Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹Then He called His twelve disciples together and gave them power and authority over all demons, and to cure diseases.

²He sent them to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick.

³And He said to them, “Take nothing for the journey, neither staffs nor bag nor bread nor money; and do not have two tunics apiece.

⁴“Whatever house you enter, stay there, and from there depart.

⁵And whoever will not receive you, when you go out of that city, shake off the very dust from your feet as a testimony against them.”

⁶So they departed and went through the towns, preaching the gospel and healing everywhere.

⁷Now Herod the tetrarch heard of all that was done by Him; and he was perplexed, because it was said by some that John had risen from the dead,

⁸and by some that Elijah had appeared, and by others that one of the old prophets had risen again.

⁹Herod said, “John I have beheaded, but who is this of whom I hear such things?” So he sought to see Him.

¹⁰And the apostles, when they had returned, told Him all that they had done. Then He took them and went aside privately into a deserted place belonging to the city called Bethsaida.

¹¹But when the multitudes knew it, they followed Him; and He received them and spoke to them about the kingdom of God, and healed those who had need of healing.

¹²When the day began to wear away, the twelve came and said to Him, “Send the multitude away, that they may go into the surrounding towns and country, and lodge and get provisions; for we are in a deserted place here.”

¹³But He said to them, “You give them something to eat.” And they said, “We have no more than five loaves and two fish, unless we go and buy food for all these people.”

¹⁴For there were about five thousand men. Then He said to His disciples, “Make them sit down in groups of fifty.”

¹⁵And they did so, and made them all sit down.

¹⁶Then He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, He blessed and broke them, and gave them to the disciples to set before the multitude.

¹⁷So they all ate and were filled, and twelve baskets of the leftover fragments were taken up by them.

¹⁸And it happened, as He was alone praying, that His disciples joined Him, and He asked them, saying, “Who do the crowds say that I am?”

¹⁹So they answered and said, “John the Baptist, but some say Elijah; and others say that one of the old prophets has risen again.”

²⁰He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter answered and said, “The Christ of God.”

²¹And He strictly warned and commanded them to tell this to no one,

²²saying, “The Son of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised the third day.”

²³Then He said to them all, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.

²⁴For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it.

²⁵For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and is himself destroyed or lost?

²⁶For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words, of him the Son of Man will be ashamed when He comes in His own glory, and in His Father’s, and of the holy angels.

²⁷But I tell you truly, there are some standing here who shall not taste death till they see the kingdom of God.”

²⁸Now it came to pass, about eight days after these sayings, that He took Peter, John, and James and went up on the mountain to pray.

²⁹As He prayed, the appearance of His face was altered, and His robe became white and glistening.

³⁰And behold, two men talked with Him, who were Moses and Elijah,

³¹who appeared in glory and spoke of His decease which He was about to accomplish at Jerusalem.

³²But Peter and those with him were heavy with sleep; and when they were fully awake, they saw His glory and the two men who stood with Him.

³³Then it happened, as they were parting from Him, that Peter said to Jesus, “Master, it is good for us to be here; and let us make three tabernacles: one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah”—not knowing what he said.

³⁴While he was saying this, a cloud came and overshadowed them; and they were fearful as they entered the cloud.

³⁵And a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is My beloved Son. Hear Him!”

³⁶When the voice had ceased, Jesus was found alone. But they kept quiet, and told no one in those days any of the things they had seen.

³⁷Now it happened on the next day, when they had come down from the mountain, that a great multitude met Him.

³⁸Suddenly a man from the multitude cried out, saying, “Teacher, I implore You, look on my son, for he is my only child.

³⁹And behold, a spirit seizes him, and he suddenly cries out; it convulses him so that he foams at the mouth; and it departs from him with great difficulty, bruising him.

⁴⁰So I implored Your disciples to cast it out, but they could not.”

⁴¹Then Jesus answered and said, “O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you and bear with you? Bring your son here.”

⁴²And as he was still coming, the demon threw him down and convulsed him. Then Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit, healed the child, and gave him back to his father.

⁴³And they were all amazed at the majesty of God. But while everyone marveled at all the things which Jesus did, He said to His disciples,

⁴⁴“Let these words sink down into your ears, for the Son of Man is about to be betrayed into the hands of men.”

⁴⁵But they did not understand this saying, and it was hidden from them so that they did not perceive it; and they were afraid to ask Him about this saying.

⁴⁶Then a dispute arose among them as to which of them would be greatest.

⁴⁷And Jesus, perceiving the thought of their heart, took a little child and set him by Him,

⁴⁸and said to them, “Whoever receives this little child in My name receives Me; and whoever receives Me receives Him who sent Me. For he who is least among you all will be great.”

⁴⁹Now John answered and said, “Master, we saw someone casting out demons in Your name, and we forbade him because he does not follow with us.”

⁵⁰But Jesus said to him, “Do not forbid him, for he who is not against us is on our side.”

⁵¹Now it came to pass, when the time had come for Him to be received up, that He steadfastly set His face to go to Jerusalem,

⁵²and sent messengers before His face. And as they went, they entered a village of the Samaritans, to prepare for Him.

⁵³But they did not receive Him, because His face was set for the journey to Jerusalem.

⁵⁴And when His disciples James and John saw this, they said, “Lord, do You want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them, just as Elijah did?”

⁵⁵But He turned and rebuked them, and said, “You do not know what manner of spirit you are of.

⁵⁶For the Son of Man did not come to destroy men’s lives but to save them.” And they went to another village.

⁵⁷Now it happened as they journeyed on the road, that someone said to Him, “Lord, I will follow You wherever You go.”

⁵⁸And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.”

⁵⁹Then He said to another, “Follow Me.” But he said, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.”

⁶⁰Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and preach the kingdom of God.”

⁶¹And another also said, “Lord, I will follow You, but let me first go and bid them farewell who are at my house.”

⁶²But Jesus said to him, “No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.”

¹Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian. And he led the flock to the back of the desert, and came to Horeb, the mountain of God.

²And the Angel of the LORD appeared to him in a flame of fire from the midst of a bush. So he looked, and behold, the bush was burning with fire, but the bush was not consumed.

³Then Moses said, “I will now turn aside and see this great sight, why the bush does not burn.”

⁴So when the LORD saw that he turned aside to look, God called to him from the midst of the bush and said, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.”

⁵Then He said, “Do not draw near this place. Take your sandals off your feet, for the place where you stand is holy ground.”

⁶Moreover He said, “I am the God of your father—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look upon God.

⁷And the LORD said: “I have surely seen the oppression of My people who are in Egypt, and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters, for I know their sorrows.

⁸So I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up from that land to a good and large land, to a land flowing with milk and honey, to the place of the Canaanites and the Hittites and the Amorites and the Perizzites and the Hivites and the Jebusites.

⁹Now therefore, behold, the cry of the children of Israel has come to Me, and I have also seen the oppression with which the Egyptians oppress them.

¹⁰Come now, therefore, and I will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring My people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt.”

¹¹But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh, and that I should bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?”

¹²So He said, “I will certainly be with you. And this shall be a sign to you that I have sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall serve God on this mountain.”

¹³Then Moses said to God, “Indeed, when I come to the children of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they say to me, ‘What is His name?’ what shall I say to them?”

¹⁴And God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM.” And He said, “Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’ ”

¹⁵Moreover God said to Moses, “Thus you shall say to the children of Israel: ‘The LORD God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you. This is My name forever, and this is My memorial to all generations.’

¹⁶Go and gather the elders of Israel together, and say to them, ‘The LORD God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, appeared to me, saying, “I have surely visited you and seen what is done to you in Egypt;

¹⁷and I have said I will bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt to the land of the Canaanites and the Hittites and the Amorites and the Perizzites and the Hivites and the Jebusites, to a land flowing with milk and honey.” ’

¹⁸Then they will heed your voice; and you shall come, you and the elders of Israel, to the king of Egypt; and you shall say to him, ‘The LORD God of the Hebrews has met with us; and now, please, let us go three days’ journey into the wilderness, that we may sacrifice to the LORD our God.’

¹⁹But I am sure that the king of Egypt will not let you go, no, not even by a mighty hand.

²⁰So I will stretch out My hand and strike Egypt with all My wonders which I will do in its midst; and after that he will let you go.

²¹And I will give this people favor in the sight of the Egyptians; and it shall be, when you go, that you shall not go empty-handed.

²²But every woman shall ask of her neighbor, namely, of her who dwells near her house, articles of silver, articles of gold, and clothing; and you shall put them on your sons and on your daughters. So you shall plunder the Egyptians.”

¹And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins,

²in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience,

³among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others.

⁴But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us,

⁵even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved),

⁶and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,

⁷that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.

⁸For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God,

⁹not of works, lest anyone should boast.

¹⁰For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.

¹¹Therefore remember that you, once Gentiles in the flesh—who are called Uncircumcision by what is called the Circumcision made in the flesh by hands—

¹²that at that time you were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world.

¹³But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.

¹⁴For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation,

¹⁵having abolished in His flesh the enmity, that is, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, so as to create in Himself one new man from the two, thus making peace,

¹⁶and that He might reconcile them both to God in one body through the cross, thereby putting to death the enmity.

¹⁷And He came and preached peace to you who were afar off and to those who were near.

¹⁸For through Him we both have access by one Spirit to the Father.

¹⁹Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God,

²⁰having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone,

²¹in whom the whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord,

²²in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.

¹I saw still another mighty angel coming down from heaven, clothed with a cloud. And a rainbow was on his head, his face was like the sun, and his feet like pillars of fire.

²He had a little book open in his hand. And he set his right foot on the sea and his left foot on the land,

³and cried with a loud voice, as when a lion roars. When he cried out, seven thunders uttered their voices.

⁴Now when the seven thunders uttered their voices, I was about to write; but I heard a voice from heaven saying to me, “Seal up the things which the seven thunders uttered, and do not write them.”

⁵The angel whom I saw standing on the sea and on the land raised up his hand to heaven

⁶and swore by Him who lives forever and ever, who created heaven and the things that are in it, the earth and the things that are in it, and the sea and the things that are in it, that there should be delay no longer,

⁷but in the days of the sounding of the seventh angel, when he is about to sound, the mystery of God would be finished, as He declared to His servants the prophets.

⁸Then the voice which I heard from heaven spoke to me again and said, “Go, take the little book which is open in the hand of the angel who stands on the sea and on the earth.”

⁹So I went to the angel and said to him, “Give me the little book.” And he said to me, “Take and eat it; and it will make your stomach bitter, but it will be as sweet as honey in your mouth.”

¹⁰Then I took the little book out of the angel’s hand and ate it, and it was as sweet as honey in my mouth. But when I had eaten it, my stomach became bitter.

¹¹And he said to me, “You must prophesy again about many peoples, nations, tongues, and kings.”

¹Cast your bread upon the waters, For you will find it after many days.

²Give a serving to seven, and also to eight, For you do not know what evil will be on the earth.

³If the clouds are full of rain, They empty themselves upon the earth; And if a tree falls to the south or the north, In the place where the tree falls, there it shall lie.

⁴He who observes the wind will not sow, And he who regards the clouds will not reap.

⁵As you do not know what is the way of the wind, Or how the bones grow in the womb of her who is with child, So you do not know the works of God who makes everything.

⁶In the morning sow your seed, And in the evening do not withhold your hand; For you do not know which will prosper, Either this or that, Or whether both alike will be good.

⁷Truly the light is sweet, And it is pleasant for the eyes to behold the sun;

⁸But if a man lives many years And rejoices in them all, Yet let him remember the days of darkness, For they will be many. All that is coming is vanity.

⁹Rejoice, O young man, in your youth, And let your heart cheer you in the days of your youth; Walk in the ways of your heart, And in the sight of your eyes; But know that for all these God will bring you into judgment.

¹⁰Therefore remove sorrow from your heart, And put away evil from your flesh, For childhood and youth are vanity.

¹To the Chief Musician. Set to “Mahalath.” A Contemplation of David. [1] The fool has said in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, and have done abominable iniquity; There is none who does good.

²God looks down from heaven upon the children of men, To see if there are any who understand, who seek God.

³Every one of them has turned aside; They have together become corrupt; There is none who does good, No, not one.

⁴Have the workers of iniquity no knowledge, Who eat up my people as they eat bread, And do not call upon God?

⁵There they are in great fear Where no fear was, For God has scattered the bones of him who encamps against you; You have put them to shame, Because God has despised them.

⁶Oh, that the salvation of Israel would come out of Zion! When God brings back the captivity of His people, Let Jacob rejoice and Israel be glad.

¹A good name is to be chosen rather than great riches, Loving favor rather than silver and gold.

²The rich and the poor have this in common, The LORD is the maker of them all.

³A prudent man foresees evil and hides himself, But the simple pass on and are punished.

⁴By humility and the fear of the LORD Are riches and honor and life.

⁵Thorns and snares are in the way of the perverse; He who guards his soul will be far from them.

⁶Train up a child in the way he should go, And when he is old he will not depart from it.

⁷The rich rules over the poor, And the borrower is servant to the lender.

⁸He who sows iniquity will reap sorrow, And the rod of his anger will fail.

⁹He who has a generous eye will be blessed, For he gives of his bread to the poor.

¹⁰Cast out the scoffer, and contention will leave; Yes, strife and reproach will cease.

¹¹He who loves purity of heart And has grace on his lips, The king will be his friend.

¹²The eyes of the LORD preserve knowledge, But He overthrows the words of the faithless.

¹³The lazy man says, “There is a lion outside! I shall be slain in the streets!”

¹⁴The mouth of an immoral woman is a deep pit; He who is abhorred by the LORD will fall there.

¹⁵Foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child; The rod of correction will drive it far from him.

¹⁶He who oppresses the poor to increase his riches, And he who gives to the rich, will surely come to poverty.

¹⁷Incline your ear and hear the words of the wise, And apply your heart to my knowledge;

¹⁸For it is a pleasant thing if you keep them within you; Let them all be fixed upon your lips,

¹⁹So that your trust may be in the LORD; I have instructed you today, even you.

²⁰Have I not written to you excellent things Of counsels and knowledge,

²¹That I may make you know the certainty of the words of truth, That you may answer words of truth To those who send to you?

²²Do not rob the poor because he is poor, Nor oppress the afflicted at the gate;

²³For the LORD will plead their cause, And plunder the soul of those who plunder them.

²⁴Make no friendship with an angry man, And with a furious man do not go,

²⁵Lest you learn his ways And set a snare for your soul.

²⁶Do not be one of those who shakes hands in a pledge, One of those who is surety for debts;

²⁷If you have nothing with which to pay, Why should he take away your bed from under you?

²⁸Do not remove the ancient landmark Which your fathers have set.

²⁹Do you see a man who excels in his work? He will stand before kings; He will not stand before unknown men.

¹And the word of Samuel came to all Israel. Now Israel went out to battle against the Philistines, and encamped beside Ebenezer; and the Philistines encamped in Aphek.

²Then the Philistines put themselves in battle array against Israel. And when they joined battle, Israel was defeated by the Philistines, who killed about four thousand men of the army in the field.

³And when the people had come into the camp, the elders of Israel said, “Why has the LORD defeated us today before the Philistines? Let us bring the ark of the covenant of the LORD from Shiloh to us, that when it comes among us it may save us from the hand of our enemies.”

⁴So the people sent to Shiloh, that they might bring from there the ark of the covenant of the LORD of hosts, who dwells between the cherubim. And the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were there with the ark of the covenant of God.

⁵And when the ark of the covenant of the LORD came into the camp, all Israel shouted so loudly that the earth shook.

⁶Now when the Philistines heard the noise of the shout, they said, “What does the sound of this great shout in the camp of the Hebrews mean?” Then they understood that the ark of the LORD had come into the camp.

⁷So the Philistines were afraid, for they said, “God has come into the camp!” And they said, “Woe to us! For such a thing has never happened before.

⁸Woe to us! Who will deliver us from the hand of these mighty gods? These are the gods who struck the Egyptians with all the plagues in the wilderness.

⁹Be strong and conduct yourselves like men, you Philistines, that you do not become servants of the Hebrews, as they have been to you. Conduct yourselves like men, and fight!”

¹⁰So the Philistines fought, and Israel was defeated, and every man fled to his tent. There was a very great slaughter, and there fell of Israel thirty thousand foot soldiers.

¹¹Also the ark of God was captured; and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, died.

¹²Then a man of Benjamin ran from the battle line the same day, and came to Shiloh with his clothes torn and dirt on his head.

¹³Now when he came, there was Eli, sitting on a seat by the wayside watching, for his heart trembled for the ark of God. And when the man came into the city and told it, all the city cried out.

¹⁴When Eli heard the noise of the outcry, he said, “What does the sound of this tumult mean?” And the man came quickly and told Eli.

¹⁵Eli was ninety-eight years old, and his eyes were so dim that he could not see.

¹⁶Then the man said to Eli, “I am he who came from the battle. And I fled today from the battle line.” And he said, “What happened, my son?”

¹⁷So the messenger answered and said, “Israel has fled before the Philistines, and there has been a great slaughter among the people. Also your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, are dead; and the ark of God has been captured.”

¹⁸Then it happened, when he made mention of the ark of God, that Eli fell off the seat backward by the side of the gate; and his neck was broken and he died, for the man was old and heavy. And he had judged Israel forty years.

¹⁹Now his daughter-in-law, Phinehas’s wife, was with child, due to be delivered; and when she heard the news that the ark of God was captured, and that her father-in-law and her husband were dead, she bowed herself and gave birth, for her labor pains came upon her.

²⁰And about the time of her death the women who stood by her said to her, “Do not fear, for you have borne a son.” But she did not answer, nor did she regard it.

²¹Then she named the child Ichabod, saying, “The glory has departed from Israel!” because the ark of God had been captured and because of her father-in-law and her husband.

²²And she said, “The glory has departed from Israel, for the ark of God has been captured.”

¹Who has believed our report? And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?

²For He shall grow up before Him as a tender plant, And as a root out of dry ground. He has no form or comeliness; And when we see Him, There is no beauty that we should desire Him.

³He is despised and rejected by men, A Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.

⁴Surely He has borne our griefs And carried our sorrows; Yet we esteemed Him stricken, Smitten by God, and afflicted.

⁵But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed.

⁶All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned, every one, to his own way; And the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.

⁷He was oppressed and He was afflicted, Yet He opened not His mouth; He was led as a lamb to the slaughter, And as a sheep before its shearers is silent, So He opened not His mouth.

⁸He was taken from prison and from judgment, And who will declare His generation? For He was cut off from the land of the living; For the transgressions of My people He was stricken.

⁹And they made His grave with the wicked— But with the rich at His death, Because He had done no violence, Nor was any deceit in His mouth.

¹⁰Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise Him; He has put Him to grief. When You make His soul an offering for sin, He shall see His seed, He shall prolong His days, And the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in His hand.

¹¹He shall see the labor of His soul, and be satisfied. By His knowledge My righteous Servant shall justify many, For He shall bear their iniquities.

¹²Therefore I will divide Him a portion with the great, And He shall divide the spoil with the strong, Because He poured out His soul unto death, And He was numbered with the transgressors, And He bore the sin of many, And made intercession for the transgressors.

¹Now when Festus had come to the province, after three days he went up from Caesarea to Jerusalem.

²Then the high priest and the chief men of the Jews informed him against Paul; and they petitioned him,

³asking a favor against him, that he would summon him to Jerusalem— while they lay in ambush along the road to kill him.

⁴But Festus answered that Paul should be kept at Caesarea, and that he himself was going there shortly.

⁵“Therefore,” he said, “let those who have authority among you go down with me and accuse this man, to see if there is any fault in him.”

⁶And when he had remained among them more than ten days, he went down to Caesarea. And the next day, sitting on the judgment seat, he commanded Paul to be brought.

⁷When he had come, the Jews who had come down from Jerusalem stood about and laid many serious complaints against Paul, which they could not prove,

⁸while he answered for himself, “Neither against the law of the Jews, nor against the temple, nor against Caesar have I offended in anything at all.”

⁹But Festus, wanting to do the Jews a favor, answered Paul and said, “Are you willing to go up to Jerusalem and there be judged before me concerning these things?”

¹⁰So Paul said, “I stand at Caesar’s judgment seat, where I ought to be judged. To the Jews I have done no wrong, as you very well know.

¹¹For if I am an offender, or have committed anything deserving of death, I do not object to dying; but if there is nothing in these things of which these men accuse me, no one can deliver me to them. I appeal to Caesar.”

¹²Then Festus, when he had conferred with the council, answered, “You have appealed to Caesar? To Caesar you shall go!”

¹³And after some days King Agrippa and Bernice came to Caesarea to greet Festus.

¹⁴When they had been there many days, Festus laid Paul’s case before the king, saying: “There is a certain man left a prisoner by Felix,

¹⁵about whom the chief priests and the elders of the Jews informed me, when I was in Jerusalem, asking for a judgment against him.

¹⁶To them I answered, ‘It is not the custom of the Romans to deliver any man to destruction before the accused meets the accusers face to face, and has opportunity to answer for himself concerning the charge against him.’

¹⁷Therefore when they had come together, without any delay, the next day I sat on the judgment seat and commanded the man to be brought in.

¹⁸When the accusers stood up, they brought no accusation against him of such things as I supposed,

¹⁹but had some questions against him about their own religion and about a certain Jesus, who had died, whom Paul affirmed to be alive.

²⁰And because I was uncertain of such questions, I asked whether he was willing to go to Jerusalem and there be judged concerning these matters.

²¹But when Paul appealed to be reserved for the decision of Augustus, I commanded him to be kept till I could send him to Caesar.”

²²Then Agrippa said to Festus, “I also would like to hear the man myself.” “Tomorrow,” he said, “you shall hear him.”

²³So the next day, when Agrippa and Bernice had come with great pomp, and had entered the auditorium with the commanders and the prominent men of the city, at Festus’ command Paul was brought in.

²⁴And Festus said: “King Agrippa and all the men who are here present with us, you see this man about whom the whole assembly of the Jews petitioned me, both at Jerusalem and here, crying out that he was not fit to live any longer.

²⁵But when I found that he had committed nothing deserving of death, and that he himself had appealed to Augustus, I decided to send him.

²⁶I have nothing certain to write to my lord concerning him. Therefore I have brought him out before you, and especially before you, King Agrippa, so that after the examination has taken place I may have something to write.

²⁷For it seems to me unreasonable to send a prisoner and not to specify the charges against him.”