Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹After these things Jesus showed Himself again to the disciples at the Sea of Tiberias, and in this way He showed Himself:

²Simon Peter, Thomas called the Twin, Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two others of His disciples were together.

³Simon Peter said to them, “I am going fishing.” They said to him, “We are going with you also.” They went out and immediately got into the boat, and that night they caught nothing.

⁴But when the morning had now come, Jesus stood on the shore; yet the disciples did not know that it was Jesus.

⁵Then Jesus said to them, “Children, have you any food?” They answered Him, “No.”

⁶And He said to them, “Cast the net on the right side of the boat, and you will find some.” So they cast, and now they were not able to draw it in because of the multitude of fish.

⁷Therefore that disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” Now when Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on his outer garment (for he had removed it), and plunged into the sea.

⁸But the other disciples came in the little boat (for they were not far from land, but about two hundred cubits), dragging the net with fish.

⁹Then, as soon as they had come to land, they saw a fire of coals there, and fish laid on it, and bread.

¹⁰Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish which you have just caught.”

¹¹Simon Peter went up and dragged the net to land, full of large fish, one hundred and fifty-three; and although there were so many, the net was not broken.

¹²Jesus said to them, “Come and eat breakfast.” Yet none of the disciples dared ask Him, “Who are You?”—knowing that it was the Lord.

¹³Jesus then came and took the bread and gave it to them, and likewise the fish.

¹⁴This is now the third time Jesus showed Himself to His disciples after He was raised from the dead.

¹⁵So when they had eaten breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me more than these?” He said to Him, “Yes, Lord; You know that I love You.” He said to him, “Feed My lambs.”

¹⁶He said to him again a second time, “Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me?” He said to Him, “Yes, Lord; You know that I love You.” He said to him, “Tend My sheep.”

¹⁷He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me?” Peter was grieved because He said to him the third time, “Do you love Me?” And he said to Him, “Lord, You know all things; You know that I love You.” Jesus said to him, “Feed My sheep.

¹⁸Most assuredly, I say to you, when you were younger, you girded yourself and walked where you wished; but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will gird you and carry you where you do not wish.”

¹⁹This He spoke, signifying by what death he would glorify God. And when He had spoken this, He said to him, “Follow Me.”

²⁰Then Peter, turning around, saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following, who also had leaned on His breast at the supper, and said, “Lord, who is the one who betrays You?”

²¹Peter, seeing him, said to Jesus, “But Lord, what about this man?”

²²Jesus said to him, “If I will that he remain till I come, what is that to you? You follow Me.”

²³Then this saying went out among the brethren that this disciple would not die. Yet Jesus did not say to him that he would not die, but, “If I will that he remain till I come, what is that to you?”

²⁴This is the disciple who testifies of these things, and wrote these things; and we know that his testimony is true.

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

¹“Observe the month of Abib, and keep the Passover to the LORD your God, for in the month of Abib the LORD your God brought you out of Egypt by night.

²Therefore you shall sacrifice the Passover to the LORD your God, from the flock and the herd, in the place where the LORD chooses to put His name.

³You shall eat no leavened bread with it; seven days you shall eat unleavened bread with it, that is, the bread of affliction (for you came out of the land of Egypt in haste), that you may remember the day in which you came out of the land of Egypt all the days of your life.

⁴And no leaven shall be seen among you in all your territory for seven days, nor shall any of the meat which you sacrifice the first day at twilight remain overnight until morning.

⁵“You may not sacrifice the Passover within any of your gates which the LORD your God gives you;

⁶but at the place where the LORD your God chooses to make His name abide, there you shall sacrifice the Passover at twilight, at the going down of the sun, at the time you came out of Egypt.

⁷And you shall roast and eat it in the place which the LORD your God chooses, and in the morning you shall turn and go to your tents.

⁸Six days you shall eat unleavened bread, and on the seventh day there shall be a sacred assembly to the LORD your God. You shall do no work on it.

⁹“You shall count seven weeks for yourself; begin to count the seven weeks from the time you begin to put the sickle to the grain.

¹⁰Then you shall keep the Feast of Weeks to the LORD your God with the tribute of a freewill offering from your hand, which you shall give as the LORD your God blesses you.

¹¹You shall rejoice before the LORD your God, you and your son and your daughter, your male servant and your female servant, the Levite who is within your gates, the stranger and the fatherless and the widow who are among you, at the place where the LORD your God chooses to make His name abide.

¹²And you shall remember that you were a slave in Egypt, and you shall be careful to observe these statutes.

¹³“You shall observe the Feast of Tabernacles seven days, when you have gathered from your threshing floor and from your winepress.

¹⁴And you shall rejoice in your feast, you and your son and your daughter, your male servant and your female servant and the Levite, the stranger and the fatherless and the widow, who are within your gates.

¹⁵Seven days you shall keep a sacred feast to the LORD your God in the place which the LORD chooses, because the LORD your God will bless you in all your produce and in all the work of your hands, so that you surely rejoice.

¹⁶“Three times a year all your males shall appear before the LORD your God in the place which He chooses: at the Feast of Unleavened Bread, at the Feast of Weeks, and at the Feast of Tabernacles; and they shall not appear before the LORD empty-handed.

¹⁷Every man shall give as he is able, according to the blessing of the LORD your God which He has given you.

¹⁸“You shall appoint judges and officers in all your gates, which the LORD your God gives you, according to your tribes, and they shall judge the people with just judgment.

¹⁹You shall not pervert justice; you shall not show partiality, nor take a bribe, for a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise and twists the words of the righteous.

²⁰You shall follow what is altogether just, that you may live and inherit the land which the LORD your God is giving you.

²¹“You shall not plant for yourself any tree, as a wooden image, near the altar which you build for yourself to the LORD your God.

²²You shall not set up a sacred pillar, which the LORD your God hates.

¹It is doubtless not profitable for me to boast. I will come to visions and revelations of the Lord:

²I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago—whether in the body I do not know, or whether out of the body I do not know, God knows—such a one was caught up to the third heaven.

³And I know such a man—whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows—

⁴how he was caught up into Paradise and heard inexpressible words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter.

⁵Of such a one I will boast; yet of myself I will not boast, except in my infirmities.

⁶For though I might desire to boast, I will not be a fool; for I will speak the truth. But I refrain, lest anyone should think of me above what he sees me to be or hears from me.

⁷And lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure.

⁸Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me.

⁹And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

¹⁰Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

¹¹I have become a fool in boasting; you have compelled me. For I ought to have been commended by you; for in nothing was I behind the most eminent apostles, though I am nothing.

¹²Truly the signs of an apostle were accomplished among you with all perseverance, in signs and wonders and mighty deeds.

¹³For what is it in which you were inferior to other churches, except that I myself was not burdensome to you? Forgive me this wrong!

¹⁴Now for the third time I am ready to come to you. And I will not be burdensome to you; for I do not seek yours, but you. For the children ought not to lay up for the parents, but the parents for the children.

¹⁵And I will very gladly spend and be spent for your souls; though the more abundantly I love you, the less I am loved.

¹⁶But be that as it may, I did not burden you. Nevertheless, being crafty, I caught you by cunning!

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

¹⁸I urged Titus, and sent our brother with him. Did Titus take advantage of you? Did we not walk in the same spirit? Did we not walk in the same steps?

¹⁹Again, do you think that we excuse ourselves to you? We speak before God in Christ. But we do all things, beloved, for your edification.

²⁰For I fear lest, when I come, I shall not find you such as I wish, and that I shall be found by you such as you do not wish; lest there be contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, backbitings, whisperings, conceits, tumults;

²¹lest, when I come again, my God will humble me among you, and I shall mourn for many who have sinned before and have not repented of the uncleanness, fornication, and lewdness which they have practiced.

¹Therefore, since Christ suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same mind, for he who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin,

²that he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh for the lusts of men, but for the will of God.

³For we have spent enough of our past lifetime in doing the will of the Gentiles—when we walked in lewdness, lusts, drunkenness, revelries, drinking parties, and abominable idolatries.

⁴In regard to these, they think it strange that you do not run with them in the same flood of dissipation, speaking evil of you.

⁵They will give an account to Him who is ready to judge the living and the dead.

⁶For this reason the gospel was preached also to those who are dead, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit.

⁷But the end of all things is at hand; therefore be serious and watchful in your prayers.

⁸And above all things have fervent love for one another, for “love will cover a multitude of sins.”

⁹Be hospitable to one another without grumbling.

¹⁰As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.

¹¹If anyone speaks, let him speak as the oracles of God. If anyone ministers, let him do it as with the ability which God supplies, that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belong the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.

¹²Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you;

¹³but rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ’s sufferings, that when His glory is revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding joy.

¹⁴If you are reproached for the name of Christ, blessed are you, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. On their part He is blasphemed, but on your part He is glorified.

¹⁵But let none of you suffer as a murderer, a thief, an evildoer, or as a busybody in other people’s matters.

¹⁶Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in this matter.

¹⁷For the time has come for judgment to begin at the house of God; and if it begins with us first, what will be the end of those who do not obey the gospel of God?

¹⁸Now “If the righteous one is scarcely saved, Where will the ungodly and the sinner appear?”

¹⁹Therefore let those who suffer according to the will of God commit their souls to Him in doing good, as to a faithful Creator.

¹Then I returned and considered all the oppression that is done under the sun: And look! The tears of the oppressed, But they have no comforter— On the side of their oppressors there is power, But they have no comforter.

²Therefore I praised the dead who were already dead, More than the living who are still alive.

³Yet, better than both is he who has never existed, Who has not seen the evil work that is done under the sun.

⁴Again, I saw that for all toil and every skillful work a man is envied by his neighbor. This also is vanity and grasping for the wind.

⁵The fool folds his hands And consumes his own flesh.

⁶Better a handful with quietness Than both hands full, together with toil and grasping for the wind.

⁷Then I returned, and I saw vanity under the sun:

⁸There is one alone, without companion: He has neither son nor brother. Yet there is no end to all his labors, Nor is his eye satisfied with riches. But he never asks, “For whom do I toil and deprive myself of good?” This also is vanity and a grave misfortune.

⁹Two are better than one, Because they have a good reward for their labor.

¹⁰For if they fall, one will lift up his companion. But woe to him who is alone when he falls, For he has no one to help him up.

¹¹Again, if two lie down together, they will keep warm; But how can one be warm alone?

¹²Though one may be overpowered by another, two can withstand him. And a threefold cord is not quickly broken.

¹³Better a poor and wise youth Than an old and foolish king who will be admonished no more.

¹⁴For he comes out of prison to be king, Although he was born poor in his kingdom.

¹⁵I saw all the living who walk under the sun; They were with the second youth who stands in his place.

¹⁶There was no end of all the people over whom he was made king; Yet those who come afterward will not rejoice in him. Surely this also is vanity and grasping for the wind.

¹To the Chief Musician. Set to “The Silent Dove in Distant Lands.” A Michtam of David when the Philistines captured him in Gath. [1] Be merciful to me, O God, for man would swallow me up; Fighting all day he oppresses me.

²My enemies would hound me all day, For there are many who fight against me, O Most High.

³Whenever I am afraid, I will trust in You.

⁴In God (I will praise His word), In God I have put my trust; I will not fear. What can flesh do to me?

⁵All day they twist my words; All their thoughts are against me for evil.

⁶They gather together, They hide, they mark my steps, When they lie in wait for my life.

⁷Shall they escape by iniquity? In anger cast down the peoples, O God!

⁸You number my wanderings; Put my tears into Your bottle; Are they not in Your book?

⁹When I cry out to You, Then my enemies will turn back; This I know, because God is for me.

¹⁰In God (I will praise His word), In the LORD (I will praise His word),

¹¹In God I have put my trust; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?

¹²Vows made to You are binding upon me, O God; I will render praises to You,

¹³For You have delivered my soul from death. Have You not kept my feet from falling, That I may walk before God In the light of the living?

¹A soft answer turns away wrath, But a harsh word stirs up anger.

²The tongue of the wise uses knowledge rightly, But the mouth of fools pours forth foolishness.

³The eyes of the LORD are in every place, Keeping watch on the evil and the good.

⁴A wholesome tongue is a tree of life, But perverseness in it breaks the spirit.

⁵A fool despises his father’s instruction, But he who receives correction is prudent.

⁶In the house of the righteous there is much treasure, But in the revenue of the wicked is trouble.

⁷The lips of the wise disperse knowledge, But the heart of the fool does not do so.

⁸The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the LORD, But the prayer of the upright is His delight.

⁹The way of the wicked is an abomination to the LORD, But He loves him who follows righteousness.

¹⁰Harsh discipline is for him who forsakes the way, And he who hates correction will die.

¹¹Hell and Destruction are before the LORD; So how much more the hearts of the sons of men.

¹²A scoffer does not love one who corrects him, Nor will he go to the wise.

¹³A merry heart makes a cheerful countenance, But by sorrow of the heart the spirit is broken.

¹⁴The heart of him who has understanding seeks knowledge, But the mouth of fools feeds on foolishness.

¹⁵All the days of the afflicted are evil, But he who is of a merry heart has a continual feast.

¹⁶Better is a little with the fear of the LORD, Than great treasure with trouble.

¹⁷Better is a dinner of herbs where love is, Than a fatted calf with hatred.

¹⁸A wrathful man stirs up strife, But he who is slow to anger allays contention.

¹⁹The way of the lazy man is like a hedge of thorns, But the way of the upright is a highway.

²⁰A wise son makes a father glad, But a foolish man despises his mother.

²¹Folly is joy to him who is destitute of discernment, But a man of understanding walks uprightly.

²²Without counsel, plans go awry, But in the multitude of counselors they are established.

²³A man has joy by the answer of his mouth, And a word spoken in due season, how good it is!

²⁴The way of life winds upward for the wise, That he may turn away from hell below.

²⁵The LORD will destroy the house of the proud, But He will establish the boundary of the widow.

²⁶The thoughts of the wicked are an abomination to the LORD, But the words of the pure are pleasant.

²⁷He who is greedy for gain troubles his own house, But he who hates bribes will live.

²⁸The heart of the righteous studies how to answer, But the mouth of the wicked pours forth evil.

²⁹The LORD is far from the wicked, But He hears the prayer of the righteous.

³⁰The light of the eyes rejoices the heart, And a good report makes the bones healthy.

³¹The ear that hears the rebukes of life Will abide among the wise.

³²He who disdains instruction despises his own soul, But he who heeds rebuke gets understanding.

³³The fear of the LORD is the instruction of wisdom, And before honor is humility.

¹Now Solomon made a treaty with Pharaoh king of Egypt, and married Pharaoh’s daughter; then he brought her to the City of David until he had finished building his own house, and the house of the LORD, and the wall all around Jerusalem.

²Meanwhile the people sacrificed at the high places, because there was no house built for the name of the LORD until those days.

³And Solomon loved the LORD, walking in the statutes of his father David, except that he sacrificed and burned incense at the high places.

⁴Now the king went to Gibeon to sacrifice there, for that was the great high place: Solomon offered a thousand burnt offerings on that altar.

⁵At Gibeon the LORD appeared to Solomon in a dream by night; and God said, “Ask! What shall I give you?”

⁶And Solomon said: “You have shown great mercy to Your servant David my father, because he walked before You in truth, in righteousness, and in uprightness of heart with You; You have continued this great kindness for him, and You have given him a son to sit on his throne, as it is this day.

⁷Now, O LORD my God, You have made Your servant king instead of my father David, but I am a little child; I do not know how to go out or come in.

⁸And Your servant is in the midst of Your people whom You have chosen, a great people, too numerous to be numbered or counted.

⁹Therefore give to Your servant an understanding heart to judge Your people, that I may discern between good and evil. For who is able to judge this great people of Yours?”

¹⁰The speech pleased the Lord, that Solomon had asked this thing.

¹¹Then God said to him: “Because you have asked this thing, and have not asked long life for yourself, nor have asked riches for yourself, nor have asked the life of your enemies, but have asked for yourself understanding to discern justice,

¹²behold, I have done according to your words; see, I have given you a wise and understanding heart, so that there has not been anyone like you before you, nor shall any like you arise after you.

¹³And I have also given you what you have not asked: both riches and honor, so that there shall not be anyone like you among the kings all your days.

¹⁴So if you walk in My ways, to keep My statutes and My commandments, as your father David walked, then I will lengthen your days.”

¹⁵Then Solomon awoke; and indeed it had been a dream. And he came to Jerusalem and stood before the ark of the covenant of the LORD, offered up burnt offerings, offered peace offerings, and made a feast for all his servants.

¹⁶Now two women who were harlots came to the king, and stood before him.

¹⁷And one woman said, “O my lord, this woman and I dwell in the same house; and I gave birth while she was in the house.

¹⁸Then it happened, the third day after I had given birth, that this woman also gave birth. And we were together; no one was with us in the house, except the two of us in the house.

¹⁹And this woman’s son died in the night, because she lay on him.

²⁰So she arose in the middle of the night and took my son from my side, while your maidservant slept, and laid him in her bosom, and laid her dead child in my bosom.

²¹And when I rose in the morning to nurse my son, there he was, dead. But when I had examined him in the morning, indeed, he was not my son whom I had borne.”

²²Then the other woman said, “No! But the living one is my son, and the dead one is your son.” And the first woman said, “No! But the dead one is your son, and the living one is my son.” Thus they spoke before the king.

²³And the king said, “The one says, ‘This is my son, who lives, and your son is the dead one’; and the other says, ‘No! But your son is the dead one, and my son is the living one.’ ”

²⁴Then the king said, “Bring me a sword.” So they brought a sword before the king.

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

²⁶Then the woman whose son was living spoke to the king, for she yearned with compassion for her son; and she said, “O my lord, give her the living child, and by no means kill him!” But the other said, “Let him be neither mine nor yours, but divide him.”

²⁷So the king answered and said, “Give the first woman the living child, and by no means kill him; she is his mother.”

²⁸And all Israel heard of the judgment which the king had rendered; and they feared the king, for they saw that the wisdom of God was in him to administer justice.

¹The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD after Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard had let him go from Ramah, when he had taken him bound in chains among all who were carried away captive from Jerusalem and Judah, who were carried away captive to Babylon.

²And the captain of the guard took Jeremiah and said to him: “The LORD your God has pronounced this doom on this place.

³Now the LORD has brought it, and has done just as He said. Because you people have sinned against the LORD, and not obeyed His voice, therefore this thing has come upon you.

⁴And now look, I free you this day from the chains that were on your hand. If it seems good to you to come with me to Babylon, come, and I will look after you. But if it seems wrong for you to come with me to Babylon, remain here. See, all the land is before you; wherever it seems good and convenient for you to go, go there.”

⁵Now while Jeremiah had not yet gone back, Nebuzaradan said, “Go back to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, whom the king of Babylon has made governor over the cities of Judah, and dwell with him among the people. Or go wherever it seems convenient for you to go.” So the captain of the guard gave him rations and a gift and let him go.

⁶Then Jeremiah went to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, to Mizpah, and dwelt with him among the people who were left in the land.

⁷And when all the captains of the armies who were in the fields, they and their men, heard that the king of Babylon had made Gedaliah the son of Ahikam governor in the land, and had committed to him men, women, children, and the poorest of the land who had not been carried away captive to Babylon,

⁸then they came to Gedaliah at Mizpah— Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, Johanan and Jonathan the sons of Kareah, Seraiah the son of Tanhumeth, the sons of Ephai the Netophathite, and Jezaniah the son of a Maachathite, they and their men.

⁹And Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, took an oath before them and their men, saying, “Do not be afraid to serve the Chaldeans. Dwell in the land and serve the king of Babylon, and it shall be well with you.

¹⁰As for me, I will indeed dwell at Mizpah and serve the Chaldeans who come to us. But you, gather wine and summer fruit and oil, put them in your vessels, and dwell in your cities that you have taken.”

¹¹Likewise, when all the Jews who were in Moab, among the Ammonites, in Edom, and who were in all the countries, heard that the king of Babylon had left a remnant of Judah, and that he had set over them Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan,

¹²then all the Jews returned out of all places where they had been driven, and came to the land of Judah, to Gedaliah at Mizpah, and gathered wine and summer fruit in abundance.

¹³Moreover Johanan the son of Kareah and all the captains of the forces that were in the fields came to Gedaliah at Mizpah,

¹⁴and said to him, “Do you certainly know that Baalis the king of the Ammonites has sent Ishmael the son of Nethaniah to murder you?” But Gedaliah the son of Ahikam did not believe them.

¹⁵Then Johanan the son of Kareah spoke secretly to Gedaliah in Mizpah, saying, “Let me go, please, and I will kill Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, and no one will know it. Why should he murder you, so that all the Jews who are gathered to you would be scattered, and the remnant in Judah perish?”

¹⁶But Gedaliah the son of Ahikam said to Johanan the son of Kareah, “You shall not do this thing, for you speak falsely concerning Ishmael.”

¹After the uproar had ceased, Paul called the disciples to himself, embraced them, and departed to go to Macedonia.

²Now when he had gone over that region and encouraged them with many words, he came to Greece

³and stayed three months. And when the Jews plotted against him as he was about to sail to Syria, he decided to return through Macedonia.

⁴And Sopater of Berea accompanied him to Asia—also Aristarchus and Secundus of the Thessalonians, and Gaius of Derbe, and Timothy, and Tychicus and Trophimus of Asia.

⁵These men, going ahead, waited for us at Troas.

⁶But we sailed away from Philippi after the Days of Unleavened Bread, and in five days joined them at Troas, where we stayed seven days.

⁷Now on the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul, ready to depart the next day, spoke to them and continued his message until midnight.

⁸There were many lamps in the upper room where they were gathered together.

⁹And in a window sat a certain young man named Eutychus, who was sinking into a deep sleep. He was overcome by sleep; and as Paul continued speaking, he fell down from the third story and was taken up dead.

¹⁰But Paul went down, fell on him, and embracing him said, “Do not trouble yourselves, for his life is in him.”

¹¹Now when he had come up, had broken bread and eaten, and talked a long while, even till daybreak, he departed.

¹²And they brought the young man in alive, and they were not a little comforted.

¹³Then we went ahead to the ship and sailed to Assos, there intending to take Paul on board; for so he had given orders, intending himself to go on foot.

¹⁴And when he met us at Assos, we took him on board and came to Mitylene.

¹⁵We sailed from there, and the next day came opposite Chios. The following day we arrived at Samos and stayed at Trogyllium. The next day we came to Miletus.

¹⁶For Paul had decided to sail past Ephesus, so that he would not have to spend time in Asia; for he was hurrying to be at Jerusalem, if possible, on the Day of Pentecost.

¹⁷From Miletus he sent to Ephesus and called for the elders of the church.

¹⁸And when they had come to him, he said to them: “You know, from the first day that I came to Asia, in what manner I always lived among you,

¹⁹serving the Lord with all humility, with many tears and trials which happened to me by the plotting of the Jews;

²⁰how I kept back nothing that was helpful, but proclaimed it to you, and taught you publicly and from house to house,

²¹testifying to Jews, and also to Greeks, repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.

²²And see, now I go bound in the spirit to Jerusalem, not knowing the things that will happen to me there,

²³except that the Holy Spirit testifies in every city, saying that chains and tribulations await me.

²⁴But none of these things move me; nor do I count my life dear to myself, so that I may finish my race with joy, and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God.

²⁵“And indeed, now I know that you all, among whom I have gone preaching the kingdom of God, will see my face no more.

²⁶Therefore I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all men.

²⁷For I have not shunned to declare to you the whole counsel of God.

²⁸Therefore take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood.

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

³⁰Also from among yourselves men will rise up, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after themselves.

³¹Therefore watch, and remember that for three years I did not cease to warn everyone night and day with tears.

³²“So now, brethren, I commend you to God and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified.

³³I have coveted no one’s silver or gold or apparel.

³⁴Yes, you yourselves know that these hands have provided for my necessities, and for those who were with me.

³⁵I have shown you in every way, by laboring like this, that you must support the weak. And remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that He said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’ ”

³⁶And when he had said these things, he knelt down and prayed with them all.

³⁷Then they all wept freely, and fell on Paul’s neck and kissed him,

³⁸sorrowing most of all for the words which he spoke, that they would see his face no more. And they accompanied him to the ship.