Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, while Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, Herod was tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip tetrarch of the region of Iturea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene,

²during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, God’s word came to John the son of Zechariah in the wilderness.

³He went into all the vicinity of the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins,

⁴as it is written in the book of the words of the prophet Isaiah: A voice of one crying out in the wilderness: Prepare the way for the Lord; make his paths straight!

⁵Every valley will be filled, and every mountain and hill will be made low; the crooked will become straight, the rough ways smooth,

⁶and everyone will see the salvation of God.

⁷He then said to the crowds who came out to be baptized by him, “Brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?

⁸Therefore produce fruit consistent with repentance. And don’t start saying to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father,’ for I tell you that God is able to raise up children for Abraham from these stones.

⁹The ax is already at the root of the trees. Therefore, every tree that doesn’t produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.”

¹⁰“What then should we do?” the crowds were asking him.

¹¹He replied to them, “The one who has two shirts must share with someone who has none, and the one who has food must do the same.”

¹²Tax collectors also came to be baptized, and they asked him, “Teacher, what should we do?”

¹³He told them, “Don’t collect any more than what you have been authorized.”

¹⁴Some soldiers also questioned him, “What should we do?” He said to them, “Don’t take money from anyone by force or false accusation, and be satisfied with your wages.”

¹⁵Now the people were waiting expectantly, and all of them were questioning in their hearts whether John might be the Messiah.

¹⁶John answered them all, “I baptize you with water, but one who is more powerful than I am is coming. I am not worthy to untie the strap of his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.

¹⁷His winnowing shovel is in his hand to clear his threshing floor and gather the wheat into his barn, but the chaff he will burn with fire that never goes out.”

¹⁸Then, along with many other exhortations, he proclaimed good news to the people.

¹⁹But when John rebuked Herod the tetrarch because of Herodias, his brother’s wife, and all the evil things he had done,

²⁰Herod added this to everything else — he locked up John in prison.

²¹When all the people were baptized, Jesus also was baptized. As he was praying, heaven opened,

²²and the Holy Spirit descended on him in a physical appearance like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well-pleased.”

²³As he began his ministry, Jesus was about thirty years old and was thought to be the son of Joseph, son of Heli,

²⁴son of Matthat, son of Levi, son of Melchi, son of Jannai, son of Joseph,

²⁵son of Mattathias, son of Amos, son of Nahum, son of Esli, son of Naggai,

²⁶son of Maath, son of Mattathias, son of Semein, son of Josech, son of Joda,

²⁷son of Joanan, son of Rhesa, son of Zerubbabel, son of Shealtiel, son of Neri,

²⁸son of Melchi, son of Addi, son of Cosam, son of Elmadam, son of Er,

²⁹son of Joshua, son of Eliezer, son of Jorim, son of Matthat, son of Levi,

³⁰son of Simeon, son of Judah, son of Joseph, son of Jonam, son of Eliakim,

³¹son of Melea, son of Menna, son of Mattatha, son of Nathan, son of David,

³²son of Jesse, son of Obed, son of Boaz, son of Salmon, son of Nahshon,

³³son of Amminadab, son of Ram, son of Hezron, son of Perez, son of Judah,

³⁴son of Jacob, son of Isaac, son of Abraham, son of Terah, son of Nahor,

³⁵son of Serug, son of Reu, son of Peleg, son of Eber, son of Shelah,

³⁶son of Cainan, son of Arphaxad, son of Shem, son of Noah, son of Lamech,

³⁷son of Methuselah, son of Enoch, son of Jared, son of Mahalalel, son of Cainan,

³⁸son of Enos, son of Seth, son of Adam, son of God.

¹So Joseph went and informed Pharaoh: “My father and my brothers, with their flocks and herds and all that they own, have come from the land of Canaan and are now in the land of Goshen.”

²He took five of his brothers and presented them to Pharaoh.

³And Pharaoh asked his brothers, “What is your occupation?” They said to Pharaoh, “Your servants, both we and our fathers, are shepherds.”

⁴And they said to Pharaoh, “We have come to stay in the land for a while because there is no grazing land for your servants’ sheep, since the famine in the land of Canaan has been severe. So now, please let your servants settle in the land of Goshen.”

⁵Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Now that your father and brothers have come to you,

⁶the land of Egypt is open before you; settle your father and brothers in the best part of the land. They can live in the land of Goshen. If you know of any capable men among them, put them in charge of my livestock.”

⁷Joseph then brought his father Jacob and presented him to Pharaoh, and Jacob blessed Pharaoh.

⁸Pharaoh said to Jacob, “How many years have you lived?”

⁹Jacob said to Pharaoh, “My pilgrimage has lasted 130 years. My years have been few and hard, and they have not reached the years of my fathers during their pilgrimages.”

¹⁰So Jacob blessed Pharaoh and departed from Pharaoh’s presence.

¹¹Then Joseph settled his father and brothers in the land of Egypt and gave them property in the best part of the land, the land of Rameses, as Pharaoh had commanded.

¹²And Joseph provided his father, his brothers, and all his father’s family with food for their dependents.

¹³But there was no food in the entire region, for the famine was very severe. The land of Egypt and the land of Canaan were exhausted by the famine.

¹⁴Joseph collected all the silver to be found in the land of Egypt and the land of Canaan in exchange for the grain they were purchasing, and he brought the silver to Pharaoh’s palace.

¹⁵When the silver from the land of Egypt and the land of Canaan was gone, all the Egyptians came to Joseph and said, “Give us food. Why should we die here in front of you? The silver is gone!”

¹⁶But Joseph said, “Give me your livestock. Since the silver is gone, I will give you food in exchange for your livestock.”

¹⁷So they brought their livestock to Joseph, and he gave them food in exchange for the horses, the flocks of sheep, the herds of cattle, and the donkeys. That year he provided them with food in exchange for all their livestock.

¹⁸When that year was over, they came the next year and said to him, “We cannot hide from our lord that the silver is gone and that all our livestock belongs to our lord. There is nothing left for our lord except our bodies and our land.

¹⁹Why should we die here in front of you — both us and our land? Buy us and our land in exchange for food. Then we with our land will become Pharaoh’s slaves. Give us seed so that we can live and not die, and so that the land won’t become desolate.”

²⁰In this way, Joseph acquired all the land in Egypt for Pharaoh, because every Egyptian sold his field since the famine was so severe for them. The land became Pharaoh’s,

²¹and Joseph moved the people to the cities from one end of Egypt to the other.

²²The only land he did not acquire belonged to the priests, for they had an allowance from Pharaoh. They ate from their allowance that Pharaoh gave them; therefore they did not sell their land.

²³Joseph said to the people, “Understand today that I have acquired you and your land for Pharaoh. Here is seed for you. Sow it in the land.

²⁴At harvest, you are to give a fifth of it to Pharaoh, and four-fifths will be yours as seed for the field and as food for yourselves, your households, and your dependents.”

²⁵“You have saved our lives,” they said. “We have found favor with our lord and will be Pharaoh’s slaves.”

²⁶So Joseph made it a law, still in effect today in the land of Egypt, that a fifth of the produce belongs to Pharaoh. Only the priests’ land does not belong to Pharaoh.

²⁷Israel settled in the land of Egypt, in the region of Goshen. They acquired property in it and became fruitful and very numerous.

²⁸Now Jacob lived in the land of Egypt 17 years, and his life span was 147 years.

²⁹When the time approached for him to die, he called his son Joseph and said to him, “If I have found favor with you, put your hand under my thigh and promise me that you will deal with me in kindness and faithfulness. Do not bury me in Egypt.

³⁰When I rest with my fathers, carry me away from Egypt and bury me in their burial place.” Joseph answered, “I will do what you have asked.”

³¹And Jacob said, “Swear to me.” So Joseph swore to him. Then Israel bowed in thanks at the head of his bed.

¹Then after fourteen years I went up again to Jerusalem with Barnabas, taking Titus along also.

²I went up according to a revelation and presented to them the gospel I preach among the Gentiles, but privately to those recognized as leaders. I wanted to be sure I was not running, and had not been running, in vain.

³But not even Titus, who was with me, was compelled to be circumcised, even though he was a Greek.

⁴This matter arose because some false brothers had infiltrated our ranks to spy on the freedom we have in Christ Jesus in order to enslave us.

⁵But we did not give up and submit to these people for even a moment, so that the truth of the gospel would be preserved for you.

⁶Now from those recognized as important (what they once were makes no difference to me; God does not show favoritism ) — they added nothing to me.

⁷On the contrary, they saw that I had been entrusted with the gospel for the uncircumcised, just as Peter was for the circumcised,

⁸since the one at work in Peter for an apostleship to the circumcised was also at work in me for the Gentiles.

⁹When James, Cephas, and John  — those recognized as pillars  — acknowledged the grace that had been given to me, they gave the right hand of fellowship to me and Barnabas, agreeing that we should go to the Gentiles and they to the circumcised.

¹⁰They asked only that we would remember the poor, which I had made every effort to do.

¹¹But when Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face because he stood condemned.

¹²For he regularly ate with the Gentiles before certain men came from James. However, when they came, he withdrew and separated himself, because he feared those from the circumcision party.

¹³Then the rest of the Jews joined his hypocrisy, so that even Barnabas was led astray by their hypocrisy.

¹⁴But when I saw that they were deviating from the truth of the gospel, I told Cephas in front of everyone, “If you, who are a Jew, live like a Gentile and not like a Jew, how can you compel Gentiles to live like Jews?”

¹⁵We are Jews by birth and not “Gentile sinners,”

¹⁶and yet because we know that a person is not justified by the works of the law but by faith in Jesus Christ, even we ourselves have believed in Christ Jesus. This was so that we might be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law, because by the works of the law no human being will be justified.

¹⁷But if we ourselves are also found to be “sinners” while seeking to be justified by Christ, is Christ then a promoter of sin? Absolutely not!

¹⁸If I rebuild those things that I tore down, I show myself to be a lawbreaker.

¹⁹For through the law I died to the law, so that I might live for God.

²⁰I have been crucified with Christ, and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

²¹I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died for nothing.

¹After this I looked, and there in heaven was an open door. The first voice that I had heard speaking to me like a trumpet said, “Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this.”

²Immediately I was in the Spirit, and there was a throne in heaven and someone was seated on it.

³The one seated there had the appearance of jasper and carnelian stone. A rainbow that had the appearance of an emerald surrounded the throne.

⁴Around the throne were twenty-four thrones, and on the thrones sat twenty-four elders dressed in white clothes, with golden crowns on their heads.

⁵Flashes of lightning and rumblings and peals of thunder came from the throne. Seven fiery torches were burning before the throne, which are the seven spirits of God.

⁶Something like a sea of glass, similar to crystal, was also before the throne. Four living creatures covered with eyes in front and in back were around the throne on each side.

⁷The first living creature was like a lion; the second living creature was like an ox; the third living creature had a face like a man; and the fourth living creature was like a flying eagle.

⁸Each of the four living creatures had six wings; they were covered with eyes around and inside. Day and night they never stop, saying, Holy, holy, holy, Lord God, the Almighty, who was, who is, and who is to come.

⁹Whenever the living creatures give glory, honor, and thanks to the one seated on the throne, the one who lives forever and ever,

¹⁰the twenty-four elders fall down before the one seated on the throne and worship the one who lives forever and ever. They cast their crowns before the throne and say,

¹¹Our Lord and God, you are worthy to receive glory and honor and power, because you have created all things, and by your will they exist and were created.

¹Guard your steps when you go to the house of God. Better to approach in obedience than to offer the sacrifice as fools do, for they ignorantly do wrong.

²Do not be hasty to speak, and do not be impulsive to make a speech before God. God is in heaven and you are on earth, so let your words be few.

³Just as dreams accompany much labor, so also a fool’s voice comes with many words.

⁴When you make a vow to God, don’t delay fulfilling it, because he does not delight in fools. Fulfill what you vow.

⁵Better that you do not vow than that you vow and not fulfill it.

⁶Do not let your mouth bring guilt on you, and do not say in the presence of the messenger that it was a mistake. Why should God be angry with your words and destroy the work of your hands?

⁷For many dreams bring futility, so do many words. Therefore, fear God.

⁸If you see oppression of the poor and perversion of justice and righteousness in the province, don’t be astonished at the situation, because one official protects another official, and higher officials protect them.

⁹The profit from the land is taken by all; the king is served by the field.

¹⁰The one who loves silver is never satisfied with silver, and whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with income. This too is futile.

¹¹When good things increase, the ones who consume them multiply; what, then, is the profit to the owner, except to gaze at them with his eyes?

¹²The sleep of the worker is sweet, whether he eats little or much, but the abundance of the rich permits him no sleep.

¹³There is a sickening tragedy I have seen under the sun: wealth kept by its owner to his harm.

¹⁴That wealth was lost in a bad venture, so when he fathered a son, he was empty-handed.

¹⁵As he came from his mother’s womb, so he will go again, naked as he came; he will take nothing for his efforts that he can carry in his hands.

¹⁶This too is a sickening tragedy: exactly as he comes, so he will go. What does the one gain who struggles for the wind?

¹⁷What is more, he eats in darkness all his days, with much frustration, sickness, and anger.

¹⁸Here is what I have seen to be good: It is appropriate to eat, drink, and experience good in all the labor one does under the sun during the few days of his life God has given him, because that is his reward.

¹⁹Furthermore, everyone to whom God has given riches and wealth, he has also allowed him to enjoy them, take his reward, and rejoice in his labor. This is a gift of God,

²⁰for he does not often consider the days of his life because God keeps him occupied with the joy of his heart.

¹For the choir director. A psalm of the sons of Korah. [1] Clap your hands, all you peoples; shout to God with a jubilant cry.

²For the LORD, the Most High, is awe-inspiring, a great King over the whole earth.

³He subdues peoples under us and nations under our feet.

⁴He chooses for us our inheritance — the pride of Jacob, whom he loves. Selah

⁵God ascends among shouts of joy, the LORD, with the sound of trumpets.

⁶Sing praise to God, sing praise; sing praise to our King, sing praise!

⁷Sing a song of wisdom, for God is King of the whole earth.

⁸God reigns over the nations; God is seated on his holy throne.

⁹The nobles of the peoples have assembled with the people of the God of Abraham. For the leaders of the earth belong to God; he is greatly exalted.

¹The reflections of the heart belong to mankind, but the answer of the tongue is from the LORD.

²All a person’s ways seem right to him, but the LORD weighs motives.

³Commit your activities to the LORD, and your plans will be established.

⁴The LORD has prepared everything for his purpose — even the wicked for the day of disaster.

⁵Everyone with a proud heart is detestable to the LORD; be assured, he will not go unpunished.

⁶Iniquity is atoned for by loyalty and faithfulness, and one turns from evil by the fear of the LORD.

⁷When a person’s ways please the LORD, he makes even his enemies to be at peace with him.

⁸Better a little with righteousness than great income with injustice.

⁹A person’s heart plans his way, but the LORD determines his steps.

¹⁰God’s verdict is on the lips of a king; his mouth should not give an unfair judgment.

¹¹Honest balances and scales are the LORD’s; all the weights in the bag are his concern.

¹²Wicked behavior is detestable to kings, since a throne is established through righteousness.

¹³Righteous lips are a king’s delight, and he loves one who speaks honestly.

¹⁴A king’s fury is a messenger of death, but a wise person appeases it.

¹⁵When a king’s face lights up, there is life; his favor is like a cloud with spring rain.

¹⁶Get wisdom — how much better it is than gold! And get understanding — it is preferable to silver.

¹⁷The highway of the upright avoids evil; the one who guards his way protects his life.

¹⁸Pride comes before destruction, and an arrogant spirit before a fall.

¹⁹Better to be lowly of spirit with the humble than to divide plunder with the proud.

²⁰The one who understands a matter finds success, and the one who trusts in the LORD will be happy.

²¹Anyone with a wise heart is called discerning, and pleasant speech increases learning.

²²Insight is a fountain of life for its possessor, but the discipline of fools is folly.

²³The heart of a wise person instructs his mouth; it adds learning to his speech.

²⁴Pleasant words are a honeycomb: sweet to the taste and health to the body.

²⁵There is a way that seems right to a person, but its end is the way to death.

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

²⁷A worthless person digs up evil, and his speech is like a scorching fire.

²⁸A contrary person spreads conflict, and a gossip separates close friends.

²⁹A violent person lures his neighbor, leading him on a path that is not good.

³⁰The one who narrows his eyes is planning deceptions; the one who compresses his lips brings about evil.

³¹Gray hair is a glorious crown; it is found in the ways of righteousness.

³²Patience is better than power, and controlling one’s emotions, than capturing a city.

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

¹Now Naomi had a relative on her husband’s side. He was a prominent man of noble character from Elimelech’s family. His name was Boaz.

²Ruth the Moabitess asked Naomi, “Will you let me go into the fields and gather fallen grain behind someone with whom I find favor?” Naomi answered her, “Go ahead, my daughter.”

³So Ruth left and entered the field to gather grain behind the harvesters. She happened to be in the portion of the field belonging to Boaz, who was from Elimelech’s family.

⁴Later, when Boaz arrived from Bethlehem, he said to the harvesters, “The LORD be with you.” “The LORD bless you,” they replied.

⁵Boaz asked his servant who was in charge of the harvesters, “Whose young woman is this?”

⁶The servant answered, “She is the young Moabite woman who returned with Naomi from the territory of Moab.

⁷She asked, ‘Will you let me gather fallen grain among the bundles behind the harvesters? ’ She came and has been on her feet since early morning, except that she rested a little in the shelter.”

⁸Then Boaz said to Ruth, “Listen, my daughter. Don’t go and gather grain in another field, and don’t leave this one, but stay here close to my female servants.

⁹See which field they are harvesting, and follow them. Haven’t I ordered the young men not to touch you? When you are thirsty, go and drink from the jars the young men have filled.”

¹⁰She fell facedown, bowed to the ground, and said to him, “Why have I found favor with you, so that you notice me, although I am a foreigner?”

¹¹Boaz answered her, “Everything you have done for your mother-in-law since your husband’s death has been fully reported to me: how you left your father and mother and your native land, and how you came to a people you didn’t previously know.

¹²May the LORD reward you for what you have done, and may you receive a full reward from the LORD God of Israel, under whose wings you have come for refuge.”

¹³“My lord,” she said, “I have found favor with you, for you have comforted and encouraged your servant, although I am not like one of your female servants.”

¹⁴At mealtime Boaz told her, “Come over here and have some bread and dip it in the vinegar sauce.” So she sat beside the harvesters, and he offered her roasted grain. She ate and was satisfied and had some left over.

¹⁵When she got up to gather grain, Boaz ordered his young men, “Let her even gather grain among the bundles, and don’t humiliate her.

¹⁶Pull out some stalks from the bundles for her and leave them for her to gather. Don’t rebuke her.”

¹⁷So Ruth gathered grain in the field until evening. She beat out what she had gathered, and it was about twenty-six quarts of barley.

¹⁸She picked up the grain and went into the town, where her mother-in-law saw what she had gleaned. She brought out what she had left over from her meal and gave it to her.

¹⁹Her mother-in-law said to her, “Where did you gather barley today, and where did you work? May the LORD bless the man who noticed you.” Ruth told her mother-in-law whom she had worked with and said, “The name of the man I worked with today is Boaz.”

²⁰Then Naomi said to her daughter-in-law, “May the LORD bless him because he has not abandoned his kindness to the living or the dead.” Naomi continued, “The man is a close relative. He is one of our family redeemers.”

²¹Ruth the Moabitess said, “He also told me, ‘Stay with my young men until they have finished all of my harvest.’”

²²So Naomi said to her daughter-in-law Ruth, “My daughter, it is good for you to work with his female servants, so that nothing will happen to you in another field.”

²³Ruth stayed close to Boaz’s female servants and gathered grain until the barley and the wheat harvests were finished. And she lived with her mother-in-law.

¹“Go down and sit in the dust, Virgin Daughter Babylon. Sit on the ground without a throne, Daughter Chaldea! For you will no longer be called pampered and spoiled.

²Take millstones and grind flour; remove your veil, strip off your skirt, bare your thigh, wade through the streams.

³Your nakedness will be uncovered, and your disgrace will be exposed. I will take vengeance; I will spare no one.”

⁴The Holy One of Israel is our Redeemer; The LORD of Armies is his name.

⁵“Daughter Chaldea, sit in silence and go into darkness. For you will no longer be called mistress of kingdoms.

⁶I was angry with my people; I profaned my possession, and I handed them over to you. You showed them no mercy; you made your yoke very heavy on the elderly.

⁷You said, ‘I will be the queen forever.’ You did not take these things to heart or think about their outcome.

⁸“So now hear this, lover of luxury, who sits securely, who says to herself, ‘I am, and there is no one else. I will never be a widow or know the loss of children.’

⁹These two things will happen to you suddenly, in one day: loss of children and widowhood. They will happen to you in their entirety, in spite of your many sorceries and the potency of your spells.

¹⁰You were secure in your wickedness; you said, ‘No one sees me.’ Your wisdom and knowledge led you astray. You said to yourself, ‘I am, and there is no one else.’

¹¹But disaster will happen to you; you will not know how to avert it. And it will fall on you, but you will be unable to ward it off. Devastation will happen to you suddenly and unexpectedly.

¹²So take your stand with your spells and your many sorceries, which you have wearied yourself with from your youth. Perhaps you will be able to succeed; perhaps you will inspire terror!

¹³You are worn out with your many consultations. So let the astrologers stand and save you — those who observe the stars, those who predict monthly what will happen to you.

¹⁴Look, they are like stubble; fire burns them. They cannot rescue themselves from the power of the flame. This is not a coal for warming themselves, or a fire to sit beside!

¹⁵This is what they are to you — those who have wearied you and have traded with you from your youth — each wanders on his own way; no one can save you.

¹While Apollos was in Corinth, Paul traveled through the interior regions and came to Ephesus. He found some disciples

²and asked them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” “No,” they told him, “we haven’t even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.”

³“Into what then were you baptized?” he asked them. “Into John’s baptism,” they replied.

⁴Paul said, “John baptized with a baptism of repentance, telling the people that they should believe in the one who would come after him, that is, in Jesus.”

⁵When they heard this, they were baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus.

⁶And when Paul had laid his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they began to speak in other tongues and to prophesy.

⁷Now there were about twelve men in all.

⁸Paul entered the synagogue and spoke boldly over a period of three months, arguing and persuading them about the kingdom of God.

⁹But when some became hardened and would not believe, slandering the Way in front of the crowd, he withdrew from them, taking the disciples, and conducted discussions every day in the lecture hall of Tyrannus.

¹⁰This went on for two years, so that all the residents of Asia, both Jews and Greeks, heard the word of the Lord.

¹¹God was performing extraordinary miracles by Paul’s hands,

¹²so that even facecloths or aprons that had touched his skin were brought to the sick, and the diseases left them, and the evil spirits came out of them.

¹³Now some of the itinerant Jewish exorcists also attempted to pronounce the name of the Lord Jesus over those who had evil spirits, saying, “I command you by the Jesus that Paul preaches!”

¹⁴Seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish high priest, were doing this.

¹⁵The evil spirit answered them, “I know Jesus, and I recognize Paul — but who are you?”

¹⁶Then the man who had the evil spirit jumped on them, overpowered them all, and prevailed against them, so that they ran out of that house naked and wounded.

¹⁷When this became known to everyone who lived in Ephesus, both Jews and Greeks, they became afraid, and the name of the Lord Jesus was held in high esteem.

¹⁸And many who had become believers came confessing and disclosing their practices,

¹⁹while many of those who had practiced magic collected their books and burned them in front of everyone. So they calculated their value and found it to be fifty thousand pieces of silver.

²⁰In this way the word of the Lord flourished and prevailed.

²¹After these events, Paul resolved by the Spirit to pass through Macedonia and Achaia and go to Jerusalem. “After I’ve been there,” he said, “It is necessary for me to see Rome as well.”

²²After sending to Macedonia two of those who assisted him, Timothy and Erastus, he himself stayed in Asia for a while.

²³About that time there was a major disturbance about the Way.

²⁴For a person named Demetrius, a silversmith who made silver shrines of Artemis, provided a great deal of business for the craftsmen.

²⁵When he had assembled them, as well as the workers engaged in this type of business, he said: “Men, you know that our prosperity is derived from this business.

²⁶You see and hear that not only in Ephesus, but in almost all of Asia, this man Paul has persuaded and misled a considerable number of people by saying that gods made by hand are not gods.

²⁷Not only do we run a risk that our business may be discredited, but also that the temple of the great goddess Artemis may be despised and her magnificence come to the verge of ruin — the very one all of Asia and the world worship.”

²⁸When they had heard this, they were filled with rage and began to cry out, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!”

²⁹So the city was filled with confusion, and they rushed all together into the amphitheater, dragging along Gaius and Aristarchus, Macedonians who were Paul’s traveling companions.

³⁰Although Paul wanted to go in before the people, the disciples did not let him.

³¹Even some of the provincial officials of Asia, who were his friends, sent word to him, pleading with him not to venture into the amphitheater.

³²Some were shouting one thing and some another, because the assembly was in confusion, and most of them did not know why they had come together.

³³Some Jews in the crowd gave instructions to Alexander after they pushed him to the front. Motioning with his hand, Alexander wanted to make his defense to the people.

³⁴But when they recognized that he was a Jew, they all shouted in unison for about two hours: “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!”

³⁵When the city clerk had calmed the crowd down, he said, “People of Ephesus! What person is there who doesn’t know that the city of the Ephesians is the temple guardian of the great Artemis, and of the image that fell from heaven?

³⁶Therefore, since these things are undeniable, you must keep calm and not do anything rash.

³⁷For you have brought these men here who are not temple robbers or blasphemers of our goddess.

³⁸So if Demetrius and the craftsmen who are with him have a case against anyone, the courts are in session, and there are proconsuls. Let them bring charges against one another.

³⁹But if you seek anything further, it must be decided in a legal assembly.

⁴⁰In fact, we run a risk of being charged with rioting for what happened today, since there is no justification that we can give as a reason for this disturbance.”

⁴¹After saying this, he dismissed the assembly.