asks, “and depriving myself of good things?” This too is futile and a miserable task.

⁹Two are better than one because they have a good reward for their efforts.

¹⁰For if either falls, his companion can lift him up; but pity the one who falls without another to lift him up.

¹¹Also, if two lie down together, they can keep warm; but how can one person alone keep warm?

¹²And if someone overpowers one person, two can resist him. A cord of three strands is not easily broken.

¹³Better is a poor but wise youth than an old but foolish king who no longer pays attention to warnings.

¹⁴For he came from prison to be king, even though he was born poor in his kingdom.

¹⁵I saw all the living, who move about under the sun, follow a second youth who succeeds him.

¹⁶There is no limit to all the people who were before them, yet those who come later will not rejoice in him. This too is futile and a pursuit of the wind.

¹For the choir director: according to “A Silent Dove Far Away.” A of David. When the Philistines seized him in Gath. [1] Be gracious to me, God, for a man is trampling me; he fights and oppresses me all day long.

²My adversaries trample me all day, for many arrogantly fight against me.

³When I am afraid, I will trust in you.

⁴In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I will not be afraid. What can mere mortals do to me?

⁵They twist my words all day long; all their thoughts against me are evil.

⁶They stir up strife, they lurk; they watch my steps while they wait to take my life.

⁷Will they escape in spite of such sin? God, bring down the nations in wrath.

⁸You yourself have recorded my wanderings. Put my tears in your bottle. Are they not in your book?

⁹Then my enemies will retreat on the day when I call. This I know: God is for me.

¹⁰In God, whose word I praise, in the LORD, whose word I praise,

¹¹in God I trust; I will not be afraid. What can mere humans do to me?

¹²I am obligated by vows to you, God; I will make my thank offerings to you.

¹³For you rescued me from death, even my feet from stumbling, to walk before God in the light of life.

¹A gentle answer turns away anger, but a harsh word stirs up wrath.

²The tongue of the wise makes knowledge attractive, but the mouth of fools blurts out foolishness.

³The eyes of the LORD are everywhere, observing the wicked and the good.

⁴The tongue that heals is a tree of life, but a devious tongue breaks the spirit.

⁵A fool despises his father’s discipline, but a person who accepts correction is sensible.

⁶The house of the righteous has great wealth, but trouble accompanies the income of the wicked.

⁷The lips of the wise broadcast knowledge, but not so the heart of fools.

⁸The sacrifice of the wicked is detestable to the LORD, but the prayer of the upright is his delight.

⁹The LORD detests the way of the wicked, but he loves the one who pursues righteousness.

¹⁰Discipline is harsh for the one who leaves the path; the one who hates correction will die.

¹¹Sheol and Abaddon lie open before the LORD  —  how much more, human hearts.

¹²A mocker doesn’t love one who corrects him; he will not consult the wise.

¹³A joyful heart makes a face cheerful, but a sad heart produces a broken spirit.

¹⁴A discerning mind seeks knowledge, but the mouth of fools feeds on foolishness.

¹⁵All the days of the oppressed are miserable, but a cheerful heart has a continual feast.

¹⁶Better a little with the fear of the LORD than great treasure with turmoil.

¹⁷Better a meal of vegetables where there is love than a fattened ox with hatred.

¹⁸A hot-tempered person stirs up conflict, but one slow to anger calms strife.

¹⁹A slacker’s way is like a thorny hedge, but the path of the upright is a highway.

²⁰A wise son brings joy to his father, but a foolish man despises his mother.

²¹Foolishness brings joy to one without sense, but a person with understanding walks a straight path.

²²Plans fail when there is no counsel, but with many advisers they succeed.

²³A person takes joy in giving an answer; and a timely word — how good that is!

²⁴For the prudent the path of life leads upward, so that he may avoid going down to Sheol.

²⁵The LORD tears apart the house of the proud, but he protects the widow’s territory.

²⁶The LORD detests the plans of the one who is evil, but pleasant words are pure.

²⁷The one who profits dishonestly troubles his household, but the one who hates bribes will live.

²⁸The mind of the righteous person thinks before answering, but the mouth of the wicked blurts out evil things.

²⁹The LORD is far from the wicked, but he hears the prayer of the righteous.

³⁰Bright eyes cheer the heart; good news strengthens the bones.

³¹One who listens to life-giving rebukes will be at home among the wise.

³²Anyone who ignores discipline despises himself, but whoever listens to correction acquires good sense.

³³The fear of the LORD is what wisdom teaches, and humility comes before honor.

¹Solomon made an alliance with Pharaoh king of Egypt by marrying Pharaoh’s daughter. Solomon brought her to the city of David until he finished building his palace, the LORD’s temple, and the wall surrounding Jerusalem.

²However, the people were sacrificing on the high places, because until that time a temple for the LORD’s name had not been built.

³Solomon loved the LORD by walking in the statutes of his father David, but he also sacrificed and burned incense on the high places.

⁴The king went to Gibeon to sacrifice there because it was the most famous high place. He offered a thousand burnt offerings on that altar.

⁵At Gibeon the LORD appeared to Solomon in a dream at night. God said, “Ask. What should I give you?”

⁶And Solomon replied, “You have shown great and faithful love to your servant, my father David, because he walked before you in faithfulness, righteousness, and integrity. You have continued this great and faithful love for him by giving him a son to sit on his throne, as it is today.

⁷“LORD my God, you have now made your servant king in my father David’s place. Yet I am just a youth with no experience in leadership.

⁸Your servant is among your people you have chosen, a people too many to be numbered or counted.

⁹So give your servant a receptive heart to judge your people and to discern between good and evil. For who is able to judge this great people of yours?”

¹⁰Now it pleased the Lord that Solomon had requested this.

¹¹So God said to him, “Because you have requested this and did not ask for long life or riches for yourself, or the death of your enemies, but you asked discernment for yourself to administer justice,

¹²I will therefore do what you have asked. I will give you a wise and understanding heart, so that there has never been anyone like you before and never will be again.

¹³In addition, I will give you what you did not ask for: both riches and honor, so that no king will be your equal during your entire life.

¹⁴If you walk in my ways and keep my statutes and commands just as your father David did, I will give you a long life.”

¹⁵Then Solomon woke up and realized it had been a dream. He went to Jerusalem, stood before the ark of the Lord’s covenant, and offered burnt offerings and fellowship offerings. Then he held a feast for all his servants.

¹⁶Then two women who were prostitutes came to the king and stood before him.

¹⁷One woman said, “Please, my lord, this woman and I live in the same house, and I had a baby while she was in the house.

¹⁸On the third day after I gave birth, she also had a baby and we were alone. No one else was with us in the house; just the two of us were there.

¹⁹During the night this woman’s son died because she lay on him.

²⁰She got up in the middle of the night and took my son from my side while your servant was asleep. She laid him in her arms, and she put her dead son in my arms.

²¹When I got up in the morning to nurse my son, I discovered he was dead. That morning, when I looked closely at him I realized that he was not the son I gave birth to.”

²²“No,” the other woman said. “My son is the living one; your son is the dead one.” The first woman said, “No, your son is the dead one; my son is the living one.” So they argued before the king.

²³The king replied, “This woman says, ‘This is my son who is alive, and your son is dead,’ but that woman says, ‘No, your son is dead, and my son is alive.’”

²⁴The king continued, “Bring me a sword.” So they brought the sword to the king.

²⁵And the king said, “Cut the living boy in two and give half to one and half to the other.”

²⁶The woman whose son was alive spoke to the king because she felt great compassion for her son. “My lord, give her the living baby,” she said, “but please don’t have him killed!” But the other one said, “He will not be mine or yours. Cut him in two!”

²⁷The king responded, “Give the living baby to the first woman, and don’t kill him. She is his mother.”

²⁸All Israel heard about the judgment the king had given, and they stood in awe of the king because they saw that God’s wisdom was in him to carry out justice.

¹This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD after Nebuzaradan, captain of the guards, released him at Ramah. When he found him, he was bound in chains with all the exiles of Jerusalem and Judah who were being exiled to Babylon.

²The captain of the guards took Jeremiah and said to him, “The LORD your God decreed this disaster on this place,

³and the LORD has fulfilled it. He has done just what he decreed. Because you people have sinned against the LORD and have not obeyed him, this thing has happened.

⁴Now pay attention: Today I am setting you free from the chains that were on your hands. If it pleases you to come with me to Babylon, come, and I will take care of you. But if it seems wrong to you to come with me to Babylon, go no farther. Look — the whole land is in front of you. Wherever it seems good and right for you to go, go there.”

⁵When Jeremiah had not yet turned to go, Nebuzaradan said to him, “Return to Gedaliah son of Ahikam, son of Shaphan, whom the king of Babylon has appointed over the cities of Judah, and stay with him among the people or go wherever it seems right for you to go.” So the captain of the guards gave him a ration and a gift and released him.

⁶Jeremiah therefore went to Gedaliah son of Ahikam at Mizpah, and he stayed with him among the people who remained in the land.

⁷All the commanders of the armies that were in the countryside — they and their men — heard that the king of Babylon had appointed Gedaliah son of Ahikam over the land. He had been put in charge of the men, women, and children from among the poorest of the land, who had not been deported to Babylon.

⁸So they came to Gedaliah at Mizpah. The commanders included Ishmael son of Nethaniah, Johanan and Jonathan the sons of Kareah, Seraiah son of Tanhumeth, the sons of Ephai the Netophathite, and Jezaniah son of the Maacathite — they and their men.

⁹Gedaliah son of Ahikam, son of Shaphan, swore an oath to them and their men, assuring them, “Don’t be afraid to serve the Chaldeans. Live in the land and serve the king of Babylon, and it will go well for you.

¹⁰As for me, I am going to live in Mizpah to represent you before the Chaldeans who come to us. As for you, gather wine, summer fruit, and oil, place them in your storage jars, and live in the cities you have captured.”

¹¹When all the Judeans in Moab and among the Ammonites and in Edom and in all the other lands also heard that the king of Babylon had left a remnant in Judah and had appointed Gedaliah son of Ahikam, son of Shaphan, over them,

¹²they all returned from all the places where they had been banished and came to the land of Judah, to Gedaliah at Mizpah, and harvested a great amount of wine and summer fruit.

¹³Meanwhile, Johanan son of Kareah and all the commanders of the armies in the countryside came to Gedaliah at Mizpah

¹⁴and warned him, “Don’t you realize that Baalis, king of the Ammonites, has sent Ishmael son of Nethaniah to kill you?” But Gedaliah son of Ahikam would not believe them.

¹⁵Then Johanan son of Kareah suggested to Gedaliah in private at Mizpah, “Let me go kill Ishmael son of Nethaniah. No one will know it. Why should he kill you and allow all of Judah that has gathered around you to scatter and the remnant of Judah to perish?”

¹⁶But Gedaliah son of Ahikam responded to Johanan son of Kareah, “Don’t do that! What you’re saying about Ishmael is a lie.”

¹After the uproar was over, Paul sent for the disciples, encouraged them, and after saying farewell, departed to go to Macedonia.

²And when he had passed through those areas and offered them many words of encouragement, he came to Greece

³and stayed three months. The Jews plotted against him when he was about to set sail for Syria, and so he decided to go back through Macedonia.

⁴He was accompanied by Sopater son of Pyrrhus from Berea, Aristarchus and Secundus from Thessalonica, Gaius from Derbe, Timothy, and Tychicus and Trophimus from the province of Asia.

⁵These men went on ahead and waited for us in Troas,

⁶but we sailed away from Philippi after the Festival of Unleavened Bread. In five days we reached them at Troas, where we spent seven days.

⁷On the first day of the week, we assembled to break bread. Paul spoke to them, and since he was about to depart the next day, he kept on talking until midnight.

⁸There were many lamps in the room upstairs where we were assembled,

⁹and a young man named Eutychus was sitting on a window sill and sank into a deep sleep as Paul kept on talking. When he was overcome by sleep, he fell down from the third story and was picked up dead.

¹⁰But Paul went down, bent over him, embraced him, and said, “Don’t be alarmed, because he’s alive.”

¹¹After going upstairs, breaking the bread, and eating, Paul talked a long time until dawn. Then he left.

¹²They brought the boy home alive and were greatly comforted.

¹³We went on ahead to the ship and sailed for Assos, where we were going to take Paul on board, because these were his instructions, since he himself was going by land.

¹⁴When he met us at Assos, we took him on board and went on to Mitylene.

¹⁵Sailing from there, the next day we arrived off Chios. The following day we crossed over to Samos, and the day after, we came to Miletus.

¹⁶For Paul had decided to sail past Ephesus to avoid spending time in the province of Asia, because he was hurrying to be in Jerusalem, if possible, for the day of Pentecost.

¹⁷Now from Miletus, he sent to Ephesus and summoned the elders of the church.

¹⁸When they came to him, he said to them: “You know, from the first day I set foot in Asia, how I was with you the whole time,

¹⁹serving the Lord with all humility, with tears, and during the trials that came to me through the plots of the Jews.

²⁰You know that I did not avoid proclaiming to you anything that was profitable or from teaching you publicly and from house to house.

²¹I testified to both Jews and Greeks about repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus.

²²“And now I am on my way to Jerusalem, compelled by the Spirit, not knowing what I will encounter there,

²³except that in every town the Holy Spirit warns me that chains and afflictions are waiting for me.

²⁴But I consider my life of no value to myself; my purpose is to finish my course and the ministry I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of God’s grace.

²⁵“And now I know that none of you, among whom I went about preaching the kingdom, will ever see me again.

²⁶Therefore I declare to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all of you,

²⁷because I did not avoid declaring to you the whole plan of God.

²⁸Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has appointed you as overseers, to shepherd the church of God, which he purchased with his own blood.

²⁹I know that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock.

³⁰Men will rise up even from your own number and distort the truth to lure the disciples into following them.

³¹Therefore be on the alert, remembering that night and day for three years I never stopped warning each one of you with tears.

³²“And now I commit you to God and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up and to give you an inheritance among all who are sanctified.

³³I have not coveted anyone’s silver or gold or clothing.

³⁴You yourselves know that I worked with my own hands to support myself and those who are with me.

³⁵In every way I’ve shown you that it is necessary to help the weak by laboring like this and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, because he said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’”

³⁶After he said this, he knelt down and prayed with all of them.

³⁷There were many tears shed by everyone. They embraced Paul and kissed him,

³⁸grieving most of all over his statement that they would never see his face again. And they accompanied him to the ship.