Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹Now in those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus, that a census be taken of all the inhabited earth.

²This was the first census taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria.

³And all the people were on their way to register for the census, each to his own city.

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

⁵in order to register along with Mary, who was betrothed to him, and was pregnant.

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

⁷And she gave birth to her firstborn son; and she wrapped Him in cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

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

⁹And an angel of the Lord suddenly stood near them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them; and they were terribly frightened.

¹⁰And so the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people;

¹¹for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.

¹²And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

¹³And suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly army of angels praising God and saying,

¹⁴“Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace among people with whom He is pleased.”

¹⁵When the angels had departed from them into heaven, the shepherds began saying to one another, “Let’s go straight to Bethlehem, then, and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.”

¹⁶And they came in a hurry and found their way to Mary and Joseph, and the baby as He lay in the manger.

¹⁷When they had seen Him, they made known the statement which had been told them about this Child.

¹⁸And all who heard it were amazed about the things which were told them by the shepherds.

¹⁹But Mary treasured all these things, pondering them in her heart.

²⁰And the shepherds went back, glorifying and praising God for all that they had heard and seen, just as had been told them.

²¹And when eight days were completed so that it was time for His circumcision, He was also named Jesus, the name given by the angel before He was conceived in the womb.

²²And when the days for their purification according to the Law of Moses were completed, they brought Him up to Jerusalem to present Him to the Lord

²³(as it is written in the Law of the Lord: “EVERY firstborn male that opens the womb shall be called holy to the LORD”),

²⁴and to offer a sacrifice according to what has been stated in the Law of the Lord: “A PAIR OF TURTLEDOVES OR TWO YOUNG DOVES.”

²⁵And there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon; and this man was righteous and devout, looking forward to the consolation of Israel; and the Holy Spirit was upon him.

²⁶And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ.

²⁷And he came by the Spirit into the temple; and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to carry out for Him the custom of the Law,

²⁸then he took Him in his arms, and blessed God, and said,

²⁹“Now, Lord, You are letting Your bond-servant depart in peace, According to Your word;

³⁰For my eyes have seen Your salvation,

³¹Which You have prepared in the presence of all the peoples:

³²A light for revelation for the Gentiles, And the glory of Your people Israel.”

³³And His father and mother were amazed at the things which were being said about Him.

³⁴And Simeon blessed them and said to His mother Mary, “Behold, this Child is appointed for the fall and rise of many in Israel, and as a sign to be opposed—

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

³⁶And there was a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was advanced in years and had lived with her husband for seven years after her marriage,

³⁷and then as a widow to the age of eighty-four. She did not leave the temple grounds, serving night and day with fasts and prayers.

³⁸And at that very moment she came up and began giving thanks to God, and continued to speak about Him to all those who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem.

³⁹And when His parents had completed everything in accordance with the Law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee, to their own city of Nazareth.

⁴⁰Now the Child continued to grow and to become strong, increasing in wisdom; and the favor of God was upon Him.

⁴¹His parents went to Jerusalem every year at the Feast of the Passover.

⁴²And when He was twelve years old, they went up there according to the custom of the feast;

⁴³and as they were returning, after spending the full number of days required, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem, but His parents were unaware of it.

⁴⁴Instead, they thought that He was somewhere in the caravan, and they went a day’s journey; and then they began looking for Him among their relatives and acquaintances.

⁴⁵And when they did not find Him, they returned to Jerusalem, looking for Him.

⁴⁶Then, after three days they found Him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the teachers, both listening to them and asking them questions.

⁴⁷And all who heard Him were amazed at His understanding and His answers.

⁴⁸When Joseph and Mary saw Him, they were bewildered; and His mother said to Him, “Son, why have You treated us this way? Behold, Your father and I have been anxiously looking for You!”

⁴⁹And He said to them, “Why is it that you were looking for Me? Did you not know that I had to be in My Father’shouse?”

⁵⁰And yet they on their part did not understand the statement which He had made to them.

⁵¹And He went down with them and came to Nazareth, and He continued to be subject to them; and His mother treasured all these things in her heart.

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

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

²And God spoke to Israel in visions of the night and said, “Jacob, Jacob.” And he said, “Here I am.”

³Then He 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 assuredly bring you up again; and Joseph will close your eyes.”

⁵Then Jacob left Beersheba, and the sons of Israel carried their father Jacob and their little ones and their wives in the wagons which Pharaoh had sent to carry him.

⁶They also took their livestock and their possessions, which they had acquired in the land of Canaan, and came to Egypt, Jacob and all his descendants with him:

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

⁸Now these are the names of the sons of Israel who went to Egypt, Jacob and his sons: Reuben, Jacob’s firstborn.

⁹And the sons of Reuben: Hanoch, Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi.

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

¹¹And the sons of Levi: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.

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

¹³And the sons of Issachar: Tola, Puvvah, Iob, and Shimron.

¹⁴And the sons of Zebulun: Sered, Elon, and Jahleel.

¹⁵These are the sons of Leah, whom she bore to Jacob in Paddan-aram, with his daughter Dinah; all his sons and his daughters numbered thirty-three.

¹⁶And the sons of Gad: Ziphion, Haggi, Shuni, Ezbon, Eri, Arodi, and Areli.

¹⁷And the sons of Asher: Imnah, Ishvah, Ishvi, Beriah, and their sister Serah. And the sons of Beriah: Heber and Malchiel.

¹⁸These are the sons of Zilpah, whom Laban gave to his daughter Leah; and she bore to Jacob these sixteen persons.

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

²⁰Now to Joseph in the land of Egypt were born Manasseh and Ephraim, whom Asenath, the daughter of Potiphera, priest of On, bore to him.

²¹And the sons of Benjamin: Bela, Becher, Ashbel, Gera, Naaman, Ehi, Rosh, Muppim, Huppim, and Ard.

²²These are the sons of Rachel, who were born to Jacob; there were fourteen persons in all.

²³And the sons of Dan: Hushim.

²⁴And the sons of Naphtali: Jahzeel, Guni, Jezer, and Shillem.

²⁵These are the sons of Bilhah, whom Laban gave to his daughter Rachel, and she bore these to Jacob; there were seven persons in all.

²⁶All the people belonging to Jacob, who came to Egypt, his direct descendants, not including the wives of Jacob’s sons, were sixty-six persons in all,

²⁷and the sons of Joseph, who were born to him in Egypt, were two; all the people of the house of Jacob, who came to Egypt, were seventy.

²⁸Now Jacob sent Judah ahead of him to Joseph, to guide him to Goshen; and they came into the land of Goshen.

²⁹And Joseph prepared his chariot and went up to Goshen to meet his father Israel; as soon as he appeared to him, Joseph threw himself on his neck and wept on his neck a long time.

³⁰Then Israel said to Joseph, “Now let me die, since I have seen your face, that you are still alive.”

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

³²and the men are shepherds, for they have been keepers of livestock; and they have brought their flocks and their herds and all that they have.’

³³When Pharaoh calls for you and says, ‘What is your occupation?’

³⁴you shall say, ‘Your servants have been keepers of livestock since our youth even until now, both we and our fathers,’ so that you may live in the land of Goshen; for every shepherd is an abomination to the Egyptians.”

¹Paul, an apostle (not sent from men nor through human agency, but through 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 so that He might rescue us from this present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father,

⁵to whom be the glory forevermore. Amen.

⁶I am amazed that you are so quickly deserting Him who called you by the grace of Christ, for a different gospel,

⁷which is not just another account; but there are some who are disturbing 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, he is to be accursed!

⁹As we have said before, even now I say again: if anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to what you received, he is to be accursed!

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

¹¹For I would have you know, brothers and sisters, that the gospel which was preached by me is not of human invention.

¹²For I neither received it from man, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ.

¹³For you have heard of my former way of life in Judaism, how I used to persecute the church of God beyond measure and tried to destroy it;

¹⁴and I was advancing in Judaism beyond many of my contemporaries among my countrymen, being more extremely zealous for my ancestral traditions.

¹⁵But when He who had set me apart even from my mother’s womb and called me through His grace was pleased

¹⁶to reveal His Son in me so that I might preach Him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately consult with flesh and blood,

¹⁷nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me; but I went away to Arabia, and returned once more to Damascus.

¹⁸Then three years later I went up to Jerusalem to become acquainted with Cephas, and stayed with him for fifteen days.

¹⁹But I did not see another one of the apostles except James, the Lord’s brother.

²⁰(Now in what I am writing to you, I assure you before God that I am not lying.)

²¹Then I went into the regions of Syria and Cilicia.

²²I was still unknown by sight to the churches of Judea which are in Christ;

²³but they only kept hearing, “The man who once persecuted us is now preaching the faith which he once tried to destroy.”

²⁴And they were glorifying God because of me.

¹“To the angel of the church in Sardis write: He who has the seven spirits of God and the seven stars, says this: ‘I know your deeds, that you have a name that you are alive, and yet you are dead.

²Be constantly alert, and strengthen the things that remain, which were about to die; for I have not found your deeds completed in the sight of My God.

³So rememberwhat you have received and heard; andkeep it, and repent. Then if you are not alert, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come to you.

⁴But you have a fewpeople in Sardis who have not soiled their garments; and they will walk with Me in white, for they are worthy.

⁵The one who overcomes will be clothed the same way, in white garments; and I will not erase his name from the book of life, and I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels.

⁶The one who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’

⁷“And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write: He who is holy, who is true, who has the key of David, who opens and no one will shut, and who shuts and no one opens, says this:

⁸‘I know your deeds. Behold, I have put before you an open door which no one can shut, because you have a little power, and have followed My word, and have not denied My name.

⁹Behold, Iwill make those of the synagogue of Satan, who say that they are Jews and are not, but lie—I will make them come and bow down before your feet, and make them know that I have loved you.

¹⁰Because you have kept Myword of perseverance, I also will keep you from the hour of thetesting, that hour which is about to come upon the wholeworld, totest those who live on the earth.

¹¹I am coming quickly; hold firmly to what you have, so that no one will take your crown.

¹²The one who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God, and he will not go out from it anymore; and 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.

¹³The one who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’

¹⁴“To the angel of the church in Laodicea write: The Amen, the faithful and true Witness, the Origin of the creation of God, says this:

¹⁵‘I know your deeds, 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 will vomit you out of My mouth.

¹⁷Because you say, “I am rich, and have become wealthy, and have no need of anything,” and you do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked,

¹⁸I advise you to buy from Me gold refined by fire so that you may become rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself and the shame of your nakedness will not be revealed; and eye salve to apply to your eyes so that you may see.

¹⁹Those whom I love, I rebuke and discipline; therefore be zealous and repent.

²⁰Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me.

²¹The one who overcomes, I will grant to him to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat with My Father on His throne.

²²The one who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’ ”

¹Then I looked again at all the acts of oppression which were being done under the sun. And behold, I saw the tears of the oppressed and that they had no one to comfort them; and power was on the side of their oppressors, but they had no one to comfort them.

²So I congratulated the dead who are already dead, more than the living who are still living.

³But better off than both of them is the one who has never existed, who has never seen the evil activity that is done under the sun.

⁴I have seen that every labor and every skill which is done is the result of rivalry between a person and his neighbor. This too is futility and striving after wind.

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

⁶One hand full of rest is better than two fists full of labor and striving after wind.

⁷Then I looked again at futility under the sun.

⁸There was a man without a dependent, having neither a son nor a brother, yet there was no end to all his labor. Indeed, his eyes were not satisfied with riches, and he never asked, “And for whom do I labor and deprive myself of pleasure?” This too is futility, and it is an unhappy task.

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

¹⁰for if either of them falls, the one will lift up his companion. But woe to the one who falls when there is not another to lift him up!

¹¹Furthermore, if two lie down together they keep warm, but how can one be warm alone?

¹²And if one can overpower him who is alone, two can resist him. A cord of three strands is not quickly torn apart.

¹³A poor yet wise youth is better than an old and foolish king who no longer knows how to receive instruction—

¹⁴for he has come out of prison to become king, even though he was born poor in his kingdom.

¹⁵I have seen all those living under the sun move to the side of the second youth who replaces him.

¹⁶There is no end to all the people, to all who were before them. Even the ones who will come later will not be happy with him; for this too is futility and striving after wind.

¹God is our refuge and strength, A very ready help in trouble.

²Therefore we will not fear, though the earth shakes And the mountains slip into the heart of the sea;

³Though its waters roar and foam, Though the mountains quake at its swelling pride. Selah

⁴There is a river whose streams make the city of God happy, The holy dwelling places of the Most High.

⁵God is in the midst of her, she will not be moved; God will help her when morning dawns.

⁶The nations made an uproar, the kingdoms tottered; He raised His voice, the earth quaked.

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

⁸Come, behold the works of the LORD, Who has inflicted horrific events on the earth.

⁹He makes wars to cease to the end of the earth; He breaks the bow and cuts the spear in two; He burns the chariots with fire.

¹⁰“Stop striving and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted on the earth.”

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

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

²The tongue of the wise makes knowledge pleasant, But the mouth of fools spouts foolishness.

³The eyes of the LORD are in every place, Watching the evil and the good.

⁴A soothing tongue is a tree of life, But perversion in it crushes the spirit.

⁵A fool rejects his father’s discipline, But he who complies with rebuke is sensible.

⁶Great wealth is in the house of the righteous, But trouble is in the income of the wicked.

⁷The lips of the wise spread knowledge, But the hearts of fools are not 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 the one who pursues righteousness.

¹⁰There is severe punishment for one who abandons the way; One who hates a rebuke will die.

¹¹Sheol and Abaddon lie open before the LORD, How much more the hearts of mankind!

¹²A scoffer does not love one who rebukes him; He will not go to the wise.

¹³A joyful heart makes a cheerful face, But when the heart is sad, the spirit is broken.

¹⁴The mind of the intelligent seeks knowledge, But the mouth of fools feeds on foolishness.

¹⁵All the days of the needy are bad, But a cheerful heart has a continual feast.

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

¹⁷Better is a portion of vegetables where there is love, Than a fattened ox served with hatred.

¹⁸A hot-tempered person stirs up strife, But the slow to anger calms a dispute.

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

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

²¹Foolishness is joy to one who lacks sense, But a person of understanding walks straight.

²²Without consultation, plans are frustrated, But with many counselors they succeed.

²³A person has joy in an apt answer, And how delightful is a timely word!

²⁴The path of life leads upward for the wise, So that he may keep away from Sheol below.

²⁵The LORD will tear down the house of the proud, But He will set the boundary of the widow.

²⁶Evil plans are an abomination to the LORD, But pleasant words are pure.

²⁷He who profits illicitly troubles his own house, But he who hates bribes will live.

²⁸The heart of the righteous ponders how to answer, But the mouth of the wicked pours out evil things.

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

³⁰Bright eyes gladden the heart; Good news refreshes the bones.

³¹One whose ear listens to a life-giving rebuke Will stay among the wise.

³²One who neglects discipline rejects himself, But one who listens to a rebuke acquires understanding.

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

¹Now it came about in the days when the judges governed, that there was a famine in the land. And a man of Bethlehem in Judah went to reside in the land of Moab with his wife and his two sons.

²The name of the man was Elimelech, and the name of his wife, Naomi; and the names of his two sons were Mahlon and Chilion, Ephrathites of Bethlehem in Judah. So they entered the land of Moab and remained there.

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

⁴And they took for themselves Moabite women as wives; the name of the one was Orpah, and the name of the other, Ruth. And they lived there about ten years.

⁵Then both Mahlon and Chilion also died, and the woman was left without her two sons and her husband.

⁶Then she arose with her daughters-in-law to return from the land of Moab, because she had heard in the land of Moab that the LORD had visited His people by giving them food.

⁷So she departed from the place where she was, and her two daughters-in-law with her; and they went on the way to return to the land of Judah.

⁸But Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, “Go, return each of you to your mother’s house. May the LORD deal kindly with you as you have dealt with the dead and with me.

⁹May the LORD grant that you may find a place of rest, each one in the house of her husband.” Then she kissed them, and they raised their voices and wept.

¹⁰However, they said to her, “No, but we will return with you to your people.”

¹¹But Naomi said, “Return, my daughters. Why should you go with me? Do I still have sons in my womb, that they may be your husbands?

¹²Return, my daughters! Go, for I am too old to have a husband. If I said I have hope, if I were even to have a husband tonight and also give birth to sons,

¹³would you therefore wait until they were grown? Would you therefore refrain from marrying? No, my daughters; for it is much more bitter for me than for you, because the hand of the LORD has come out against me.”

¹⁴And they raised their voices and wept again; and Orpah kissed her mother-in-law, but Ruth clung to her.

¹⁵Then she said, “Behold, your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and her gods; return after your sister-in-law.”

¹⁶But Ruth said, “Do not plead with me to leave you or to turn back from following you; for where you go, I will go, and where you sleep, I will sleep. Your people shall be my people, and your God, my God.

¹⁷Where you die, I will die, and there I will be buried. May the LORD do so to me, and worse, if anything but death separates me from you.”

¹⁸When she saw that she was determined to go with her, she stopped speaking to her about it.

¹⁹So they both went on until they came to Bethlehem. And when they had come to Bethlehem, all the city was stirred because of them, and the women said, “Is this Naomi?”

²⁰But she said to them, “Do not call me Naomi; call me Mara, for the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me.

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

²²So Naomi returned, and with her Ruth the Moabitess, her daughter-in-law, who returned from the land of Moab. And they came to Bethlehem at the beginning of barley harvest.

¹Bel has bowed down, Nebo stoops over; Their idols have become loads for the animals and the cattle. The things that you carry are burdensome, A load for the weary animal.

²They stooped over, they have bowed down together; They could not rescue the burden, But have themselves gone into captivity.

³“Listen to Me, house of Jacob, And all the remnant of the house of Israel, You who have been carried by Me from birth And have been carried from the womb;

⁴Even to your old age I will be the same, And even to your graying years I will carry you! I have done it, and I will bear you; And I will carry you and I will save you.

⁵“To whom would you liken Me And make Me equal, and compare Me, That we would be alike?

⁶Those who lavish gold from the bag And weigh silver on the scale, Hire a goldsmith, and he makes it into a god; They bow down, indeed they worship it.

⁷They lift it on the shoulder, carry it, And set it in its place, and it stands there. It does not move from its place. Though one may shout to it, it cannot answer; It cannot save him from his distress.

⁸“Remember this, and be assured; Recall it to mind, you wrongdoers.

⁹Remember the former things long past, For I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is no one like Me,

¹⁰Declaring the end from the beginning, And from ancient times things which have not been done, Saying, ‘My plan will be established, And I will accomplish all My good pleasure’;

¹¹Calling a bird of prey from the east, The man of My purpose from a distant country. Truly I have spoken; truly I will bring it to pass. I have planned it, I will certainly do it.

¹²“Listen to Me, you stubborn-minded, Who are far from righteousness.

¹³I bring near My righteousness, it is not far off; And My salvation will not delay. And I will grant salvation in Zion, And My glory for Israel.

¹After these events Paul left Athens and went to Corinth.

²And he found a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus having recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla, because Claudius had commanded all the Jews to leave Rome. He came to them,

³and because he was of the same trade he stayed with them, and they worked together, for they were tent-makers by trade.

⁴And Paul was reasoning in the synagogue every Sabbath and trying to persuade Jews and Greeks.

⁵But when Silas and Timothy came down from Macedonia, Paul began devoting himself completely to the word, testifying to the Jews that Jesus was the Christ.

⁶But when they resisted and blasphemed, he shook out his garments and said to them, “Your blood is on your own heads! I am clean. From now on I will go to the Gentiles.”

⁷Then he left the synagogue 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 together with his entire household; and many of the Corinthians, as they listened to Paul, were believing and being baptized.

⁹And the Lord said to Paul by a vision at night, “Do not be afraid any longer, but go on speaking and do not be silent;

¹⁰for I am with you, and no one will attack you to harm you, for I have many people in this city.”

¹¹And he settled there for a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them.

¹²But while Gallio was proconsul of Achaia, the Jews rose up together against Paul and brought him before the judgment seat,

¹³saying, “This man is inciting the people to worship God contrary to the law.”

¹⁴But when Paul was about to open his mouth, Gallio said to the Jews, “If it were a matter of some crime or vicious, unscrupulous act, O Jews, it would be reasonable for me to put up with you;

¹⁵but if there are questions about teaching and persons and your own law, see to it yourselves; I am unwilling to be a judge of these matters.”

¹⁶And he drove them away from the judgment seat.

¹⁷But they all took hold of Sosthenes, the leader of the synagogue, and began beating him in front of the judgment seat. And yet Gallio was not concerned about any of these things.

¹⁸Now Paul, when he had remained many days longer, took leave of the brothers and sisters and sailed away to Syria, and Priscilla and Aquila were with him. Paul first had his hair cut at Cenchrea, for he was keeping a vow.

¹⁹They came to Ephesus, and he left them there. Now he himself entered the synagogue and reasoned with the Jews.

²⁰When they asked him to stay for a longer time, he did not consent,

²¹but took leave of them and said, “I will return to you again if God wills,” and he set sail from Ephesus.

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

²³And after spending some time there, he left and passed successively through the Galatian region and Phrygia, strengthening all the disciples.

²⁴Now a Jew named Apollos, an Alexandrian by birth, an eloquent man, came to Ephesus; and he was proficient in the Scriptures.

²⁵This man had been instructed in the way of the Lord; and being fervent in spirit, he was accurately speaking and teaching things about Jesus, being acquainted only with the baptism of John;

²⁶and he began speaking boldly in the synagogue. But when Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him aside and explained the way of God more accurately to him.

²⁷And when he wanted to go across to Achaia, the brothers encouraged him and wrote to the disciples to welcome him; and when he had arrived, he greatly helped those who had believed through grace,

²⁸for he powerfully refuted the Jews in public, demonstrating by the Scriptures that Jesus was the Christ.