Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹When Jesus had finished saying all this to the people, he returned to Capernaum.

²At that time the highly valued slave of a Roman officer was sick and near death.

³When the officer heard about Jesus, he sent some respected Jewish elders to ask him to come and heal his slave.

⁴So they earnestly begged Jesus to help the man. “If anyone deserves your help, he does,” they said,

⁵“for he loves the Jewish people and even built a synagogue for us.”

⁶So Jesus went with them. But just before they arrived at the house, the officer sent some friends to say, “Lord, don’t trouble yourself by coming to my home, for I am not worthy of such an honor.

⁷I am not even worthy to come and meet you. Just say the word from where you are, and my servant will be healed.

⁸I know this because I am under the authority of my superior officers, and I have authority over my soldiers. I only need to say, ‘Go,’ and they go, or ‘Come,’ and they come. And if I say to my slaves, ‘Do this,’ they do it.”

⁹When Jesus heard this, he was amazed. Turning to the crowd that was following him, he said, “I tell you, I haven’t seen faith like this in all Israel!”

¹⁰And when the officer’s friends returned to his house, they found the slave completely healed.

¹¹Soon afterward Jesus went with his disciples to the village of Nain, and a large crowd followed him.

¹²A funeral procession was coming out as he approached the village gate. The young man who had died was a widow’s only son, and a large crowd from the village was with her.

¹³When the Lord saw her, his heart overflowed with compassion. “Don’t cry!” he said.

¹⁴Then he walked over to the coffin and touched it, and the bearers stopped. “Young man,” he said, “I tell you, get up.”

¹⁵Then the dead boy sat up and began to talk! And Jesus gave him back to his mother.

¹⁶Great fear swept the crowd, and they praised God, saying, “A mighty prophet has risen among us,” and “God has visited his people today.”

¹⁷And the news about Jesus spread throughout Judea and the surrounding countryside.

¹⁸The disciples of John the Baptist told John about everything Jesus was doing. So John called for two of his disciples,

¹⁹and he sent them to the Lord to ask him, “Are you the Messiah we’ve been expecting, or should we keep looking for someone else?”

²⁰John’s two disciples found Jesus and said to him, “John the Baptist sent us to ask, ‘Are you the Messiah we’ve been expecting, or should we keep looking for someone else?’”

²¹At that very time, Jesus cured many people of their diseases, illnesses, and evil spirits, and he restored sight to many who were blind.

²²Then he told John’s disciples, “Go back to John and tell him what you have seen and heard — the blind see, the lame walk, those with leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised to life, and the Good News is being preached to the poor.”

²³And he added, “God blesses those who do not fall away because of me. ”

²⁴After John’s disciples left, Jesus began talking about him to the crowds. “What kind of man did you go into the wilderness to see? Was he a weak reed, swayed by every breath of wind?

²⁵Or were you expecting to see a man dressed in expensive clothes? No, people who wear beautiful clothes and live in luxury are found in palaces.

²⁶Were you looking for a prophet? Yes, and he is more than a prophet.

²⁷John is the man to whom the Scriptures refer when they say, ‘Look, I am sending my messenger ahead of you, and he will prepare your way before you.’

²⁸I tell you, of all who have ever lived, none is greater than John. Yet even the least person in the Kingdom of God is greater than he is!”

²⁹When they heard this, all the people — even the tax collectors — agreed that God’s way was right, for they had been baptized by John.

³⁰But the Pharisees and experts in religious law rejected God’s plan for them, for they had refused John’s baptism.

³¹“To what can I compare the people of this generation?” Jesus asked. “How can I describe them?

³²They are like children playing a game in the public square. They complain to their friends, ‘We played wedding songs, and you didn’t dance, so we played funeral songs, and you didn’t weep.’

³³For John the Baptist didn’t spend his time eating bread or drinking wine, and you say, ‘He’s possessed by a demon.’

³⁴The Son of Man, on the other hand, feasts and drinks, and you say, ‘He’s a glutton and a drunkard, and a friend of tax collectors and other sinners!’

³⁵But wisdom is shown to be right by the lives of those who follow it. ”

³⁶One of the Pharisees asked Jesus to have dinner with him, so Jesus went to his home and sat down to eat.

³⁷When a certain immoral woman from that city heard he was eating there, she brought a beautiful alabaster jar filled with expensive perfume.

³⁸Then she knelt behind him at his feet, weeping. Her tears fell on his feet, and she wiped them off with her hair. Then she kept kissing his feet and putting perfume on them.

³⁹When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would know what kind of woman is touching him. She’s a sinner!”

⁴⁰Then Jesus answered his thoughts. “Simon,” he said to the Pharisee, “I have something to say to you.” “Go ahead, Teacher,” Simon replied.

⁴¹Then Jesus told him this story: “A man loaned money to two people — 500 pieces of silver to one and 50 pieces to the other.

⁴²But neither of them could repay him, so he kindly forgave them both, canceling their debts. Who do you suppose loved him more after that?”

⁴³Simon answered, “I suppose the one for whom he canceled the larger debt.” “That’s right,” Jesus said.

⁴⁴Then he turned to the woman and said to Simon, “Look at this woman kneeling here. When I entered your home, you didn’t offer me water to wash the dust from my feet, but she has washed them with her tears and wiped them with her hair.

⁴⁵You didn’t greet me with a kiss, but from the time I first came in, she has not stopped kissing my feet.

⁴⁶You neglected the courtesy of olive oil to anoint my head, but she has anointed my feet with rare perfume.

⁴⁷“I tell you, her sins — and they are many — have been forgiven, so she has shown me much love. But a person who is forgiven little shows only little love.”

⁴⁸Then Jesus said to the woman, “Your sins are forgiven.”

⁴⁹The men at the table said among themselves, “Who is this man, that he goes around forgiving sins?”

⁵⁰And Jesus said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”

¹These are the names of the sons of Israel (that is, Jacob) who moved to Egypt with their father, each with his family:

²Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah,

³Issachar, Zebulun, Benjamin,

⁴Dan, Naphtali, Gad, and Asher.

⁵In all, Jacob had seventy descendants in Egypt, including Joseph, who was already there.

⁶In time, Joseph and all of his brothers died, ending that entire generation.

⁷But their descendants, the Israelites, had many children and grandchildren. In fact, they multiplied so greatly that they became extremely powerful and filled the land.

⁸Eventually, a new king came to power in Egypt who knew nothing about Joseph or what he had done.

⁹He said to his people, “Look, the people of Israel now outnumber us and are stronger than we are.

¹⁰We must make a plan to keep them from growing even more. If we don’t, and if war breaks out, they will join our enemies and fight against us. Then they will escape from the country. ”

¹¹So the Egyptians made the Israelites their slaves. They appointed brutal slave drivers over them, hoping to wear them down with crushing labor. They forced them to build the cities of Pithom and Rameses as supply centers for the king.

¹²But the more the Egyptians oppressed them, the more the Israelites multiplied and spread, and the more alarmed the Egyptians became.

¹³So the Egyptians worked the people of Israel without mercy.

¹⁴They made their lives bitter, forcing them to mix mortar and make bricks and do all the work in the fields. They were ruthless in all their demands.

¹⁵Then Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, gave this order to the Hebrew midwives, Shiphrah and Puah:

¹⁶“When you help the Hebrew women as they give birth, watch as they deliver. If the baby is a boy, kill him; if it is a girl, let her live.”

¹⁷But because the midwives feared God, they refused to obey the king’s orders. They allowed the boys to live, too.

¹⁸So the king of Egypt called for the midwives. “Why have you done this?” he demanded. “Why have you allowed the boys to live?”

¹⁹“The Hebrew women are not like the Egyptian women,” the midwives replied. “They are more vigorous and have their babies so quickly that we cannot get there in time.”

²⁰So God was good to the midwives, and the Israelites continued to multiply, growing more and more powerful.

²¹And because the midwives feared God, he gave them families of their own.

²²Then Pharaoh gave this order to all his people: “Throw every newborn Hebrew boy into the Nile River. But you may let the girls live.”

¹Dear brothers and sisters, if another believer is overcome by some sin, you who are godly should gently and humbly help that person back onto the right path. And be careful not to fall into the same temptation yourself.

²Share each other’s burdens, and in this way obey the law of Christ.

³If you think you are too important to help someone, you are only fooling yourself. You are not that important.

⁴Pay careful attention to your own work, for then you will get the satisfaction of a job well done, and you won’t need to compare yourself to anyone else.

⁵For we are each responsible for our own conduct.

⁶Those who are taught the word of God should provide for their teachers, sharing all good things with them.

⁷Don’t be misled — you cannot mock the justice of God. You will always harvest what you plant.

⁸Those who live only to satisfy their own sinful nature will harvest decay and death from that sinful nature. But those who live to please the Spirit will harvest everlasting life from the Spirit.

⁹So let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up.

¹⁰Therefore, whenever we have the opportunity, we should do good to everyone — especially to those in the family of faith.

¹¹NOTICE WHAT LARGE LETTERS I USE AS I WRITE THESE CLOSING WORDS IN MY OWN HANDWRITING.

¹²Those who are trying to force you to be circumcised want to look good to others. They don’t want to be persecuted for teaching that the cross of Christ alone can save.

¹³And even those who advocate circumcision don’t keep the whole law themselves. They only want you to be circumcised so they can boast about it and claim you as their disciples.

¹⁴As for me, may I never boast about anything except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. Because of that cross, my interest in this world has been crucified, and the world’s interest in me has also died.

¹⁵It doesn’t matter whether we have been circumcised or not. What counts is whether we have been transformed into a new creation.

¹⁶May God’s peace and mercy be upon all who live by this principle; they are the new people of God.

¹⁷From now on, don’t let anyone trouble me with these things. For I bear on my body the scars that show I belong to Jesus.

¹⁸Dear brothers and sisters, may the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen.

¹When the Lamb broke the seventh seal on the scroll, there was silence throughout heaven for about half an hour.

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

³Then another angel with a gold incense burner came and stood at the altar. And a great amount of incense was given to him to mix with the prayers of God’s people as an offering on the gold altar before the throne.

⁴The smoke of the incense, mixed with the prayers of God’s holy people, ascended up to God from the altar where the angel had poured them out.

⁵Then the angel filled the incense burner with fire from the altar and threw it down upon the earth; and thunder crashed, lightning flashed, and there was a terrible earthquake.

⁶Then the seven angels with the seven trumpets prepared to blow their mighty blasts.

⁷The first angel blew his trumpet, and hail and fire mixed with blood were thrown down on the earth. One-third of the earth was set on fire, one-third of the trees were burned, and all the green grass was burned.

⁸Then the second angel blew his trumpet, and a great mountain of fire was thrown into the sea. One-third of the water in the sea became blood,

⁹one-third of all things living in the sea died, and one-third of all the ships on the sea were destroyed.

¹⁰Then the third angel blew his trumpet, and a great star fell from the sky, burning like a torch. It fell on one-third of the rivers and on the springs of water.

¹¹The name of the star was Bitterness. It made one-third of the water bitter, and many people died from drinking the bitter water.

¹²Then the fourth angel blew his trumpet, and one-third of the sun was struck, and one-third of the moon, and one-third of the stars, and they became dark. And one-third of the day was dark, and also one-third of the night.

¹³Then I looked, and I heard a single eagle crying loudly as it flew through the air, “Terror, terror, terror to all who belong to this world because of what will happen when the last three angels blow their trumpets.”

¹This, too, I carefully explored: Even though the actions of godly and wise people are in God’s hands, no one knows whether God will show them favor.

²The same destiny ultimately awaits everyone, whether righteous or wicked, good or bad, ceremonially clean or unclean, religious or irreligious. Good people receive the same treatment as sinners, and people who make promises to God are treated like people who don’t.

³It seems so wrong that everyone under the sun suffers the same fate. Already twisted by evil, people choose their own mad course, for they have no hope. There is nothing ahead but death anyway.

⁴There is hope only for the living. As they say, “It’s better to be a live dog than a dead lion!”

⁵The living at least know they will die, but the dead know nothing. They have no further reward, nor are they remembered.

⁶Whatever they did in their lifetime — loving, hating, envying — is all long gone. They no longer play a part in anything here on earth.

⁷So go ahead. Eat your food with joy, and drink your wine with a happy heart, for God approves of this!

⁸Wear fine clothes, with a splash of cologne!

⁹Live happily with the woman you love through all the meaningless days of life that God has given you under the sun. The wife God gives you is your reward for all your earthly toil.

¹⁰Whatever you do, do well. For when you go to the grave, there will be no work or planning or knowledge or wisdom.

¹¹I have observed something else under the sun. The fastest runner doesn’t always win the race, and the strongest warrior doesn’t always win the battle. The wise sometimes go hungry, and the skillful are not necessarily wealthy. And those who are educated don’t always lead successful lives. It is all decided by chance, by being in the right place at the right time.

¹²People can never predict when hard times might come. Like fish in a net or birds in a trap, people are caught by sudden tragedy.

¹³Here is another bit of wisdom that has impressed me as I have watched the way our world works.

¹⁴There was a small town with only a few people, and a great king came with his army and besieged it.

¹⁵A poor, wise man knew how to save the town, and so it was rescued. But afterward no one thought to thank him.

¹⁶So even though wisdom is better than strength, those who are wise will be despised if they are poor. What they say will not be appreciated for long.

¹⁷Better to hear the quiet words of a wise person than the shouts of a foolish king.

¹⁸Better to have wisdom than weapons of war, but one sinner can destroy much that is good.

¹Have mercy on me, O God, because of your unfailing love. Because of your great compassion, blot out the stain of my sins.

²Wash me clean from my guilt. Purify me from my sin.

³For I recognize my rebellion; it haunts me day and night.

⁴Against you, and you alone, have I sinned; I have done what is evil in your sight. You will be proved right in what you say, and your judgment against me is just.

⁵For I was born a sinner — yes, from the moment my mother conceived me.

⁶But you desire honesty from the womb, teaching me wisdom even there.

⁷Purify me from my sins, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.

⁸Oh, give me back my joy again; you have broken me — now let me rejoice.

⁹Don’t keep looking at my sins. Remove the stain of my guilt.

¹⁰Create in me a clean heart, O God. Renew a loyal spirit within me.

¹¹Do not banish me from your presence, and don’t take your Holy Spirit from me.

¹²Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and make me willing to obey you.

¹³Then I will teach your ways to rebels, and they will return to you.

¹⁴Forgive me for shedding blood, O God who saves; then I will joyfully sing of your forgiveness.

¹⁵Unseal my lips, O Lord, that my mouth may praise you.

¹⁶You do not desire a sacrifice, or I would offer one. You do not want a burnt offering.

¹⁷The sacrifice you desire is a broken spirit. You will not reject a broken and repentant heart, O God.

¹⁸Look with favor on Zion and help her; rebuild the walls of Jerusalem.

¹⁹Then you will be pleased with sacrifices offered in the right spirit — with burnt offerings and whole burnt offerings. Then bulls will again be sacrificed on your altar.

¹Wine produces mockers; alcohol leads to brawls. Those led astray by drink cannot be wise.

²The king’s fury is like a lion’s roar; to rouse his anger is to risk your life.

³Avoiding a fight is a mark of honor; only fools insist on quarreling.

⁴Those too lazy to plow in the right season will have no food at the harvest.

⁵Though good advice lies deep within the heart, a person with understanding will draw it out.

⁶Many will say they are loyal friends, but who can find one who is truly reliable?

⁷The godly walk with integrity; blessed are their children who follow them.

⁸When a king sits in judgment, he weighs all the evidence, distinguishing the bad from the good.

⁹Who can say, “I have cleansed my heart; I am pure and free from sin”?

¹⁰False weights and unequal measures — the LORD detests double standards of every kind.

¹¹Even children are known by the way they act, whether their conduct is pure, and whether it is right.

¹²Ears to hear and eyes to see — both are gifts from the LORD.

¹³If you love sleep, you will end in poverty. Keep your eyes open, and there will be plenty to eat!

¹⁴The buyer haggles over the price, saying, “It’s worthless,” then brags about getting a bargain!

¹⁵Wise words are more valuable than much gold and many rubies.

¹⁶Get security from someone who guarantees a stranger’s debt. Get a deposit if he does it for foreigners.

¹⁷Stolen bread tastes sweet, but it turns to gravel in the mouth.

¹⁸Plans succeed through good counsel; don’t go to war without wise advice.

¹⁹A gossip goes around telling secrets, so don’t hang around with chatterers.

²⁰If you insult your father or mother, your light will be snuffed out in total darkness.

²¹An inheritance obtained too early in life is not a blessing in the end.

²²Don’t say, “I will get even for this wrong.” Wait for the LORD to handle the matter.

²³The LORD detests double standards; he is not pleased by dishonest scales.

²⁴The LORD directs our steps, so why try to understand everything along the way?

²⁵Don’t trap yourself by making a rash promise to God and only later counting the cost.

²⁶A wise king scatters the wicked like wheat, then runs his threshing wheel over them.

²⁷The LORD’s light penetrates the human spirit, exposing every hidden motive.

²⁸Unfailing love and faithfulness protect the king; his throne is made secure through love.

²⁹The glory of the young is their strength; the gray hair of experience is the splendor of the old.

³⁰Physical punishment cleanses away evil; such discipline purifies the heart.

¹Then Hannah prayed: “My heart rejoices in the LORD! The LORD has made me strong. Now I have an answer for my enemies; I rejoice because you rescued me.

²No one is holy like the LORD! There is no one besides you; there is no Rock like our God.

³“Stop acting so proud and haughty! Don’t speak with such arrogance! For the LORD is a God who knows what you have done; he will judge your actions.

⁴The bow of the mighty is now broken, and those who stumbled are now strong.

⁵Those who were well fed are now starving, and those who were starving are now full. The childless woman now has seven children, and the woman with many children wastes away.

⁶The LORD gives both death and life; he brings some down to the grave but raises others up.

⁷The LORD makes some poor and others rich; he brings some down and lifts others up.

⁸He lifts the poor from the dust and the needy from the garbage dump. He sets them among princes, placing them in seats of honor. For all the earth is the LORD’s, and he has set the world in order.

⁹“He will protect his faithful ones, but the wicked will disappear in darkness. No one will succeed by strength alone.

¹⁰Those who fight against the LORD will be shattered. He thunders against them from heaven; the LORD judges throughout the earth. He gives power to his king; he increases the strength of his anointed one.”

¹¹Then Elkanah returned home to Ramah without Samuel. And the boy served the LORD by assisting Eli the priest.

¹²Now the sons of Eli were scoundrels who had no respect for the LORD

¹³or for their duties as priests. Whenever anyone offered a sacrifice, Eli’s sons would send over a servant with a three-pronged fork. While the meat of the sacrificed animal was still boiling,

¹⁴the servant would stick the fork into the pot and demand that whatever it brought up be given to Eli’s sons. All the Israelites who came to worship at Shiloh were treated this way.

¹⁵Sometimes the servant would come even before the animal’s fat had been burned on the altar. He would demand raw meat before it had been boiled so that it could be used for roasting.

¹⁶The man offering the sacrifice might reply, “Take as much as you want, but the fat must be burned first.” Then the servant would demand, “No, give it to me now, or I’ll take it by force.”

¹⁷So the sin of these young men was very serious in the LORD’s sight, for they treated the LORD’s offerings with contempt.

¹⁸But Samuel, though he was only a boy, served the LORD. He wore a linen garment like that of a priest.

¹⁹Each year his mother made a small coat for him and brought it to him when she came with her husband for the sacrifice.

²⁰Before they returned home, Eli would bless Elkanah and his wife and say, “May the LORD give you other children to take the place of this one she gave to the LORD. ”

²¹And the LORD blessed Hannah, and she conceived and gave birth to three sons and two daughters. Meanwhile, Samuel grew up in the presence of the LORD.

²²Now Eli was very old, but he was aware of what his sons were doing to the people of Israel. He knew, for instance, that his sons were seducing the young women who assisted at the entrance of the Tabernacle.

²³Eli said to them, “I have been hearing reports from all the people about the wicked things you are doing. Why do you keep sinning?

²⁴You must stop, my sons! The reports I hear among the LORD’s people are not good.

²⁵If someone sins against another person, God can mediate for the guilty party. But if someone sins against the LORD, who can intercede?” But Eli’s sons wouldn’t listen to their father, for the LORD was already planning to put them to death.

²⁶Meanwhile, the boy Samuel grew taller and grew in favor with the LORD and with the people.

²⁷One day a man of God came to Eli and gave him this message from the LORD: “I revealed myself to your ancestors when they were Pharaoh’s slaves in Egypt.

²⁸I chose your ancestor Aaron from among all the tribes of Israel to be my priest, to offer sacrifices on my altar, to burn incense, and to wear the priestly vest as he served me. And I assigned the sacrificial offerings to you priests.

²⁹So why do you scorn my sacrifices and offerings? Why do you give your sons more honor than you give me — for you and they have become fat from the best offerings of my people Israel!

³⁰“Therefore, the LORD, the God of Israel, says: I promised that your branch of the tribe of Levi would always be my priests. But I will honor those who honor me, and I will despise those who think lightly of me.

³¹The time is coming when I will put an end to your family, so it will no longer serve as my priests. All the members of your family will die before their time. None will reach old age.

³²You will watch with envy as I pour out prosperity on the people of Israel. But no members of your family will ever live out their days.

³³The few not cut off from serving at my altar will survive, but only so their eyes can go blind and their hearts break, and their children will die a violent death.

³⁴And to prove that what I have said will come true, I will cause your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, to die on the same day!

³⁵“Then I will raise up a faithful priest who will serve me and do what I desire. I will establish his family, and they will be priests to my anointed kings forever.

³⁶Then all of your surviving family will bow before him, begging for money and food. ‘Please,’ they will say, ‘give us jobs among the priests so we will have enough to eat.’”

¹“Listen to me, all who hope for deliverance — all who seek the LORD! Consider the rock from which you were cut, the quarry from which you were mined.

²Yes, think about Abraham, your ancestor, and Sarah, who gave birth to your nation. Abraham was only one man when I called him. But when I blessed him, he became a great nation.”

³The LORD will comfort Israel again and have pity on her ruins. Her desert will blossom like Eden, her barren wilderness like the garden of the LORD. Joy and gladness will be found there. Songs of thanksgiving will fill the air.

⁴“Listen to me, my people. Hear me, Israel, for my law will be proclaimed, and my justice will become a light to the nations.

⁵My mercy and justice are coming soon. My salvation is on the way. My strong arm will bring justice to the nations. All distant lands will look to me and wait in hope for my powerful arm.

⁶Look up to the skies above, and gaze down on the earth below. For the skies will disappear like smoke, and the earth will wear out like a piece of clothing. The people of the earth will die like flies, but my salvation lasts forever. My righteous rule will never end!

⁷“Listen to me, you who know right from wrong, you who cherish my law in your hearts. Do not be afraid of people’s scorn, nor fear their insults.

⁸For the moth will devour them as it devours clothing. The worm will eat at them as it eats wool. But my righteousness will last forever. My salvation will continue from generation to generation.”

⁹Wake up, wake up, O LORD! Clothe yourself with strength! Flex your mighty right arm! Rouse yourself as in the days of old when you slew Egypt, the dragon of the Nile.

¹⁰Are you not the same today, the one who dried up the sea, making a path of escape through the depths so that your people could cross over?

¹¹Those who have been ransomed by the LORD will return. They will enter Jerusalem singing, crowned with everlasting joy. Sorrow and mourning will disappear, and they will be filled with joy and gladness.

¹²“I, yes I, am the one who comforts you. So why are you afraid of mere humans, who wither like the grass and disappear?

¹³Yet you have forgotten the LORD, your Creator, the one who stretched out the sky like a canopy and laid the foundations of the earth. Will you remain in constant dread of human oppressors? Will you continue to fear the anger of your enemies? Where is their fury and anger now? It is gone!

¹⁴Soon all you captives will be released! Imprisonment, starvation, and death will not be your fate!

¹⁵For I am the LORD your God, who stirs up the sea, causing its waves to roar. My name is the LORD of Heaven’s Armies.

¹⁶And I have put my words in your mouth and hidden you safely in my hand. I stretched out the sky like a canopy and laid the foundations of the earth. I am the one who says to Israel, ‘You are my people!’”

¹⁷Wake up, wake up, O Jerusalem! You have drunk the cup of the LORD’s fury. You have drunk the cup of terror, tipping out its last drops.

¹⁸Not one of your children is left alive to take your hand and guide you.

¹⁹These two calamities have fallen on you: desolation and destruction, famine and war. And who is left to sympathize with you? Who is left to comfort you?

²⁰For your children have fainted and lie in the streets, helpless as antelopes caught in a net. The LORD has poured out his fury; God has rebuked them.

²¹But now listen to this, you afflicted ones who sit in a drunken stupor, though not from drinking wine.

²²This is what the Sovereign LORD, your God and Defender, says: “See, I have taken the terrible cup from your hands. You will drink no more of my fury.

²³Instead, I will hand that cup to your tormentors, those who said, ‘We will trample you into the dust and walk on your backs.’”

¹Gazing intently at the high council, Paul began: “Brothers, I have always lived before God with a clear conscience!”

²Instantly Ananias the high priest commanded those close to Paul to slap him on the mouth.

³But Paul said to him, “God will slap you, you corrupt hypocrite! What kind of judge are you to break the law yourself by ordering me struck like that?”

⁴Those standing near Paul said to him, “Do you dare to insult God’s high priest?”

⁵“I’m sorry, brothers. I didn’t realize he was the high priest,” Paul replied, “for the Scriptures say, ‘You must not speak evil of any of your rulers.’ ”

⁶Paul realized that some members of the high council were Sadducees and some were Pharisees, so he shouted, “Brothers, I am a Pharisee, as were my ancestors! And I am on trial because my hope is in the resurrection of the dead!”

⁷This divided the council — the Pharisees against the Sadducees —

⁸for the Sadducees say there is no resurrection or angels or spirits, but the Pharisees believe in all of these.

⁹So there was a great uproar. Some of the teachers of religious law who were Pharisees jumped up and began to argue forcefully. “We see nothing wrong with him,” they shouted. “Perhaps a spirit or an angel spoke to him.”

¹⁰As the conflict grew more violent, the commander was afraid they would tear Paul apart. So he ordered his soldiers to go and rescue him by force and take him back to the fortress.

¹¹That night the Lord appeared to Paul and said, “Be encouraged, Paul. Just as you have been a witness to me here in Jerusalem, you must preach the Good News in Rome as well.”

¹²The next morning a group of Jews got together and bound themselves with an oath not to eat or drink until they had killed Paul.

¹³There were more than forty of them in the conspiracy.

¹⁴They went to the leading priests and elders and told them, “We have bound ourselves with an oath to eat nothing until we have killed Paul.

¹⁵So you and the high council should ask the commander to bring Paul back to the council again. Pretend you want to examine his case more fully. We will kill him on the way.”

¹⁶But Paul’s nephew — his sister’s son — heard of their plan and went to the fortress and told Paul.

¹⁷Paul called for one of the Roman officers and said, “Take this young man to the commander. He has something important to tell him.”

¹⁸So the officer did, explaining, “Paul, the prisoner, called me over and asked me to bring this young man to you because he has something to tell you.”

¹⁹The commander took his hand, led him aside, and asked, “What is it you want to tell me?”

²⁰Paul’s nephew told him, “Some Jews are going to ask you to bring Paul before the high council tomorrow, pretending they want to get some more information.

²¹But don’t do it! There are more than forty men hiding along the way ready to ambush him. They have vowed not to eat or drink anything until they have killed him. They are ready now, just waiting for your consent.”

²²“Don’t let anyone know you told me this,” the commander warned the young man.

²³Then the commander called two of his officers and ordered, “Get 200 soldiers ready to leave for Caesarea at nine o’clock tonight. Also take 200 spearmen and 70 mounted troops.

²⁴Provide horses for Paul to ride, and get him safely to Governor Felix.”

²⁵Then he wrote this letter to the governor:

²⁶“From Claudius Lysias, to his Excellency, Governor Felix: Greetings!

²⁷“This man was seized by some Jews, and they were about to kill him when I arrived with the troops. When I learned that he was a Roman citizen, I removed him to safety.

²⁸Then I took him to their high council to try to learn the basis of the accusations against him.

²⁹I soon discovered the charge was something regarding their religious law — certainly nothing worthy of imprisonment or death.

³⁰But when I was informed of a plot to kill him, I immediately sent him on to you. I have told his accusers to bring their charges before you.”

³¹So that night, as ordered, the soldiers took Paul as far as Antipatris.

³²They returned to the fortress the next morning, while the mounted troops took him on to Caesarea.

³³When they arrived in Caesarea, they presented Paul and the letter to Governor Felix.

³⁴He read it and then asked Paul what province he was from. “Cilicia,” Paul answered.

³⁵“I will hear your case myself when your accusers arrive,” the governor told him. Then the governor ordered him kept in the prison at Herod’s headquarters.