Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹One day as Jesus was preaching on the shore of the Sea of Galilee, great crowds pressed in on him to listen to the word of God.

²He noticed two empty boats at the water’s edge, for the fishermen had left them and were washing their nets.

³Stepping into one of the boats, Jesus asked Simon, its owner, to push it out into the water. So he sat in the boat and taught the crowds from there.

⁴When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Now go out where it is deeper, and let down your nets to catch some fish.”

⁵“Master,” Simon replied, “we worked hard all last night and didn’t catch a thing. But if you say so, I’ll let the nets down again.”

⁶And this time their nets were so full of fish they began to tear!

⁷A shout for help brought their partners in the other boat, and soon both boats were filled with fish and on the verge of sinking.

⁸When Simon Peter realized what had happened, he fell to his knees before Jesus and said, “Oh, Lord, please leave me — I’m such a sinful man.”

⁹For he was awestruck by the number of fish they had caught, as were the others with him.

¹⁰His partners, James and John, the sons of Zebedee, were also amazed. Jesus replied to Simon, “Don’t be afraid! From now on you’ll be fishing for people!”

¹¹And as soon as they landed, they left everything and followed Jesus.

¹²In one of the villages, Jesus met a man with an advanced case of leprosy. When the man saw Jesus, he bowed with his face to the ground, begging to be healed. “Lord,” he said, “if you are willing, you can heal me and make me clean.”

¹³Jesus reached out and touched him. “I am willing,” he said. “Be healed!” And instantly the leprosy disappeared.

¹⁴Then Jesus instructed him not to tell anyone what had happened. He said, “Go to the priest and let him examine you. Take along the offering required in the law of Moses for those who have been healed of leprosy. This will be a public testimony that you have been cleansed.”

¹⁵But despite Jesus’ instructions, the report of his power spread even faster, and vast crowds came to hear him preach and to be healed of their diseases.

¹⁶But Jesus often withdrew to the wilderness for prayer.

¹⁷One day while Jesus was teaching, some Pharisees and teachers of religious law were sitting nearby. (It seemed that these men showed up from every village in all Galilee and Judea, as well as from Jerusalem.) And the Lord’s healing power was strongly with Jesus.

¹⁸Some men came carrying a paralyzed man on a sleeping mat. They tried to take him inside to Jesus,

¹⁹but they couldn’t reach him because of the crowd. So they went up to the roof and took off some tiles. Then they lowered the sick man on his mat down into the crowd, right in front of Jesus.

²⁰Seeing their faith, Jesus said to the man, “Young man, your sins are forgiven.”

²¹But the Pharisees and teachers of religious law said to themselves, “Who does he think he is? That’s blasphemy! Only God can forgive sins!”

²²Jesus knew what they were thinking, so he asked them, “Why do you question this in your hearts?

²³Is it easier to say ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or ‘Stand up and walk’?

²⁴So I will prove to you that the Son of Man has the authority on earth to forgive sins.” Then Jesus turned to the paralyzed man and said, “Stand up, pick up your mat, and go home!”

²⁵And immediately, as everyone watched, the man jumped up, picked up his mat, and went home praising God.

²⁶Everyone was gripped with great wonder and awe, and they praised God, exclaiming, “We have seen amazing things today!”

²⁷Later, as Jesus left the town, he saw a tax collector named Levi sitting at his tax collector’s booth. “Follow me and be my disciple,” Jesus said to him.

²⁸So Levi got up, left everything, and followed him.

²⁹Later, Levi held a banquet in his home with Jesus as the guest of honor. Many of Levi’s fellow tax collectors and other guests also ate with them.

³⁰But the Pharisees and their teachers of religious law complained bitterly to Jesus’ disciples, “Why do you eat and drink with such scum? ”

³¹Jesus answered them, “Healthy people don’t need a doctor — sick people do.

³²I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners and need to repent.”

³³One day some people said to Jesus, “John the Baptist’s disciples fast and pray regularly, and so do the disciples of the Pharisees. Why are your disciples always eating and drinking?”

³⁴Jesus responded, “Do wedding guests fast while celebrating with the groom? Of course not.

³⁵But someday the groom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast.”

³⁶Then Jesus gave them this illustration: “No one tears a piece of cloth from a new garment and uses it to patch an old garment. For then the new garment would be ruined, and the new patch wouldn’t even match the old garment.

³⁷“And no one puts new wine into old wineskins. For the new wine would burst the wineskins, spilling the wine and ruining the skins.

³⁸New wine must be stored in new wineskins.

³⁹But no one who drinks the old wine seems to want the new wine. ‘The old is just fine,’ they say.”

¹Then Jacob called together all his sons and said, “Gather around me, and I will tell you what will happen to each of you in the days to come.

²“Come and listen, you sons of Jacob; listen to Israel, your father.

³“Reuben, you are my firstborn, my strength, the child of my vigorous youth. You are first in rank and first in power.

⁴But you are as unruly as a flood, and you will be first no longer. For you went to bed with my wife; you defiled my marriage couch.

⁵“Simeon and Levi are two of a kind; their weapons are instruments of violence.

⁶May I never join in their meetings; may I never be a party to their plans. For in their anger they murdered men, and they crippled oxen just for sport.

⁷A curse on their anger, for it is fierce; a curse on their wrath, for it is cruel. I will scatter them among the descendants of Jacob; I will disperse them throughout Israel.

⁸“Judah, your brothers will praise you. You will grasp your enemies by the neck. All your relatives will bow before you.

⁹Judah, my son, is a young lion that has finished eating its prey. Like a lion he crouches and lies down; like a lioness — who dares to rouse him?

¹⁰The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from his descendants, until the coming of the one to whom it belongs, the one whom all nations will honor.

¹¹He ties his foal to a grapevine, the colt of his donkey to a choice vine. He washes his clothes in wine, his robes in the blood of grapes.

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

¹³“Zebulun will settle by the seashore and will be a harbor for ships; his borders will extend to Sidon.

¹⁴“Issachar is a sturdy donkey, resting between two saddlepacks.

¹⁵When he sees how good the countryside is and how pleasant the land, he will bend his shoulder to the load and submit himself to hard labor.

¹⁶“Dan will govern his people, like any other tribe in Israel.

¹⁷Dan will be a snake beside the road, a poisonous viper along the path that bites the horse’s hooves so its rider is thrown off.

¹⁸I trust in you for salvation, O LORD!

¹⁹“Gad will be attacked by marauding bands, but he will attack them when they retreat.

²⁰“Asher will dine on rich foods and produce food fit for kings.

²¹“Naphtali is a doe set free that bears beautiful fawns.

²²“Joseph is the foal of a wild donkey, the foal of a wild donkey at a spring — one of the wild donkeys on the ridge.

²³Archers attacked him savagely; they shot at him and harassed him.

²⁴But his bow remained taut, and his arms were strengthened by the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob, by the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel.

²⁵May the God of your father help you; may the Almighty bless you with the blessings of the heavens above, and blessings of the watery depths below, and blessings of the breasts and womb.

²⁶May my fatherly blessings on you surpass the blessings of my ancestors, reaching to the heights of the eternal hills. May these blessings rest on the head of Joseph, who is a prince among his brothers.

²⁷“Benjamin is a ravenous wolf, devouring his enemies in the morning and dividing his plunder in the evening.”

²⁸These are the twelve tribes of Israel, and this is what their father said as he told his sons good-bye. He blessed each one with an appropriate message.

²⁹Then Jacob instructed them, “Soon I will die and join my ancestors. Bury me with my father and grandfather in the cave in the field of Ephron the Hittite.

³⁰This is the cave in the field of Machpelah, near Mamre in Canaan, that Abraham bought from Ephron the Hittite as a permanent burial site.

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

³²It is the plot of land and the cave that my grandfather Abraham bought from the Hittites.”

³³When Jacob had finished this charge to his sons, he drew his feet into the bed, breathed his last, and joined his ancestors in death.

¹Think of it this way. If a father dies and leaves an inheritance for his young children, those children are not much better off than slaves until they grow up, even though they actually own everything their father had.

²They have to obey their guardians until they reach whatever age their father set.

³And that’s the way it was with us before Christ came. We were like children; we were slaves to the basic spiritual principles of this world.

⁴But when the right time came, God sent his Son, born of a woman, subject to the law.

⁵God sent him to buy freedom for us who were slaves to the law, so that he could adopt us as his very own children.

⁶And because we are his children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, prompting us to call out, “Abba, Father.”

⁷Now you are no longer a slave but God’s own child. And since you are his child, God has made you his heir.

⁸Before you Gentiles knew God, you were slaves to so-called gods that do not even exist.

⁹So now that you know God (or should I say, now that God knows you), why do you want to go back again and become slaves once more to the weak and useless spiritual principles of this world?

¹⁰You are trying to earn favor with God by observing certain days or months or seasons or years.

¹¹I fear for you. Perhaps all my hard work with you was for nothing.

¹²Dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to live as I do in freedom from these things, for I have become like you Gentiles — free from those laws. You did not mistreat me when I first preached to you.

¹³Surely you remember that I was sick when I first brought you the Good News.

¹⁴But even though my condition tempted you to reject me, you did not despise me or turn me away. No, you took me in and cared for me as though I were an angel from God or even Christ Jesus himself.

¹⁵Where is that joyful and grateful spirit you felt then? I am sure you would have taken out your own eyes and given them to me if it had been possible.

¹⁶Have I now become your enemy because I am telling you the truth?

¹⁷Those false teachers are so eager to win your favor, but their intentions are not good. They are trying to shut you off from me so that you will pay attention only to them.

¹⁸If someone is eager to do good things for you, that’s all right; but let them do it all the time, not just when I’m with you.

¹⁹Oh, my dear children! I feel as if I’m going through labor pains for you again, and they will continue until Christ is fully developed in your lives.

²⁰I wish I were with you right now so I could change my tone. But at this distance I don’t know how else to help you.

²¹Tell me, you who want to live under the law, do you know what the law actually says?

²²The Scriptures say that Abraham had two sons, one from his slave wife and one from his freeborn wife.

²³The son of the slave wife was born in a human attempt to bring about the fulfillment of God’s promise. But the son of the freeborn wife was born as God’s own fulfillment of his promise.

²⁴These two women serve as an illustration of God’s two covenants. The first woman, Hagar, represents Mount Sinai where people received the law that enslaved them.

²⁵And now Jerusalem is just like Mount Sinai in Arabia, because she and her children live in slavery to the law.

²⁶But the other woman, Sarah, represents the heavenly Jerusalem. She is the free woman, and she is our mother.

²⁷As Isaiah said, “Rejoice, O childless woman, you who have never given birth! Break into a joyful shout, you who have never been in labor! For the desolate woman now has more children than the woman who lives with her husband!”

²⁸And you, dear brothers and sisters, are children of the promise, just like Isaac.

²⁹But you are now being persecuted by those who want you to keep the law, just as Ishmael, the child born by human effort, persecuted Isaac, the child born by the power of the Spirit.

³⁰But what do the Scriptures say about that? “Get rid of the slave and her son, for the son of the slave woman will not share the inheritance with the free woman’s son.”

³¹So, dear brothers and sisters, we are not children of the slave woman; we are children of the free woman.

¹As I watched, the Lamb broke the first of the seven seals on the scroll. Then I heard one of the four living beings say with a voice like thunder, “Come!”

²I looked up and saw a white horse standing there. Its rider carried a bow, and a crown was placed on his head. He rode out to win many battles and gain the victory.

³When the Lamb broke the second seal, I heard the second living being say, “Come!”

⁴Then another horse appeared, a red one. Its rider was given a mighty sword and the authority to take peace from the earth. And there was war and slaughter everywhere.

⁵When the Lamb broke the third seal, I heard the third living being say, “Come!” I looked up and saw a black horse, and its rider was holding a pair of scales in his hand.

⁶And I heard a voice from among the four living beings say, “A loaf of wheat bread or three loaves of barley will cost a day’s pay. And don’t waste the olive oil and wine.”

⁷When the Lamb broke the fourth seal, I heard the fourth living being say, “Come!”

⁸I looked up and saw a horse whose color was pale green. Its rider was named Death, and his companion was the Grave. These two were given authority over one-fourth of the earth, to kill with the sword and famine and disease and wild animals.

⁹When the Lamb broke the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of all who had been martyred for the word of God and for being faithful in their testimony.

¹⁰They shouted to the Lord and said, “O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before you judge the people who belong to this world and avenge our blood for what they have done to us?”

¹¹Then a white robe was given to each of them. And they were told to rest a little longer until the full number of their brothers and sisters — their fellow servants of Jesus who were to be martyred — had joined them.

¹²I watched as the Lamb broke the sixth seal, and there was a great earthquake. The sun became as dark as black cloth, and the moon became as red as blood.

¹³Then the stars of the sky fell to the earth like green figs falling from a tree shaken by a strong wind.

¹⁴The sky was rolled up like a scroll, and all of the mountains and islands were moved from their places.

¹⁵Then everyone — the kings of the earth, the rulers, the generals, the wealthy, the powerful, and every slave and free person — all hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains.

¹⁶And they cried to the mountains and the rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of the one who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb.

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

¹A good reputation is more valuable than costly perfume. And the day you die is better than the day you are born.

²Better to spend your time at funerals than at parties. After all, everyone dies — so the living should take this to heart.

³Sorrow is better than laughter, for sadness has a refining influence on us.

⁴A wise person thinks a lot about death, while a fool thinks only about having a good time.

⁵Better to be criticized by a wise person than to be praised by a fool.

⁶A fool’s laughter is quickly gone, like thorns crackling in a fire. This also is meaningless.

⁷Extortion turns wise people into fools, and bribes corrupt the heart.

⁸Finishing is better than starting. Patience is better than pride.

⁹Control your temper, for anger labels you a fool.

¹⁰Don’t long for “the good old days.” This is not wise.

¹¹Wisdom is even better when you have money. Both are a benefit as you go through life.

¹²Wisdom and money can get you almost anything, but only wisdom can save your life.

¹³Accept the way God does things, for who can straighten what he has made crooked?

¹⁴Enjoy prosperity while you can, but when hard times strike, realize that both come from God. Remember that nothing is certain in this life.

¹⁵I have seen everything in this meaningless life, including the death of good young people and the long life of wicked people.

¹⁶So don’t be too good or too wise! Why destroy yourself?

¹⁷On the other hand, don’t be too wicked either. Don’t be a fool! Why die before your time?

¹⁸Pay attention to these instructions, for anyone who fears God will avoid both extremes.

¹⁹One wise person is stronger than ten leading citizens of a town!

²⁰Not a single person on earth is always good and never sins.

²¹Don’t eavesdrop on others — you may hear your servant curse you.

²²For you know how often you yourself have cursed others.

²³I have always tried my best to let wisdom guide my thoughts and actions. I said to myself, “I am determined to be wise.” But it didn’t work.

²⁴Wisdom is always distant and difficult to find.

²⁵I searched everywhere, determined to find wisdom and to understand the reason for things. I was determined to prove to myself that wickedness is stupid and that foolishness is madness.

²⁶I discovered that a seductive woman is a trap more bitter than death. Her passion is a snare, and her soft hands are chains. Those who are pleasing to God will escape her, but sinners will be caught in her snare.

²⁷“This is my conclusion,” says the Teacher. “I discovered this after looking at the matter from every possible angle.

²⁸Though I have searched repeatedly, I have not found what I was looking for. Only one out of a thousand men is virtuous, but not one woman!

²⁹But I did find this: God created people to be virtuous, but they have each turned to follow their own downward path.”

¹Listen to this, all you people! Pay attention, everyone in the world!

²High and low, rich and poor — listen!

³For my words are wise, and my thoughts are filled with insight.

⁴I listen carefully to many proverbs and solve riddles with inspiration from a harp.

⁵Why should I fear when trouble comes, when enemies surround me?

⁶They trust in their wealth and boast of great riches.

⁷Yet they cannot redeem themselves from death by paying a ransom to God.

⁸Redemption does not come so easily, for no one can ever pay enough

⁹to live forever and never see the grave.

¹⁰Those who are wise must finally die, just like the foolish and senseless, leaving all their wealth behind.

¹¹The grave is their eternal home, where they will stay forever. They may name their estates after themselves,

¹²but their fame will not last. They will die, just like animals.

¹³This is the fate of fools, though they are remembered as being wise. Interlude

¹⁴Like sheep, they are led to the grave, where death will be their shepherd. In the morning the godly will rule over them. Their bodies will rot in the grave, far from their grand estates.

¹⁵But as for me, God will redeem my life. He will snatch me from the power of the grave. Interlude

¹⁶So don’t be dismayed when the wicked grow rich and their homes become ever more splendid.

¹⁷For when they die, they take nothing with them. Their wealth will not follow them into the grave.

¹⁸In this life they consider themselves fortunate and are applauded for their success.

¹⁹But they will die like all before them and never again see the light of day.

²⁰People who boast of their wealth don’t understand; they will die, just like animals.

¹Unfriendly people care only about themselves; they lash out at common sense.

²Fools have no interest in understanding; they only want to air their own opinions.

³Doing wrong leads to disgrace, and scandalous behavior brings contempt.

⁴Wise words are like deep waters; wisdom flows from the wise like a bubbling brook.

⁵It is not right to acquit the guilty or deny justice to the innocent.

⁶Fools’ words get them into constant quarrels; they are asking for a beating.

⁷The mouths of fools are their ruin; they trap themselves with their lips.

⁸Rumors are dainty morsels that sink deep into one’s heart.

⁹A lazy person is as bad as someone who destroys things.

¹⁰The name of the LORD is a strong fortress; the godly run to him and are safe.

¹¹The rich think of their wealth as a strong defense; they imagine it to be a high wall of safety.

¹²Haughtiness goes before destruction; humility precedes honor.

¹³Spouting off before listening to the facts is both shameful and foolish.

¹⁴The human spirit can endure a sick body, but who can bear a crushed spirit?

¹⁵Intelligent people are always ready to learn. Their ears are open for knowledge.

¹⁶Giving a gift can open doors; it gives access to important people!

¹⁷The first to speak in court sounds right — until the cross-examination begins.

¹⁸Flipping a coin can end arguments; it settles disputes between powerful opponents.

¹⁹An offended friend is harder to win back than a fortified city. Arguments separate friends like a gate locked with bars.

²⁰Wise words satisfy like a good meal; the right words bring satisfaction.

²¹The tongue can bring death or life; those who love to talk will reap the consequences.

²²The man who finds a wife finds a treasure, and he receives favor from the LORD.

²³The poor plead for mercy; the rich answer with insults.

²⁴There are “friends” who destroy each other, but a real friend sticks closer than a brother.

¹Boaz went to the town gate and took a seat there. Just then the family redeemer he had mentioned came by, so Boaz called out to him, “Come over here and sit down, friend. I want to talk to you.” So they sat down together.

²Then Boaz called ten leaders from the town and asked them to sit as witnesses.

³And Boaz said to the family redeemer, “You know Naomi, who came back from Moab. She is selling the land that belonged to our relative Elimelech.

⁴I thought I should speak to you about it so that you can redeem it if you wish. If you want the land, then buy it here in the presence of these witnesses. But if you don’t want it, let me know right away, because I am next in line to redeem it after you.” The man replied, “All right, I’ll redeem it.”

⁵Then Boaz told him, “Of course, your purchase of the land from Naomi also requires that you marry Ruth, the Moabite widow. That way she can have children who will carry on her husband’s name and keep the land in the family.”

⁶“Then I can’t redeem it,” the family redeemer replied, “because this might endanger my own estate. You redeem the land; I cannot do it.”

⁷Now in those days it was the custom in Israel for anyone transferring a right of purchase to remove his sandal and hand it to the other party. This publicly validated the transaction.

⁸So the other family redeemer drew off his sandal as he said to Boaz, “You buy the land.”

⁹Then Boaz said to the elders and to the crowd standing around, “You are witnesses that today I have bought from Naomi all the property of Elimelech, Kilion, and Mahlon.

¹⁰And with the land I have acquired Ruth, the Moabite widow of Mahlon, to be my wife. This way she can have a son to carry on the family name of her dead husband and to inherit the family property here in his hometown. You are all witnesses today.”

¹¹Then the elders and all the people standing in the gate replied, “We are witnesses! May the LORD make this woman who is coming into your home like Rachel and Leah, from whom all the nation of Israel descended! May you prosper in Ephrathah and be famous in Bethlehem.

¹²And may the LORD give you descendants by this young woman who will be like those of our ancestor Perez, the son of Tamar and Judah.”

¹³So Boaz took Ruth into his home, and she became his wife. When he slept with her, the LORD enabled her to become pregnant, and she gave birth to a son.

¹⁴Then the women of the town said to Naomi, “Praise the LORD, who has now provided a redeemer for your family! May this child be famous in Israel.

¹⁵May he restore your youth and care for you in your old age. For he is the son of your daughter-in-law who loves you and has been better to you than seven sons!”

¹⁶Naomi took the baby and cuddled him to her breast. And she cared for him as if he were her own.

¹⁷The neighbor women said, “Now at last Naomi has a son again!” And they named him Obed. He became the father of Jesse and the grandfather of David.

¹⁸This is the genealogical record of their ancestor Perez: Perez was the father of Hezron.

¹⁹Hezron was the father of Ram. Ram was the father of Amminadab.

²⁰Amminadab was the father of Nahshon. Nahshon was the father of Salmon.

²¹Salmon was the father of Boaz. Boaz was the father of Obed.

²²Obed was the father of Jesse. Jesse was the father of David.

¹Listen to me, all you in distant lands! Pay attention, you who are far away! The LORD called me before my birth; from within the womb he called me by name.

²He made my words of judgment as sharp as a sword. He has hidden me in the shadow of his hand. I am like a sharp arrow in his quiver.

³He said to me, “You are my servant, Israel, and you will bring me glory.”

⁴I replied, “But my work seems so useless! I have spent my strength for nothing and to no purpose. Yet I leave it all in the LORD’s hand; I will trust God for my reward.”

⁵And now the LORD speaks — the one who formed me in my mother’s womb to be his servant, who commissioned me to bring Israel back to him. The LORD has honored me, and my God has given me strength.

⁶He says, “You will do more than restore the people of Israel to me. I will make you a light to the Gentiles, and you will bring my salvation to the ends of the earth.”

⁷The LORD, the Redeemer and Holy One of Israel, says to the one who is despised and rejected by the nations, to the one who is the servant of rulers: “Kings will stand at attention when you pass by. Princes will also bow low because of the LORD, the faithful one, the Holy One of Israel, who has chosen you.”

⁸This is what the LORD says: “At just the right time, I will respond to you. On the day of salvation I will help you. I will protect you and give you to the people as my covenant with them. Through you I will reestablish the land of Israel and assign it to its own people again.

⁹I will say to the prisoners, ‘Come out in freedom,’ and to those in darkness, ‘Come into the light.’ They will be my sheep, grazing in green pastures and on hills that were previously bare.

¹⁰They will neither hunger nor thirst. The searing sun will not reach them anymore. For the LORD in his mercy will lead them; he will lead them beside cool waters.

¹¹And I will make my mountains into level paths for them. The highways will be raised above the valleys.

¹²See, my people will return from far away, from lands to the north and west, and from as far south as Egypt. ”

¹³Sing for joy, O heavens! Rejoice, O earth! Burst into song, O mountains! For the LORD has comforted his people and will have compassion on them in their suffering.

¹⁴Yet Jerusalem says, “The LORD has deserted us; the Lord has forgotten us.”

¹⁵“Never! Can a mother forget her nursing child? Can she feel no love for the child she has borne? But even if that were possible, I would not forget you!

¹⁶See, I have written your name on the palms of my hands. Always in my mind is a picture of Jerusalem’s walls in ruins.

¹⁷Soon your descendants will come back, and all who are trying to destroy you will go away.

¹⁸Look around you and see, for all your children will come back to you. As surely as I live,” says the LORD, “they will be like jewels or bridal ornaments for you to display.

¹⁹“Even the most desolate parts of your abandoned land will soon be crowded with your people. Your enemies who enslaved you will be far away.

²⁰The generations born in exile will return and say, ‘We need more room! It’s crowded here!’

²¹Then you will think to yourself, ‘Who has given me all these descendants? For most of my children were killed, and the rest were carried away into exile. I was left here all alone. Where did all these people come from? Who bore these children? Who raised them for me?’”

²²This is what the Sovereign LORD says: “See, I will give a signal to the godless nations. They will carry your little sons back to you in their arms; they will bring your daughters on their shoulders.

²³Kings and queens will serve you and care for all your needs. They will bow to the earth before you and lick the dust from your feet. Then you will know that I am the LORD. Those who trust in me will never be put to shame.”

²⁴Who can snatch the plunder of war from the hands of a warrior? Who can demand that a tyrant let his captives go?

²⁵But the LORD says, “The captives of warriors will be released, and the plunder of tyrants will be retrieved. For I will fight those who fight you, and I will save your children.

²⁶I will feed your enemies with their own flesh. They will be drunk with rivers of their own blood. All the world will know that I, the LORD, am your Savior and your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Israel. ”

¹After saying farewell to the Ephesian elders, we sailed straight to the island of Cos. The next day we reached Rhodes and then went to Patara.

²There we boarded a ship sailing for Phoenicia.

³We sighted the island of Cyprus, passed it on our left, and landed at the harbor of Tyre, in Syria, where the ship was to unload its cargo.

⁴We went ashore, found the local believers, and stayed with them a week. These believers prophesied through the Holy Spirit that Paul should not go on to Jerusalem.

⁵When we returned to the ship at the end of the week, the entire congregation, including women and children, left the city and came down to the shore with us. There we knelt, prayed,

⁶and said our farewells. Then we went aboard, and they returned home.

⁷The next stop after leaving Tyre was Ptolemais, where we greeted the brothers and sisters and stayed for one day.

⁸The next day we went on to Caesarea and stayed at the home of Philip the Evangelist, one of the seven men who had been chosen to distribute food.

⁹He had four unmarried daughters who had the gift of prophecy.

¹⁰Several days later a man named Agabus, who also had the gift of prophecy, arrived from Judea.

¹¹He came over, took Paul’s belt, and bound his own feet and hands with it. Then he said, “The Holy Spirit declares, ‘So shall the owner of this belt be bound by the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem and turned over to the Gentiles.’”

¹²When we heard this, we and the local believers all begged Paul not to go on to Jerusalem.

¹³But he said, “Why all this weeping? You are breaking my heart! I am ready not only to be jailed at Jerusalem but even to die for the sake of the Lord Jesus.”

¹⁴When it was clear that we couldn’t persuade him, we gave up and said, “The Lord’s will be done.”

¹⁵After this we packed our things and left for Jerusalem.

¹⁶Some believers from Caesarea accompanied us, and they took us to the home of Mnason, a man originally from Cyprus and one of the early believers.

¹⁷When we arrived, the brothers and sisters in Jerusalem welcomed us warmly.

¹⁸The next day Paul went with us to meet with James, and all the elders of the Jerusalem church were present.

¹⁹After greeting them, Paul gave a detailed account of the things God had accomplished among the Gentiles through his ministry.

²⁰After hearing this, they praised God. And then they said, “You know, dear brother, how many thousands of Jews have also believed, and they all follow the law of Moses very seriously.

²¹But the Jewish believers here in Jerusalem have been told that you are teaching all the Jews who live among the Gentiles to turn their backs on the laws of Moses. They’ve heard that you teach them not to circumcise their children or follow other Jewish customs.

²²What should we do? They will certainly hear that you have come.

²³“Here’s what we want you to do. We have four men here who have completed their vow.

²⁴Go with them to the Temple and join them in the purification ceremony, paying for them to have their heads ritually shaved. Then everyone will know that the rumors are all false and that you yourself observe the Jewish laws.

²⁵“As for the Gentile believers, they should do what we already told them in a letter: They should abstain from eating food offered to idols, from consuming blood or the meat of strangled animals, and from sexual immorality.”

²⁶So Paul went to the Temple the next day with the other men. They had already started the purification ritual, so he publicly announced the date when their vows would end and sacrifices would be offered for each of them.

²⁷The seven days were almost ended when some Jews from the province of Asia saw Paul in the Temple and roused a mob against him. They grabbed him,

²⁸yelling, “Men of Israel, help us! This is the man who preaches against our people everywhere and tells everybody to disobey the Jewish laws. He speaks against the Temple — and even defiles this holy place by bringing in Gentiles. ”

²⁹(For earlier that day they had seen him in the city with Trophimus, a Gentile from Ephesus, and they assumed Paul had taken him into the Temple.)

³⁰The whole city was rocked by these accusations, and a great riot followed. Paul was grabbed and dragged out of the Temple, and immediately the gates were closed behind him.

³¹As they were trying to kill him, word reached the commander of the Roman regiment that all Jerusalem was in an uproar.

³²He immediately called out his soldiers and officers and ran down among the crowd. When the mob saw the commander and the troops coming, they stopped beating Paul.

³³Then the commander arrested him and ordered him bound with two chains. He asked the crowd who he was and what he had done.

³⁴Some shouted one thing and some another. Since he couldn’t find out the truth in all the uproar and confusion, he ordered that Paul be taken to the fortress.

³⁵As Paul reached the stairs, the mob grew so violent the soldiers had to lift him to their shoulders to protect him.

³⁶And the crowd followed behind, shouting, “Kill him, kill him!”

³⁷As Paul was about to be taken inside, he said to the commander, “May I have a word with you?” “Do you know Greek?” the commander asked, surprised.

³⁸“Aren’t you the Egyptian who led a rebellion some time ago and took 4,000 members of the Assassins out into the desert?”

³⁹“No,” Paul replied, “I am a Jew and a citizen of Tarsus in Cilicia, which is an important city. Please, let me talk to these people.”

⁴⁰The commander agreed, so Paul stood on the stairs and motioned to the people to be quiet. Soon a deep silence enveloped the crowd, and he addressed them in their own language, Aramaic.