Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹Now it came to pass, afterward, that He went through every city and village, preaching and bringing the glad tidings of the kingdom of God. And the twelve were with Him,

²and certain women who had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities—Mary called Magdalene, out of whom had come seven demons,

³and Joanna the wife of Chuza, Herod’s steward, and Susanna, and many others who provided for Him from their substance.

⁴And when a great multitude had gathered, and they had come to Him from every city, He spoke by a parable:

⁵“A sower went out to sow his seed. And as he sowed, some fell by the wayside; and it was trampled down, and the birds of the air devoured it.

⁶Some fell on rock; and as soon as it sprang up, it withered away because it lacked moisture.

⁷And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up with it and choked it.

⁸But others fell on good ground, sprang up, and yielded a crop a hundredfold.” When He had said these things He cried, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear!”

⁹Then His disciples asked Him, saying, “What does this parable mean?”

¹⁰And He said, “To you it has been given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God, but to the rest it is given in parables, that ‘Seeing they may not see, And hearing they may not understand.’

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

¹²Those by the wayside are the ones who hear; then the devil comes and takes away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved.

¹³But the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, who believe for a while and in time of temptation fall away.

¹⁴Now the ones that fell among thorns are those who, when they have heard, go out and are choked with cares, riches, and pleasures of life, and bring no fruit to maturity.

¹⁵But the ones that fell on the good ground are those who, having heard the word with a noble and good heart, keep it and bear fruit with patience.

¹⁶“No one, when he has lit a lamp, covers it with a vessel or puts it under a bed, but sets it on a lampstand, that those who enter may see the light.

¹⁷For nothing is secret that will not be revealed, nor anything hidden that will not be known and come to light.

¹⁸Therefore take heed how you hear. For whoever has, to him more will be given; and whoever does not have, even what he seems to have will be taken from him.”

¹⁹Then His mother and brothers came to Him, and could not approach Him because of the crowd.

²⁰And it was told Him by some, who said, “Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside, desiring 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 it happened, on a certain day, that He got into a boat with His disciples. And He said to them, “Let us cross over to the other side of the lake.” And they launched out.

²³But as they sailed He fell asleep. And a windstorm came down on the lake, and they were filling with water, and were in jeopardy.

²⁴And they came to Him and awoke Him, saying, “Master, Master, we are perishing!” Then He arose and rebuked the wind and the raging of the water. And they ceased, and there was a calm.

²⁵But He said to them, “Where is your faith?” And they were afraid, and marveled, saying to one another, “Who can this be? For He commands even the winds and water, and they obey Him!”

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

²⁷And when He stepped out on the land, there met Him a certain man from the city who had demons for a long time. And he wore no clothes, nor did he live in a house but in the tombs.

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

²⁹For He had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. For it had often seized him, and he was kept under guard, bound with chains and shackles; and he broke the bonds and was driven by the demon into the wilderness.

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

³¹And they begged Him that He would not command them to go out into the abyss.

³²Now a herd of many swine was feeding there on the mountain. So they begged Him that He would permit them to enter them. And He permitted them.

³³Then the demons went out of the man and entered the swine, and the herd ran violently down the steep place into the lake and drowned.

³⁴When those who fed them saw what had happened, they fled and told it in the city and in the country.

³⁵Then they went out to see what had happened, and came to Jesus, and found the man from whom the demons had departed, sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind. And they were afraid.

³⁶They also who had seen it told them by what means he who had been demon-possessed was healed.

³⁷Then the whole multitude of the surrounding region of the Gadarenes asked Him to depart from them, for they were seized with great fear. And He got into the boat and returned.

³⁸Now the man from whom the demons had departed begged Him that he might be with Him. But Jesus sent him away, saying,

³⁹“Return to your own house, and tell what great things God has done for you.” And he went his way and proclaimed throughout the whole city what great things Jesus had done for him.

⁴⁰So it was, when Jesus returned, that the multitude welcomed Him, for they were all waiting for Him.

⁴¹And behold, there came a man named Jairus, and he was a ruler of the synagogue. And he fell down at Jesus’ feet and begged Him to come to his house,

⁴²for he had an only daughter about twelve years of age, and she was dying. But as He went, the multitudes thronged Him.

⁴³Now a woman, having a flow of blood for twelve years, who had spent all her livelihood on physicians and could not be healed by any,

⁴⁴came from behind and touched the border of His garment. And immediately her flow of blood stopped.

⁴⁵And Jesus said, “Who touched Me?” When all denied it, Peter and those with him said, “Master, the multitudes throng and press You, and You say, ‘Who touched Me?’ ”

⁴⁶But Jesus said, “Somebody touched Me, for I perceived power going out from Me.”

⁴⁷Now when the woman saw that she was not hidden, she came trembling; and falling down before Him, she declared to Him in the presence of all the people the reason she had touched Him and how she was healed immediately.

⁴⁸And He said to her, “Daughter, be of good cheer; your faith has made you well. Go in peace.”

⁴⁹While He was still speaking, someone came from the ruler of the synagogue’s house, saying to him, “Your daughter is dead. Do not trouble the Teacher.”

⁵⁰But when Jesus heard it, He answered him, saying, “Do not be afraid; only believe, and she will be made well.”

⁵¹When He came into the house, He permitted no one to go in except Peter, James, and John, and the father and mother of the girl.

⁵²Now all wept and mourned for her; but He said, “Do not weep; she is not dead, but sleeping.”

⁵³And they ridiculed Him, knowing that she was dead.

⁵⁴But He put them all outside, took her by the hand and called, saying, “Little girl, arise.”

⁵⁵Then her spirit returned, and she arose immediately. And He commanded that she be given something to eat.

⁵⁶And her parents were astonished, but He charged them to tell no one what had happened.

¹And a man of the house of Levi went and took as wife a daughter of Levi.

²So the woman conceived and bore a son. And when she saw that he was a beautiful child, she hid him three months.

³But when she could no longer hide him, she took an ark of bulrushes for him, daubed it with asphalt and pitch, put the child in it, and laid it in the reeds by the river’s bank.

⁴And his sister stood afar off, to know what would be done to him.

⁵Then the daughter of Pharaoh came down to bathe at the river. And her maidens walked along the riverside; and when she saw the ark among the reeds, she sent her maid to get it.

⁶And when she opened it, she saw the child, and behold, the baby wept. So she had compassion 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 nurse for you from the Hebrew women, that she may nurse the child for you?”

⁸And Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Go.” So the maiden 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. So she called his name Moses, saying, “Because I drew him out of the water.”

¹¹Now it came to pass in those days, when Moses was grown, that he went out to his brethren and looked at their burdens. And he saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his brethren.

¹²So he looked this way and that way, and when he saw no one, he killed the Egyptian and hid him in the sand.

¹³And when he went out the second day, behold, two Hebrew men were fighting, and he said to the one who did the wrong, “Why are you striking your companion?”

¹⁴Then he said, “Who made you a prince and a judge over us? Do you intend to kill me as you killed the Egyptian?” So Moses feared and said, “Surely this thing is known!”

¹⁵When Pharaoh heard of this matter, he sought to kill Moses. But Moses fled from the face of Pharaoh and dwelt in the land of Midian; and he sat down by a well.

¹⁶Now the priest of Midian had seven daughters. And they came and drew water, and they 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 Reuel their father, he said, “How is it that you have come so soon today?”

¹⁹And they said, “An Egyptian delivered us from the hand of the shepherds, and he also drew enough water for us and watered the flock.”

²⁰So he said to his daughters, “And where is he? Why is it that you have left the man? Call him, that he may eat bread.”

²¹Then Moses was content to live with the man, and he gave Zipporah his daughter to Moses.

²²And she bore him a son. He called his name Gershom, for he said, “I have been a stranger in a foreign land.”

²³Now it happened in the process of time that the king of Egypt died. Then the children of Israel groaned because of the bondage, and they cried out; and their cry came up to God because of the bondage.

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

²⁵And God looked upon the children of Israel, and God acknowledged them.

¹Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, To the saints who are in Ephesus, and 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 should be holy and without blame before Him in love,

⁵having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will,

⁶to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved.

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

⁸which He made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence,

⁹having made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself,

¹⁰that in the dispensation of the fullness of the times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth—in Him.

¹¹In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will,

¹²that we who first trusted in Christ should be to the praise of His glory.

¹³In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise,

¹⁴who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory.

¹⁵Therefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints,

¹⁶do not cease to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers:

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

¹⁸the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may 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 exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power

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

²¹far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come.

²²And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be 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 fallen from heaven to the earth. To him was given the key to the bottomless pit.

²And he opened the bottomless pit, and smoke arose out of the pit like the smoke of a great furnace. So the sun and the air were darkened because of the smoke of the pit.

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

⁴They were commanded not to harm the grass of the earth, or any green thing, or any tree, but only those men who do not have the seal of God on their foreheads.

⁵And they were not given authority to kill them, but to torment them for five months. Their torment was like the torment of a scorpion when it strikes a man.

⁶In those days men will seek death and will not find it; they will desire to die, and death will flee from them.

⁷The shape of the locusts was like horses prepared for battle. On their heads were crowns of something like gold, and their faces were like the faces of men.

⁸They had hair like women’s hair, and their teeth were like lions’ teeth.

⁹And they had breastplates like breastplates of iron, and the sound of their wings was like the sound of chariots with many horses running into battle.

¹⁰They had tails like scorpions, and there were stings in their tails. Their power was to hurt men five months.

¹¹And they had as king over them the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in Hebrew is Abaddon, but in Greek he has the name Apollyon.

¹²One woe is past. Behold, still two more woes are 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.”

¹⁵So the four angels, who had been prepared for the hour and day and month and year, were released to kill a third of mankind.

¹⁶Now the number of the army of the horsemen was two hundred million; I heard the number of them.

¹⁷And thus I saw the horses in the vision: those who sat on them had breastplates of fiery red, hyacinth blue, and sulfur yellow; and the heads of the horses were like the heads of lions; and out of their mouths came fire, smoke, and brimstone.

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

¹⁹For their power is in their mouth and in their tails; for their tails are like serpents, having heads; and with them they do harm.

²⁰But the rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands, that they should not worship demons, and idols of gold, silver, brass, stone, and wood, which can neither see nor hear nor walk.

²¹And they did not repent of their murders or their sorceries or their sexual immorality or their thefts.

¹Dead flies putrefy the perfumer’s ointment, And cause it to give off a foul odor; So does a little folly to one respected for wisdom and honor.

²A wise man’s heart is at his right hand, But a fool’s heart at his left.

³Even when a fool walks along the way, He lacks wisdom, And he shows everyone that he is a fool.

⁴If the spirit of the ruler rises against you, Do not leave your post; For conciliation pacifies great offenses.

⁵There is an evil I have seen under the sun, As an error proceeding from the ruler:

⁶Folly is set in great dignity, While the rich sit in a lowly place.

⁷I have seen servants on horses, While princes walk on the ground like servants.

⁸He who digs a pit will fall into it, And whoever breaks through a wall will be bitten by a serpent.

⁹He who quarries stones may be hurt by them, And he who splits wood may be endangered by it.

¹⁰If the ax is dull, And one does not sharpen the edge, Then he must use more strength; But wisdom brings success.

¹¹A serpent may bite when it is not charmed; The babbler is no different.

¹²The words of a wise man’s mouth are gracious, But the lips of a fool shall swallow him up;

¹³The words of his mouth begin with foolishness, And the end of his talk is raving madness.

¹⁴A fool also multiplies words. No man knows what is to be; Who can tell him what will be after him?

¹⁵The labor of fools wearies them, For they do not even know how to go to the city!

¹⁶Woe to you, O land, when your king is a child, And your princes feast in the morning!

¹⁷Blessed are you, O land, when your king is the son of nobles, And your princes feast at the proper time— For strength and not for drunkenness!

¹⁸Because of laziness the building decays, And through idleness of hands the house leaks.

¹⁹A feast is made for laughter, And wine makes merry; But money answers everything.

²⁰Do not curse the king, even in your thought; Do not curse the rich, even in your bedroom; For a bird of the air may carry your voice, And a bird in flight may tell the matter.

¹To the Chief Musician. A Contemplation of David when Doeg the Edomite went and told Saul, and said to him, “David has gone to the house of Ahimelech.” [1] Why do you boast in evil, O mighty man? The goodness of God endures continually.

²Your tongue devises destruction, Like a sharp razor, working deceitfully.

³You love evil more than good, Lying rather than speaking righteousness. Selah

⁴You love all devouring words, You deceitful tongue.

⁵God shall likewise destroy you forever; He shall take you away, and pluck you out of your dwelling place, And uproot you from the land of the living. Selah

⁶The righteous also shall see and fear, And shall laugh at him, saying,

⁷“Here is the man who did not make God his strength, But trusted in the abundance of his riches, And strengthened himself in his wickedness.”

⁸But I am like a green olive tree in the house of God; I trust in the mercy of God forever and ever.

⁹I will praise You forever, Because You have done it; And in the presence of Your saints I will wait on Your name, for it is good.

¹The king’s heart is in the hand of the LORD, Like the rivers of water; He turns it wherever He wishes.

²Every way of a man is right in his own eyes, But the LORD weighs the hearts.

³To do righteousness and justice Is more acceptable to the LORD than sacrifice.

⁴A haughty look, a proud heart, And the plowing of the wicked are sin.

⁵The plans of the diligent lead surely to plenty, But those of everyone who is hasty, surely to poverty.

⁶Getting treasures by a lying tongue Is the fleeting fantasy of those who seek death.

⁷The violence of the wicked will destroy them, Because they refuse to do justice.

⁸The way of a guilty man is perverse; But as for the pure, his work is right.

⁹Better to dwell in a corner of a housetop, Than in a house shared with a contentious woman.

¹⁰The soul of the wicked desires evil; His neighbor finds no favor in his eyes.

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

¹²The righteous God wisely considers the house of the wicked, Overthrowing the wicked for their wickedness.

¹³Whoever shuts his ears to the cry of the poor Will also cry himself and not be heard.

¹⁴A gift in secret pacifies anger, And a bribe behind the back, strong wrath.

¹⁵It is a joy for the just to do justice, But destruction will come to the workers of iniquity.

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

¹⁷He who loves pleasure will be a poor man; He who loves wine and oil will not be rich.

¹⁸The wicked shall be a ransom for the righteous, And the unfaithful for the upright.

¹⁹Better to dwell in the wilderness, Than with a contentious and angry woman.

²⁰There is desirable treasure, And oil in the dwelling of the wise, But a foolish man squanders it.

²¹He who follows righteousness and mercy Finds life, righteousness, and honor.

²²A wise man scales the city of the mighty, And brings down the trusted stronghold.

²³Whoever guards his mouth and tongue Keeps his soul from troubles.

²⁴A proud and haughty man— “Scoffer” is his name; He acts with arrogant pride.

²⁵The desire of the lazy man kills him, For his hands refuse to labor.

²⁶He covets greedily all day long, But the righteous gives and does not spare.

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

²⁸A false witness shall perish, But the man who hears him will speak endlessly.

²⁹A wicked man hardens his face, But as for the upright, he establishes his way.

³⁰There is no wisdom or understanding Or counsel against the LORD.

³¹The horse is prepared for the day of battle, But deliverance is of the LORD.

¹Now the boy Samuel ministered to the LORD before Eli. And the word of the LORD was rare in those days; there was no widespread revelation.

²And it came to pass at that time, while Eli was lying down in his place, and when his eyes had begun to grow so dim that he could not see,

³and before the lamp of God went out in the tabernacle of the LORD where the ark of God was, and while Samuel was lying down,

⁴that the LORD called Samuel. And he answered, “Here I am!”

⁵So he ran to Eli and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” And he said, “I did not call; lie down again.” And he went and lay down.

⁶Then the LORD called yet again, “Samuel!” So Samuel arose and went to Eli, and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” He answered, “I did not call, my son; lie down again.”

⁷(Now Samuel did not yet know the LORD, nor was the word of the LORD yet revealed to him.)

⁸And the LORD called Samuel again the third time. So he arose and went to Eli, and said, “Here I am, for you did call me.” Then Eli perceived that the LORD had called the boy.

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

¹⁰Now the LORD came and stood and called as at other times, “Samuel! Samuel!” And Samuel answered, “Speak, for Your servant hears.”

¹¹Then the LORD said to Samuel: “Behold, I will do something in Israel at which both ears of everyone who hears it will tingle.

¹²In that day I will perform against Eli all that I have spoken concerning his house, from beginning to end.

¹³For I have told him that I will judge his house forever for the iniquity which he knows, because his sons made themselves vile, and he did not restrain them.

¹⁴And therefore I have sworn to the house of Eli that the iniquity of Eli’s house shall not be atoned for by sacrifice or offering forever.”

¹⁵So Samuel lay down until morning, and opened the doors of the house of the LORD. And Samuel was afraid to tell Eli the vision.

¹⁶Then Eli called Samuel and said, “Samuel, my son!” He answered, “Here I am.”

¹⁷And he said, “What is the word that the LORD spoke to you? Please do not hide it from me. God do so to you, and more also, if you hide anything from me of all the things that He said to you.”

¹⁸Then Samuel told him everything, and hid nothing from him. And he said, “It is the LORD. Let Him do what seems good to Him.”

¹⁹So Samuel grew, and the LORD was with him and let none of his words fall to the ground.

²⁰And all Israel from Dan to Beersheba knew that Samuel had been established as a prophet of the LORD.

²¹Then the LORD appeared again in Shiloh. For the LORD revealed Himself to Samuel in Shiloh by the word of the LORD.

¹Awake, awake! Put on your strength, O Zion; Put on your beautiful garments, O Jerusalem, the holy city! For the uncircumcised and the unclean Shall no longer come to you.

²Shake yourself from the dust, arise; Sit down, O Jerusalem! Loose yourself from the bonds of your neck, O captive daughter of Zion!

³For thus says the LORD: “You have sold yourselves for nothing, And you shall be redeemed without money.”

⁴For thus says the Lord GOD: “My people went down at first Into Egypt to dwell there; Then the Assyrian oppressed them without cause.

⁵Now therefore, what have I here,” says the LORD, “That My people are taken away for nothing? Those who rule over them Make them wail,” says the LORD, “And My name is blasphemed continually every day.

⁶Therefore My people shall know My name; Therefore they shall know in that day That I am He who speaks: ‘Behold, it is I.’ ”

⁷How beautiful upon the mountains Are the feet of him who brings good news, Who proclaims peace, Who brings glad tidings of good things, Who proclaims salvation, Who says to Zion, “Your God reigns!”

⁸Your watchmen shall lift up their voices, With their voices they shall sing together; For they shall see eye to eye When the LORD brings back Zion.

⁹Break forth into joy, sing together, You waste places of Jerusalem! For the LORD has comforted His people, He has redeemed Jerusalem.

¹⁰The LORD has made bare His holy arm In the eyes of all the nations; And all the ends of the earth shall see The salvation of our God.

¹¹Depart! Depart! Go out from there, Touch no unclean thing; Go out from the midst of her, Be clean, You who bear the vessels of the LORD.

¹²For you shall not go out with haste, Nor go by flight; For the LORD will go before you, And the God of Israel will be your rear guard.

¹³Behold, My Servant shall deal prudently; He shall be exalted and extolled and be very high.

¹⁴Just as many were astonished at you, So His visage was marred more than any man, And His form more than the sons of men;

¹⁵So shall He sprinkle many nations. Kings shall shut their mouths at Him; For what had not been told them they shall see, And what they had not heard they shall consider.

¹Now after five days Ananias the high priest came down with the elders and a certain orator named Tertullus. These gave evidence to the governor against Paul.

²And when he was called upon, Tertullus began his accusation, saying: “Seeing that through you we enjoy great peace, and prosperity is being brought to this nation by your foresight,

³we accept it always and in all places, most noble Felix, with all thankfulness.

⁴Nevertheless, not to be tedious to you any further, I beg you to hear, by your courtesy, a few words from us.

⁵For we have found this man a plague, a creator of dissension among all the Jews throughout the world, and a ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes.

⁶He even tried to profane the temple, and we seized him, and wanted to judge him according to our law.

⁷But the commander Lysias came by and with great violence took him out of our hands,

⁸commanding his accusers to come to you. By examining him yourself you may ascertain all these things of which we accuse him.”

⁹And the Jews also assented, maintaining that these things were so.

¹⁰Then Paul, after the governor had nodded to him to speak, answered: “Inasmuch as I know that you have been for many years a judge of this nation, I do the more cheerfully answer for myself,

¹¹because you may ascertain that it is no more than twelve days since I went up to Jerusalem to worship.

¹²And they neither found me in the temple disputing with anyone nor inciting the crowd, either in the synagogues or in the city.

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

¹⁴But this I confess to you, that according to the Way which they call a sect, so I worship the God of my fathers, believing all things which are written in the Law and in the Prophets.

¹⁵I have hope in God, which they themselves also accept, that there will be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and the unjust.

¹⁶This being so, I myself always strive to have a conscience without offense toward God and men.

¹⁷“Now after many years I came to bring alms and offerings to my nation,

¹⁸in the midst of which some Jews from Asia found me purified in the temple, neither with a mob nor with tumult.

¹⁹They ought to have been here before you to object if they had anything against me.

²⁰Or else let those who are here themselves say if they found any wrongdoing in me while I stood before the council,

²¹unless it is for this one statement which I cried out, standing among them, ‘Concerning the resurrection of the dead I am being judged by you this day.’ ”

²²But when Felix heard these things, having more accurate knowledge of the Way, he adjourned the proceedings and said, “When Lysias the commander comes down, I will make a decision on your case.”

²³So he commanded the centurion to keep Paul and to let him have liberty, and told him not to forbid any of his friends to provide for or visit him.

²⁴And after some days, when Felix came with his wife Drusilla, who was Jewish, he sent for Paul and heard him concerning the faith in Christ.

²⁵Now as he reasoned about righteousness, self-control, and the judgment to come, Felix was afraid and answered, “Go away for now; when I have a convenient time I will call for you.”

²⁶Meanwhile he also hoped that money would be given him by Paul, that he might release him. Therefore he sent for him more often and conversed with him.

²⁷But after two years Porcius Festus succeeded Felix; and Felix, wanting to do the Jews a favor, left Paul bound.