Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹The record of the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah, the son of David, the son of Abraham:

²Abraham fathered Isaac, Isaac fathered Jacob, and Jacob fathered Judah and his brothers.

³Judah fathered Perez and Zerah by Tamar, Perez fathered Hezron, and Hezron fathered Ram.

⁴Ram fathered Amminadab, Amminadab fathered Nahshon, and Nahshon fathered Salmon.

⁵Salmon fathered Boaz by Rahab, Boaz fathered Obed by Ruth, and Obed fathered Jesse.

⁶Jesse fathered David the king. David fathered Solomon by her who had been the wife of Uriah.

⁷Solomon fathered Rehoboam, Rehoboam fathered Abijah, and Abijah fathered Asa.

⁸Asa fathered Jehoshaphat, Jehoshaphat fathered Joram, and Joram fathered Uzziah.

⁹Uzziah fathered Jotham, Jotham fathered Ahaz, and Ahaz fathered Hezekiah.

¹⁰Hezekiah fathered Manasseh, Manasseh fathered Amon, and Amon fathered Josiah.

¹¹Josiah fathered Jeconiah and his brothers, at the time of the deportation to Babylon.

¹²After the deportation to Babylon: Jeconiah fathered Shealtiel, and Shealtiel fathered Zerubbabel.

¹³Zerubbabel fathered Abihud, Abihud fathered Eliakim, and Eliakim fathered Azor.

¹⁴Azor fathered Zadok, Zadok fathered Achim, and Achim fathered Eliud.

¹⁵Eliud fathered Eleazar, Eleazar fathered Matthan, and Matthan fathered Jacob.

¹⁶Jacob fathered Joseph the husband of Mary, by whom Jesus was born, who is called the Messiah.

¹⁷So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations; from David to the deportation to Babylon, fourteen generations; and from the deportation to Babylon to the Messiah, fourteen generations.

¹⁸Now the birth of Jesus the Messiah was as follows: when His mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be pregnant by the Holy Spirit.

¹⁹And her husband Joseph, since he was a righteous man and did not want to disgrace her, planned to send her away secretly.

²⁰But when he had thought this over, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife; for the Child who has been conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit.

²¹She will give birth to a Son; and you shall name Him Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.”

²²Now all this took place so that what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet would be fulfilled:

²³“BEHOLD, THE VIRGIN WILL CONCEIVE AND GIVE BIRTH TO A SON, AND THEY SHALL NAME HIM IMMANUEL,” which translated means, “GOD WITH US.”

²⁴And Joseph awoke from his sleep and did as the angel of the Lord commanded him, and took Mary as his wife,

²⁵but kept her a virgin until she gave birth to a Son; and he named Him Jesus.

¹“You shall not sacrifice to the LORD your God an ox or a sheep which has a blemish or any defect, for that is a detestable thing to the LORD your God.

²“If there is found in your midst, in any of your towns which the LORD your God is giving you, a man or a woman who does what is evil in the sight of the LORD your God, by violating His covenant,

³and that person has gone and served other gods and worshiped them, or the sun, the moon, or any of the heavenly lights, which I have commanded not to do,

⁴and if it is reported to you and you have heard about it, then you shall investigate thoroughly. And if it is true and the report is trustworthy that this detestable thing has been done in Israel,

⁵then you are to bring out to your gates that man or woman who has done this evil deed, that is, the man or the woman, and you shall stone them to death.

⁶On the testimony of two witnesses or three witnesses, the condemned shall be put to death; he shall not be put to death on the testimony of only one witness.

⁷The hands of the witnesses shall be first against him to put him to death, and afterward the hands of all the people. So you shall eliminate the evil from your midst.

⁸“If a case is too difficult for you to decide, between one kind of homicide or another, between one kind of lawsuit or another, and between one kind of assault or another, that are cases of dispute in your courts, then you shall arise and go up to the place which the LORD your God chooses.

⁹So you shall come to the Levitical priests or the judge who is in office in those days, and you shall inquire of them and they will declare to you the verdict.

¹⁰Then you shall act in accordance with the terms of the verdict which they declare to you from that place which the LORD chooses; and you shall be careful to act in accordance with everything that they instruct you to do.

¹¹In accordance with the terms of the law about which they instruct you, and in accordance with the verdict which they tell you, you shall act; you shall not turn aside from the word which they declare to you, to the right or the left.

¹²But the person who acts insolently by not listening to the priest who stands there to serve the LORD your God, nor to the judge, that person shall die; so you shall eliminate the evil from Israel.

¹³Then all the people will hear and be afraid, and will not act insolently again.

¹⁴“When you enter the land which the LORD your God is giving you, and you take possession of it and live in it, and you say, ‘I will appoint a king over me like all the nations who are around me,’

¹⁵you shall in fact appoint a king over you whom the LORD your God chooses. One from among your countrymen you shall appoint as king over yourselves; you may not put a foreigner over yourselves, anyone who is not your countryman.

¹⁶In any case, he is not to acquire many horses for himself, nor shall he make the people return to Egypt in order to acquire many horses, since the LORD has said to you, ‘You shall never again return that way.’

¹⁷And he shall not acquire many wives for himself, so that his heart does not turn away; nor shall he greatly increase silver and gold for himself.

¹⁸“Now it shall come about, when he sits on the throne of his kingdom, that he shall write for himself a copy of this Law on a scroll in the presence of the Levitical priests.

¹⁹And it shall be with him, and he shall read it all the days of his life, so that he will learn to fear the LORD his God, by carefully following all the words of this Law and these statutes,

²⁰so that his heart will not be haughty toward his countrymen, and that he will not turn away from the commandment to the right or the left, so that he and his sons may live long in his kingdom in the midst of Israel.

¹This is the third time that I am coming to you. ON THE TESTIMONY OF TWO OR THREE WITNESSES EVERY MATTER SHALL BE CONFIRMED.

²I have previously said when I was present the second time, and though now absent I say in advance to those who have sinned in the past and to all the rest as well, that if I come again I will not spare anyone,

³since you are seeking proof of the Christ who speaks in me, who is not weak toward you, but mighty in you.

⁴For indeed He was crucified because of weakness, yet He lives because of the power of God. For we too are weak in Him, yet we will live with Him because of the power of God directed toward you.

⁵Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you—unless indeed you fail the test?

⁶But I expect that you will realize that we ourselves do not fail the test.

⁷Now we pray to God that you do nothing wrong; not so that we ourselves may appear approved, but that you may do what is right, though we may appear unapproved.

⁸For we cannot do anything against the truth, but only for the truth.

⁹For we rejoice when we ourselves are weak, but you are strong; this we also pray for, that you become mature.

¹⁰For this reason I am writing these things while absent, so that when present I need not use severity, in accordance with the authority which the Lord gave me for building up and not for tearing down.

¹¹Finally, brothers and sisters, rejoice, mend your ways, be comforted, be like-minded, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you.

¹²Greet one another with a holy kiss.

¹³All the saints greet you.

¹⁴The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with you all.

¹Therefore, I urge elders among you, as your fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and one who is also a fellow partaker of the glory that is to be revealed:

²shepherd the flock of God among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion but voluntarily, according to the will of God; and not with greed but with eagerness;

³nor yet as domineering over those assigned to your care, but by proving to be examples to the flock.

⁴And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory.

⁵You younger men, likewise, be subject to your elders; and all of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because GOD IS OPPOSED TO THE PROUD, BUT HE GIVES GRACE TO THE HUMBLE.

⁶Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, so that He may exalt you at the proper time,

⁷having cast all your anxiety on Him, because He cares about you.

⁸Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.

⁹So resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your brothers and sisters who are in the world.

¹⁰After you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.

¹¹To Him be dominion forever and ever. Amen.

¹²Through Silvanus, our faithful brother (for so I regard him), I have written to you briefly, exhorting and testifying that this is the true grace of God. Stand firm in it!

¹³She who is in Babylon, chosen together with you, sends you greetings, and so does my son, Mark.

¹⁴Greet one another with a kiss of love. Peace be to you all who are in Christ.

¹Guard your steps as you go to the house of God, and approach to listen rather than to offer the sacrifice of fools; for they do not know that they are doing evil.

²Do not be quick with your mouth or impulsive in thought to bring up a matter in the presence of God. For God is in heaven and you are on the earth; therefore let your words be few.

³For the dream comes through much effort, and the voice of a fool through many words.

⁴When you make a vow to God, do not be late in paying it; for He takes no delight in fools. Pay what you vow!

⁵It is better that you not vow, than vow and not pay.

⁶Do not let your speech cause you to sin, and do not say in the presence of the messenger of God that it was a mistake. Why should God be angry on account of your voice, and destroy the work of your hands?

⁷For in many dreams and in many words there is futility. Rather, fear God.

⁸If you see oppression of the poor and denial of justice and righteousness in the province, do not be shocked at the sight; for one official watches over another official, and there are higher officials over them.

⁹After all, a king who cultivates the field is beneficial to the land.

¹⁰One who loves money will not be satisfied with money, nor one who loves abundance with its income. This too is futility.

¹¹When good things increase, those who consume them increase. So what is the advantage to their owners except to look at them?

¹²The sleep of the laborer is sweet, whether he eats little or much; but the full stomach of the rich person does not allow him to sleep.

¹³There is a sickening evil which I have seen under the sun: wealth being hoarded by its owner to his detriment.

¹⁴When that wealth was lost through bad business and he had fathered a son, then there was nothing to support him.

¹⁵As he came naked from his mother’s womb, so he will return as he came. He will take nothing from the fruit of his labor that he can carry in his hand.

¹⁶This also is a sickening evil: exactly as a person is born, so will he die. What then is the advantage for him who labors for the wind?

¹⁷All his life he also eats in darkness with great irritation, sickness, and anger.

¹⁸Here is what I have seen to be good and fitting: to eat, to drink, and enjoy oneself in all one’s labor in which he labors under the sun during the few years of his life which God has given him; for this is his reward.

¹⁹Furthermore, as for every person to whom God has given riches and wealth, He has also given him the opportunity to enjoy them and to receive his reward and rejoice in his labor; this is the gift of God.

²⁰For he will not often call to mind the years of his life, because God keeps him busy with the joy of his heart.

¹Be gracious to me, God, be gracious to me, For my soul takes refuge in You; And in the shadow of Your wings I will take refuge Until destruction passes by.

²I will cry to God Most High, To God who accomplishes all things for me.

³He will send from heaven and save me; He rebukes the one who tramples upon me. Selah God will send His favor and His truth.

⁴My soul is among lions; I must lie among those who devour, Among sons of mankind whose teeth are spears and arrows, And their tongue is a sharp sword.

⁵Be exalted above the heavens, God; May Your glory be above all the earth.

⁶They have prepared a net for my steps; My soul is bowed down; They dug a pit before me; They themselves have fallen into the midst of it. Selah

⁷My heart is steadfast, God, my heart is steadfast; I will sing, yes, I will sing praises!

⁸Awake, my glory! Awake, harp and lyre! I will awaken the dawn.

⁹I will praise You, Lord, among the peoples; I will sing praises to You among the nations.

¹⁰For Your goodness is great to the heavens And Your truth to the clouds.

¹¹Be exalted above the heavens, God; May Your glory be above all the earth.

¹The plans of the heart belong to a person, But the answer of the tongue is from the LORD.

²All the ways of a person are clean in his own sight, But the LORD examines the motives.

³Commit your works to the LORD, And your plans will be established.

⁴The LORD has made everything for its own purpose, Even the wicked for the day of evil.

⁵Everyone who is proud in heart is an abomination to the LORD; Be assured, he will not go unpunished.

⁶By mercy and truth atonement is made for wrongdoing, And by the fear of the LORD one keeps away from evil.

⁷When a person’s ways are pleasing to the LORD, He causes even his enemies to make peace with him.

⁸Better is a little with righteousness Than great income with injustice.

⁹The mind of a person plans his way, But the LORD directs his steps.

¹⁰A divine verdict is on the lips of the king; His mouth should not err in judgment.

¹¹A just balance and scales belong to the LORD; All the weights of the bag are His concern.

¹²It is an abomination for kings to commit wicked acts, Because a throne is established on righteousness.

¹³Righteous lips are the delight of kings, And one who speaks right is loved.

¹⁴The fury of a king is like messengers of death; But a wise person will appease it.

¹⁵In the light of a king’s face is life, And his favor is like a cloud with the spring rain.

¹⁶How much better it is to get wisdom than gold! And to get understanding is to be chosen above silver.

¹⁷The highway of the upright is to turn away from evil; One who watches his way protects his life.

¹⁸Pride goes before destruction, And a haughty spirit before stumbling.

¹⁹It is better to be humble in spirit with the needy Than to divide the spoils with the proud.

²⁰One who pays attention to the word will find good, And blessed is one who trusts in the LORD.

²¹The wise in heart will be called understanding, And sweetness of speech increases persuasiveness.

²²Understanding is a fountain of life to those who have it, But the discipline of fools is foolishness.

²³The heart of the wise instructs his mouth And adds persuasiveness to his lips.

²⁴Pleasant words are a honeycomb, Sweet to the soul and healing to the bones.

²⁵There is a way which seems right to a person, But its end is the way of death.

²⁶A worker’s appetite works for him, For his hunger urges him on.

²⁷A worthless person digs up evil, While his words are like scorching fire.

²⁸A perverse person spreads strife, And a slanderer separates close friends.

²⁹A person of violence entices his neighbor And leads him in a way that is not good.

³⁰He who winks his eyes does so to devise perverse things; He who compresses his lips brings evil to pass.

³¹A gray head is a crown of glory; It is found in the way of righteousness.

³²One who is slow to anger is better than the mighty, And one who rules his spirit, than one who captures a city.

³³The lot is cast into the lap, But its every decision is from the LORD.

¹Now King Solomon was king over all Israel.

²These were his officials: Azariah the son of Zadok was the priest;

³Elihoreph and Ahijah, the sons of Shisha were scribes; Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud was the secretary;

⁴and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was over the army; and Zadok and Abiathar were priests;

⁵and Azariah the son of Nathan was over the deputies; and Zabud the son of Nathan, a priest, was the king’s confidant;

⁶and Ahishar was over the household; and Adoniram the son of Abda was over the forced labor.

⁷Solomon had twelve deputies over all Israel, who provided food for the king and his household; each deputy had to provide food for a month in the year.

⁸And these were their names: Ben-hur, in the hill country of Ephraim;

⁹Ben-deker in Makaz and Shaalbim, and Beth-shemesh, and Elonbeth-hanan;

¹⁰Ben-hesed in Arubboth (Socoh was his and all the land of Hepher);

¹¹Ben-abinadab in all the hills of Dor (Taphath the daughter of Solomon was his wife);

¹²Baana the son of Ahilud in Taanach and Megiddo, and all Beth-shean which is beside Zarethan below Jezreel, from Beth-shean to Abel-meholah as far as the other side of Jokmeam;

¹³Ben-geber in Ramoth-gilead (the villages of Jair, the son of Manasseh, which are in Gilead were his: the region of Argob, which is in Bashan, sixty great cities with walls and bronze bars were his);

¹⁴Ahinadab the son of Iddo in Mahanaim;

¹⁵Ahimaaz in Naphtali (he also married Basemath the daughter of Solomon);

¹⁶Baana the son of Hushai in Asher and Bealoth;

¹⁷Jehoshaphat the son of Paruah in Issachar;

¹⁸Shimei the son of Ela in Benjamin;

¹⁹Geber the son of Uri in the land of Gilead, the country of Sihon king of the Amorites and of Og king of Bashan; and he was the only deputy who was in the land.

²⁰Judah and Israel were as numerous as the sand that is on the seashore in abundance; they were eating, drinking, and rejoicing.

²¹Now Solomon was ruling over all the kingdoms from the Euphrates River to the land of the Philistines and to the border of Egypt; they brought tribute and served Solomon all the days of his life.

²²Solomon’s provision for one day was thirty kors of fine flour and sixty kors of meal,

²³ten fat oxen, twenty pasture-fed oxen, and a hundred sheep, besides deer, gazelles, roebucks, and fattened geese.

²⁴For he was ruling over everything west of the Euphrates River, from Tiphsah even to Gaza, over all the kings west of the River; and he had peace on all sides surrounding him.

²⁵So Judah and Israel lived securely, everyone under his vine and his fig tree, from Dan even to Beersheba, all the days of Solomon.

²⁶Solomon had forty thousand stalls of horses for his chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen.

²⁷And those deputies provided food for King Solomon and all who came to King Solomon’s table, each in his month; they allowed nothing to be lacking.

²⁸They also brought barley and straw for the war horses and baggage horses to the place where it was required, each deputy according to his duty.

²⁹Now God gave Solomon wisdom and very great discernment and breadth of mind, like the sand that is on the seashore.

³⁰Solomon’s wisdom surpassed the wisdom of all the people of the east and all the wisdom of Egypt.

³¹For he was wiser than all other people, more than Ethan the Ezrahite, Heman, Calcol, and Darda, the sons of Mahol; and his fame was known in all the surrounding nations.

³²He also told three thousand proverbs, and his songs numbered 1,005.

³³He told of trees, from the cedar that is in Lebanon even to the hyssop that grows on the wall; he told also of animals, birds, crawling things, and fish.

³⁴People came from all the nations to hear the wisdom of Solomon, from all the kings of the earth who had heard of his wisdom.

¹Now in the seventh month Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, the son of Elishama, of the royal family and one of the chief officers of the king, along with ten men, came to Mizpah to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam. While they were eating bread together there in Mizpah,

²Ishmael the son of Nethaniah and the ten men who were with him rose up, and struck and killed Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, with the sword and put to death the one whom the king of Babylon had appointed over the land.

³Ishmael also struck and killed all the Jews who were with him, that is with Gedaliah in Mizpah, and the Chaldeans who were found there, the men of war.

⁴Now it happened on the next day after the killing of Gedaliah, when no one knew about it,

⁵that eighty men came from Shechem, from Shiloh, and from Samaria with their beards shaved off, their clothes torn, and their bodies gashed, having grain offerings and incense in their hands to bring to the house of the LORD.

⁶Then Ishmael the son of Nethaniah left Mizpah to meet them, weeping as he went; and as he met them, he said to them, “Come to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam!”

⁷Yet it turned out that as soon as they came inside the city, Ishmael the son of Nethaniah and the men who were with him slaughtered them and threw them into the cistern.

⁸But ten men who were found among them said to Ishmael, “Do not put us to death, for we have supplies of wheat, barley, oil, and honey hidden in the field.” So he refrained and did not put them to death along with their companions.

⁹Now as for the cistern where Ishmael had thrown all the bodies of the men whom he had struck and killed because of Gedaliah, it was the one that King Asa had constructed on account of Baasha, king of Israel; Ishmael the son of Nethaniah filled it with the dead.

¹⁰Then Ishmael took captive all the remnant of the people who were in Mizpah, the king’s daughters and all the people who were left in Mizpah, whom Nebuzaradan the captain of the bodyguard had put in the custody of Gedaliah the son of Ahikam. Ishmael the son of Nethaniah took them captive and proceeded to cross over to the sons of Ammon.

¹¹But Johanan the son of Kareah and all the commanders of the forces that were with him heard about all the evil that Ishmael the son of Nethaniah had done.

¹²So they took all the men and went to fight with Ishmael the son of Nethaniah and they found him by the large pool that is in Gibeon.

¹³Now as soon as all the people who were with Ishmael saw Johanan the son of Kareah and all the commanders of the forces that were with him, they were joyful.

¹⁴So all the people whom Ishmael had taken captive from Mizpah turned around and came back, and went to Johanan the son of Kareah.

¹⁵But Ishmael the son of Nethaniah escaped from Johanan with eight men, and went to the sons of Ammon.

¹⁶Then Johanan the son of Kareah and all the commanders of the forces that were with him took from Mizpah all the remnant of the people whom he had recovered from Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, after he had struck and killed Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, that is, the men who were soldiers, the women, the children, and the high officials, whom he had brought back from Gibeon.

¹⁷And they went and stayed in Geruth Chimham, which is beside Bethlehem, in order to proceed into Egypt

¹⁸because of the Chaldeans; for they were afraid of them, since Ishmael the son of Nethaniah had struck and killed Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, whom the king of Babylon had appointed over the land.

¹Now when we had parted from them and had set sail, we ran a straight course to Cos, and on the next day to Rhodes, and from there to Patara;

²and having found a ship crossing over to Phoenicia, we went aboard and set sail.

³When we came in sight of Cyprus, leaving it on the left, we kept sailing to Syria and landed at Tyre; for the ship was to unload its cargo there.

⁴After looking up the disciples, we stayed there for seven days; and they kept telling Paul, through the Spirit, not to set foot in Jerusalem.

⁵When our days there were ended, we left and started on our journey, while they all, with wives and children, escorted us until we were out of the city. After kneeling down on the beach and praying, we said farewell to one another.

⁶Then we boarded the ship, and they returned home.

⁷When we had finished the voyage from Tyre, we arrived at Ptolemais, and after greeting the brothers and sisters, we stayed with them for a day.

⁸On the next day we left and came to Caesarea, and we entered the house of Philip the evangelist, who was one of the seven, and stayed with him.

⁹Now this man had four virgin daughters who were prophetesses.

¹⁰As we were staying there for some days, a prophet named Agabus came down from Judea.

¹¹And he came to us and took Paul’s belt and bound his own feet and hands, and said, “This is what the Holy Spirit says: ‘In this way the Jews in Jerusalem will bind the man who owns this belt and hand him over to the Gentiles.’ ”

¹²When we had heard this, we as well as the local residents began begging him not to go up to Jerusalem.

¹³Then Paul replied, “What are you doing, weeping and breaking my heart? For I am ready not only to be bound, but even to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.”

¹⁴And since he would not be persuaded, we became quiet, remarking, “The will of the Lord be done!”

¹⁵After these days we got ready and started on our way up to Jerusalem.

¹⁶Some of the disciples from Caesarea also came with us, taking us to Mnason of Cyprus, a disciple of long standing with whom we were to stay.

¹⁷After we arrived in Jerusalem, the brothers and sisters received us gladly.

¹⁸And the following day Paul went in with us to James, and all the elders were present.

¹⁹After he had greeted them, he began to relate one by one the things which God had done among the Gentiles through his ministry.

²⁰And when they heard about them, they began glorifying God; and they said to him, “You see, brother, how many thousands there are among the Jews of those who have believed, and they are all zealous for the Law;

²¹and they have been told about you, that you are teaching all the Jews who are among the Gentiles to abandon Moses, telling them not to circumcise their children nor to walk according to the customs.

²²So what is to be done? They will certainly hear that you have come.

²³Therefore, do as we tell you: we have four men who have a vow upon themselves;

²⁴take them along and purify yourself together with them, and pay their expenses so that they may shave their heads; and then everyone will know that there is nothing to what they have been told about you, but that you yourself also conform, keeping the Law.

²⁵But regarding the Gentiles who have believed, we sent a letter, having decided that they should abstain from meat sacrificed to idols and from blood and what is strangled, and from sexual immorality.”

²⁶Then Paul took along the men, and the next day, after purifying himself together with them, he went into the temple giving notice of the completion of the days of purification, until the sacrifice was offered for each one of them.

²⁷When the seven days were almost over, the Jews from Asia, upon seeing him in the temple, began to stir up all the crowd and laid hands on him,

²⁸crying out, “Men of Israel, help! This is the man who instructs everyone everywhere against our people and the Law and this place; and besides, he has even brought Greeks into the temple and has defiled this holy place!”

²⁹For they had previously seen Trophimus the Ephesian in the city with him, and they thought that Paul had brought him into the temple.

³⁰Then the whole city was provoked and the people rushed together, and taking hold of Paul they dragged him out of the temple, and immediately the doors were shut.

³¹While they were intent on killing him, a report came up to the commander of the Roman cohort that all Jerusalem was in confusion.

³²He immediately took along some soldiers and centurions and ran down to the crowd; and when they saw the commander and the soldiers, they stopped beating Paul.

³³Then the commander came up and took hold of him, and ordered that he be bound with two chains; and he began asking who he was and what he had done.

³⁴But among the crowd, some were shouting one thing and some another, and when he could not find out the facts because of the uproar, he ordered that Paul be brought into the barracks.

³⁵When Paul got to the stairs, it came about that he was carried by the soldiers because of the violence of the mob;

³⁶for the multitude of people kept following them, shouting, “Away with him!”

³⁷As Paul was about to be brought into the barracks, he *said to the commander, “May I say something to you?” And he said, “Do you know Greek?

³⁸Then you are not the Egyptian who some time ago stirred up a revolt and led the four thousand men of the Assassins out into the wilderness?”

³⁹But Paul said, “I am a Jew of Tarsus in Cilicia, a citizen of no insignificant city; and I beg you, allow me to speak to the people.”

⁴⁰When he had given him permission, Paul, standing on the stairs, motioned to the people with his hand; and when there was a great silence, he spoke to them in the Hebrew dialect, saying,