Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹Once Jesus was in a certain place praying. As he finished, one of his disciples came to him and said, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.”

²Jesus said, “This is how you should pray: “Father, may your name be kept holy. May your Kingdom come soon.

³Give us each day the food we need,

⁴and forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us. And don’t let us yield to temptation. ”

⁵Then, teaching them more about prayer, he used this story: “Suppose you went to a friend’s house at midnight, wanting to borrow three loaves of bread. You say to him,

⁶‘A friend of mine has just arrived for a visit, and I have nothing for him to eat.’

⁷And suppose he calls out from his bedroom, ‘Don’t bother me. The door is locked for the night, and my family and I are all in bed. I can’t help you.’

⁸But I tell you this — though he won’t do it for friendship’s sake, if you keep knocking long enough, he will get up and give you whatever you need because of your shameless persistence.

⁹“And so I tell you, keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you.

¹⁰For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.

¹¹“You fathers — if your children ask for a fish, do you give them a snake instead?

¹²Or if they ask for an egg, do you give them a scorpion? Of course not!

¹³So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him.”

¹⁴One day Jesus cast out a demon from a man who couldn’t speak, and when the demon was gone, the man began to speak. The crowds were amazed,

¹⁵but some of them said, “No wonder he can cast out demons. He gets his power from Satan, the prince of demons.”

¹⁶Others, trying to test Jesus, demanded that he show them a miraculous sign from heaven to prove his authority.

¹⁷He knew their thoughts, so he said, “Any kingdom divided by civil war is doomed. A family splintered by feuding will fall apart.

¹⁸You say I am empowered by Satan. But if Satan is divided and fighting against himself, how can his kingdom survive?

¹⁹And if I am empowered by Satan, what about your own exorcists? They cast out demons, too, so they will condemn you for what you have said.

²⁰But if I am casting out demons by the power of God, then the Kingdom of God has arrived among you.

²¹For when a strong man is fully armed and guards his palace, his possessions are safe —

²²until someone even stronger attacks and overpowers him, strips him of his weapons, and carries off his belongings.

²³“Anyone who isn’t with me opposes me, and anyone who isn’t working with me is actually working against me.

²⁴“When an evil spirit leaves a person, it goes into the desert, searching for rest. But when it finds none, it says, ‘I will return to the person I came from.’

²⁵So it returns and finds that its former home is all swept and in order.

²⁶Then the spirit finds seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they all enter the person and live there. And so that person is worse off than before.”

²⁷As he was speaking, a woman in the crowd called out, “God bless your mother — the womb from which you came, and the breasts that nursed you!”

²⁸Jesus replied, “But even more blessed are all who hear the word of God and put it into practice.”

²⁹As the crowd pressed in on Jesus, he said, “This evil generation keeps asking me to show them a miraculous sign. But the only sign I will give them is the sign of Jonah.

³⁰What happened to him was a sign to the people of Nineveh that God had sent him. What happens to the Son of Man will be a sign to these people that he was sent by God.

³¹“The queen of Sheba will stand up against this generation on judgment day and condemn it, for she came from a distant land to hear the wisdom of Solomon. Now someone greater than Solomon is here — but you refuse to listen.

³²The people of Nineveh will also stand up against this generation on judgment day and condemn it, for they repented of their sins at the preaching of Jonah. Now someone greater than Jonah is here — but you refuse to repent.

³³“No one lights a lamp and then hides it or puts it under a basket. Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand, where its light can be seen by all who enter the house.

³⁴“Your eye is like a lamp that provides light for your body. When your eye is healthy, your whole body is filled with light. But when it is unhealthy, your body is filled with darkness.

³⁵Make sure that the light you think you have is not actually darkness.

³⁶If you are filled with light, with no dark corners, then your whole life will be radiant, as though a floodlight were filling you with light.”

³⁷As Jesus was speaking, one of the Pharisees invited him home for a meal. So he went in and took his place at the table.

³⁸His host was amazed to see that he sat down to eat without first performing the hand-washing ceremony required by Jewish custom.

³⁹Then the Lord said to him, “You Pharisees are so careful to clean the outside of the cup and the dish, but inside you are filthy — full of greed and wickedness!

⁴⁰Fools! Didn’t God make the inside as well as the outside?

⁴¹So clean the inside by giving gifts to the poor, and you will be clean all over.

⁴²“What sorrow awaits you Pharisees! For you are careful to tithe even the tiniest income from your herb gardens, but you ignore justice and the love of God. You should tithe, yes, but do not neglect the more important things.

⁴³“What sorrow awaits you Pharisees! For you love to sit in the seats of honor in the synagogues and receive respectful greetings as you walk in the marketplaces.

⁴⁴Yes, what sorrow awaits you! For you are like hidden graves in a field. People walk over them without knowing the corruption they are stepping on.”

⁴⁵“Teacher,” said an expert in religious law, “you have insulted us, too, in what you just said.”

⁴⁶“Yes,” said Jesus, “what sorrow also awaits you experts in religious law! For you crush people with unbearable religious demands, and you never lift a finger to ease the burden.

⁴⁷What sorrow awaits you! For you build monuments for the prophets your own ancestors killed long ago.

⁴⁸But in fact, you stand as witnesses who agree with what your ancestors did. They killed the prophets, and you join in their crime by building the monuments!

⁴⁹This is what God in his wisdom said about you: ‘I will send prophets and apostles to them, but they will kill some and persecute the others.’

⁵⁰“As a result, this generation will be held responsible for the murder of all God’s prophets from the creation of the world —

⁵¹from the murder of Abel to the murder of Zechariah, who was killed between the altar and the sanctuary. Yes, it will certainly be charged against this generation.

⁵²“What sorrow awaits you experts in religious law! For you remove the key to knowledge from the people. You don’t enter the Kingdom yourselves, and you prevent others from entering.”

⁵³As Jesus was leaving, the teachers of religious law and the Pharisees became hostile and tried to provoke him with many questions.

⁵⁴They wanted to trap him into saying something they could use against him.

¹After this presentation to Israel’s leaders, Moses and Aaron went and spoke to Pharaoh. They told him, “This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: Let my people go so they may hold a festival in my honor in the wilderness.”

²“Is that so?” retorted Pharaoh. “And who is the LORD? Why should I listen to him and let Israel go? I don’t know the LORD, and I will not let Israel go.”

³But Aaron and Moses persisted. “The God of the Hebrews has met with us,” they declared. “So let us take a three-day journey into the wilderness so we can offer sacrifices to the LORD our God. If we don’t, he will kill us with a plague or with the sword.”

⁴Pharaoh replied, “Moses and Aaron, why are you distracting the people from their tasks? Get back to work!

⁵Look, there are many of your people in the land, and you are stopping them from their work.”

⁶That same day Pharaoh sent this order to the Egyptian slave drivers and the Israelite foremen:

⁷“Do not supply any more straw for making bricks. Make the people get it themselves!

⁸But still require them to make the same number of bricks as before. Don’t reduce the quota. They are lazy. That’s why they are crying out, ‘Let us go and offer sacrifices to our God.’

⁹Load them down with more work. Make them sweat! That will teach them to listen to lies!”

¹⁰So the slave drivers and foremen went out and told the people: “This is what Pharaoh says: I will not provide any more straw for you.

¹¹Go and get it yourselves. Find it wherever you can. But you must produce just as many bricks as before!”

¹²So the people scattered throughout the land of Egypt in search of stubble to use as straw.

¹³Meanwhile, the Egyptian slave drivers continued to push hard. “Meet your daily quota of bricks, just as you did when we provided you with straw!” they demanded.

¹⁴Then they whipped the Israelite foremen they had put in charge of the work crews. “Why haven’t you met your quotas either yesterday or today?” they demanded.

¹⁵So the Israelite foremen went to Pharaoh and pleaded with him. “Please don’t treat your servants like this,” they begged.

¹⁶“We are given no straw, but the slave drivers still demand, ‘Make bricks!’ We are being beaten, but it isn’t our fault! Your own people are to blame!”

¹⁷But Pharaoh shouted, “You’re just lazy! Lazy! That’s why you’re saying, ‘Let us go and offer sacrifices to the LORD.’

¹⁸Now get back to work! No straw will be given to you, but you must still produce the full quota of bricks.”

¹⁹The Israelite foremen could see that they were in serious trouble when they were told, “You must not reduce the number of bricks you make each day.”

²⁰As they left Pharaoh’s court, they confronted Moses and Aaron, who were waiting outside for them.

²¹The foremen said to them, “May the LORD judge and punish you for making us stink before Pharaoh and his officials. You have put a sword into their hands, an excuse to kill us!”

²²Then Moses went back to the LORD and protested, “Why have you brought all this trouble on your own people, Lord? Why did you send me?

²³Ever since I came to Pharaoh as your spokesman, he has been even more brutal to your people. And you have done nothing to rescue them!”

¹Therefore I, a prisoner for serving the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of your calling, for you have been called by God.

²Always be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other’s faults because of your love.

³Make every effort to keep yourselves united in the Spirit, binding yourselves together with peace.

⁴For there is one body and one Spirit, just as you have been called to one glorious hope for the future.

⁵There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism,

⁶one God and Father of all, who is over all, in all, and living through all.

⁷However, he has given each one of us a special gift through the generosity of Christ.

⁸That is why the Scriptures say, “When he ascended to the heights, he led a crowd of captives and gave gifts to his people.”

⁹Notice that it says “he ascended.” This clearly means that Christ also descended to our lowly world.

¹⁰And the same one who descended is the one who ascended higher than all the heavens, so that he might fill the entire universe with himself.

¹¹Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers.

¹²Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ.

¹³This will continue until we all come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God’s Son that we will be mature in the Lord, measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ.

¹⁴Then we will no longer be immature like children. We won’t be tossed and blown about by every wind of new teaching. We will not be influenced when people try to trick us with lies so clever they sound like the truth.

¹⁵Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church.

¹⁶He makes the whole body fit together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love.

¹⁷With the Lord’s authority I say this: Live no longer as the Gentiles do, for they are hopelessly confused.

¹⁸Their minds are full of darkness; they wander far from the life God gives because they have closed their minds and hardened their hearts against him.

¹⁹They have no sense of shame. They live for lustful pleasure and eagerly practice every kind of impurity.

²⁰But that isn’t what you learned about Christ.

²¹Since you have heard about Jesus and have learned the truth that comes from him,

²²throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception.

²³Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes.

²⁴Put on your new nature, created to be like God — truly righteous and holy.

²⁵So stop telling lies. Let us tell our neighbors the truth, for we are all parts of the same body.

²⁶And “don’t sin by letting anger control you.” Don’t let the sun go down while you are still angry,

²⁷for anger gives a foothold to the devil.

²⁸If you are a thief, quit stealing. Instead, use your hands for good hard work, and then give generously to others in need.

²⁹Don’t use foul or abusive language. Let everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them.

³⁰And do not bring sorrow to God’s Holy Spirit by the way you live. Remember, he has identified you as his own, guaranteeing that you will be saved on the day of redemption.

³¹Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, and slander, as well as all types of evil behavior.

³²Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you.

¹Then I witnessed in heaven an event of great significance. I saw a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon beneath her feet, and a crown of twelve stars on her head.

²She was pregnant, and she cried out because of her labor pains and the agony of giving birth.

³Then I witnessed in heaven another significant event. I saw a large red dragon with seven heads and ten horns, with seven crowns on his heads.

⁴His tail swept away one-third of the stars in the sky, and he threw them to the earth. He stood in front of the woman as she was about to give birth, ready to devour her baby as soon as it was born.

⁵She gave birth to a son who was to rule all nations with an iron rod. And her child was snatched away from the dragon and was caught up to God and to his throne.

⁶And the woman fled into the wilderness, where God had prepared a place to care for her for 1,260 days.

⁷Then there was war in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon and his angels.

⁸And the dragon lost the battle, and he and his angels were forced out of heaven.

⁹This great dragon — the ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, the one deceiving the whole world — was thrown down to the earth with all his angels.

¹⁰Then I heard a loud voice shouting across the heavens, “It has come at last — salvation and power and the Kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Christ. For the accuser of our brothers and sisters has been thrown down to earth — the one who accuses them before our God day and night.

¹¹And they have defeated him by the blood of the Lamb and by their testimony. And they did not love their lives so much that they were afraid to die.

¹²Therefore, rejoice, O heavens! And you who live in the heavens, rejoice! But terror will come on the earth and the sea, for the devil has come down to you in great anger, knowing that he has little time.”

¹³When the dragon realized that he had been thrown down to the earth, he pursued the woman who had given birth to the male child.

¹⁴But she was given two wings like those of a great eagle so she could fly to the place prepared for her in the wilderness. There she would be cared for and protected from the dragon for a time, times, and half a time.

¹⁵Then the dragon tried to drown the woman with a flood of water that flowed from his mouth.

¹⁶But the earth helped her by opening its mouth and swallowing the river that gushed out from the mouth of the dragon.

¹⁷And the dragon was angry at the woman and declared war against the rest of her children — all who keep God’s commandments and maintain their testimony for Jesus.

¹⁸Then the dragon took his stand on the shore beside the sea.

¹This is Solomon’s song of songs, more wonderful than any other.

²Kiss me and kiss me again, for your love is sweeter than wine.

³How pleasing is your fragrance; your name is like the spreading fragrance of scented oils. No wonder all the young women love you!

⁴Take me with you; come, let’s run! The king has brought me into his bedroom. Young Women of Jerusalem How happy we are for you, O king. We praise your love even more than wine. Young Woman How right they are to adore you.

⁵I am dark but beautiful, O women of Jerusalem — dark as the tents of Kedar, dark as the curtains of Solomon’s tents.

⁶Don’t stare at me because I am dark — the sun has darkened my skin. My brothers were angry with me; they forced me to care for their vineyards, so I couldn’t care for myself — my own vineyard.

⁷Tell me, my love, where are you leading your flock today? Where will you rest your sheep at noon? For why should I wander like a prostitute among your friends and their flocks?

⁸If you don’t know, O most beautiful woman, follow the trail of my flock, and graze your young goats by the shepherds’ tents.

⁹You are as exciting, my darling, as a mare among Pharaoh’s stallions.

¹⁰How lovely are your cheeks; your earrings set them afire! How lovely is your neck, enhanced by a string of jewels.

¹¹We will make for you earrings of gold and beads of silver.

¹²The king is lying on his couch, enchanted by the fragrance of my perfume.

¹³My lover is like a sachet of myrrh lying between my breasts.

¹⁴He is like a bouquet of sweet henna blossoms from the vineyards of En-gedi.

¹⁵How beautiful you are, my darling, how beautiful! Your eyes are like doves.

¹⁶You are so handsome, my love, pleasing beyond words! The soft grass is our bed;

¹⁷fragrant cedar branches are the beams of our house, and pleasant smelling firs are the rafters.

¹Listen to my prayer, O God. Do not ignore my cry for help!

²Please listen and answer me, for I am overwhelmed by my troubles.

³My enemies shout at me, making loud and wicked threats. They bring trouble on me and angrily hunt me down.

⁴My heart pounds in my chest. The terror of death assaults me.

⁵Fear and trembling overwhelm me, and I can’t stop shaking.

⁶Oh, that I had wings like a dove; then I would fly away and rest!

⁷I would fly far away to the quiet of the wilderness. Interlude

⁸How quickly I would escape — far from this wild storm of hatred.

⁹Confuse them, Lord, and frustrate their plans, for I see violence and conflict in the city.

¹⁰Its walls are patrolled day and night against invaders, but the real danger is wickedness within the city.

¹¹Everything is falling apart; threats and cheating are rampant in the streets.

¹²It is not an enemy who taunts me — I could bear that. It is not my foes who so arrogantly insult me — I could have hidden from them.

¹³Instead, it is you — my equal, my companion and close friend.

¹⁴What good fellowship we once enjoyed as we walked together to the house of God.

¹⁵Let death stalk my enemies; let the grave swallow them alive, for evil makes its home within them.

¹⁶But I will call on God, and the LORD will rescue me.

¹⁷Morning, noon, and night I cry out in my distress, and the LORD hears my voice.

¹⁸He ransoms me and keeps me safe from the battle waged against me, though many still oppose me.

¹⁹God, who has ruled forever, will hear me and humble them. Interlude For my enemies refuse to change their ways; they do not fear God.

²⁰As for my companion, he betrayed his friends; he broke his promises.

²¹His words are as smooth as butter, but in his heart is war. His words are as soothing as lotion, but underneath are daggers!

²²Give your burdens to the LORD, and he will take care of you. He will not permit the godly to slip and fall.

²³But you, O God, will send the wicked down to the pit of destruction. Murderers and liars will die young, but I am trusting you to save me.

¹Don’t envy evil people or desire their company.

²For their hearts plot violence, and their words always stir up trouble.

³A house is built by wisdom and becomes strong through good sense.

⁴Through knowledge its rooms are filled with all sorts of precious riches and valuables.

⁵The wise are mightier than the strong, and those with knowledge grow stronger and stronger.

⁶So don’t go to war without wise guidance; victory depends on having many advisers.

⁷Wisdom is too lofty for fools. Among leaders at the city gate, they have nothing to say.

⁸A person who plans evil will get a reputation as a troublemaker.

⁹The schemes of a fool are sinful; everyone detests a mocker.

¹⁰If you fail under pressure, your strength is too small.

¹¹Rescue those who are unjustly sentenced to die; save them as they stagger to their death.

¹²Don’t excuse yourself by saying, “Look, we didn’t know.” For God understands all hearts, and he sees you. He who guards your soul knows you knew. He will repay all people as their actions deserve.

¹³My child, eat honey, for it is good, and the honeycomb is sweet to the taste.

¹⁴In the same way, wisdom is sweet to your soul. If you find it, you will have a bright future, and your hopes will not be cut short.

¹⁵Don’t wait in ambush at the home of the godly, and don’t raid the house where the godly live.

¹⁶The godly may trip seven times, but they will get up again. But one disaster is enough to overthrow the wicked.

¹⁷Don’t rejoice when your enemies fall; don’t be happy when they stumble.

¹⁸For the LORD will be displeased with you and will turn his anger away from them.

¹⁹Don’t fret because of evildoers; don’t envy the wicked.

²⁰For evil people have no future; the light of the wicked will be snuffed out.

²¹My child, fear the LORD and the king. Don’t associate with rebels,

²²for disaster will hit them suddenly. Who knows what punishment will come from the LORD and the king?

²³Here are some further sayings of the wise: It is wrong to show favoritism when passing judgment.

²⁴A judge who says to the wicked, “You are innocent,” will be cursed by many people and denounced by the nations.

²⁵But it will go well for those who convict the guilty; rich blessings will be showered on them.

²⁶An honest answer is like a kiss of friendship.

²⁷Do your planning and prepare your fields before building your house.

²⁸Don’t testify against your neighbors without cause; don’t lie about them.

²⁹And don’t say, “Now I can pay them back for what they’ve done to me! I’ll get even with them!”

³⁰I walked by the field of a lazy person, the vineyard of one with no common sense.

³¹I saw that it was overgrown with nettles. It was covered with weeds, and its walls were broken down.

³²Then, as I looked and thought about it, I learned this lesson:

³³A little extra sleep, a little more slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest —

³⁴then poverty will pounce on you like a bandit; scarcity will attack you like an armed robber.

¹The Ark of the LORD remained in Philistine territory seven months in all.

²Then the Philistines called in their priests and diviners and asked them, “What should we do about the Ark of the LORD? Tell us how to return it to its own country.”

³“Send the Ark of the God of Israel back with a gift,” they were told. “Send a guilt offering so the plague will stop. Then, if you are healed, you will know it was his hand that caused the plague.”

⁴“What sort of guilt offering should we send?” they asked. And they were told, “Since the plague has struck both you and your five rulers, make five gold tumors and five gold rats, just like those that have ravaged your land.

⁵Make these things to show honor to the God of Israel. Perhaps then he will stop afflicting you, your gods, and your land.

⁶Don’t be stubborn and rebellious as Pharaoh and the Egyptians were. By the time God was finished with them, they were eager to let Israel go.

⁷“Now build a new cart, and find two cows that have just given birth to calves. Make sure the cows have never been yoked to a cart. Hitch the cows to the cart, but shut their calves away from them in a pen.

⁸Put the Ark of the LORD on the cart, and beside it place a chest containing the gold rats and gold tumors you are sending as a guilt offering. Then let the cows go wherever they want.

⁹If they cross the border of our land and go to Beth-shemesh, we will know it was the LORD who brought this great disaster upon us. If they don’t, we will know it was not his hand that caused the plague. It came simply by chance.”

¹⁰So these instructions were carried out. Two cows were hitched to the cart, and their newborn calves were shut up in a pen.

¹¹Then the Ark of the LORD and the chest containing the gold rats and gold tumors were placed on the cart.

¹²And sure enough, without veering off in other directions, the cows went straight along the road toward Beth-shemesh, lowing as they went. The Philistine rulers followed them as far as the border of Beth-shemesh.

¹³The people of Beth-shemesh were harvesting wheat in the valley, and when they saw the Ark, they were overjoyed!

¹⁴The cart came into the field of a man named Joshua and stopped beside a large rock. So the people broke up the wood of the cart for a fire and killed the cows and sacrificed them to the LORD as a burnt offering.

¹⁵Several men of the tribe of Levi lifted the Ark of the LORD and the chest containing the gold rats and gold tumors from the cart and placed them on the large rock. Many sacrifices and burnt offerings were offered to the LORD that day by the people of Beth-shemesh.

¹⁶The five Philistine rulers watched all this and then returned to Ekron that same day.

¹⁷The five gold tumors sent by the Philistines as a guilt offering to the LORD were gifts from the rulers of Ashdod, Gaza, Ashkelon, Gath, and Ekron.

¹⁸The five gold rats represented the five Philistine towns and their surrounding villages, which were controlled by the five rulers. The large rock at Beth-shemesh, where they set the Ark of the LORD, still stands in the field of Joshua as a witness to what happened there.

¹⁹But the LORD killed seventy men from Beth-shemesh because they looked into the Ark of the LORD. And the people mourned greatly because of what the LORD had done.

²⁰“Who is able to stand in the presence of the LORD, this holy God?” they cried out. “Where can we send the Ark from here?”

²¹So they sent messengers to the people at Kiriath-jearim and told them, “The Philistines have returned the Ark of the LORD. Come here and get it!”

¹“Is anyone thirsty? Come and drink — even if you have no money! Come, take your choice of wine or milk — it’s all free!

²Why spend your money on food that does not give you strength? Why pay for food that does you no good? Listen to me, and you will eat what is good. You will enjoy the finest food.

³“Come to me with your ears wide open. Listen, and you will find life. I will make an everlasting covenant with you. I will give you all the unfailing love I promised to David.

⁴See how I used him to display my power among the peoples. I made him a leader among the nations.

⁵You also will command nations you do not know, and peoples unknown to you will come running to obey, because I, the LORD your God, the Holy One of Israel, have made you glorious.”

⁶Seek the LORD while you can find him. Call on him now while he is near.

⁷Let the wicked change their ways and banish the very thought of doing wrong. Let them turn to the LORD that he may have mercy on them. Yes, turn to our God, for he will forgive generously.

⁸“My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says the LORD. “And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine.

⁹For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.

¹⁰“The rain and snow come down from the heavens and stay on the ground to water the earth. They cause the grain to grow, producing seed for the farmer and bread for the hungry.

¹¹It is the same with my word. I send it out, and it always produces fruit. It will accomplish all I want it to, and it will prosper everywhere I send it.

¹²You will live in joy and peace. The mountains and hills will burst into song, and the trees of the field will clap their hands!

¹³Where once there were thorns, cypress trees will grow. Where nettles grew, myrtles will sprout up. These events will bring great honor to the LORD’s name; they will be an everlasting sign of his power and love.”

¹When the time came, we set sail for Italy. Paul and several other prisoners were placed in the custody of a Roman officer named Julius, a captain of the Imperial Regiment.

²Aristarchus, a Macedonian from Thessalonica, was also with us. We left on a ship whose home port was Adramyttium on the northwest coast of the province of Asia; it was scheduled to make several stops at ports along the coast of the province.

³The next day when we docked at Sidon, Julius was very kind to Paul and let him go ashore to visit with friends so they could provide for his needs.

⁴Putting out to sea from there, we encountered strong headwinds that made it difficult to keep the ship on course, so we sailed north of Cyprus between the island and the mainland.

⁵Keeping to the open sea, we passed along the coast of Cilicia and Pamphylia, landing at Myra, in the province of Lycia.

⁶There the commanding officer found an Egyptian ship from Alexandria that was bound for Italy, and he put us on board.

⁷We had several days of slow sailing, and after great difficulty we finally neared Cnidus. But the wind was against us, so we sailed across to Crete and along the sheltered coast of the island, past the cape of Salmone.

⁸We struggled along the coast with great difficulty and finally arrived at Fair Havens, near the town of Lasea.

⁹We had lost a lot of time. The weather was becoming dangerous for sea travel because it was so late in the fall, and Paul spoke to the ship’s officers about it.

¹⁰“Men,” he said, “I believe there is trouble ahead if we go on — shipwreck, loss of cargo, and danger to our lives as well.”

¹¹But the officer in charge of the prisoners listened more to the ship’s captain and the owner than to Paul.

¹²And since Fair Havens was an exposed harbor — a poor place to spend the winter — most of the crew wanted to go on to Phoenix, farther up the coast of Crete, and spend the winter there. Phoenix was a good harbor with only a southwest and northwest exposure.

¹³When a light wind began blowing from the south, the sailors thought they could make it. So they pulled up anchor and sailed close to the shore of Crete.

¹⁴But the weather changed abruptly, and a wind of typhoon strength (called a “northeaster”) burst across the island and blew us out to sea.

¹⁵The sailors couldn’t turn the ship into the wind, so they gave up and let it run before the gale.

¹⁶We sailed along the sheltered side of a small island named Cauda, where with great difficulty we hoisted aboard the lifeboat being towed behind us.

¹⁷Then the sailors bound ropes around the hull of the ship to strengthen it. They were afraid of being driven across to the sandbars of Syrtis off the African coast, so they lowered the sea anchor to slow the ship and were driven before the wind.

¹⁸The next day, as gale-force winds continued to batter the ship, the crew began throwing the cargo overboard.

¹⁹The following day they even took some of the ship’s gear and threw it overboard.

²⁰The terrible storm raged for many days, blotting out the sun and the stars, until at last all hope was gone.

²¹No one had eaten for a long time. Finally, Paul called the crew together and said, “Men, you should have listened to me in the first place and not left Crete. You would have avoided all this damage and loss.

²²But take courage! None of you will lose your lives, even though the ship will go down.

²³For last night an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I serve stood beside me,

²⁴and he said, ‘Don’t be afraid, Paul, for you will surely stand trial before Caesar! What’s more, God in his goodness has granted safety to everyone sailing with you.’

²⁵So take courage! For I believe God. It will be just as he said.

²⁶But we will be shipwrecked on an island.”

²⁷About midnight on the fourteenth night of the storm, as we were being driven across the Sea of Adria, the sailors sensed land was near.

²⁸They dropped a weighted line and found that the water was 120 feet deep. But a little later they measured again and found it was only 90 feet deep.

²⁹At this rate they were afraid we would soon be driven against the rocks along the shore, so they threw out four anchors from the back of the ship and prayed for daylight.

³⁰Then the sailors tried to abandon the ship; they lowered the lifeboat as though they were going to put out anchors from the front of the ship.

³¹But Paul said to the commanding officer and the soldiers, “You will all die unless the sailors stay aboard.”

³²So the soldiers cut the ropes to the lifeboat and let it drift away.

³³Just as day was dawning, Paul urged everyone to eat. “You have been so worried that you haven’t touched food for two weeks,” he said.

³⁴“Please eat something now for your own good. For not a hair of your heads will perish.”

³⁵Then he took some bread, gave thanks to God before them all, and broke off a piece and ate it.

³⁶Then everyone was encouraged and began to eat —

³⁷all 276 of us who were on board.

³⁸After eating, the crew lightened the ship further by throwing the cargo of wheat overboard.

³⁹When morning dawned, they didn’t recognize the coastline, but they saw a bay with a beach and wondered if they could get to shore by running the ship aground.

⁴⁰So they cut off the anchors and left them in the sea. Then they lowered the rudders, raised the foresail, and headed toward shore.

⁴¹But they hit a shoal and ran the ship aground too soon. The bow of the ship stuck fast, while the stern was repeatedly smashed by the force of the waves and began to break apart.

⁴²The soldiers wanted to kill the prisoners to make sure they didn’t swim ashore and escape.

⁴³But the commanding officer wanted to spare Paul, so he didn’t let them carry out their plan. Then he ordered all who could swim to jump overboard first and make for land.

⁴⁴The others held on to planks or debris from the broken ship. So everyone escaped safely to shore.