Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹So it was, as the multitude pressed about Him to hear the word of God, that He stood by the Lake of Gennesaret,

²and saw two boats standing by the lake; but the fishermen had gone from them and were washing their nets.

³Then He got into one of the boats, which was Simon’s, and asked him to put out a little from the land. And He sat down and taught the multitudes from the boat.

⁴When He had stopped speaking, He said to Simon, “Launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.”

⁵But Simon answered and said to Him, “Master, we have toiled all night and caught nothing; nevertheless at Your word I will let down the net.”

⁶And when they had done this, they caught a great number of fish, and their net was breaking.

⁷So they signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink.

⁸When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!”

⁹For he and all who were with him were astonished at the catch of fish which they had taken;

¹⁰and so also were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid. From now on you will catch men.”

¹¹So when they had brought their boats to land, they forsook all and followed Him.

¹²And it happened when He was in a certain city, that behold, a man who was full of leprosy saw Jesus; and he fell on his face and implored Him, saying, “Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.”

¹³Then He put out His hand and touched him, saying, “I am willing; be cleansed.” Immediately the leprosy left him.

¹⁴And He charged him to tell no one, “But go and show yourself to the priest, and make an offering for your cleansing, as a testimony to them, just as Moses commanded.”

¹⁵However, the report went around concerning Him all the more; and great multitudes came together to hear, and to be healed by Him of their infirmities.

¹⁶So He Himself often withdrew into the wilderness and prayed.

¹⁷Now it happened on a certain day, as He was teaching, that there were Pharisees and teachers of the law sitting by, who had come out of every town of Galilee, Judea, and Jerusalem. And the power of the Lord was present to heal them.

¹⁸Then behold, men brought on a bed a man who was paralyzed, whom they sought to bring in and lay before Him.

¹⁹And when they could not find how they might bring him in, because of the crowd, they went up on the housetop and let him down with his bed through the tiling into the midst before Jesus.

²⁰When He saw their faith, He said to him, “Man, your sins are forgiven you.”

²¹And the scribes and the Pharisees began to reason, saying, “Who is this who speaks blasphemies? Who can forgive sins but God alone?”

²²But when Jesus perceived their thoughts, He answered and said to them, “Why are you reasoning in your hearts?

²³Which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Rise up and walk’?

²⁴But that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins”—He said to the man who was paralyzed, “I say to you, arise, take up your bed, and go to your house.”

²⁵Immediately he rose up before them, took up what he had been lying on, and departed to his own house, glorifying God.

²⁶And they were all amazed, and they glorified God and were filled with fear, saying, “We have seen strange things today!”

²⁷After these things He went out and saw a tax collector named Levi, sitting at the tax office. And He said to him, “Follow Me.”

²⁸So he left all, rose up, and followed Him.

²⁹Then Levi gave Him a great feast in his own house. And there were a great number of tax collectors and others who sat down with them.

³⁰And their scribes and the Pharisees complained against His disciples, saying, “Why do You eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?”

³¹Jesus answered and said to them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick.

³²I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.”

³³Then they said to Him, “Why do the disciples of John fast often and make prayers, and likewise those of the Pharisees, but Yours eat and drink?”

³⁴And He said to them, “Can you make the friends of the bridegroom fast while the bridegroom is with them?

³⁵But the days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them; then they will fast in those days.”

³⁶Then He spoke a parable to them: “No one puts a piece from a new garment on an old one; otherwise the new makes a tear, and also the piece that was taken out of the new does not match the old.

³⁷And no one puts new wine into old wineskins; or else the new wine will burst the wineskins and be spilled, and the wineskins will be ruined.

³⁸But new wine must be put into new wineskins, and both are preserved.

³⁹And no one, having drunk old wine, immediately desires new; for he says, ‘The old is better.’ ”

¹And Jacob called his sons and said, “Gather together, that I may tell you what shall befall you in the last days:

²“Gather together and hear, you sons of Jacob, And listen to Israel your father.

³“Reuben, you are my firstborn, My might and the beginning of my strength, The excellency of dignity and the excellency of power.

⁴Unstable as water, you shall not excel, Because you went up to your father’s bed; Then you defiled it— He went up to my couch.

⁵“Simeon and Levi are brothers; Instruments of cruelty are in their dwelling place.

⁶Let not my soul enter their council; Let not my honor be united to their assembly; For in their anger they slew a man, And in their self-will they hamstrung an ox.

⁷Cursed be their anger, for it is fierce; And their wrath, for it is cruel! I will divide them in Jacob And scatter them in Israel.

⁸“Judah, you are he whom your brothers shall praise; Your hand shall be on the neck of your enemies; Your father’s children shall bow down before you.

⁹Judah is a lion’s whelp; From the prey, my son, you have gone up. He bows down, he lies down as a lion; And as a lion, who shall rouse him?

¹⁰The scepter shall not depart from Judah, Nor a lawgiver from between his feet, Until Shiloh comes; And to Him shall be the obedience of the people.

¹¹Binding his donkey to the vine, And his donkey’s colt to the choice vine, He washed his garments in wine, And his clothes in the blood of grapes.

¹²His eyes are darker than wine, And his teeth whiter than milk.

¹³“Zebulun shall dwell by the haven of the sea; He shall become a haven for ships, And his border shall adjoin Sidon.

¹⁴“Issachar is a strong donkey, Lying down between two burdens;

¹⁵He saw that rest was good, And that the land was pleasant; He bowed his shoulder to bear a burden, And became a band of slaves.

¹⁶“Dan shall judge his people As one of the tribes of Israel.

¹⁷Dan shall be a serpent by the way, A viper by the path, That bites the horse’s heels So that its rider shall fall backward.

¹⁸I have waited for your salvation, O LORD!

¹⁹“Gad, a troop shall tramp upon him, But he shall triumph at last.

²⁰“Bread from Asher shall be rich, And he shall yield royal dainties.

²¹“Naphtali is a deer let loose; He uses beautiful words.

²²“Joseph is a fruitful bough, A fruitful bough by a well; His branches run over the wall.

²³The archers have bitterly grieved him, Shot at him and hated him.

²⁴But his bow remained in strength, And the arms of his hands were made strong By the hands of the Mighty God of Jacob (From there is the Shepherd, the Stone of Israel),

²⁵By the God of your father who will help you, And by the Almighty who will bless you With blessings of heaven above, Blessings of the deep that lies beneath, Blessings of the breasts and of the womb.

²⁶The blessings of your father Have excelled the blessings of my ancestors, Up to the utmost bound of the everlasting hills. They shall be on the head of Joseph, And on the crown of the head of him who was separate from his brothers.

²⁷“Benjamin is a ravenous wolf; In the morning he shall devour the prey, And at night he shall divide the spoil.”

²⁸All these are the twelve tribes of Israel, and this is what their father spoke to them. And he blessed them; he blessed each one according to his own blessing.

²⁹Then he charged them and said to them: “I am to be gathered to my people; bury me with my fathers in the cave that is in the field of Ephron the Hittite,

³⁰in the cave that is in the field of Machpelah, which is before Mamre in the land of Canaan, which Abraham bought with the field of Ephron the Hittite as a possession for a burial place.

³¹There they buried Abraham and Sarah his wife, there they buried Isaac and Rebekah his wife, and there I buried Leah.

³²The field and the cave that is there were purchased from the sons of Heth.”

³³And when Jacob had finished commanding his sons, he drew his feet up into the bed and breathed his last, and was gathered to his people.

¹Now I say that the heir, as long as he is a child, does not differ at all from a slave, though he is master of all,

²but is under guardians and stewards until the time appointed by the father.

³Even so we, when we were children, were in bondage under the elements of the world.

⁴But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law,

⁵to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons.

⁶And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out, “Abba, Father!”

⁷Therefore you are no longer a slave but a son, and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.

⁸But then, indeed, when you did not know God, you served those which by nature are not gods.

⁹But now after you have known God, or rather are known by God, how is it that you turn again to the weak and beggarly elements, to which you desire again to be in bondage?

¹⁰You observe days and months and seasons and years.

¹¹I am afraid for you, lest I have labored for you in vain.

¹²Brethren, I urge you to become like me, for I became like you. You have not injured me at all.

¹³You know that because of physical infirmity I preached the gospel to you at the first.

¹⁴And my trial which was in my flesh you did not despise or reject, but you received me as an angel of God, even as Christ Jesus.

¹⁵What then was the blessing you enjoyed? For I bear you witness that, if possible, you would have plucked out your own eyes and given them to me.

¹⁶Have I therefore become your enemy because I tell you the truth?

¹⁷They zealously court you, but for no good; yes, they want to exclude you, that you may be zealous for them.

¹⁸But it is good to be zealous in a good thing always, and not only when I am present with you.

¹⁹My little children, for whom I labor in birth again until Christ is formed in you,

²⁰I would like to be present with you now and to change my tone; for I have doubts about you.

²¹Tell me, you who desire to be under the law, do you not hear the law?

²²For it is written that Abraham had two sons: the one by a bondwoman, the other by a freewoman.

²³But he who was of the bondwoman was born according to the flesh, and he of the freewoman through promise,

²⁴which things are symbolic. For these are the two covenants: the one from Mount Sinai which gives birth to bondage, which is Hagar—

²⁵for this Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia, and corresponds to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children—

²⁶but the Jerusalem above is free, which is the mother of us all.

²⁷For it is written: “Rejoice, O barren, You who do not bear! Break forth and shout, You who are not in labor! For the desolate has many more children Than she who has a husband.”

²⁸Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are children of promise.

²⁹But, as he who was born according to the flesh then persecuted him who was born according to the Spirit, even so it is now.

³⁰Nevertheless what does the Scripture say? “Cast out the bondwoman and her son, for the son of the bondwoman shall not be heir with the son of the freewoman.”

³¹So then, brethren, we are not children of the bondwoman but of the free.

¹Now I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals; and I heard one of the four living creatures saying with a voice like thunder, “Come and see.”

²And I looked, and behold, a white horse. He who sat on it had a bow; and a crown was given to him, and he went out conquering and to conquer.

³When He opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature saying, “Come and see.”

⁴Another horse, fiery red, went out. And it was granted to the one who sat on it to take peace from the earth, and that people should kill one another; and there was given to him a great sword.

⁵When He opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, “Come and see.” So I looked, and behold, a black horse, and he who sat on it had a pair of scales in his hand.

⁶And I heard a voice in the midst of the four living creatures saying, “A quart of wheat for a denarius, and three quarts of barley for a denarius; and do not harm the oil and the wine.”

⁷When He opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature saying, “Come and see.”

⁸So I looked, and behold, a pale horse. And the name of him who sat on it was Death, and Hades followed with him. And power was given to them over a fourth of the earth, to kill with sword, with hunger, with death, and by the beasts of the earth.

⁹When He opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the testimony which they held.

¹⁰And they cried with a loud voice, saying, “How long, O Lord, holy and true, until You judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?”

¹¹Then a white robe was given to each of them; and it was said to them that they should rest a little while longer, until both the number of their fellow servants and their brethren, who would be killed as they were, was completed.

¹²I looked when He opened the sixth seal, and behold, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became like blood.

¹³And the stars of heaven fell to the earth, as a fig tree drops its late figs when it is shaken by a mighty wind.

¹⁴Then the sky receded as a scroll when it is rolled up, and every mountain and island was moved out of its place.

¹⁵And the kings of the earth, the great men, the rich men, the commanders, the mighty men, every slave and every free man, hid themselves in the caves and in the rocks of the mountains,

¹⁶and said to the mountains and rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of Him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb!

¹⁷For the great day of His wrath has come, and who is able to stand?”

¹A good name is better than precious ointment, And the day of death than the day of one’s birth;

²Better to go to the house of mourning Than to go to the house of feasting, For that is the end of all men; And the living will take it to heart.

³Sorrow is better than laughter, For by a sad countenance the heart is made better.

⁴The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning, But the heart of fools is in the house of mirth.

⁵It is better to hear the rebuke of the wise Than for a man to hear the song of fools.

⁶For like the crackling of thorns under a pot, So is the laughter of the fool. This also is vanity.

⁷Surely oppression destroys a wise man’s reason, And a bribe debases the heart.

⁸The end of a thing is better than its beginning; The patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit.

⁹Do not hasten in your spirit to be angry, For anger rests in the bosom of fools.

¹⁰Do not say, “Why were the former days better than these?” For you do not inquire wisely concerning this.

¹¹Wisdom is good with an inheritance, And profitable to those who see the sun.

¹²For wisdom is a defense as money is a defense, But the excellence of knowledge is that wisdom gives life to those who have it.

¹³Consider the work of God; For who can make straight what He has made crooked?

¹⁴In the day of prosperity be joyful, But in the day of adversity consider: Surely God has appointed the one as well as the other, So that man can find out nothing that will come after him.

¹⁵I have seen everything in my days of vanity: There is a just man who perishes in his righteousness, And there is a wicked man who prolongs life in his wickedness.

¹⁶Do not be overly righteous, Nor be overly wise: Why should you destroy yourself?

¹⁷Do not be overly wicked, Nor be foolish: Why should you die before your time?

¹⁸It is good that you grasp this, And also not remove your hand from the other; For he who fears God will escape them all.

¹⁹Wisdom strengthens the wise More than ten rulers of the city.

²⁰For there is not a just man on earth who does good And does not sin.

²¹Also do not take to heart everything people say, Lest you hear your servant cursing you.

²²For many times, also, your own heart has known That even you have cursed others.

²³All this I have proved by wisdom. I said, “I will be wise”; But it was far from me.

²⁴As for that which is far off and exceedingly deep, Who can find it out?

²⁵I applied my heart to know, To search and seek out wisdom and the reason of things, To know the wickedness of folly, Even of foolishness and madness.

²⁶And I find more bitter than death The woman whose heart is snares and nets, Whose hands are fetters. He who pleases God shall escape from her, But the sinner shall be trapped by her.

²⁷Here is what I have found,” says the Preacher, “Adding one thing to the other to find out the reason,

²⁸Which my soul still seeks but I cannot find: One man among a thousand I have found, But a woman among all these I have not found.

²⁹Truly, this only I have found: That God made man upright, But they have sought out many schemes.”

¹To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of the sons of Korah. [1] Hear this, all peoples; Give ear, all inhabitants of the world,

²Both low and high, Rich and poor together.

³My mouth shall speak wisdom, And the meditation of my heart shall give understanding.

⁴I will incline my ear to a proverb; I will disclose my dark saying on the harp.

⁵Why should I fear in the days of evil, When the iniquity at my heels surrounds me?

⁶Those who trust in their wealth And boast in the multitude of their riches,

⁷None of them can by any means redeem his brother, Nor give to God a ransom for him—

⁸For the redemption of their souls is costly, And it shall cease forever—

⁹That he should continue to live eternally, And not see the Pit.

¹⁰For he sees wise men die; Likewise the fool and the senseless person perish, And leave their wealth to others.

¹¹Their inner thought is that their houses will last forever, Their dwelling places to all generations; They call their lands after their own names.

¹²Nevertheless man, though in honor, does not remain; He is like the beasts that perish.

¹³This is the way of those who are foolish, And of their posterity who approve their sayings. Selah

¹⁴Like sheep they are laid in the grave; Death shall feed on them; The upright shall have dominion over them in the morning; And their beauty shall be consumed in the grave, far from their dwelling.

¹⁵But God will redeem my soul from the power of the grave, For He shall receive me. Selah

¹⁶Do not be afraid when one becomes rich, When the glory of his house is increased;

¹⁷For when he dies he shall carry nothing away; His glory shall not descend after him.

¹⁸Though while he lives he blesses himself (For men will praise you when you do well for yourself),

¹⁹He shall go to the generation of his fathers; They shall never see light.

²⁰A man who is in honor, yet does not understand, Is like the beasts that perish.

¹A man who isolates himself seeks his own desire; He rages against all wise judgment.

²A fool has no delight in understanding, But in expressing his own heart.

³When the wicked comes, contempt comes also; And with dishonor comes reproach.

⁴The words of a man’s mouth are deep waters; The wellspring of wisdom is a flowing brook.

⁵It is not good to show partiality to the wicked, Or to overthrow the righteous in judgment.

⁶A fool’s lips enter into contention, And his mouth calls for blows.

⁷A fool’s mouth is his destruction, And his lips are the snare of his soul.

⁸The words of a talebearer are like tasty trifles, And they go down into the inmost body.

⁹He who is slothful in his work Is a brother to him who is a great destroyer.

¹⁰The name of the LORD is a strong tower; The righteous run to it and are safe.

¹¹The rich man’s wealth is his strong city, And like a high wall in his own esteem.

¹²Before destruction the heart of a man is haughty, And before honor is humility.

¹³He who answers a matter before he hears it, It is folly and shame to him.

¹⁴The spirit of a man will sustain him in sickness, But who can bear a broken spirit?

¹⁵The heart of the prudent acquires knowledge, And the ear of the wise seeks knowledge.

¹⁶A man’s gift makes room for him, And brings him before great men.

¹⁷The first one to plead his cause seems right, Until his neighbor comes and examines him.

¹⁸Casting lots causes contentions to cease, And keeps the mighty apart.

¹⁹A brother offended is harder to win than a strong city, And contentions are like the bars of a castle.

²⁰A man’s stomach shall be satisfied from the fruit of his mouth; From the produce of his lips he shall be filled.

²¹Death and life are in the power of the tongue, And those who love it will eat its fruit.

²²He who finds a wife finds a good thing, And obtains favor from the LORD.

²³The poor man uses entreaties, But the rich answers roughly.

²⁴A man who has friends must himself be friendly, But there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.

¹Now Boaz went up to the gate and sat down there; and behold, the close relative of whom Boaz had spoken came by. So Boaz said, “Come aside, friend, sit down here.” So he came aside and sat down.

²And he took ten men of the elders of the city, and said, “Sit down here.” So they sat down.

³Then he said to the close relative, “Naomi, who has come back from the country of Moab, sold the piece of land which belonged to our brother Elimelech.

⁴And I thought to inform you, saying, ‘Buy it back in the presence of the inhabitants and the elders of my people. If you will redeem it, redeem it; but if you will not redeem it, then tell me, that I may know; for there is no one but you to redeem it, and I am next after you.’ ” And he said, “I will redeem it.”

⁵Then Boaz said, “On the day you buy the field from the hand of Naomi, you must also buy it from Ruth the Moabitess, the wife of the dead, to perpetuate the name of the dead through his inheritance.”

⁶And the close relative said, “I cannot redeem it for myself, lest I ruin my own inheritance. You redeem my right of redemption for yourself, for I cannot redeem it.”

⁷Now this was the custom in former times in Israel concerning redeeming and exchanging, to confirm anything: one man took off his sandal and gave it to the other, and this was a confirmation in Israel.

⁸Therefore the close relative said to Boaz, “Buy it for yourself.” So he took off his sandal.

⁹And Boaz said to the elders and all the people, “You are witnesses this day that I have bought all that was Elimelech’s, and all that was Chilion’s and Mahlon’s, from the hand of Naomi.

¹⁰Moreover, Ruth the Moabitess, the widow of Mahlon, I have acquired as my wife, to perpetuate the name of the dead through his inheritance, that the name of the dead may not be cut off from among his brethren and from his position at the gate. You are witnesses this day.”

¹¹And all the people who were at the gate, and the elders, said, “We are witnesses. The LORD make the woman who is coming to your house like Rachel and Leah, the two who built the house of Israel; and may you prosper in Ephrathah and be famous in Bethlehem.

¹²May your house be like the house of Perez, whom Tamar bore to Judah, because of the offspring which the LORD will give you from this young woman.”

¹³So Boaz took Ruth and she became his wife; and when he went in to her, the LORD gave her conception, and she bore a son.

¹⁴Then the women said to Naomi, “Blessed be the LORD, who has not left you this day without a close relative; and may his name be famous in Israel!

¹⁵And may he be to you a restorer of life and a nourisher of your old age; for your daughter-in-law, who loves you, who is better to you than seven sons, has borne him.”

¹⁶Then Naomi took the child and laid him on her bosom, and became a nurse to him.

¹⁷Also the neighbor women gave him a name, saying, “There is a son born to Naomi.” And they called his name Obed. He is the father of Jesse, the father of David.

¹⁸Now this is the genealogy of Perez: Perez begot Hezron;

¹⁹Hezron begot Ram, and Ram begot Amminadab;

²⁰Amminadab begot Nahshon, and Nahshon begot Salmon;

²¹Salmon begot Boaz, and Boaz begot Obed;

²²Obed begot Jesse, and Jesse begot David.

¹“Listen, O coastlands, to Me, And take heed, you peoples from afar! The LORD has called Me from the womb; From the matrix of My mother He has made mention of My name.

²And He has made My mouth like a sharp sword; In the shadow of His hand He has hidden Me, And made Me a polished shaft; In His quiver He has hidden Me.”

³“And He said to me, ‘You are My servant, O Israel, In whom I will be glorified.’

⁴Then I said, ‘I have labored in vain, I have spent my strength for nothing and in vain; Yet surely my just reward is with the LORD, And my work with my God.’ ”

⁵“And now the LORD says, Who formed Me from the womb to be His Servant, To bring Jacob back to Him, So that Israel is gathered to Him (For I shall be glorious in the eyes of the LORD, And My God shall be My strength),

⁶Indeed He says, ‘It is too small a thing that You should be My Servant To raise up the tribes of Jacob, And to restore the preserved ones of Israel; I will also give You as a light to the Gentiles, That You should be My salvation to the ends of the earth.’ ”

⁷Thus says the LORD, The Redeemer of Israel, their Holy One, To Him whom man despises, To Him whom the nation abhors, To the Servant of rulers: “Kings shall see and arise, Princes also shall worship, Because of the LORD who is faithful, The Holy One of Israel; And He has chosen You.”

⁸Thus says the LORD: “In an acceptable time I have heard You, And in the day of salvation I have helped You; I will preserve You and give You As a covenant to the people, To restore the earth, To cause them to inherit the desolate heritages;

⁹That You may say to the prisoners, ‘Go forth,’ To those who are in darkness, ‘Show yourselves.’ “They shall feed along the roads, And their pastures shall be on all desolate heights.

¹⁰They shall neither hunger nor thirst, Neither heat nor sun shall strike them; For He who has mercy on them will lead them, Even by the springs of water He will guide them.

¹¹I will make each of My mountains a road, And My highways shall be elevated.

¹²Surely these shall come from afar; Look! Those from the north and the west, And these from the land of Sinim.”

¹³Sing, O heavens! Be joyful, O earth! And break out in singing, O mountains! For the LORD has comforted His people, And will have mercy on His afflicted.

¹⁴But Zion said, “The LORD has forsaken me, And my Lord has forgotten me.”

¹⁵“Can a woman forget her nursing child, And not have compassion on the son of her womb? Surely they may forget, Yet I will not forget you.

¹⁶See, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands; Your walls are continually before Me.

¹⁷Your sons shall make haste; Your destroyers and those who laid you waste Shall go away from you.

¹⁸Lift up your eyes, look around and see; All these gather together and come to you. As I live,” says the LORD, “You shall surely clothe yourselves with them all as an ornament, And bind them on you as a bride does.

¹⁹“For your waste and desolate places, And the land of your destruction, Will even now be too small for the inhabitants; And those who swallowed you up will be far away.

²⁰The children you will have, After you have lost the others, Will say again in your ears, ‘The place is too small for me; Give me a place where I may dwell.’

²¹Then you will say in your heart, ‘Who has begotten these for me, Since I have lost my children and am desolate, A captive, and wandering to and fro? And who has brought these up? There I was, left alone; But these, where were they?’ ”

²²Thus says the Lord GOD: “Behold, I will lift My hand in an oath to the nations, And set up My standard for the peoples; They shall bring your sons in their arms, And your daughters shall be carried on their shoulders;

²³Kings shall be your foster fathers, And their queens your nursing mothers; They shall bow down to you with their faces to the earth, And lick up the dust of your feet. Then you will know that I am the LORD, For they shall not be ashamed who wait for Me.”

²⁴Shall the prey be taken from the mighty, Or the captives of the righteous be delivered?

²⁵But thus says the LORD: “Even the captives of the mighty shall be taken away, And the prey of the terrible be delivered; For I will contend with him who contends with you, And I will save your children.

²⁶I will feed those who oppress you with their own flesh, And they shall be drunk with their own blood as with sweet wine. All flesh shall know That I, the LORD, am your Savior, And your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.”

¹Now it came to pass, that when we had departed from them and set sail, running a straight course we came to Cos, the following day to Rhodes, and from there to Patara.

²And finding a ship sailing over to Phoenicia, we went aboard and set sail.

³When we had sighted Cyprus, we passed it on the left, sailed to Syria, and landed at Tyre; for there the ship was to unload her cargo.

⁴And finding disciples, we stayed there seven days. They told Paul through the Spirit not to go up to Jerusalem.

⁵When we had come to the end of those days, we departed and went on our way; and they all accompanied us, with wives and children, till we were out of the city. And we knelt down on the shore and prayed.

⁶When we had taken our leave of one another, we boarded the ship, and they returned home.

⁷And when we had finished our voyage from Tyre, we came to Ptolemais, greeted the brethren, and stayed with them one day.

⁸On the next day we who were Paul’s companions departed and came to Caesarea, and entered the house of Philip the evangelist, who was one of the seven, and stayed with him.

⁹Now this man had four virgin daughters who prophesied.

¹⁰And as we stayed many days, a certain prophet named Agabus came down from Judea.

¹¹When he had come to us, he took Paul’s belt, bound his own hands and feet, and said, “Thus says the Holy Spirit, ‘So shall the Jews at Jerusalem bind the man who owns this belt, and deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles.’ ”

¹²Now when we heard these things, both we and those from that place pleaded with him not to go up to Jerusalem.

¹³Then Paul answered, “What do you mean by weeping and breaking my heart? For I am ready not only to be bound, but also to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.”

¹⁴So when he would not be persuaded, we ceased, saying, “The will of the Lord be done.”

¹⁵And after those days we packed and went up to Jerusalem.

¹⁶Also some of the disciples from Caesarea went with us and brought with them a certain Mnason of Cyprus, an early disciple, with whom we were to lodge.

¹⁷And when we had come to Jerusalem, the brethren received us gladly.

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

¹⁹When he had greeted them, he told in detail those things which God had done among the Gentiles through his ministry.

²⁰And when they heard it, they glorified the Lord. And they said to him, “You see, brother, how many myriads of Jews there are who have believed, and they are all zealous for the law;

²¹but they have been informed about you that you teach all the Jews who are among the Gentiles to forsake Moses, saying that they ought not to circumcise their children nor to walk according to the customs.

²²What then? The assembly must certainly meet, for they will hear that you have come.

²³Therefore do what we tell you: We have four men who have taken a vow.

²⁴Take them and be purified with them, and pay their expenses so that they may shave their heads, and that all may know that those things of which they were informed concerning you are nothing, but that you yourself also walk orderly and keep the law.

²⁵But concerning the Gentiles who believe, we have written and decided that they should observe no such thing, except that they should keep themselves from things offered to idols, from blood, from things strangled, and from sexual immorality.”

²⁶Then Paul took the men, and the next day, having been purified with them, entered the temple to announce the expiration of the days of purification, at which time an offering should be made for each one of them.

²⁷Now when the seven days were almost ended, the Jews from Asia, seeing him in the temple, stirred up the whole crowd and laid hands on him,

²⁸crying out, “Men of Israel, help! This is the man who teaches all men everywhere against the people, the law, and this place; and furthermore he also brought Greeks into the temple and has defiled this holy place.”

²⁹(For they had previously seen Trophimus the Ephesian with him in the city, whom they supposed that Paul had brought into the temple.)

³⁰And all the city was disturbed; and the people ran together, seized Paul, and dragged him out of the temple; and immediately the doors were shut.

³¹Now as they were seeking to kill him, news came to the commander of the garrison that all Jerusalem was in an uproar.

³²He immediately took soldiers and centurions, and ran down to them. And when they saw the commander and the soldiers, they stopped beating Paul.

³³Then the commander came near and took him, and commanded him to be bound with two chains; and he asked who he was and what he had done.

³⁴And some among the multitude cried one thing and some another. So when he could not ascertain the truth because of the tumult, he commanded him to be taken into the barracks.

³⁵When he reached the stairs, he had to be carried by the soldiers because of the violence of the mob.

³⁶For the multitude of the people followed after, crying out, “Away with him!”

³⁷Then as Paul was about to be led into the barracks, he said to the commander, “May I speak to you?” He replied, “Can you speak Greek?

³⁸Are you not the Egyptian who some time ago stirred up a rebellion and led the four thousand assassins out into the wilderness?”

³⁹But Paul said, “I am a Jew from Tarsus, in Cilicia, a citizen of no mean city; and I implore you, permit me to speak to the people.”

⁴⁰So when he had given him permission, Paul stood on the stairs and motioned with his hand to the people. And when there was a great silence, he spoke to them in the Hebrew language, saying,