Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that the whole empire should be registered.

²This first registration took place while Quirinius was governing Syria.

³So everyone went to be registered, each to his own town.

⁴Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family line of David,

⁵to be registered along with Mary, who was engaged to him and was pregnant.

⁶While they were there, the time came for her to give birth.

⁷Then she gave birth to her firstborn Son, and she wrapped him tightly in cloth and laid him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.

⁸In the same region, shepherds were staying out in the fields and keeping watch at night over their flock.

⁹Then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified.

¹⁰But the angel said to them, “Don’t be afraid, for look, I proclaim to you good news of great joy that will be for all the people:

¹¹Today in the city of David a Savior was born for you, who is the Messiah, the Lord.

¹²This will be the sign for you: You will find a baby wrapped tightly in cloth and lying in a manger.”

¹³Suddenly there was a multitude of the heavenly host with the angel, praising God and saying:

¹⁴Glory to God in the highest heaven, and peace on earth to people he favors!

¹⁵When the angels had left them and returned to heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go straight to Bethlehem and see what has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.”

¹⁶They hurried off and found both Mary and Joseph, and the baby who was lying in the manger.

¹⁷After seeing them, they reported the message they were told about this child,

¹⁸and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them.

¹⁹But Mary was treasuring up all these things in her heart and meditating on them.

²⁰The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had seen and heard, which were just as they had been told.

²¹When the eight days were completed for his circumcision, he was named Jesus  — the name given by the angel before he was conceived.

²²And when the days of their purification according to the law of Moses were finished, they brought him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord

²³(just as it is written in the law of the Lord,Every firstborn male will be dedicated to the Lord )

²⁴and to offer a sacrifice (according to what is stated in the law of the Lord, a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons ).

²⁵There was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon. This man was righteous and devout, looking forward to Israel’s consolation, and the Holy Spirit was on him.

²⁶It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he saw the Lord’s Messiah.

²⁷Guided by the Spirit, he entered the temple. When the parents brought in the child Jesus to perform for him what was customary under the law,

²⁸Simeon took him up in his arms, praised God, and said,

²⁹Now, Master, you can dismiss your servant in peace, as you promised.

³⁰For my eyes have seen your salvation.

³¹You have prepared it in the presence of all peoples —

³²a light for revelation to the Gentiles and glory to your people Israel.

³³His father and mother were amazed at what was being said about him.

³⁴Then Simeon blessed them and told his mother Mary: “Indeed, this child is destined to cause the fall and rise of many in Israel and to be a sign that will be opposed  —

³⁵and a sword will pierce your own soul — that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.”

³⁶There was also a prophetess, Anna, a daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was well along in years, having lived with her husband seven years after her marriage,

³⁷and was a widow for eighty-four years. She did not leave the temple, serving God night and day with fasting and prayers.

³⁸At that very moment, she came up and began to thank God and to speak about him to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem.

³⁹When they had completed everything according to the law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee, to their own town of Nazareth.

⁴⁰The boy grew up and became strong, filled with wisdom, and God’s grace was on him.

⁴¹Every year his parents traveled to Jerusalem for the Passover Festival.

⁴²When he was twelve years old, they went up according to the custom of the festival.

⁴³After those days were over, as they were returning, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem, but his parents did not know it.

⁴⁴Assuming he was in the traveling party, they went a day’s journey. Then they began looking for him among their relatives and friends.

⁴⁵When they did not find him, they returned to Jerusalem to search for him.

⁴⁶After three days, they found him in the temple sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions.

⁴⁷And all those who heard him were astounded at his understanding and his answers.

⁴⁸When his parents saw him, they were astonished, and his mother said to him, “Son, why have you treated us like this? Your father and I have been anxiously searching for you.”

⁴⁹“Why were you searching for me?” he asked them. “Didn’t you know that it was necessary for me to be in my Father’s house?”

⁵⁰But they did not understand what he said to them.

⁵¹Then he went down with them and came to Nazareth and was obedient to them. His mother kept all these things in her heart.

⁵²And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and with people.

¹Israel set out with all that he had and came to Beer-sheba, and he offered sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac.

²That night God spoke to Israel in a vision: “Jacob, Jacob!” he said. And Jacob replied, “Here I am.”

³God said, “I am God, the God of your father. Do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for I will make you into a great nation there.

⁴I will go down with you to Egypt, and I will also bring you back. Joseph will close your eyes when you die.”

⁵Jacob left Beer-sheba. The sons of Israel took their father Jacob in the wagons Pharaoh had sent to carry him, along with their dependents and their wives.

⁶They also took their cattle and possessions they had acquired in the land of Canaan. Then Jacob and all his offspring with him came to Egypt.

⁷His sons and grandsons, his daughters and granddaughters, indeed all his offspring, he brought with him to Egypt.

⁸These are the names of the sons of Israel who came to Egypt  — Jacob and his sons: Jacob’s firstborn: Reuben.

⁹Reuben’s sons: Hanoch, Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi.

¹⁰Simeon’s sons: Jemuel, Jamin, Ohad, Jachin, Zohar, and Shaul, the son of a Canaanite woman.

¹¹Levi’s sons: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.

¹²Judah’s sons: Er, Onan, Shelah, Perez, and Zerah; but Er and Onan died in the land of Canaan. The sons of Perez were Hezron and Hamul.

¹³Issachar’s sons: Tola, Puvah, Jashub, and Shimron.

¹⁴Zebulun’s sons: Sered, Elon, and Jahleel.

¹⁵These were Leah’s sons born to Jacob in Paddan-aram, as well as his daughter Dinah. The total number of persons: thirty-three.

¹⁶Gad’s sons: Ziphion, Haggi, Shuni, Ezbon, Eri, Arodi, and Areli.

¹⁷Asher’s sons: Imnah, Ishvah, Ishvi, Beriah, and their sister Serah. Beriah’s sons were Heber and Malchiel.

¹⁸These were the sons of Zilpah — whom Laban gave to his daughter Leah — that she bore to Jacob: sixteen persons.

¹⁹The sons of Jacob’s wife Rachel: Joseph and Benjamin.

²⁰Manasseh and Ephraim were born to Joseph in the land of Egypt. They were born to him by Asenath daughter of Potiphera, a priest at On.

²¹Benjamin’s sons: Bela, Becher, Ashbel, Gera, Naaman, Ehi, Rosh, Muppim, Huppim, and Ard.

²²These were Rachel’s sons who were born to Jacob: fourteen persons.

²³Dan’s son: Hushim.

²⁴Naphtali’s sons: Jahzeel, Guni, Jezer, and Shillem.

²⁵These were the sons of Bilhah, whom Laban gave to his daughter Rachel. She bore to Jacob: seven persons.

²⁶The total number of persons belonging to Jacob — his direct descendants, not including the wives of Jacob’s sons — who came to Egypt: sixty-six.

²⁷And Joseph’s sons who were born to him in Egypt: two persons. All those of Jacob’s household who came to Egypt: seventy persons.

²⁸Now Jacob had sent Judah ahead of him to Joseph to prepare for his arrival at Goshen. When they came to the land of Goshen,

²⁹Joseph hitched the horses to his chariot and went up to Goshen to meet his father Israel. Joseph presented himself to him, threw his arms around him, and wept for a long time.

³⁰Then Israel said to Joseph, “I’m ready to die now because I have seen your face and you are still alive!”

³¹Joseph said to his brothers and to his father’s family, “I will go up and inform Pharaoh, telling him, ‘My brothers and my father’s family, who were in the land of Canaan, have come to me.

³²The men are shepherds; they also raise livestock. They have brought their flocks and herds and all that they have.’

³³When Pharaoh addresses you and asks, ‘What is your occupation?’

³⁴you are to say, ‘Your servants, both we and our fathers, have raised livestock from our youth until now.’ Then you will be allowed to settle in the land of Goshen, since all shepherds are detestable to Egyptians.”

¹Paul, an apostle — not from men or by man, but by Jesus Christ and God the Father who raised him from the dead  —

²and all the brothers who are with me: To the churches of Galatia.

³Grace to you and peace from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ,

⁴who gave himself for our sins to rescue us from this present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father.

⁵To him be the glory forever and ever. Amen.

⁶I am amazed that you are so quickly turning away from him who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel —

⁷not that there is another gospel, but there are some who are troubling you and want to distort the gospel of Christ.

⁸But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to what we have preached to you, a curse be on him!

⁹As we have said before, I now say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to what you received, a curse be on him!

¹⁰For am I now trying to persuade people, or God? Or am I striving to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ.

¹¹For I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that the gospel preached by me is not of human origin.

¹²For I did not receive it from a human source and I was not taught it, but it came by a revelation of Jesus Christ.

¹³For you have heard about my former way of life in Judaism: I intensely persecuted God’s church and tried to destroy it.

¹⁴I advanced in Judaism beyond many contemporaries among my people, because I was extremely zealous for the traditions of my ancestors.

¹⁵But when God, who from my mother’s womb set me apart and called me by his grace, was pleased

¹⁶to reveal his Son in me, so that I could preach him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately consult with anyone.

¹⁷I did not go up to Jerusalem to those who had become apostles before me; instead I went to Arabia and came back to Damascus.

¹⁸Then after three years I did go up to Jerusalem to get to know Cephas, and I stayed with him fifteen days.

¹⁹But I didn’t see any of the other apostles except James, the Lord’s brother.

²⁰I declare in the sight of God: I am not lying in what I write to you.

²¹Afterward, I went to the regions of Syria and Cilicia.

²²I remained personally unknown to the Judean churches that are in Christ.

²³They simply kept hearing: “He who formerly persecuted us now preaches the faith he once tried to destroy.”

²⁴And they glorified God because of me.

¹“Write to the angel of the church in Sardis: Thus says the one who has the seven spirits of God and the seven stars: I know your works; you have a reputation for being alive, but you are dead.

²Be alert and strengthen what remains, which is about to die, for I have not found your works complete before my God.

³Remember, then, what you have received and heard; keep it, and repent. If you are not alert, I will come like a thief, and you have no idea at what hour I will come upon you.

⁴But you have a few people in Sardis who have not defiled their clothes, and they will walk with me in white, because they are worthy.

⁵“In the same way, the one who conquers will be dressed in white clothes, and I will never erase his name from the book of life but will acknowledge his name before my Father and before his angels.

⁶“Let anyone who has ears to hear listen to what the Spirit says to the churches.

⁷“Write to the angel of the church in Philadelphia: Thus says the Holy One, the true one, the one who has the key of David, who opens and no one will close, and who closes and no one opens:

⁸I know your works. Look, I have placed before you an open door that no one can close because you have but little power; yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name.

⁹Note this: I will make those from the synagogue of Satan, who claim to be Jews and are not, but are lying — I will make them come and bow down at your feet, and they will know that I have loved you.

¹⁰Because you have kept my command to endure, I will also keep you from the hour of testing that is going to come on the whole world to test those who live on the earth.

¹¹I am coming soon. Hold on to what you have, so that no one takes your crown.

¹²“The one who conquers I will make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he will never go out again. I will write on him the name of my God and the name of the city of my God — the new Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from my God — and my new name.

¹³“Let anyone who has ears to hear listen to what the Spirit says to the churches.

¹⁴“Write to the angel of the church in Laodicea: Thus says the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the originator of God’s creation:

¹⁵I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish that you were cold or hot.

¹⁶So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I am going to vomit you out of my mouth.

¹⁷For you say, ‘I’m rich; I have become wealthy and need nothing,’ and you don’t realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind, and naked.

¹⁸I advise you to buy from me gold refined in the fire so that you may be rich, white clothes so that you may be dressed and your shameful nakedness not be exposed, and ointment to spread on your eyes so that you may see.

¹⁹As many as I love, I rebuke and discipline. So be zealous and repent.

²⁰See! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.

²¹“To the one who conquers I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I also conquered and sat down with my Father on his throne.

²²“Let anyone who has ears to hear listen to what the Spirit says to the churches.”

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. A song of the sons of Korah. According to . [1] God is our refuge and strength, a helper who is always found in times of trouble.

²Therefore we will not be afraid, though the earth trembles and the mountains topple into the depths of the seas,

³though its water roars and foams and the mountains quake with its turmoil. Selah

⁴There is a river — its streams delight the city of God, the holy dwelling place of the Most High.

⁵God is within her; she will not be toppled. God will help her when the morning dawns.

⁶Nations rage, kingdoms topple; the earth melts when he lifts his voice.

⁷The LORD of Armies is with us; the God of Jacob is our stronghold. Selah

⁸Come, see the works of the LORD, who brings devastation on the earth.

⁹He makes wars cease throughout the earth. He shatters bows and cuts spears to pieces; he sets wagons ablaze.

¹⁰“Stop your fighting, and know that I am God, exalted among the nations, exalted on the earth.”

¹¹The LORD of Armies is with us; the God of Jacob is our stronghold. Selah

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.

¹During the time of the judges, there was a famine in the land. A man left Bethlehem in Judah with his wife and two sons to stay in the territory of Moab for a while.

²The man’s name was Elimelech, and his wife’s name was Naomi. The names of his two sons were Mahlon and Chilion. They were Ephrathites from Bethlehem in Judah. They entered the fields of Moab and settled there.

³Naomi’s husband Elimelech died, and she was left with her two sons.

⁴Her sons took Moabite women as their wives: one was named Orpah and the second was named Ruth. After they lived in Moab about ten years,

⁵both Mahlon and Chilion also died, and Naomi was left without her two children and without her husband.

⁶She and her daughters-in-law set out to return from the territory of Moab, because she had heard in Moab that the LORD had paid attention to his people’s need by providing them food.

⁷She left the place where she had been living, accompanied by her two daughters-in-law, and traveled along the road leading back to the land of Judah.

⁸Naomi said to them, “Each of you go back to your mother’s home. May the LORD show kindness to you as you have shown to the dead and to me.

⁹May the LORD grant each of you rest in the house of a new husband.” She kissed them, and they wept loudly.

¹⁰They said to her, “We insist on returning with you to your people.”

¹¹But Naomi replied, “Return home, my daughters. Why do you want to go with me? Am I able to have any more sons who could become your husbands?

¹²Return home, my daughters. Go on, for I am too old to have another husband. Even if I thought there was still hope for me to have a husband tonight and to bear sons,

¹³would you be willing to wait for them to grow up? Would you restrain yourselves from remarrying? No, my daughters, my life is much too bitter for you to share, because the LORD’s hand has turned against me.”

¹⁴Again they wept loudly, and Orpah kissed her mother-in-law, but Ruth clung to her.

¹⁵Naomi said, “Look, your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and to her gods. Follow your sister-in-law.”

¹⁶But Ruth replied: Don’t plead with me to abandon you or to return and not follow you. For wherever you go, I will go, and wherever you live, I will live; your people will be my people, and your God will be my God.

¹⁷Where you die, I will die, and there I will be buried. May the LORD punish me, and do so severely, if anything but death separates you and me.

¹⁸When Naomi saw that Ruth was determined to go with her, she stopped talking to her.

¹⁹The two of them traveled until they came to Bethlehem. When they entered Bethlehem, the whole town was excited about their arrival and the local women exclaimed, “Can this be Naomi?”

²⁰“Don’t call me Naomi. Call me Mara,” she answered, “for the Almighty has made me very bitter.

²¹I went away full, but the LORD has brought me back empty. Why do you call me Naomi, since the LORD has opposed me, and the Almighty has afflicted me?”

²²So Naomi came back from the territory of Moab with her daughter-in-law Ruth the Moabitess. They arrived in Bethlehem at the beginning of the barley harvest.

¹Bel crouches; Nebo cowers. Idols depicting them are consigned to beasts and cattle. The images you carry are loaded, as a burden for the weary animal.

²The gods cower; they crouch together; they are not able to rescue the burden, but they themselves go into captivity.

³“Listen to me, house of Jacob, all the remnant of the house of Israel, who have been sustained from the womb, carried along since birth.

⁴I will be the same until your old age, and I will bear you up when you turn gray. I have made you, and I will carry you; I will bear and rescue you.

⁵“Who will you compare me or make me equal to? Who will you measure me with, so that we should be like each other?

⁶Those who pour out their bags of gold and weigh out silver on scales — they hire a goldsmith and he makes it into a god. Then they kneel and bow down to it.

⁷They lift it to their shoulder and bear it along; they set it in its place, and there it stands; it does not budge from its place. They cry out to it but it doesn’t answer; it saves no one from his trouble.

⁸“Remember this and be brave; take it to heart, you transgressors!

⁹Remember what happened long ago, for I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and no one is like me.

¹⁰I declare the end from the beginning, and from long ago what is not yet done, saying: my plan will take place, and I will do all my will.

¹¹I call a bird of prey from the east, a man for my purpose from a far country. Yes, I have spoken; so I will also bring it about. I have planned it; I will also do it.

¹²Listen to me, you hardhearted, far removed from justice:

¹³I am bringing my justice near; it is not far away, and my salvation will not delay. I will put salvation in Zion, my splendor in Israel.

¹After this, he left Athens and went to Corinth,

²where he found a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, who had recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla because Claudius had ordered all the Jews to leave Rome. Paul came to them,

³and since they were of the same occupation, tentmakers by trade, he stayed with them and worked.

⁴He reasoned in the synagogue every Sabbath and tried to persuade both Jews and Greeks.

⁵When Silas and Timothy arrived from Macedonia, Paul devoted himself to preaching the word and testified to the Jews that Jesus is the Messiah.

⁶When they resisted and blasphemed, he shook out his clothes and told them, “Your blood is on your own heads! I am innocent. From now on I will go to the Gentiles.”

⁷So he left there and went to the house of a man named Titius Justus, a worshiper of God, whose house was next door to the synagogue.

⁸Crispus, the leader of the synagogue, believed in the Lord, along with his whole household. Many of the Corinthians, when they heard, believed and were baptized.

⁹The Lord said to Paul in a night vision, “Don’t be afraid, but keep on speaking and don’t be silent.

¹⁰For I am with you, and no one will lay a hand on you to hurt you, because I have many people in this city.”

¹¹He stayed there a year and a half, teaching the word of God among them.

¹²While Gallio was proconsul of Achaia, the Jews made a united attack against Paul and brought him to the tribunal.

¹³“This man,” they said, “is persuading people to worship God in ways contrary to the law.”

¹⁴As Paul was about to open his mouth, Gallio said to the Jews, “If it were a matter of wrongdoing or of a serious crime, it would be reasonable for me to put up with you Jews.

¹⁵But if these are questions about words, names, and your own law, see to it yourselves. I refuse to be a judge of such things.”

¹⁶So he drove them from the tribunal.

¹⁷And they all seized Sosthenes, the leader of the synagogue, and beat him in front of the tribunal, but none of these things mattered to Gallio.

¹⁸After staying for some time, Paul said farewell to the brothers and sisters and sailed away to Syria, accompanied by Priscilla and Aquila. He shaved his head at Cenchreae because of a vow he had taken.

¹⁹When they reached Ephesus he left them there, but he himself entered the synagogue and debated with the Jews.

²⁰When they asked him to stay for a longer time, he declined,

²¹but he said farewell and added, “I’ll come back to you again, if God wills.” Then he set sail from Ephesus.

²²On landing at Caesarea, he went up to Jerusalem and greeted the church, then went down to Antioch.

²³After spending some time there, he set out, traveling through one place after another in the region of Galatia and Phrygia, strengthening all the disciples.

²⁴Now a Jew named Apollos, a native Alexandrian, an eloquent man who was competent in the use of the Scriptures, arrived in Ephesus.

²⁵He had been instructed in the way of the Lord; and being fervent in spirit, he was speaking and teaching accurately about Jesus, although he knew only John’s baptism.

²⁶He began to speak boldly in the synagogue. After Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him aside and explained the way of God to him more accurately.

²⁷When he wanted to cross over to Achaia, the brothers and sisters wrote to the disciples to welcome him. After he arrived, he was a great help to those who by grace had believed.

²⁸For he vigorously refuted the Jews in public, demonstrating through the Scriptures that Jesus is the Messiah.