Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world.

²(This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.)

³And everyone went to their own town to register.

⁴So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David.

⁵He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child.

⁶While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born,

⁷and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.

⁸And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night.

⁹An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified.

¹⁰But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people.

¹¹Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord.

¹²This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

¹³Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,

¹⁴“Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”

¹⁵When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”

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

¹⁷When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child,

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

¹⁹But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.

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

²¹On the eighth day, when it was time to circumcise the child, he was named Jesus, the name the angel had given him before he was conceived.

²²When the time came for the purification rites required by the Law of Moses, Joseph and Mary took him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord

²³(as it is written in the Law of the Lord, “Every firstborn male is to be consecrated to the Lord”),

²⁴and to offer a sacrifice in keeping with what is said in the Law of the Lord: “a pair of doves or two young pigeons.”

²⁵Now there was a man in Jerusalem called Simeon, who was righteous and devout. He was waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was on him.

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

²⁷Moved by the Spirit, he went into the temple courts. When the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him what the custom of the Law required,

²⁸Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying:

²⁹“Sovereign Lord, as you have promised, you may now dismiss your servant in peace.

³⁰For my eyes have seen your salvation,

³¹which you have prepared in the sight of all nations:

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

³³The child’s father and mother marveled at what was said about him.

³⁴Then Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, his mother: “This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against,

³⁵so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul too.”

³⁶There was also a prophet, Anna, the daughter of Penuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was very old; she had lived with her husband seven years after her marriage,

³⁷and then was a widow until she was eighty-four. She never left the temple but worshiped night and day, fasting and praying.

³⁸Coming up to them at that very moment, she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem.

³⁹When Joseph and Mary had done everything required by the Law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee to their own town of Nazareth.

⁴⁰And the child grew and became strong; he was filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was on him.

⁴¹Every year Jesus’ parents went to Jerusalem for the Festival of the Passover.

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

⁴³After the festival was over, while his parents were returning home, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem, but they were unaware of it.

⁴⁴Thinking he was in their company, they traveled on for a day. Then they began looking for him among their relatives and friends.

⁴⁵When they did not find him, they went back to Jerusalem to look for him.

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

⁴⁷Everyone who heard him was amazed at his understanding and his answers.

⁴⁸When his parents saw him, they were astonished. 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. “Didn’t you know I had to be in my Father’s house?”

⁵⁰But they did not understand what he was saying to them.

⁵¹Then he went down to Nazareth with them and was obedient to them. But his mother treasured all these things in her heart.

⁵²And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man.

¹So Israel set out with all that was his, and when he reached Beersheba, he offered sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac.

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

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

⁴I will go down to Egypt with you, and I will surely bring you back again. And Joseph’s own hand will close your eyes.”

⁵Then Jacob left Beersheba, and Israel’s sons took their father Jacob and their children and their wives in the carts that Pharaoh had sent to transport him.

⁶So Jacob and all his offspring went to Egypt, taking with them their livestock and the possessions they had acquired in Canaan.

⁷Jacob brought with him to Egypt his sons and grandsons and his daughters and granddaughters—all his offspring.

⁸These are the names of the sons of Israel (Jacob and his descendants) who went to Egypt: Reuben the firstborn of Jacob.

⁹The sons of Reuben: Hanok, Pallu, Hezron and Karmi.

¹⁰The sons of Simeon: Jemuel, Jamin, Ohad, Jakin, Zohar and Shaul the son of a Canaanite woman.

¹¹The sons of Levi: Gershon, Kohath and Merari.

¹²The sons of Judah: Er, Onan, Shelah, Perez and Zerah (but Er and Onan had died in the land of Canaan). The sons of Perez: Hezron and Hamul.

¹³The sons of Issachar: Tola, Puah, Jashub and Shimron.

¹⁴The sons of Zebulun: Sered, Elon and Jahleel.

¹⁵These were the sons Leah bore to Jacob in Paddan Aram, besides his daughter Dinah. These sons and daughters of his were thirty-three in all.

¹⁶The sons of Gad: Zephon, Haggi, Shuni, Ezbon, Eri, Arodi and Areli.

¹⁷The sons of Asher: Imnah, Ishvah, Ishvi and Beriah. Their sister was Serah. The sons of Beriah: Heber and Malkiel.

¹⁸These were the children born to Jacob by Zilpah, whom Laban had given to his daughter Leah—sixteen in all.

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

²⁰In Egypt, Manasseh and Ephraim were born to Joseph by Asenath daughter of Potiphera, priest of On.

²¹The sons of Benjamin: Bela, Beker, Ashbel, Gera, Naaman, Ehi, Rosh, Muppim, Huppim and Ard.

²²These were the sons of Rachel who were born to Jacob—fourteen in all.

²³The son of Dan: Hushim.

²⁴The sons of Naphtali: Jahziel, Guni, Jezer and Shillem.

²⁵These were the sons born to Jacob by Bilhah, whom Laban had given to his daughter Rachel—seven in all.

²⁶All those who went to Egypt with Jacob—those who were his direct descendants, not counting his sons’ wives—numbered sixty-six persons.

²⁷With the two sons who had been born to Joseph in Egypt, the members of Jacob’s family, which went to Egypt, were seventy in all.

²⁸Now Jacob sent Judah ahead of him to Joseph to get directions to Goshen. When they arrived in the region of Goshen,

²⁹Joseph had his chariot made ready and went to Goshen to meet his father Israel. As soon as Joseph appeared before him, he threw his arms around his father and wept for a long time.

³⁰Israel said to Joseph, “Now I am ready to die, since I have seen for myself that you are still alive.”

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

³²The men are shepherds; they tend livestock, and they have brought along their flocks and herds and everything they own.’

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

³⁴you should answer, ‘Your servants have tended livestock from our boyhood on, just as our fathers did.’ Then you will be allowed to settle in the region of Goshen, for all shepherds are detestable to the Egyptians.”

¹Paul, an apostle—sent not from men nor by a man, but by Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead—

²and all the brothers and sisters with me, To the churches in Galatia:

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

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

⁵to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

⁶I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you to live in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel—

⁷which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ.

⁸But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let them be under God’s curse!

⁹As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let them be under God’s curse!

¹⁰Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ.

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

¹²I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it; rather, I received it by revelation from Jesus Christ.

¹³For you have heard of my previous way of life in Judaism, how intensely I persecuted the church of God and tried to destroy it.

¹⁴I was advancing in Judaism beyond many of my own age among my people and was extremely zealous for the traditions of my fathers.

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

¹⁶to reveal his Son in me so that I might preach him among the Gentiles, my immediate response was not to consult any human being.

¹⁷I did not go up to Jerusalem to see those who were apostles before I was, but I went into Arabia. Later I returned to Damascus.

¹⁸Then after three years, I went up to Jerusalem to get acquainted with Cephas and stayed with him fifteen days.

¹⁹I saw none of the other apostles—only James, the Lord’s brother.

²⁰I assure you before God that what I am writing you is no lie.

²¹Then I went to Syria and Cilicia.

²²I was personally unknown to the churches of Judea that are in Christ.

²³They only heard the report: “The man who formerly persecuted us is now preaching the faith he once tried to destroy.”

²⁴And they praised God because of me.

¹“To the angel of the church in Sardis write: These are the words of him who holds the seven spirits of God and the seven stars. I know your deeds; you have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead.

²Wake up! Strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have found your deeds unfinished in the sight of my God.

³Remember, therefore, what you have received and heard; hold it fast, and repent. But if you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what time I will come to you.

⁴Yet you have a few people in Sardis who have not soiled their clothes. They will walk with me, dressed in white, for they are worthy.

⁵The one who is victorious will, like them, be dressed in white. I will never blot out the name of that person from the book of life, but will acknowledge that name before my Father and his angels.

⁶Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches.

⁷“To the angel of the church in Philadelphia write: These are the words of him who is holy and true, who holds the key of David. What he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open.

⁸I know your deeds. See, I have placed before you an open door that no one can shut. I know that you have little strength, yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name.

⁹I will make those who are of the synagogue of Satan, who claim to be Jews though they are not, but are liars—I will make them come and fall down at your feet and acknowledge that I have loved you.

¹⁰Since you have kept my command to endure patiently, I will also keep you from the hour of trial that is going to come on the whole world to test the inhabitants of the earth.

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

¹²The one who is victorious I will make a pillar in the temple of my God. Never again will they leave it. I will write on them the name of my God and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which is coming down out of heaven from my God; and I will also write on them my new name.

¹³Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches.

¹⁴“To the angel of the church in Laodicea write: These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God’s creation.

¹⁵I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other!

¹⁶So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth.

¹⁷You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked.

¹⁸I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see.

¹⁹Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest and repent.

²⁰Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me.

²¹To the one who is victorious, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I was victorious and sat down with my Father on his throne.

²²Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”

¹Again I looked and saw all the oppression that was taking place under the sun: I saw the tears of the oppressed— and they have no comforter; power was on the side of their oppressors— and they have no comforter.

²And I declared that the dead, who had already died, are happier than the living, who are still alive.

³But better than both is the one who has never been born, who has not seen the evil that is done under the sun.

⁴And I saw that all toil and all achievement spring from one person’s envy of another. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.

⁵Fools fold their hands and ruin themselves.

⁶Better one handful with tranquillity than two handfuls with toil and chasing after the wind.

⁷Again I saw something meaningless under the sun:

⁸There was a man all alone; he had neither son nor brother. There was no end to his toil, yet his eyes were not content with his wealth. “For whom am I toiling,” he asked, “and why am I depriving myself of enjoyment?” This too is meaningless— a miserable business!

⁹Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor:

¹⁰If either of them falls down, one can help the other up. But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up.

¹¹Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm. But how can one keep warm alone?

¹²Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.

¹³Better a poor but wise youth than an old but foolish king who no longer knows how to heed a warning.

¹⁴The youth may have come from prison to the kingship, or he may have been born in poverty within his kingdom.

¹⁵I saw that all who lived and walked under the sun followed the youth, the king’s successor.

¹⁶There was no end to all the people who were before them. But those who came later were not pleased with the successor. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.

¹For the director of music. Of the Sons of Korah. According to alamoth. A song. God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.

²Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,

³though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging.

⁴There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy place where the Most High dwells.

⁵God is within her, she will not fall; God will help her at break of day.

⁶Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall; he lifts his voice, the earth melts.

⁷The LORD Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress.

⁸Come and see what the LORD has done, the desolations he has brought on the earth.

⁹He makes wars cease to the ends of the earth. He breaks the bow and shatters the spear; he burns the shields with fire.

¹⁰He says, “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.”

¹¹The LORD Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress.

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

²The tongue of the wise adorns knowledge, but the mouth of the fool gushes folly.

³The eyes of the LORD are everywhere, keeping watch on the wicked and the good.

⁴The soothing tongue is a tree of life, but a perverse tongue crushes the spirit.

⁵A fool spurns a parent’s discipline, but whoever heeds correction shows prudence.

⁶The house of the righteous contains great treasure, but the income of the wicked brings ruin.

⁷The lips of the wise spread knowledge, but the hearts of fools are not upright.

⁸The LORD detests the sacrifice of the wicked, but the prayer of the upright pleases him.

⁹The LORD detests the way of the wicked, but he loves those who pursue righteousness.

¹⁰Stern discipline awaits anyone who leaves the path; the one who hates correction will die.

¹¹Death and Destruction lie open before the LORD— how much more do human hearts!

¹²Mockers resent correction, so they avoid the wise.

¹³A happy heart makes the face cheerful, but heartache crushes the spirit.

¹⁴The discerning heart seeks knowledge, but the mouth of a fool feeds on folly.

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

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

¹⁷Better a small serving of vegetables with love than a fattened calf with hatred.

¹⁸A hot-tempered person stirs up conflict, but the one who is patient calms a quarrel.

¹⁹The way of the sluggard is blocked with thorns, but the path of the upright is a highway.

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

²¹Folly brings joy to one who has no sense, but whoever has understanding keeps a straight course.

²²Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisers they succeed.

²³A person finds joy in giving an apt reply— and how good is a timely word!

²⁴The path of life leads upward for the prudent to keep them from going down to the realm of the dead.

²⁵The LORD tears down the house of the proud, but he sets the widow’s boundary stones in place.

²⁶The LORD detests the thoughts of the wicked, but gracious words are pure in his sight.

²⁷The greedy bring ruin to their households, but the one who hates bribes will live.

²⁸The heart of the righteous weighs its answers, but the mouth of the wicked gushes evil.

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

³⁰Light in a messenger’s eyes brings joy to the heart, and good news gives health to the bones.

³¹Whoever heeds life-giving correction will be at home among the wise.

³²Those who disregard discipline despise themselves, but the one who heeds correction gains understanding.

³³Wisdom’s instruction is to fear the LORD, and humility comes before honor.

¹In the days when the judges ruled, there was a famine in the land. So a man from Bethlehem in Judah, together with his wife and two sons, went to live for a while in the country of Moab.

²The man’s name was Elimelek, his wife’s name was Naomi, and the names of his two sons were Mahlon and Kilion. They were Ephrathites from Bethlehem, Judah. And they went to Moab and lived there.

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

⁴They married Moabite women, one named Orpah and the other Ruth. After they had lived there about ten years,

⁵both Mahlon and Kilion also died, and Naomi was left without her two sons and her husband.

⁶When Naomi heard in Moab that the LORD had come to the aid of his people by providing food for them, she and her daughters-in-law prepared to return home from there.

⁷With her two daughters-in-law she left the place where she had been living and set out on the road that would take them back to the land of Judah.

⁸Then Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, “Go back, each of you, to your mother’s home. May the LORD show you kindness, as you have shown kindness to your dead husbands and to me.

⁹May the LORD grant that each of you will find rest in the home of another husband.” Then she kissed them goodbye and they wept aloud

¹⁰and said to her, “We will go back with you to your people.”

¹¹But Naomi said, “Return home, my daughters. Why would you come with me? Am I going to have any more sons, who could become your husbands?

¹²Return home, my daughters; I am too old to have another husband. Even if I thought there was still hope for me—even if I had a husband tonight and then gave birth to sons—

¹³would you wait until they grew up? Would you remain unmarried for them? No, my daughters. It is more bitter for me than for you, because the LORD’s hand has turned against me!”

¹⁴At this they wept aloud again. Then Orpah kissed her mother-in-law goodbye, but Ruth clung to her.

¹⁵“Look,” said Naomi, “your sister-in-law is going back to her people and her gods. Go back with her.”

¹⁶But Ruth replied, “Don’t urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God.

¹⁷Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried. May the LORD deal with me, be it ever so severely, if even death separates you and me.”

¹⁸When Naomi realized that Ruth was determined to go with her, she stopped urging her.

¹⁹So the two women went on until they came to Bethlehem. When they arrived in Bethlehem, the whole town was stirred because of them, and the women exclaimed, “Can this be Naomi?”

²⁰“Don’t call me Naomi,” she told them. “Call me Mara, because the Almighty has made my life very bitter.

²¹I went away full, but the LORD has brought me back empty. Why call me Naomi? The LORD has afflicted me; the Almighty has brought misfortune upon me.”

²²So Naomi returned from Moab accompanied by Ruth the Moabite, her daughter-in-law, arriving in Bethlehem as the barley harvest was beginning.

¹Bel bows down, Nebo stoops low; their idols are borne by beasts of burden. The images that are carried about are burdensome, a burden for the weary.

²They stoop and bow down together; unable to rescue the burden, they themselves go off into captivity.

³“Listen to me, you descendants of Jacob, all the remnant of the people of Israel, you whom I have upheld since your birth, and have carried since you were born.

⁴Even to your old age and gray hairs I am he, I am he who will sustain you. I have made you and I will carry you; I will sustain you and I will rescue you.

⁵“With whom will you compare me or count me equal? To whom will you liken me that we may be compared?

⁶Some pour out gold from their bags and weigh out silver on the scales; they hire a goldsmith to make it into a god, and they bow down and worship it.

⁷They lift it to their shoulders and carry it; they set it up in its place, and there it stands. From that spot it cannot move. Even though someone cries out to it, it cannot answer; it cannot save them from their troubles.

⁸“Remember this, keep it in mind, take it to heart, you rebels.

⁹Remember the former things, those of long ago; I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me.

¹⁰I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come. I say, ‘My purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please.’

¹¹From the east I summon a bird of prey; from a far-off land, a man to fulfill my purpose. What I have said, that I will bring about; what I have planned, that I will do.

¹²Listen to me, you stubborn-hearted, you who are now far from my righteousness.

¹³I am bringing my righteousness near, it is not far away; and my salvation will not be delayed. I will grant salvation to Zion, my splendor to Israel.

¹After this, Paul left Athens and went to Corinth.

²There he met a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, who had recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla, because Claudius had ordered all Jews to leave Rome. Paul went to see them,

³and because he was a tentmaker as they were, he stayed and worked with them.

⁴Every Sabbath he reasoned in the synagogue, trying to persuade Jews and Greeks.

⁵When Silas and Timothy came from Macedonia, Paul devoted himself exclusively to preaching, testifying to the Jews that Jesus was the Messiah.

⁶But when they opposed Paul and became abusive, he shook out his clothes in protest and said to them, “Your blood be on your own heads! I am innocent of it. From now on I will go to the Gentiles.”

⁷Then Paul left the synagogue and went next door to the house of Titius Justus, a worshiper of God.

⁸Crispus, the synagogue leader, and his entire household believed in the Lord; and many of the Corinthians who heard Paul believed and were baptized.

⁹One night the Lord spoke to Paul in a vision: “Do not be afraid; keep on speaking, do not be silent.

¹⁰For I am with you, and no one is going to attack and harm you, because I have many people in this city.”

¹¹So Paul stayed in Corinth for a year and a half, teaching them the word of God.

¹²While Gallio was proconsul of Achaia, the Jews of Corinth made a united attack on Paul and brought him to the place of judgment.

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

¹⁴Just as Paul was about to speak, Gallio said to them, “If you Jews were making a complaint about some misdemeanor or serious crime, it would be reasonable for me to listen to you.

¹⁵But since it involves questions about words and names and your own law—settle the matter yourselves. I will not be a judge of such things.”

¹⁶So he drove them off.

¹⁷Then the crowd there turned on Sosthenes the synagogue leader and beat him in front of the proconsul; and Gallio showed no concern whatever.

¹⁸Paul stayed on in Corinth for some time. Then he left the brothers and sisters and sailed for Syria, accompanied by Priscilla and Aquila. Before he sailed, he had his hair cut off at Cenchreae because of a vow he had taken.

¹⁹They arrived at Ephesus, where Paul left Priscilla and Aquila. He himself went into the synagogue and reasoned with the Jews.

²⁰When they asked him to spend more time with them, he declined.

²¹But as he left, he promised, “I will come back if it is God’s will.” Then he set sail from Ephesus.

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

²³After spending some time in Antioch, Paul set out from there and traveled from place to place throughout the region of Galatia and Phrygia, strengthening all the disciples.

²⁴Meanwhile a Jew named Apollos, a native of Alexandria, came to Ephesus. He was a learned man, with a thorough knowledge of the Scriptures.

²⁵He had been instructed in the way of the Lord, and he spoke with great fervor and taught about Jesus accurately, though he knew only the baptism of John.

²⁶He began to speak boldly in the synagogue. When Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they invited him to their home and explained to him the way of God more adequately.

²⁷When Apollos wanted to go to Achaia, the brothers and sisters encouraged him and wrote to the disciples there to welcome him. When he arrived, he was a great help to those who by grace had believed.

²⁸For he vigorously refuted his Jewish opponents in public debate, proving from the Scriptures that Jesus was the Messiah.