Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹Now Jesus learned that the Pharisees had heard that he was gaining and baptizing more disciples than John—

²although in fact it was not Jesus who baptized, but his disciples.

³So he left Judea and went back once more to Galilee.

⁴Now he had to go through Samaria.

⁵So he came to a town in Samaria called Sychar, near the plot of ground Jacob had given to his son Joseph.

⁶Jacob’s well was there, and Jesus, tired as he was from the journey, sat down by the well. It was about noon.

⁷When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, “Will you give me a drink?”

⁸(His disciples had gone into the town to buy food.)

⁹The Samaritan woman said to him, “You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?” (For Jews do not associate with Samaritans.)

¹⁰Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.”

¹¹“Sir,” the woman said, “you have nothing to draw with and the well is deep. Where can you get this living water?

¹²Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did also his sons and his livestock?”

¹³Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again,

¹⁴but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”

¹⁵The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water so that I won’t get thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw water.”

¹⁶He told her, “Go, call your husband and come back.”

¹⁷“I have no husband,” she replied. Jesus said to her, “You are right when you say you have no husband.

¹⁸The fact is, you have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband. What you have just said is quite true.”

¹⁹“Sir,” the woman said, “I can see that you are a prophet.

²⁰Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem.”

²¹“Woman,” Jesus replied, “believe me, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem.

²²You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews.

²³Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks.

²⁴God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.”

²⁵The woman said, “I know that Messiah” (called Christ) “is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.”

²⁶Then Jesus declared, “I, the one speaking to you—I am he.”

²⁷Just then his disciples returned and were surprised to find him talking with a woman. But no one asked, “What do you want?” or “Why are you talking with her?”

²⁸Then, leaving her water jar, the woman went back to the town and said to the people,

²⁹“Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Messiah?”

³⁰They came out of the town and made their way toward him.

³¹Meanwhile his disciples urged him, “Rabbi, eat something.”

³²But he said to them, “I have food to eat that you know nothing about.”

³³Then his disciples said to each other, “Could someone have brought him food?”

³⁴“My food,” said Jesus, “is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work.

³⁵Don’t you have a saying, ‘It’s still four months until harvest’? I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest.

³⁶Even now the one who reaps draws a wage and harvests a crop for eternal life, so that the sower and the reaper may be glad together.

³⁷Thus the saying ‘One sows and another reaps’ is true.

³⁸I sent you to reap what you have not worked for. Others have done the hard work, and you have reaped the benefits of their labor.”

³⁹Many of the Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman’s testimony, “He told me everything I ever did.”

⁴⁰So when the Samaritans came to him, they urged him to stay with them, and he stayed two days.

⁴¹And because of his words many more became believers.

⁴²They said to the woman, “We no longer believe just because of what you said; now we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this man really is the Savior of the world.”

⁴³After the two days he left for Galilee.

⁴⁴(Now Jesus himself had pointed out that a prophet has no honor in his own country.)

⁴⁵When he arrived in Galilee, the Galileans welcomed him. They had seen all that he had done in Jerusalem at the Passover Festival, for they also had been there.

⁴⁶Once more he visited Cana in Galilee, where he had turned the water into wine. And there was a certain royal official whose son lay sick at Capernaum.

⁴⁷When this man heard that Jesus had arrived in Galilee from Judea, he went to him and begged him to come and heal his son, who was close to death.

⁴⁸“Unless you people see signs and wonders,” Jesus told him, “you will never believe.”

⁴⁹The royal official said, “Sir, come down before my child dies.”

⁵⁰“Go,” Jesus replied, “your son will live.” The man took Jesus at his word and departed.

⁵¹While he was still on the way, his servants met him with the news that his boy was living.

⁵²When he inquired as to the time when his son got better, they said to him, “Yesterday, at one in the afternoon, the fever left him.”

⁵³Then the father realized that this was the exact time at which Jesus had said to him, “Your son will live.” So he and his whole household believed.

⁵⁴This was the second sign Jesus performed after coming from Judea to Galilee.

¹“Whoever steals an ox or a sheep and slaughters it or sells it must pay back five head of cattle for the ox and four sheep for the sheep.

²“If a thief is caught breaking in at night and is struck a fatal blow, the defender is not guilty of bloodshed;

³but if it happens after sunrise, the defender is guilty of bloodshed. “Anyone who steals must certainly make restitution, but if they have nothing, they must be sold to pay for their theft.

⁴If the stolen animal is found alive in their possession—whether ox or donkey or sheep—they must pay back double.

⁵“If anyone grazes their livestock in a field or vineyard and lets them stray and they graze in someone else’s field, the offender must make restitution from the best of their own field or vineyard.

⁶“If a fire breaks out and spreads into thornbushes so that it burns shocks of grain or standing grain or the whole field, the one who started the fire must make restitution.

⁷“If anyone gives a neighbor silver or goods for safekeeping and they are stolen from the neighbor’s house, the thief, if caught, must pay back double.

⁸But if the thief is not found, the owner of the house must appear before the judges, and they must determine whether the owner of the house has laid hands on the other person’s property.

⁹In all cases of illegal possession of an ox, a donkey, a sheep, a garment, or any other lost property about which somebody says, ‘This is mine,’ both parties are to bring their cases before the judges. The one whom the judges declare guilty must pay back double to the other.

¹⁰“If anyone gives a donkey, an ox, a sheep or any other animal to their neighbor for safekeeping and it dies or is injured or is taken away while no one is looking,

¹¹the issue between them will be settled by the taking of an oath before the LORD that the neighbor did not lay hands on the other person’s property. The owner is to accept this, and no restitution is required.

¹²But if the animal was stolen from the neighbor, restitution must be made to the owner.

¹³If it was torn to pieces by a wild animal, the neighbor shall bring in the remains as evidence and shall not be required to pay for the torn animal.

¹⁴“If anyone borrows an animal from their neighbor and it is injured or dies while the owner is not present, they must make restitution.

¹⁵But if the owner is with the animal, the borrower will not have to pay. If the animal was hired, the money paid for the hire covers the loss.

¹⁶“If a man seduces a virgin who is not pledged to be married and sleeps with her, he must pay the bride-price, and she shall be his wife.

¹⁷If her father absolutely refuses to give her to him, he must still pay the bride-price for virgins.

¹⁸“Do not allow a sorceress to live.

¹⁹“Anyone who has sexual relations with an animal is to be put to death.

²⁰“Whoever sacrifices to any god other than the LORD must be destroyed.

²¹“Do not mistreat or oppress a foreigner, for you were foreigners in Egypt.

²²“Do not take advantage of the widow or the fatherless.

²³If you do and they cry out to me, I will certainly hear their cry.

²⁴My anger will be aroused, and I will kill you with the sword; your wives will become widows and your children fatherless.

²⁵“If you lend money to one of my people among you who is needy, do not treat it like a business deal; charge no interest.

²⁶If you take your neighbor’s cloak as a pledge, return it by sunset,

²⁷because that cloak is the only covering your neighbor has. What else can they sleep in? When they cry out to me, I will hear, for I am compassionate.

²⁸“Do not blaspheme God or curse the ruler of your people.

²⁹“Do not hold back offerings from your granaries or your vats. “You must give me the firstborn of your sons.

³⁰Do the same with your cattle and your sheep. Let them stay with their mothers for seven days, but give them to me on the eighth day.

³¹“You are to be my holy people. So do not eat the meat of an animal torn by wild beasts; throw it to the dogs.

¹This Melchizedek was king of Salem and priest of God Most High. He met Abraham returning from the defeat of the kings and blessed him,

²and Abraham gave him a tenth of everything. First, the name Melchizedek means “king of righteousness”; then also, “king of Salem” means “king of peace.”

³Without father or mother, without genealogy, without beginning of days or end of life, resembling the Son of God, he remains a priest forever.

⁴Just think how great he was: Even the patriarch Abraham gave him a tenth of the plunder!

⁵Now the law requires the descendants of Levi who become priests to collect a tenth from the people—that is, from their fellow Israelites—even though they also are descended from Abraham.

⁶This man, however, did not trace his descent from Levi, yet he collected a tenth from Abraham and blessed him who had the promises.

⁷And without doubt the lesser is blessed by the greater.

⁸In the one case, the tenth is collected by people who die; but in the other case, by him who is declared to be living.

⁹One might even say that Levi, who collects the tenth, paid the tenth through Abraham,

¹⁰because when Melchizedek met Abraham, Levi was still in the body of his ancestor.

¹¹If perfection could have been attained through the Levitical priesthood—and indeed the law given to the people established that priesthood—why was there still need for another priest to come, one in the order of Melchizedek, not in the order of Aaron?

¹²For when the priesthood is changed, the law must be changed also.

¹³He of whom these things are said belonged to a different tribe, and no one from that tribe has ever served at the altar.

¹⁴For it is clear that our Lord descended from Judah, and in regard to that tribe Moses said nothing about priests.

¹⁵And what we have said is even more clear if another priest like Melchizedek appears,

¹⁶one who has become a priest not on the basis of a regulation as to his ancestry but on the basis of the power of an indestructible life.

¹⁷For it is declared: “You are a priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek.”

¹⁸The former regulation is set aside because it was weak and useless

¹⁹(for the law made nothing perfect), and a better hope is introduced, by which we draw near to God.

²⁰And it was not without an oath! Others became priests without any oath,

²¹but he became a priest with an oath when God said to him: “The Lord has sworn and will not change his mind: ‘You are a priest forever.’ ”

²²Because of this oath, Jesus has become the guarantor of a better covenant.

²³Now there have been many of those priests, since death prevented them from continuing in office;

²⁴but because Jesus lives forever, he has a permanent priesthood.

²⁵Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them.

²⁶Such a high priest truly meets our need—one who is holy, blameless, pure, set apart from sinners, exalted above the heavens.

²⁷Unlike the other high priests, he does not need to offer sacrifices day after day, first for his own sins, and then for the sins of the people. He sacrificed for their sins once for all when he offered himself.

²⁸For the law appoints as high priests men in all their weakness; but the oath, which came after the law, appointed the Son, who has been made perfect forever.

¹“I loathe my very life; therefore I will give free rein to my complaint and speak out in the bitterness of my soul.

²I say to God: Do not declare me guilty, but tell me what charges you have against me.

³Does it please you to oppress me, to spurn the work of your hands, while you smile on the plans of the wicked?

⁴Do you have eyes of flesh? Do you see as a mortal sees?

⁵Are your days like those of a mortal or your years like those of a strong man,

⁶that you must search out my faults and probe after my sin—

⁷though you know that I am not guilty and that no one can rescue me from your hand?

⁸“Your hands shaped me and made me. Will you now turn and destroy me?

⁹Remember that you molded me like clay. Will you now turn me to dust again?

¹⁰Did you not pour me out like milk and curdle me like cheese,

¹¹clothe me with skin and flesh and knit me together with bones and sinews?

¹²You gave me life and showed me kindness, and in your providence watched over my spirit.

¹³“But this is what you concealed in your heart, and I know that this was in your mind:

¹⁴If I sinned, you would be watching me and would not let my offense go unpunished.

¹⁵If I am guilty—woe to me! Even if I am innocent, I cannot lift my head, for I am full of shame and drowned in my affliction.

¹⁶If I hold my head high, you stalk me like a lion and again display your awesome power against me.

¹⁷You bring new witnesses against me and increase your anger toward me; your forces come against me wave upon wave.

¹⁸“Why then did you bring me out of the womb? I wish I had died before any eye saw me.

¹⁹If only I had never come into being, or had been carried straight from the womb to the grave!

²⁰Are not my few days almost over? Turn away from me so I can have a moment’s joy

²¹before I go to the place of no return, to the land of gloom and utter darkness,

²²to the land of deepest night, of utter darkness and disorder, where even the light is like darkness.”

¹Of Solomon. Endow the king with your justice, O God, the royal son with your righteousness.

²May he judge your people in righteousness, your afflicted ones with justice.

³May the mountains bring prosperity to the people, the hills the fruit of righteousness.

⁴May he defend the afflicted among the people and save the children of the needy; may he crush the oppressor.

⁵May he endure as long as the sun, as long as the moon, through all generations.

⁶May he be like rain falling on a mown field, like showers watering the earth.

⁷In his days may the righteous flourish and prosperity abound till the moon is no more.

⁸May he rule from sea to sea and from the River to the ends of the earth.

⁹May the desert tribes bow before him and his enemies lick the dust.

¹⁰May the kings of Tarshish and of distant shores bring tribute to him. May the kings of Sheba and Seba present him gifts.

¹¹May all kings bow down to him and all nations serve him.

¹²For he will deliver the needy who cry out, the afflicted who have no one to help.

¹³He will take pity on the weak and the needy and save the needy from death.

¹⁴He will rescue them from oppression and violence, for precious is their blood in his sight.

¹⁵Long may he live! May gold from Sheba be given him. May people ever pray for him and bless him all day long.

¹⁶May grain abound throughout the land; on the tops of the hills may it sway. May the crops flourish like Lebanon and thrive like the grass of the field.

¹⁷May his name endure forever; may it continue as long as the sun. Then all nations will be blessed through him, and they will call him blessed.

¹⁸Praise be to the LORD God, the God of Israel, who alone does marvelous deeds.

¹⁹Praise be to his glorious name forever; may the whole earth be filled with his glory. Amen and Amen.

²⁰This concludes the prayers of David son of Jesse.

¹The proverbs of Solomon: A wise son brings joy to his father, but a foolish son brings grief to his mother.

²Ill-gotten treasures have no lasting value, but righteousness delivers from death.

³The LORD does not let the righteous go hungry, but he thwarts the craving of the wicked.

⁴Lazy hands make for poverty, but diligent hands bring wealth.

⁵He who gathers crops in summer is a prudent son, but he who sleeps during harvest is a disgraceful son.

⁶Blessings crown the head of the righteous, but violence overwhelms the mouth of the wicked.

⁷The name of the righteous is used in blessings, but the name of the wicked will rot.

⁸The wise in heart accept commands, but a chattering fool comes to ruin.

⁹Whoever walks in integrity walks securely, but whoever takes crooked paths will be found out.

¹⁰Whoever winks maliciously causes grief, and a chattering fool comes to ruin.

¹¹The mouth of the righteous is a fountain of life, but the mouth of the wicked conceals violence.

¹²Hatred stirs up conflict, but love covers over all wrongs.

¹³Wisdom is found on the lips of the discerning, but a rod is for the back of one who has no sense.

¹⁴The wise store up knowledge, but the mouth of a fool invites ruin.

¹⁵The wealth of the rich is their fortified city, but poverty is the ruin of the poor.

¹⁶The wages of the righteous is life, but the earnings of the wicked are sin and death.

¹⁷Whoever heeds discipline shows the way to life, but whoever ignores correction leads others astray.

¹⁸Whoever conceals hatred with lying lips and spreads slander is a fool.

¹⁹Sin is not ended by multiplying words, but the prudent hold their tongues.

²⁰The tongue of the righteous is choice silver, but the heart of the wicked is of little value.

²¹The lips of the righteous nourish many, but fools die for lack of sense.

²²The blessing of the LORD brings wealth, without painful toil for it.

²³A fool finds pleasure in wicked schemes, but a person of understanding delights in wisdom.

²⁴What the wicked dread will overtake them; what the righteous desire will be granted.

²⁵When the storm has swept by, the wicked are gone, but the righteous stand firm forever.

²⁶As vinegar to the teeth and smoke to the eyes, so are sluggards to those who send them.

²⁷The fear of the LORD adds length to life, but the years of the wicked are cut short.

²⁸The prospect of the righteous is joy, but the hopes of the wicked come to nothing.

²⁹The way of the LORD is a refuge for the blameless, but it is the ruin of those who do evil.

³⁰The righteous will never be uprooted, but the wicked will not remain in the land.

³¹From the mouth of the righteous comes the fruit of wisdom, but a perverse tongue will be silenced.

³²The lips of the righteous know what finds favor, but the mouth of the wicked only what is perverse.

¹When David was told, “Look, the Philistines are fighting against Keilah and are looting the threshing floors,”

²he inquired of the LORD, saying, “Shall I go and attack these Philistines?” The LORD answered him, “Go, attack the Philistines and save Keilah.”

³But David’s men said to him, “Here in Judah we are afraid. How much more, then, if we go to Keilah against the Philistine forces!”

⁴Once again David inquired of the LORD, and the LORD answered him, “Go down to Keilah, for I am going to give the Philistines into your hand.”

⁵So David and his men went to Keilah, fought the Philistines and carried off their livestock. He inflicted heavy losses on the Philistines and saved the people of Keilah.

⁶(Now Abiathar son of Ahimelek had brought the ephod down with him when he fled to David at Keilah.)

⁷Saul was told that David had gone to Keilah, and he said, “God has delivered him into my hands, for David has imprisoned himself by entering a town with gates and bars.”

⁸And Saul called up all his forces for battle, to go down to Keilah to besiege David and his men.

⁹When David learned that Saul was plotting against him, he said to Abiathar the priest, “Bring the ephod.”

¹⁰David said, “LORD, God of Israel, your servant has heard definitely that Saul plans to come to Keilah and destroy the town on account of me.

¹¹Will the citizens of Keilah surrender me to him? Will Saul come down, as your servant has heard? LORD, God of Israel, tell your servant.” And the LORD said, “He will.”

¹²Again David asked, “Will the citizens of Keilah surrender me and my men to Saul?” And the LORD said, “They will.”

¹³So David and his men, about six hundred in number, left Keilah and kept moving from place to place. When Saul was told that David had escaped from Keilah, he did not go there.

¹⁴David stayed in the wilderness strongholds and in the hills of the Desert of Ziph. Day after day Saul searched for him, but God did not give David into his hands.

¹⁵While David was at Horesh in the Desert of Ziph, he learned that Saul had come out to take his life.

¹⁶And Saul’s son Jonathan went to David at Horesh and helped him find strength in God.

¹⁷“Don’t be afraid,” he said. “My father Saul will not lay a hand on you. You will be king over Israel, and I will be second to you. Even my father Saul knows this.”

¹⁸The two of them made a covenant before the LORD. Then Jonathan went home, but David remained at Horesh.

¹⁹The Ziphites went up to Saul at Gibeah and said, “Is not David hiding among us in the strongholds at Horesh, on the hill of Hakilah, south of Jeshimon?

²⁰Now, Your Majesty, come down whenever it pleases you to do so, and we will be responsible for giving him into your hands.”

²¹Saul replied, “The LORD bless you for your concern for me.

²²Go and get more information. Find out where David usually goes and who has seen him there. They tell me he is very crafty.

²³Find out about all the hiding places he uses and come back to me with definite information. Then I will go with you; if he is in the area, I will track him down among all the clans of Judah.”

²⁴So they set out and went to Ziph ahead of Saul. Now David and his men were in the Desert of Maon, in the Arabah south of Jeshimon.

²⁵Saul and his men began the search, and when David was told about it, he went down to the rock and stayed in the Desert of Maon. When Saul heard this, he went into the Desert of Maon in pursuit of David.

²⁶Saul was going along one side of the mountain, and David and his men were on the other side, hurrying to get away from Saul. As Saul and his forces were closing in on David and his men to capture them,

²⁷a messenger came to Saul, saying, “Come quickly! The Philistines are raiding the land.”

²⁸Then Saul broke off his pursuit of David and went to meet the Philistines. That is why they call this place Sela Hammahlekoth.

²⁹And David went up from there and lived in the strongholds of En Gedi.

¹“Flee for safety, people of Benjamin! Flee from Jerusalem! Sound the trumpet in Tekoa! Raise the signal over Beth Hakkerem! For disaster looms out of the north, even terrible destruction.

²I will destroy Daughter Zion, so beautiful and delicate.

³Shepherds with their flocks will come against her; they will pitch their tents around her, each tending his own portion.”

⁴“Prepare for battle against her! Arise, let us attack at noon! But, alas, the daylight is fading, and the shadows of evening grow long.

⁵So arise, let us attack at night and destroy her fortresses!”

⁶This is what the LORD Almighty says: “Cut down the trees and build siege ramps against Jerusalem. This city must be punished; it is filled with oppression.

⁷As a well pours out its water, so she pours out her wickedness. Violence and destruction resound in her; her sickness and wounds are ever before me.

⁸Take warning, Jerusalem, or I will turn away from you and make your land desolate so no one can live in it.”

⁹This is what the LORD Almighty says: “Let them glean the remnant of Israel as thoroughly as a vine; pass your hand over the branches again, like one gathering grapes.”

¹⁰To whom can I speak and give warning? Who will listen to me? Their ears are closed so they cannot hear. The word of the LORD is offensive to them; they find no pleasure in it.

¹¹But I am full of the wrath of the LORD, and I cannot hold it in. “Pour it out on the children in the street and on the young men gathered together; both husband and wife will be caught in it, and the old, those weighed down with years.

¹²Their houses will be turned over to others, together with their fields and their wives, when I stretch out my hand against those who live in the land,” declares the LORD.

¹³“From the least to the greatest, all are greedy for gain; prophets and priests alike, all practice deceit.

¹⁴They dress the wound of my people as though it were not serious. ‘Peace, peace,’ they say, when there is no peace.

¹⁵Are they ashamed of their detestable conduct? No, they have no shame at all; they do not even know how to blush. So they will fall among the fallen; they will be brought down when I punish them,” says the LORD.

¹⁶This is what the LORD says: “Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls. But you said, ‘We will not walk in it.’

¹⁷I appointed watchmen over you and said, ‘Listen to the sound of the trumpet!’ But you said, ‘We will not listen.’

¹⁸Therefore hear, you nations; you who are witnesses, observe what will happen to them.

¹⁹Hear, you earth: I am bringing disaster on this people, the fruit of their schemes, because they have not listened to my words and have rejected my law.

²⁰What do I care about incense from Sheba or sweet calamus from a distant land? Your burnt offerings are not acceptable; your sacrifices do not please me.”

²¹Therefore this is what the LORD says: “I will put obstacles before this people. Parents and children alike will stumble over them; neighbors and friends will perish.”

²²This is what the LORD says: “Look, an army is coming from the land of the north; a great nation is being stirred up from the ends of the earth.

²³They are armed with bow and spear; they are cruel and show no mercy. They sound like the roaring sea as they ride on their horses; they come like men in battle formation to attack you, Daughter Zion.”

²⁴We have heard reports about them, and our hands hang limp. Anguish has gripped us, pain like that of a woman in labor.

²⁵Do not go out to the fields or walk on the roads, for the enemy has a sword, and there is terror on every side.

²⁶Put on sackcloth, my people, and roll in ashes; mourn with bitter wailing as for an only son, for suddenly the destroyer will come upon us.

²⁷“I have made you a tester of metals and my people the ore, that you may observe and test their ways.

²⁸They are all hardened rebels, going about to slander. They are bronze and iron; they all act corruptly.

²⁹The bellows blow fiercely to burn away the lead with fire, but the refining goes on in vain; the wicked are not purged out.

³⁰They are called rejected silver, because the LORD has rejected them.”

¹Paul came to Derbe and then to Lystra, where a disciple named Timothy lived, whose mother was Jewish and a believer but whose father was a Greek.

²The believers at Lystra and Iconium spoke well of him.

³Paul wanted to take him along on the journey, so he circumcised him because of the Jews who lived in that area, for they all knew that his father was a Greek.

⁴As they traveled from town to town, they delivered the decisions reached by the apostles and elders in Jerusalem for the people to obey.

⁵So the churches were strengthened in the faith and grew daily in numbers.

⁶Paul and his companions traveled throughout the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been kept by the Holy Spirit from preaching the word in the province of Asia.

⁷When they came to the border of Mysia, they tried to enter Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus would not allow them to.

⁸So they passed by Mysia and went down to Troas.

⁹During the night Paul had a vision of a man of Macedonia standing and begging him, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.”

¹⁰After Paul had seen the vision, we got ready at once to leave for Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them.

¹¹From Troas we put out to sea and sailed straight for Samothrace, and the next day we went on to Neapolis.

¹²From there we traveled to Philippi, a Roman colony and the leading city of that district of Macedonia. And we stayed there several days.

¹³On the Sabbath we went outside the city gate to the river, where we expected to find a place of prayer. We sat down and began to speak to the women who had gathered there.

¹⁴One of those listening was a woman from the city of Thyatira named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth. She was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to respond to Paul’s message.

¹⁵When she and the members of her household were baptized, she invited us to her home. “If you consider me a believer in the Lord,” she said, “come and stay at my house.” And she persuaded us.

¹⁶Once when we were going to the place of prayer, we were met by a female slave who had a spirit by which she predicted the future. She earned a great deal of money for her owners by fortune-telling.

¹⁷She followed Paul and the rest of us, shouting, “These men are servants of the Most High God, who are telling you the way to be saved.”

¹⁸She kept this up for many days. Finally Paul became so annoyed that he turned around and said to the spirit, “In the name of Jesus Christ I command you to come out of her!” At that moment the spirit left her.

¹⁹When her owners realized that their hope of making money was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace to face the authorities.

²⁰They brought them before the magistrates and said, “These men are Jews, and are throwing our city into an uproar

²¹by advocating customs unlawful for us Romans to accept or practice.”

²²The crowd joined in the attack against Paul and Silas, and the magistrates ordered them to be stripped and beaten with rods.

²³After they had been severely flogged, they were thrown into prison, and the jailer was commanded to guard them carefully.

²⁴When he received these orders, he put them in the inner cell and fastened their feet in the stocks.

²⁵About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them.

²⁶Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken. At once all the prison doors flew open, and everyone’s chains came loose.

²⁷The jailer woke up, and when he saw the prison doors open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself because he thought the prisoners had escaped.

²⁸But Paul shouted, “Don’t harm yourself! We are all here!”

²⁹The jailer called for lights, rushed in and fell trembling before Paul and Silas.

³⁰He then brought them out and asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”

³¹They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household.”

³²Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all the others in his house.

³³At that hour of the night the jailer took them and washed their wounds; then immediately he and all his household were baptized.

³⁴The jailer brought them into his house and set a meal before them; he was filled with joy because he had come to believe in God—he and his whole household.

³⁵When it was daylight, the magistrates sent their officers to the jailer with the order: “Release those men.”

³⁶The jailer told Paul, “The magistrates have ordered that you and Silas be released. Now you can leave. Go in peace.”

³⁷But Paul said to the officers: “They beat us publicly without a trial, even though we are Roman citizens, and threw us into prison. And now do they want to get rid of us quietly? No! Let them come themselves and escort us out.”

³⁸The officers reported this to the magistrates, and when they heard that Paul and Silas were Roman citizens, they were alarmed.

³⁹They came to appease them and escorted them from the prison, requesting them to leave the city.

⁴⁰After Paul and Silas came out of the prison, they went to Lydia’s house, where they met with the brothers and sisters and encouraged them. Then they left.