Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹Soon afterward, Jesus began going around from one city and village to another, proclaiming and preaching the kingdom of God. The twelve were with Him,

²and also some women who had been healed of evil spirits and sicknesses: Mary who was called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out,

³and Joanna the wife of Chuza, Herod’s steward, and Susanna, and many others who were contributing to their support out of their private means.

⁴Now when a large crowd was coming together, and those from the various cities were journeying to Him, He spoke by way of a parable:

⁵“The sower went out to sow his seed; and as he sowed, some fell beside the road, and it was trampled underfoot, and the birds of the sky ate it up.

⁶Other seed fell on rocky soil, and when it came up, it withered away because it had no moisture.

⁷Other seed fell among the thorns; and the thorns grew up with it and choked it out.

⁸And yet other seed fell into the good soil, and grew up, and produced a crop a hundred times as much.” As He said these things, He would call out, “The one who has ears to hear,let him hear.”

⁹Now His disciples began asking Him what this parable meant.

¹⁰And He said, “To you it has been granted to know themysteries of the kingdom of God, but to the rest they are told in parables, so thatwhile seeing they may not see, andwhile hearing they may not understand.

¹¹“Now this is the parable: the seed is the word of God.

¹²And those beside the road are the ones who have heard, then the devil comes and takes away the word from their heart, so that they will not believe and be saved.

¹³Those on the rocky soil are the ones who, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and yet these do not have a firm root;they believe for a while, and in a time of temptation theyfall away.

¹⁴And the seed which fell among the thorns, these are the ones who have heard, and as they go on their way they are choked by worries, riches, and pleasures of this life, and they bring no fruit to maturity.

¹⁵But the seed in the good soil, these are the ones who have heard the wordwith a good and virtuous heart, and hold it firmly, and produce fruit withperseverance.

¹⁶“Now no one lights a lamp and covers it over with a container, or puts it under a bed; but he puts it on a lampstand so that those who come in may see the light.

¹⁷For nothing is concealed that will not become evident, nor anything hidden that will not be known and come to light.

¹⁸So take care how you listen; for whoever has, to him more will be given; and whoever does not have, even what hethinks he has will be taken away from him.”

¹⁹Now His mother and brothers came to Him, and they were unable to get to Him because of the crowd.

²⁰And it was reported to Him, “Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside, wishing to see You.”

²¹But He answered and said to them, “My mother and My brothers are these who hear the word of God and do it.”

²²Now on one of those days Jesus and His disciples got into a boat, and He said to them, “Let’s cross over to the other side of the lake.” So they launched out.

²³But as they were sailing along He fell asleep; and a fierce gale of wind descended on the lake, and they began to be swamped and to be in danger.

²⁴They came up to Jesus and woke Him, saying, “Master, Master, we are perishing!” And He got up and rebuked the wind and the surging waves, and they stopped, and it became calm.

²⁵And He said to them, “Where is your faith?” But they were fearful and amazed, saying to one another, “Who then is this, that He commands even the winds and the water, and they obey Him?”

²⁶Then they sailed to the country of the Gerasenes, which is opposite Galilee.

²⁷And when He stepped out onto the land, a man from the city met Him who was possessed with demons; and he had not put on clothing for a long time and was not living in a house, but among the tombs.

²⁸And seeing Jesus, he cried out and fell down before Him, and said with a loud voice, “What business do You have with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg You, do not torment me!”

²⁹For He had already commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. For it had seized him many times; and he was bound with chains and shackles and kept under guard, and yet he would break the restraints and be driven by the demon into the desert.

³⁰And Jesus asked him, “What is your name?” And he said, “Legion”; because many demons had entered him.

³¹And they were begging Him not to command them to go away into the abyss.

³²Now there was a herd of many pigs feeding there on the mountain; and the demons begged Him to permit them to enter the pigs. And He gave them permission.

³³And the demons came out of the man and entered the pigs; and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and was drowned.

³⁴Now when the herdsmen saw what had happened, they ran away and reported everything in the city, and in the country.

³⁵And the people came out to see what had happened; and they came to Jesus and found the man from whom the demons had gone out, sitting down at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind; and they became frightened.

³⁶Those who had seen everything reported to them how the man who had been demon-possessed had been made well.

³⁷And all the people of the territory of the Gerasenes and the surrounding region asked Him to leave them, because they were overwhelmed by great fear; and He got into a boat and returned.

³⁸But the man from whom the demons had gone out was begging Him that he might accompany Him; but Jesus sent him away, saying,

³⁹“Return to your home and describe what great things God has done for you.” So he went away, proclaiming throughout the city what great things Jesus had done for him.

⁴⁰And as Jesus was returning, the people welcomed Him, for they had all been waiting for Him.

⁴¹And a man named Jairus came, and he was an official of the synagogue; and he fell at Jesus’ feet, and began urging Him to come to his house;

⁴²for he had an only daughter, about twelve years old, and she was dying. But as He went, the crowds were pressing against Him.

⁴³And a woman who had suffered a chronic flow of blood for twelve years, and could not be healed by anyone,

⁴⁴came up behind Him and touched the fringe of His cloak, and immediately her bleeding stopped.

⁴⁵And Jesus said, “Who is the one who touched Me?” And while they were all denying it, Peter said, “Master, the people are crowding and pressing in on You.”

⁴⁶But Jesus said, “Someone did touch Me, for I was aware that power had left Me.”

⁴⁷Now when the woman saw that she had not escaped notice, she came trembling and fell down before Him, and admitted in the presence of all the people the reason why she had touched Him, and how she had been immediately healed.

⁴⁸And He said to her, “Daughter, your faith hasmade you well; go in peace.”

⁴⁹While He was still speaking, someone *came from the house of the synagogue official, saying, “Your daughter has died; do not trouble the Teacher anymore.”

⁵⁰But when Jesus heard this, He responded to him, “Do not be afraid any longer; only believe, and she will bemade well.”

⁵¹When He came to the house, He did not allow anyone to enter with Him except Peter, John, and James, and the girl’s father and mother.

⁵²Now they were all weeping and mourning for her; but He said, “Stop weeping, for she has not died, but is asleep.”

⁵³And they began laughing at Him, knowing that she had died.

⁵⁴He, however, took her by the hand and spoke forcefully, saying, “Child, arise!”

⁵⁵And her spirit returned, and she got up immediately; and He ordered that something be given her to eat.

⁵⁶Her parents were amazed; but He instructed them to tell no one what had happened.

¹Now a man from the house of Levi went and married a daughter of Levi.

²And the woman conceived and gave birth to a son; and when she saw that he was beautiful, she hid him for three months.

³But when she could no longer hide him, she got him a papyrus basket and covered it with tar and pitch. Then she put the child in it and set it among the reeds by the bank of the Nile.

⁴And his sister stood at a distance to find out what would happen to him.

⁵Now the daughter of Pharaoh came down to bathe at the Nile, with her female attendants walking alongside the Nile; and she saw the basket among the reeds and sent her slave woman, and she brought it to her.

⁶When she opened it, she saw the child, and behold, the boy was crying. And she had pity on him and said, “This is one of the Hebrews’ children.”

⁷Then his sister said to Pharaoh’s daughter, “Shall I go and call a woman for you who is nursing from the Hebrew women, so that she may nurse the child for you?”

⁸Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Go ahead.” So the girl went and called the child’s mother.

⁹Then Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Take this child away and nurse him for me, and I will give you your wages.” So the woman took the child and nursed him.

¹⁰And the child grew, and she brought him to Pharaoh’s daughter and he became her son. And she named him Moses, and said, “Because I drew him out of the water.”

¹¹Now it came about in those days, when Moses had grown up, that he went out to his fellow Hebrews and looked at their hard labors; and he saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his fellow Hebrews.

¹²So he looked this way and that, and when he saw that there was no one around, he struck and killed the Egyptian, and hid his body in the sand.

¹³Now he went out the next day, and behold, two Hebrews were fighting with each other; and he said to the offender, “Why are you striking your companion?”

¹⁴But he said, “Who made you a ruler and a judge over us? Do you intend to kill me as you killed the Egyptian?” Then Moses was afraid and said, “Surely the matter has become known!”

¹⁵When Pharaoh heard about this matter, he tried to kill Moses. But Moses fled from the presence of Pharaoh and settled in the land of Midian, and he sat down by a well.

¹⁶Now the priest of Midian had seven daughters; and they came to draw water and filled the troughs to water their father’s flock.

¹⁷Then the shepherds came and drove them away, but Moses stood up and helped them and watered their flock.

¹⁸When they came to their father Reuel, he said, “Why have you come back so soon today?”

¹⁹They said, “An Egyptian saved us from the shepherds, and what is more, he even drew water for us and watered the flock.”

²⁰So he said to his daughters, “Where is he then? Why is it that you have left the man behind? Invite him to have something to eat.”

²¹And Moses was willing to live with the man. And he gave his daughter Zipporah to Moses.

²²Then she gave birth to a son, and he named him Gershom, for he said, “I have been a stranger in a foreign land.”

²³Now it came about in the course of those many days that the king of Egypt died. And the sons of Israel groaned because of the bondage, and they cried out; and their cry for help because of their bondage ascended to God.

²⁴So God heard their groaning; and God remembered His covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

²⁵And God saw the sons of Israel, and God took notice of them.

¹Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, To the saints who are at Ephesus and are faithful in Christ Jesus:

²Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

³Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ,

⁴just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him. In love

⁵He predestined us to adoption as sons and daughters through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will,

⁶to the praise of the glory of His grace, with which He favored us in the Beloved.

⁷In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our wrongdoings, according to the riches of His grace

⁸which He lavished on us. In all wisdom and insight

⁹He made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He set forth in Him,

¹⁰regarding His plan of the fullness of the times, to bring all things together in Christ, things in the heavens and things on the earth.

¹¹In Him we also have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things in accordance with the plan of His will,

¹²to the end that we who were the first to hope in the Christ would be to the praise of His glory.

¹³In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation—having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of the promise,

¹⁴who is a first installment of our inheritance, in regard to the redemption of God’s own possession, to the praise of His glory.

¹⁵For this reason I too, having heard of the faith in the Lord Jesus which exists among you and your love for all the saints,

¹⁶do not cease giving thanks for you, while making mention of you in my prayers;

¹⁷that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Him.

¹⁸I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints,

¹⁹and what is the boundless greatness of His power toward us who believe. These are in accordance with the working of the strength of His might

²⁰which He brought about in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places,

²¹far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come.

²²And He put all things in subjection under His feet, and made Him head over all things to the church,

²³which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.

¹Then the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star from heaven which had fallen to the earth; and the key to the shaft of the abyss was given to him.

²He opened the shaft of the abyss, and smoke ascended out of the shaft like the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened from the smoke of the shaft.

³Then out of the smoke came locusts upon the earth, and power was given them, as the scorpions of the earth have power.

⁴They were told not to hurt the grass of the earth, nor any green thing, nor any tree, but only the people who do not have the seal of God on their foreheads.

⁵And they were not permitted to kill anyone, but to torment for five months; and their torment was like the torment of a scorpion when it stings a person.

⁶And in those days people will seek death and will not find it; they will long to die, and death will flee from them!

⁷The appearance of the locusts was like horses prepared for battle; and on their heads appeared to be crowns like gold, and their faces were like human faces.

⁸They had hair like the hair of women, and their teeth were like the teeth of lions.

⁹They had breastplates like breastplates of iron; and the sound of their wings was like the sound of chariots, of many horses rushing to battle.

¹⁰They have tails like scorpions, and stings; and in their tails is their power to hurt people for five months.

¹¹They have as king over them, the angel of the abyss; his name in Hebrew is Abaddon, and in the Greek he has the name Apollyon.

¹²The first woe has passed; behold, two woes are still coming after these things.

¹³Then the sixth angel sounded, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God,

¹⁴saying to the sixth angel who had the trumpet, “Release the four angels who are bound at the great river Euphrates.”

¹⁵And the four angels, who had been prepared for the hour and day and month and year, were released, so that they would kill a third of mankind.

¹⁶The number of the armies of the horsemen was two hundred million; I heard the number of them.

¹⁷And this is how I saw in my vision the horses and those who sat on them: the riders had breastplates the color of fire, of hyacinth, and of brimstone; and the heads of the horses are like the heads of lions; and out of their mouths *came fire and smoke and brimstone.

¹⁸A third of mankind was killed by these three plagues, by the fire, the smoke, and the brimstone which came out of their mouths.

¹⁹For the power of the horses is in their mouths and in their tails; for their tails are like serpents and have heads, and with them they do harm.

²⁰The rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands so as not to worship demons and the idols of gold, silver, brass, stone, and wood, which can neither see nor hear nor walk;

²¹and they did not repent of their murders, nor of their witchcraft, nor of their sexual immorality, nor of their thefts.

¹Dead flies turn a perfumer’s oil rancid, so a little foolishness is more potent than wisdom and honor.

²A wise person’s heart directs him toward the right, but the foolish person’s heart directs him toward the left.

³Even when the fool walks along the road, his sense is lacking, and he demonstrates to everyone that he is a fool.

⁴If the ruler’s temper rises against you, do not abandon your place, because composure puts great offenses to rest.

⁵There is an evil I have seen under the sun, like a mistake that proceeds from the ruler:

⁶foolishness is set in many exalted places while the rich sit in humble places.

⁷I have seen slaves riding on horses and princes walking like slaves on the land.

⁸One who digs a pit may fall into it, and a serpent may bite one who breaks through a wall.

⁹One who quarries stones may be hurt by them, and one who splits logs may be endangered by them.

¹⁰If the axe is dull and he does not sharpen its edge, then he must exert more strength. Wisdom has the advantage of bringing success.

¹¹If the serpent bites before being charmed, there is no benefit for the charmer.

¹²Words from the mouth of a wise person are gracious, while the lips of a fool consume him;

¹³the beginning of his talking is foolishness, and the end of it is evil insanity.

¹⁴Yet the fool multiplies words. No person knows what will happen, and who can tell him what will come after him?

¹⁵The labor of a fool makes him so weary that he does not even know how to go to a city.

¹⁶Woe to you, land whose king is a boy, and whose princes feast in the morning.

¹⁷Blessed are you, land whose king is of nobility, and whose princes eat at the appropriate time—for strength and not for drunkenness.

¹⁸Through extreme laziness the rafters sag, and through idleness the house leaks.

¹⁹People prepare a meal for enjoyment, wine makes life joyful, and money is the answer to everything.

²⁰Furthermore, in your bedroom do not curse a king, and in your sleeping rooms do not curse a rich person; for a bird of the sky will bring the sound, and the winged one will make your word known.

¹Why do you boast in evil, you mighty man? The faithfulness of God endures all day long.

²Your tongue devises destruction, Like a sharp razor, you worker of deceit.

³You love evil more than good, Lies more than speaking what is right. Selah

⁴You love all words that devour, You deceitful tongue.

⁵But God will break you down forever; He will snatch you up and tear you away from your tent, And uproot you from the land of the living. Selah

⁶The righteous will see and fear, And they will laugh at him, saying,

⁷“Behold, the man who would not make God his refuge, But trusted in the abundance of his riches And was strong in his evil desire.”

⁸But as for me, I am like a green olive tree in the house of God; I trust in the faithfulness of God forever and ever.

⁹I will praise You forever, because You have done it, And I will wait on Your name, for it is good, in the presence of Your godly ones.

¹The king’s heart is like channels of water in the hand of the LORD; He turns it wherever He pleases.

²Every person’s way is right in his own eyes, But the LORD examines the hearts.

³To do righteousness and justice Is preferred by the LORD more than sacrifice.

⁴Haughty eyes and a proud heart, The lamp of the wicked, is sin.

⁵The plans of the diligent certainly lead to advantage, But everyone who is in a hurry certainly comes to poverty.

⁶The acquisition of treasures by a lying tongue Is a fleeting vapor, the pursuit of death.

⁷The violence of the wicked will sweep them away, Because they refuse to act with justice.

⁸The way of a guilty person is crooked, But as for the pure, his conduct is upright.

⁹It is better to live on a corner of a roof Than in a house shared with a contentious woman.

¹⁰The soul of the wicked desires evil; His neighbor is shown no compassion in his eyes.

¹¹When the scoffer is punished, the naive becomes wise; But when the wise is instructed, he receives knowledge.

¹²The righteous one considers the house of the wicked, Bringing the wicked to ruin.

¹³One who shuts his ear to the outcry of the poor Will also call out himself, and not be answered.

¹⁴A gift in secret subdues anger, And a bribe in an inside pocket, strong wrath.

¹⁵The exercise of justice is joy for the righteous, But terror to those who practice injustice.

¹⁶A person who wanders from the way of understanding Will rest in the assembly of the dead.

¹⁷One who loves pleasure will become a poor person; One who loves wine and oil will not become rich.

¹⁸The wicked is a ransom for the righteous, And the treacherous is in the place of the upright.

¹⁹It is better to live in a desert land Than with a contentious and irritating woman.

²⁰There is precious treasure and oil in the home of the wise, But a foolish person swallows it up.

²¹One who pursues righteousness and loyalty Finds life, righteousness, and honor.

²²A wise person scales the city of the mighty And brings down the stronghold in which they trust.

²³One who guards his mouth and his tongue, Guards his soul from troubles.

²⁴“Proud,” “Arrogant,” “Scoffer,” are his names, One who acts with insolent pride.

²⁵The desire of the lazy one puts him to death, For his hands refuse to work;

²⁶All day long he is craving, While the righteous gives and does not hold back.

²⁷The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination, How much more when he brings it with evil intent!

²⁸A false witness will perish, But a person who listens will speak forever.

²⁹A wicked person displays a bold face, But as for the upright, he makes his way sure.

³⁰There is no wisdom, no understanding, And no plan against the LORD.

³¹The horse is prepared for the day of battle, But the victory belongs to the LORD.

¹Now the boy Samuel was attending to the service of the LORD before Eli. And word from the LORD was rare in those days; visions were infrequent.

²But it happened at that time as Eli was lying down in his place (now his eyesight had begun to be poor and he could not see well),

³and the lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was lying down in the temple of the LORD where the ark of God was,

⁴that the LORD called Samuel; and he said, “Here I am.”

⁵Then he ran to Eli and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” But he said, “I did not call, go back and lie down.” So he went and lay down.

⁶And the LORD called yet again, “Samuel!” So Samuel got up and went to Eli and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” But he said, “I did not call, my son, go back and lie down.”

⁷Now Samuel did not yet know the LORD, nor had the word of the LORD yet been revealed to him.

⁸So the LORD called Samuel again for the third time. And he got up and went to Eli and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” Then Eli realized that the LORD was calling the boy.

⁹And Eli said to Samuel, “Go lie down, and it shall be if He calls you, that you shall say, ‘Speak, LORD, for Your servant is listening.’ ” So Samuel went and lay down in his place.

¹⁰Then the LORD came and stood, and called as at the other times: “Samuel! Samuel!” And Samuel said, “Speak, for Your servant is listening.”

¹¹Then the LORD said to Samuel, “Behold, I am going to do a thing in Israel, and both ears of everyone who hears about it will ring.

¹²On that day I will carry out against Eli everything that I have spoken in regard to his house, from beginning to end.

¹³For I have told him that I am going to judge his house forever for the wrongdoing that he knew, because his sons were bringing a curse on themselves and he did not rebuke them.

¹⁴Therefore I have sworn to the house of Eli that the wrongdoing of Eli’s house shall never be atoned for by sacrifice or offering.”

¹⁵So Samuel lay down until morning. Then he opened the doors of the house of the LORD. But Samuel was afraid to tell the vision to Eli.

¹⁶Then Eli called Samuel and said, “Samuel, my son.” And he said, “Here I am.”

¹⁷He said, “What is the word that He spoke to you? Please do not hide it from me. May God do the same to you, and more so, if you hide a single word from me of all the words that He spoke to you!”

¹⁸So Samuel told him everything and hid nothing from him. And he said, “He is the LORD; let Him do what seems good to Him.”

¹⁹Now Samuel grew, and the LORD was with him, and He let none of his words fail.

²⁰And all Israel from Dan even to Beersheba knew that Samuel was confirmed as a prophet of the LORD.

²¹And the LORD appeared again at Shiloh, because the LORD revealed Himself to Samuel at Shiloh by the word of the LORD.

¹Awake, awake, Clothe yourself in your strength, Zion; Clothe yourself with your beautiful garments, Jerusalem, the holy city; For the uncircumcised and the unclean Will no longer come into you.

²Shake yourself from the dust, rise up, Captive Jerusalem; Release yourself from the chains around your neck, Captive daughter of Zion.

³For this is what the LORD says: “You were sold for nothing, and you will be redeemed without money.”

⁴For this is what the Lord GOD says: “My people went down to Egypt first to reside there; then the Assyrian oppressed them without reason.

⁵And now, what do I have here,” declares the LORD, “seeing that My people have been taken away without reason?” Again the LORD declares, “Those who rule over them howl, and My name is continually reviled all day long.

⁶Therefore, My people shall know My name; therefore on that day I am the one who is speaking, ‘Here I am.’ ”

⁷How delightful on the mountains Are the feet of one who brings good news, Who announces peace And brings good news of happiness, Who announces salvation, And says to Zion, “Your God reigns!”

⁸Listen! Your watchmen raise their voices, They shout joyfully together; For they will see with their own eyes When the LORD restores Zion.

⁹Be cheerful, shout joyfully together, You ruins of Jerusalem; For the LORD has comforted His people, He has redeemed Jerusalem.

¹⁰The LORD has bared His holy arm In the sight of all the nations, So that all the ends of the earth may see The salvation of our God.

¹¹Depart, depart, go out from there, Do not touch what is unclean; Go out of the midst of her, purify yourselves, You who carry the vessels of the LORD.

¹²But you will not go out in a hurry, Nor will you go as fugitives; For the LORD will go before you, And the God of Israel will be your rear guard.

¹³Behold, My Servant will prosper, He will be high and lifted up and greatly exalted.

¹⁴Just as many were appalled at you, My people, So His appearance was marred beyond that of a man, And His form beyond the sons of mankind.

¹⁵So He will sprinkle many nations, Kings will shut their mouths on account of Him; For what they had not been told, they will see, And what they had not heard, they will understand.

¹Now after five days the high priest Ananias came down with some elders and an attorney named Tertullus, and they brought charges against Paul to the governor.

²After Paul had been summoned, Tertullus began accusing him, saying to the governor, “Since we have attained great peace through you, and since reforms are being carried out for this nation by your foresight,

³we acknowledge this in every way and everywhere, most excellent Felix, with all thankfulness.

⁴But, that I may not weary you further, I beg you to grant us a brief hearing, by your kindness.

⁵For we have found this man a public menace and one who stirs up dissensions among all the Jews throughout the world, and a ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes.

⁶And he even tried to desecrate the temple, so indeed we arrested him.

⁷

⁸By interrogating him yourself concerning all these matters, you will be able to ascertain the things of which we are accusing him.”

⁹The Jews also joined in the attack, asserting that these things were so.

¹⁰And when the governor had nodded for him to speak, Paul responded: “Knowing that for many years you have been a judge to this nation, I cheerfully make my defense,

¹¹since you can take note of the fact that no more than twelve days ago I went up to Jerusalem to worship.

¹²And neither in the temple did they find me carrying on a discussion with anyone or causing a riot, nor in the synagogues, nor in the city itself.

¹³Nor can they prove to you the things of which they now accuse me.

¹⁴But I confess this to you, that in accordance with the Way, which they call a sect, I do serve the God of our fathers, believing everything that is in accordance with the Law and is written in the Prophets;

¹⁵having a hope in God, which these men cherish themselves, that there shall certainly be a resurrection of both the righteous and the wicked.

¹⁶In view of this I also do my best to maintain a blameless conscience both before God and before other people, always.

¹⁷Now after several years I came to bring charitable gifts to my nation and to present offerings,

¹⁸in which they found me occupied in the temple, having been purified, without any crowd or uproar. But there were some Jews from Asia—

¹⁹who ought to have been present before you and to have been bringing charges, if they should have anything against me.

²⁰Or else have these men themselves declare what violation they discovered when I stood before the Council,

²¹other than in regard to this one declaration which I shouted while standing among them, ‘For the resurrection of the dead I am on trial before you today!’ ”

²²But Felix, having quite accurate knowledge about the Way, adjourned them, saying, “When Lysias the commander comes down, I will decide your case.”

²³He gave orders to the centurion for Paul to be kept in custody and yet have some freedom, and not to prevent any of his friends from providing for his needs.

²⁴Now some days later Felix arrived with Drusilla his wife, who was Jewish, and he sent for Paul and heard him speak about faith in Christ Jesus.

²⁵But as he was discussing righteousness, self-control, and the judgment to come, Felix became frightened and responded, “Go away for now, and when I have an opportunity, I will summon you.”

²⁶At the same time he was also hoping that money would be given to him by Paul; therefore he also used to send for him quite often and talk with him.

²⁷But after two years had passed, Felix was succeeded by Porcius Festus; and Felix, wanting to do the Jews a favor, left Paul imprisoned.