Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹Now when He concluded all His sayings in the hearing of the people, He entered Capernaum.

²And a certain centurion’s servant, who was dear to him, was sick and ready to die.

³So when he heard about Jesus, he sent elders of the Jews to Him, pleading with Him to come and heal his servant.

⁴And when they came to Jesus, they begged Him earnestly, saying that the one for whom He should do this was deserving,

⁵“for he loves our nation, and has built us a synagogue.”

⁶Then Jesus went with them. And when He was already not far from the house, the centurion sent friends to Him, saying to Him, “Lord, do not trouble Yourself, for I am not worthy that You should enter under my roof.

⁷Therefore I did not even think myself worthy to come to You. But say the word, and my servant will be healed.

⁸For I also am a man placed under authority, having soldiers under me. And I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes; and to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”

⁹When Jesus heard these things, He marveled at him, and turned around and said to the crowd that followed Him, “I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel!”

¹⁰And those who were sent, returning to the house, found the servant well who had been sick.

¹¹Now it happened, the day after, that He went into a city called Nain; and many of His disciples went with Him, and a large crowd.

¹²And when He came near the gate of the city, behold, a dead man was being carried out, the only son of his mother; and she was a widow. And a large crowd from the city was with her.

¹³When the Lord saw her, He had compassion on her and said to her, “Do not weep.”

¹⁴Then He came and touched the open coffin, and those who carried him stood still. And He said, “Young man, I say to you, arise.”

¹⁵So he who was dead sat up and began to speak. And He presented him to his mother.

¹⁶Then fear came upon all, and they glorified God, saying, “A great prophet has risen up among us”; and, “God has visited His people.”

¹⁷And this report about Him went throughout all Judea and all the surrounding region.

¹⁸Then the disciples of John reported to him concerning all these things.

¹⁹And John, calling two of his disciples to him, sent them to Jesus, saying, “Are You the Coming One, or do we look for another?”

²⁰When the men had come to Him, they said, “John the Baptist has sent us to You, saying, ‘Are You the Coming One, or do we look for another?’ ”

²¹And that very hour He cured many of infirmities, afflictions, and evil spirits; and to many blind He gave sight.

²²Jesus answered and said to them, “Go and tell John the things you have seen and heard: that the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, the poor have the gospel preached to them.

²³And blessed is he who is not offended because of Me.”

²⁴When the messengers of John had departed, He began to speak to the multitudes concerning John: “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind?

²⁵But what did you go out to see? A man clothed in soft garments? Indeed those who are gorgeously appareled and live in luxury are in kings’ courts.

²⁶But what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I say to you, and more than a prophet.

²⁷This is he of whom it is written: ‘Behold, I send My messenger before Your face, Who will prepare Your way before You.’

²⁸For I say to you, among those born of women there is not a greater prophet than John the Baptist; but he who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.”

²⁹And when all the people heard Him, even the tax collectors justified God, having been baptized with the baptism of John.

³⁰But the Pharisees and lawyers rejected the will of God for themselves, not having been baptized by him.

³¹And the Lord said, “To what then shall I liken the men of this generation, and what are they like?

³²They are like children sitting in the marketplace and calling to one another, saying: ‘We played the flute for you, And you did not dance; We mourned to you, And you did not weep.’

³³For John the Baptist came neither eating bread nor drinking wine, and you say, ‘He has a demon.’

³⁴The Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Look, a glutton and a winebibber, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’

³⁵But wisdom is justified by all her children.”

³⁶Then one of the Pharisees asked Him to eat with him. And He went to the Pharisee’s house, and sat down to eat.

³⁷And behold, a woman in the city who was a sinner, when she knew that Jesus sat at the table in the Pharisee’s house, brought an alabaster flask of fragrant oil,

³⁸and stood at His feet behind Him weeping; and she began to wash His feet with her tears, and wiped them with the hair of her head; and she kissed His feet and anointed them with the fragrant oil.

³⁹Now when the Pharisee who had invited Him saw this, he spoke to himself, saying, “This Man, if He were a prophet, would know who and what manner of woman this is who is touching Him, for she is a sinner.”

⁴⁰And Jesus answered and said to him, “Simon, I have something to say to you.” So he said, “Teacher, say it.”

⁴¹“There was a certain creditor who had two debtors. One owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty.

⁴²And when they had nothing with which to repay, he freely forgave them both. Tell Me, therefore, which of them will love him more?”

⁴³Simon answered and said, “I suppose the one whom he forgave more.” And He said to him, “You have rightly judged.”

⁴⁴Then He turned to the woman and said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave Me no water for My feet, but she has washed My feet with her tears and wiped them with the hair of her head.

⁴⁵You gave Me no kiss, but this woman has not ceased to kiss My feet since the time I came in.

⁴⁶You did not anoint My head with oil, but this woman has anointed My feet with fragrant oil.

⁴⁷Therefore I say to you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven, for she loved much. But to whom little is forgiven, the same loves little.”

⁴⁸Then He said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.”

⁴⁹And those who sat at the table with Him began to say to themselves, “Who is this who even forgives sins?”

⁵⁰Then He said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you. Go in peace.”

¹Now these are the names of the children of Israel who came to Egypt; each man and his household came with Jacob:

²Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah;

³Issachar, Zebulun, and Benjamin;

⁴Dan, Naphtali, Gad, and Asher.

⁵All those who were descendants of Jacob were seventy persons (for Joseph was in Egypt already).

⁶And Joseph died, all his brothers, and all that generation.

⁷But the children of Israel were fruitful and increased abundantly, multiplied and grew exceedingly mighty; and the land was filled with them.

⁸Now there arose a new king over Egypt, who did not know Joseph.

⁹And he said to his people, “Look, the people of the children of Israel are more and mightier than we;

¹⁰come, let us deal shrewdly with them, lest they multiply, and it happen, in the event of war, that they also join our enemies and fight against us, and so go up out of the land.”

¹¹Therefore they set taskmasters over them to afflict them with their burdens. And they built for Pharaoh supply cities, Pithom and Raamses.

¹²But the more they afflicted them, the more they multiplied and grew. And they were in dread of the children of Israel.

¹³So the Egyptians made the children of Israel serve with rigor.

¹⁴And they made their lives bitter with hard bondage— in mortar, in brick, and in all manner of service in the field. All their service in which they made them serve was with rigor.

¹⁵Then the king of Egypt spoke to the Hebrew midwives, of whom the name of one was Shiphrah and the name of the other Puah;

¹⁶and he said, “When you do the duties of a midwife for the Hebrew women, and see them on the birthstools, if it is a son, then you shall kill him; but if it is a daughter, then she shall live.”

¹⁷But the midwives feared God, and did not do as the king of Egypt commanded them, but saved the male children alive.

¹⁸So the king of Egypt called for the midwives and said to them, “Why have you done this thing, and saved the male children alive?”

¹⁹And the midwives said to Pharaoh, “Because the Hebrew women are not like the Egyptian women; for they are lively and give birth before the midwives come to them.”

²⁰Therefore God dealt well with the midwives, and the people multiplied and grew very mighty.

²¹And so it was, because the midwives feared God, that He provided households for them.

²²So Pharaoh commanded all his people, saying, “Every son who is born you shall cast into the river, and every daughter you shall save alive.”

¹Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself lest you also be tempted.

²Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.

³For if anyone thinks himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself.

⁴But let each one examine his own work, and then he will have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another.

⁵For each one shall bear his own load.

⁶Let him who is taught the word share in all good things with him who teaches.

⁷Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap.

⁸For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life.

⁹And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.

¹⁰Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith.

¹¹See with what large letters I have written to you with my own hand!

¹²As many as desire to make a good showing in the flesh, these would compel you to be circumcised, only that they may not suffer persecution for the cross of Christ.

¹³For not even those who are circumcised keep the law, but they desire to have you circumcised that they may boast in your flesh.

¹⁴But God forbid that I should boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.

¹⁵For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything, but a new creation.

¹⁶And as many as walk according to this rule, peace and mercy be upon them, and upon the Israel of God.

¹⁷From now on let no one trouble me, for I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus.

¹⁸Brethren, the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen.

¹When He opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour.

²And I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and to them were given seven trumpets.

³Then another angel, having a golden censer, came and stood at the altar. He was given much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all the saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne.

⁴And the smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, ascended before God from the angel’s hand.

⁵Then the angel took the censer, filled it with fire from the altar, and threw it to the earth. And there were noises, thunderings, lightnings, and an earthquake.

⁶So the seven angels who had the seven trumpets prepared themselves to sound.

⁷The first angel sounded: And hail and fire followed, mingled with blood, and they were thrown to the earth. And a third of the trees were burned up, and all green grass was burned up.

⁸Then the second angel sounded: And something like a great mountain burning with fire was thrown into the sea, and a third of the sea became blood.

⁹And a third of the living creatures in the sea died, and a third of the ships were destroyed.

¹⁰Then the third angel sounded: And a great star fell from heaven, burning like a torch, and it fell on a third of the rivers and on the springs of water.

¹¹The name of the star is Wormwood. A third of the waters became wormwood, and many men died from the water, because it was made bitter.

¹²Then the fourth angel sounded: And a third of the sun was struck, a third of the moon, and a third of the stars, so that a third of them were darkened. A third of the day did not shine, and likewise the night.

¹³And I looked, and I heard an angel flying through the midst of heaven, saying with a loud voice, “Woe, woe, woe to the inhabitants of the earth, because of the remaining blasts of the trumpet of the three angels who are about to sound!”

¹For I considered all this in my heart, so that I could declare it all: that the righteous and the wise and their works are in the hand of God. People know neither love nor hatred by anything they see before them.

²All things come alike to all: One event happens to the righteous and the wicked; To the good, the clean, and the unclean; To him who sacrifices and him who does not sacrifice. As is the good, so is the sinner; He who takes an oath as he who fears an oath.

³This is an evil in all that is done under the sun: that one thing happens to all. Truly the hearts of the sons of men are full of evil; madness is in their hearts while they live, and after that they go to the dead.

⁴But for him who is joined to all the living there is hope, for a living dog is better than a dead lion.

⁵For the living know that they will die; But the dead know nothing, And they have no more reward, For the memory of them is forgotten.

⁶Also their love, their hatred, and their envy have now perished; Nevermore will they have a share In anything done under the sun.

⁷Go, eat your bread with joy, And drink your wine with a merry heart; For God has already accepted your works.

⁸Let your garments always be white, And let your head lack no oil.

⁹Live joyfully with the wife whom you love all the days of your vain life which He has given you under the sun, all your days of vanity; for that is your portion in life, and in the labor which you perform under the sun.

¹⁰Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might; for there is no work or device or knowledge or wisdom in the grave where you are going.

¹¹I returned and saw under the sun that— The race is not to the swift, Nor the battle to the strong, Nor bread to the wise, Nor riches to men of understanding, Nor favor to men of skill; But time and chance happen to them all.

¹²For man also does not know his time: Like fish taken in a cruel net, Like birds caught in a snare, So the sons of men are snared in an evil time, When it falls suddenly upon them.

¹³This wisdom I have also seen under the sun, and it seemed great to me:

¹⁴There was a little city with few men in it; and a great king came against it, besieged it, and built great snares around it.

¹⁵Now there was found in it a poor wise man, and he by his wisdom delivered the city. Yet no one remembered that same poor man.

¹⁶Then I said: “Wisdom is better than strength. Nevertheless the poor man’s wisdom is despised, And his words are not heard.

¹⁷Words of the wise, spoken quietly, should be heard Rather than the shout of a ruler of fools.

¹⁸Wisdom is better than weapons of war; But one sinner destroys much good.”

¹To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David when Nathan the prophet went to him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba. [1] Have mercy upon me, O God, According to Your lovingkindness; According to the multitude of Your tender mercies, Blot out my transgressions.

²Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, And cleanse me from my sin.

³For I acknowledge my transgressions, And my sin is always before me.

⁴Against You, You only, have I sinned, And done this evil in Your sight— That You may be found just when You speak, And blameless when You judge.

⁵Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, And in sin my mother conceived me.

⁶Behold, You desire truth in the inward parts, And in the hidden part You will make me to know wisdom.

⁷Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.

⁸Make me hear joy and gladness, That the bones You have broken may rejoice.

⁹Hide Your face from my sins, And blot out all my iniquities.

¹⁰Create in me a clean heart, O God, And renew a steadfast spirit within me.

¹¹Do not cast me away from Your presence, And do not take Your Holy Spirit from me.

¹²Restore to me the joy of Your salvation, And uphold me by Your generous Spirit.

¹³Then I will teach transgressors Your ways, And sinners shall be converted to You.

¹⁴Deliver me from the guilt of bloodshed, O God, The God of my salvation, And my tongue shall sing aloud of Your righteousness.

¹⁵O Lord, open my lips, And my mouth shall show forth Your praise.

¹⁶For You do not desire sacrifice, or else I would give it; You do not delight in burnt offering.

¹⁷The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, A broken and a contrite heart— These, O God, You will not despise.

¹⁸Do good in Your good pleasure to Zion; Build the walls of Jerusalem.

¹⁹Then You shall be pleased with the sacrifices of righteousness, With burnt offering and whole burnt offering; Then they shall offer bulls on Your altar.

¹Wine is a mocker, Strong drink is a brawler, And whoever is led astray by it is not wise.

²The wrath of a king is like the roaring of a lion; Whoever provokes him to anger sins against his own life.

³It is honorable for a man to stop striving, Since any fool can start a quarrel.

⁴The lazy man will not plow because of winter; He will beg during harvest and have nothing.

⁵Counsel in the heart of man is like deep water, But a man of understanding will draw it out.

⁶Most men will proclaim each his own goodness, But who can find a faithful man?

⁷The righteous man walks in his integrity; His children are blessed after him.

⁸A king who sits on the throne of judgment Scatters all evil with his eyes.

⁹Who can say, “I have made my heart clean, I am pure from my sin”?

¹⁰Diverse weights and diverse measures, They are both alike, an abomination to the LORD.

¹¹Even a child is known by his deeds, Whether what he does is pure and right.

¹²The hearing ear and the seeing eye, The LORD has made them both.

¹³Do not love sleep, lest you come to poverty; Open your eyes, and you will be satisfied with bread.

¹⁴“It is good for nothing,” cries the buyer; But when he has gone his way, then he boasts.

¹⁵There is gold and a multitude of rubies, But the lips of knowledge are a precious jewel.

¹⁶Take the garment of one who is surety for a stranger, And hold it as a pledge when it is for a seductress.

¹⁷Bread gained by deceit is sweet to a man, But afterward his mouth will be filled with gravel.

¹⁸Plans are established by counsel; By wise counsel wage war.

¹⁹He who goes about as a talebearer reveals secrets; Therefore do not associate with one who flatters with his lips.

²⁰Whoever curses his father or his mother, His lamp will be put out in deep darkness.

²¹An inheritance gained hastily at the beginning Will not be blessed at the end.

²²Do not say, “I will recompense evil”; Wait for the LORD, and He will save you.

²³Diverse weights are an abomination to the LORD, And dishonest scales are not good.

²⁴A man’s steps are of the LORD; How then can a man understand his own way?

²⁵It is a snare for a man to devote rashly something as holy, And afterward to reconsider his vows.

²⁶A wise king sifts out the wicked, And brings the threshing wheel over them.

²⁷The spirit of a man is the lamp of the LORD, Searching all the inner depths of his heart.

²⁸Mercy and truth preserve the king, And by lovingkindness he upholds his throne.

²⁹The glory of young men is their strength, And the splendor of old men is their gray head.

³⁰Blows that hurt cleanse away evil, As do stripes the inner depths of the heart.

¹And Hannah prayed and said: “My heart rejoices in the LORD; My horn is exalted in the LORD. I smile at my enemies, Because I rejoice in Your salvation.

²“No one is holy like the LORD, For there is none besides You, Nor is there any rock like our God.

³“Talk no more so very proudly; Let no arrogance come from your mouth, For the LORD is the God of knowledge; And by Him actions are weighed.

⁴“The bows of the mighty men are broken, And those who stumbled are girded with strength.

⁵Those who were full have hired themselves out for bread, And the hungry have ceased to hunger. Even the barren has borne seven, And she who has many children has become feeble.

⁶“The LORD kills and makes alive; He brings down to the grave and brings up.

⁷The LORD makes poor and makes rich; He brings low and lifts up.

⁸He raises the poor from the dust And lifts the beggar from the ash heap, To set them among princes And make them inherit the throne of glory. “For the pillars of the earth are the LORD’s, And He has set the world upon them.

⁹He will guard the feet of His saints, But the wicked shall be silent in darkness. “For by strength no man shall prevail.

¹⁰The adversaries of the LORD shall be broken in pieces; From heaven He will thunder against them. The LORD will judge the ends of the earth. “He will give strength to His king, And exalt the horn of His anointed.”

¹¹Then Elkanah went to his house at Ramah. But the child ministered to the LORD before Eli the priest.

¹²Now the sons of Eli were corrupt; they did not know the LORD.

¹³And the priests’ custom with the people was that when any man offered a sacrifice, the priest’s servant would come with a three-pronged fleshhook in his hand while the meat was boiling.

¹⁴Then he would thrust it into the pan, or kettle, or caldron, or pot; and the priest would take for himself all that the fleshhook brought up. So they did in Shiloh to all the Israelites who came there.

¹⁵Also, before they burned the fat, the priest’s servant would come and say to the man who sacrificed, “Give meat for roasting to the priest, for he will not take boiled meat from you, but raw.”

¹⁶And if the man said to him, “They should really burn the fat first; then you may take as much as your heart desires,” he would then answer him, “No, but you must give it now; and if not, I will take it by force.”

¹⁷Therefore the sin of the young men was very great before the LORD, for men abhorred the offering of the LORD.

¹⁸But Samuel ministered before the LORD, even as a child, wearing a linen ephod.

¹⁹Moreover his mother used to make him a little robe, and bring it to him year by year when she came up with her husband to offer the yearly sacrifice.

²⁰And Eli would bless Elkanah and his wife, and say, “The LORD give you descendants from this woman for the loan that was given to the LORD.” Then they would go to their own home.

²¹And the LORD visited Hannah, so that she conceived and bore three sons and two daughters. Meanwhile the child Samuel grew before the LORD.

²²Now Eli was very old; and he heard everything his sons did to all Israel, and how they lay with the women who assembled at the door of the tabernacle of meeting.

²³So he said to them, “Why do you do such things? For I hear of your evil dealings from all the people.

²⁴No, my sons! For it is not a good report that I hear. You make the LORD’s people transgress.

²⁵If one man sins against another, God will judge him. But if a man sins against the LORD, who will intercede for him?” Nevertheless they did not heed the voice of their father, because the LORD desired to kill them.

²⁶And the child Samuel grew in stature, and in favor both with the LORD and men.

²⁷Then a man of God came to Eli and said to him, “Thus says the LORD: ‘Did I not clearly reveal Myself to the house of your father when they were in Egypt in Pharaoh’s house?

²⁸Did I not choose him out of all the tribes of Israel to be My priest, to offer upon My altar, to burn incense, and to wear an ephod before Me? And did I not give to the house of your father all the offerings of the children of Israel made by fire?

²⁹Why do you kick at My sacrifice and My offering which I have commanded in My dwelling place, and honor your sons more than Me, to make yourselves fat with the best of all the offerings of Israel My people?’

³⁰Therefore the LORD God of Israel says: ‘I said indeed that your house and the house of your father would walk before Me forever.’ But now the LORD says: ‘Far be it from Me; for those who honor Me I will honor, and those who despise Me shall be lightly esteemed.

³¹Behold, the days are coming that I will cut off your arm and the arm of your father’s house, so that there will not be an old man in your house.

³²And you will see an enemy in My dwelling place, despite all the good which God does for Israel. And there shall not be an old man in your house forever.

³³But any of your men whom I do not cut off from My altar shall consume your eyes and grieve your heart. And all the descendants of your house shall die in the flower of their age.

³⁴Now this shall be a sign to you that will come upon your two sons, on Hophni and Phinehas: in one day they shall die, both of them.

³⁵Then I will raise up for Myself a faithful priest who shall do according to what is in My heart and in My mind. I will build him a sure house, and he shall walk before My anointed forever.

³⁶And it shall come to pass that everyone who is left in your house will come and bow down to him for a piece of silver and a morsel of bread, and say, “Please, put me in one of the priestly positions, that I may eat a piece of bread.” ’ ”

¹“Listen to Me, you who follow after righteousness, You who seek the LORD: Look to the rock from which you were hewn, And to the hole of the pit from which you were dug.

²Look to Abraham your father, And to Sarah who bore you; For I called him alone, And blessed him and increased him.”

³For the LORD will comfort Zion, He will comfort all her waste places; He will make her wilderness like Eden, And her desert like the garden of the LORD; Joy and gladness will be found in it, Thanksgiving and the voice of melody.

⁴“Listen to Me, My people; And give ear to Me, O My nation: For law will proceed from Me, And I will make My justice rest As a light of the peoples.

⁵My righteousness is near, My salvation has gone forth, And My arms will judge the peoples; The coastlands will wait upon Me, And on My arm they will trust.

⁶Lift up your eyes to the heavens, And look on the earth beneath. For the heavens will vanish away like smoke, The earth will grow old like a garment, And those who dwell in it will die in like manner; But My salvation will be forever, And My righteousness will not be abolished.

⁷“Listen to Me, you who know righteousness, You people in whose heart is My law: Do not fear the reproach of men, Nor be afraid of their insults.

⁸For the moth will eat them up like a garment, And the worm will eat them like wool; But My righteousness will be forever, And My salvation from generation to generation.”

⁹Awake, awake, put on strength, O arm of the LORD! Awake as in the ancient days, In the generations of old. Are You not the arm that cut Rahab apart, And wounded the serpent?

¹⁰Are You not the One who dried up the sea, The waters of the great deep; That made the depths of the sea a road For the redeemed to cross over?

¹¹So the ransomed of the LORD shall return, And come to Zion with singing, With everlasting joy on their heads. They shall obtain joy and gladness; Sorrow and sighing shall flee away.

¹²“I, even I, am He who comforts you. Who are you that you should be afraid Of a man who will die, And of the son of a man who will be made like grass?

¹³And you forget the LORD your Maker, Who stretched out the heavens And laid the foundations of the earth; You have feared continually every day Because of the fury of the oppressor, When he has prepared to destroy. And where is the fury of the oppressor?

¹⁴The captive exile hastens, that he may be loosed, That he should not die in the pit, And that his bread should not fail.

¹⁵But I am the LORD your God, Who divided the sea whose waves roared— The LORD of hosts is His name.

¹⁶And I have put My words in your mouth; I have covered you with the shadow of My hand, That I may plant the heavens, Lay the foundations of the earth, And say to Zion, ‘You are My people.’ ”

¹⁷Awake, awake! Stand up, O Jerusalem, You who have drunk at the hand of the LORD The cup of His fury; You have drunk the dregs of the cup of trembling, And drained it out.

¹⁸There is no one to guide her Among all the sons she has brought forth; Nor is there any who takes her by the hand Among all the sons she has brought up.

¹⁹These two things have come to you; Who will be sorry for you?— Desolation and destruction, famine and sword— By whom will I comfort you?

²⁰Your sons have fainted, They lie at the head of all the streets, Like an antelope in a net; They are full of the fury of the LORD, The rebuke of your God.

²¹Therefore please hear this, you afflicted, And drunk but not with wine.

²²Thus says your Lord, The LORD and your God, Who pleads the cause of His people: “See, I have taken out of your hand The cup of trembling, The dregs of the cup of My fury; You shall no longer drink it.

²³But I will put it into the hand of those who afflict you, Who have said to you, ‘Lie down, that we may walk over you.’ And you have laid your body like the ground, And as the street, for those who walk over.”

¹Then Paul, looking earnestly at the council, said, “Men and brethren, I have lived in all good conscience before God until this day.”

²And the high priest Ananias commanded those who stood by him to strike him on the mouth.

³Then Paul said to him, “God will strike you, you whitewashed wall! For you sit to judge me according to the law, and do you command me to be struck contrary to the law?”

⁴And those who stood by said, “Do you revile God’s high priest?”

⁵Then Paul said, “I did not know, brethren, that he was the high priest; for it is written, ‘You shall not speak evil of a ruler of your people.’ ”

⁶But when Paul perceived that one part were Sadducees and the other Pharisees, he cried out in the council, “Men and brethren, I am a Pharisee, the son of a Pharisee; concerning the hope and resurrection of the dead I am being judged!”

⁷And when he had said this, a dissension arose between the Pharisees and the Sadducees; and the assembly was divided.

⁸For Sadducees say that there is no resurrection—and no angel or spirit; but the Pharisees confess both.

⁹Then there arose a loud outcry. And the scribes of the Pharisees’ party arose and protested, saying, “We find no evil in this man; but if a spirit or an angel has spoken to him, let us not fight against God.”

¹⁰Now when there arose a great dissension, the commander, fearing lest Paul might be pulled to pieces by them, commanded the soldiers to go down and take him by force from among them, and bring him into the barracks.

¹¹But the following night the Lord stood by him and said, “Be of good cheer, Paul; for as you have testified for Me in Jerusalem, so you must also bear witness at Rome.”

¹²And when it was day, some of the Jews banded together and bound themselves under an oath, saying that they would neither eat nor drink till they had killed Paul.

¹³Now there were more than forty who had formed this conspiracy.

¹⁴They came to the chief priests and elders, and said, “We have bound ourselves under a great oath that we will eat nothing until we have killed Paul.

¹⁵Now you, therefore, together with the council, suggest to the commander that he be brought down to you tomorrow, as though you were going to make further inquiries concerning him; but we are ready to kill him before he comes near.”

¹⁶So when Paul’s sister’s son heard of their ambush, he went and entered the barracks and told Paul.

¹⁷Then Paul called one of the centurions to him and said, “Take this young man to the commander, for he has something to tell him.”

¹⁸So he took him and brought him to the commander and said, “Paul the prisoner called me to him and asked me to bring this young man to you. He has something to say to you.”

¹⁹Then the commander took him by the hand, went aside, and asked privately, “What is it that you have to tell me?”

²⁰And he said, “The Jews have agreed to ask that you bring Paul down to the council tomorrow, as though they were going to inquire more fully about him.

²¹But do not yield to them, for more than forty of them lie in wait for him, men who have bound themselves by an oath that they will neither eat nor drink till they have killed him; and now they are ready, waiting for the promise from you.”

²²So the commander let the young man depart, and commanded him, “Tell no one that you have revealed these things to me.”

²³And he called for two centurions, saying, “Prepare two hundred soldiers, seventy horsemen, and two hundred spearmen to go to Caesarea at the third hour of the night;

²⁴and provide mounts to set Paul on, and bring him safely to Felix the governor.”

²⁵He wrote a letter in the following manner:

²⁶Claudius Lysias, To the most excellent governor Felix: Greetings.

²⁷This man was seized by the Jews and was about to be killed by them. Coming with the troops I rescued him, having learned that he was a Roman.

²⁸And when I wanted to know the reason they accused him, I brought him before their council.

²⁹I found out that he was accused concerning questions of their law, but had nothing charged against him deserving of death or chains.

³⁰And when it was told me that the Jews lay in wait for the man, I sent him immediately to you, and also commanded his accusers to state before you the charges against him. Farewell.

³¹Then the soldiers, as they were commanded, took Paul and brought him by night to Antipatris.

³²The next day they left the horsemen to go on with him, and returned to the barracks.

³³When they came to Caesarea and had delivered the letter to the governor, they also presented Paul to him.

³⁴And when the governor had read it, he asked what province he was from. And when he understood that he was from Cilicia,

³⁵he said, “I will hear you when your accusers also have come.” And he commanded him to be kept in Herod’s Praetorium.