Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹Then, six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus was who had been dead, whom He had raised from the dead.

²There they made Him a supper; and Martha served, but Lazarus was one of those who sat at the table with Him.

³Then Mary took a pound of very costly oil of spikenard, anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped His feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the oil.

⁴But one of His disciples, Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, who would betray Him, said,

⁵“Why was this fragrant oil not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor?”

⁶This he said, not that he cared for the poor, but because he was a thief, and had the money box; and he used to take what was put in it.

⁷But Jesus said, “Let her alone; she has kept this for the day of My burial.

⁸For the poor you have with you always, but Me you do not have always.”

⁹Now a great many of the Jews knew that He was there; and they came, not for Jesus’ sake only, but that they might also see Lazarus, whom He had raised from the dead.

¹⁰But the chief priests plotted to put Lazarus to death also,

¹¹because on account of him many of the Jews went away and believed in Jesus.

¹²The next day a great multitude that had come to the feast, when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem,

¹³took branches of palm trees and went out to meet Him, and cried out: “Hosanna! ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!’ The King of Israel!”

¹⁴Then Jesus, when He had found a young donkey, sat on it; as it is written:

¹⁵“Fear not, daughter of Zion; Behold, your King is coming, Sitting on a donkey’s colt.”

¹⁶His disciples did not understand these things at first; but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things were written about Him and that they had done these things to Him.

¹⁷Therefore the people, who were with Him when He called Lazarus out of his tomb and raised him from the dead, bore witness.

¹⁸For this reason the people also met Him, because they heard that He had done this sign.

¹⁹The Pharisees therefore said among themselves, “You see that you are accomplishing nothing. Look, the world has gone after Him!”

²⁰Now there were certain Greeks among those who came up to worship at the feast.

²¹Then they came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida of Galilee, and asked him, saying, “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.”

²²Philip came and told Andrew, and in turn Andrew and Philip told Jesus.

²³But Jesus answered them, saying, “The hour has come that the Son of Man should be glorified.

²⁴Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain.

²⁵He who loves his life will lose it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.

²⁶If anyone serves Me, let him follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also. If anyone serves Me, him My Father will honor.

²⁷“Now My soul is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save Me from this hour’? But for this purpose I came to this hour.

²⁸Father, glorify Your name.” Then a voice came from heaven, saying, “I have both glorified it and will glorify it again.”

²⁹Therefore the people who stood by and heard it said that it had thundered. Others said, “An angel has spoken to Him.”

³⁰Jesus answered and said, “This voice did not come because of Me, but for your sake.

³¹Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out.

³²And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all peoples to Myself.”

³³This He said, signifying by what death He would die.

³⁴The people answered Him, “We have heard from the law that the Christ remains forever; and how can You say, ‘The Son of Man must be lifted up’? Who is this Son of Man?”

³⁵Then Jesus said to them, “A little while longer the light is with you. Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you; he who walks in darkness does not know where he is going.

³⁶While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become sons of light.” These things Jesus spoke, and departed, and was hidden from them.

³⁷But although He had done so many signs before them, they did not believe in Him,

³⁸that the word of Isaiah the prophet might be fulfilled, which he spoke: “Lord, who has believed our report? And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?”

³⁹Therefore they could not believe, because Isaiah said again:

⁴⁰“He has blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts, Lest they should see with their eyes, Lest they should understand with their hearts and turn, So that I should heal them.”

⁴¹These things Isaiah said when he saw His glory and spoke of Him.

⁴²Nevertheless even among the rulers many believed in Him, but because of the Pharisees they did not confess Him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue;

⁴³for they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God.

⁴⁴Then Jesus cried out and said, “He who believes in Me, believes not in Me but in Him who sent Me.

⁴⁵And he who sees Me sees Him who sent Me.

⁴⁶I have come as a light into the world, that whoever believes in Me should not abide in darkness.

⁴⁷And if anyone hears My words and does not believe, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world but to save the world.

⁴⁸He who rejects Me, and does not receive My words, has that which judges him— the word that I have spoken will judge him in the last day.

⁴⁹For I have not spoken on My own authority; but the Father who sent Me gave Me a command, what I should say and what I should speak.

⁵⁰And I know that His command is everlasting life. Therefore, whatever I speak, just as the Father has told Me, so I speak.”

¹“You shall make an altar to burn incense on; you shall make it of acacia wood.

²A cubit shall be its length and a cubit its width—it shall be square—and two cubits shall be its height. Its horns shall be of one piece with it.

³And you shall overlay its top, its sides all around, and its horns with pure gold; and you shall make for it a molding of gold all around.

⁴Two gold rings you shall make for it, under the molding on both its sides. You shall place them on its two sides, and they will be holders for the poles with which to bear it.

⁵You shall make the poles of acacia wood, and overlay them with gold.

⁶And you shall put it before the veil that is before the ark of the Testimony, before the mercy seat that is over the Testimony, where I will meet with you.

⁷“Aaron shall burn on it sweet incense every morning; when he tends the lamps, he shall burn incense on it.

⁸And when Aaron lights the lamps at twilight, he shall burn incense on it, a perpetual incense before the LORD throughout your generations.

⁹You shall not offer strange incense on it, or a burnt offering, or a grain offering; nor shall you pour a drink offering on it.

¹⁰And Aaron shall make atonement upon its horns once a year with the blood of the sin offering of atonement; once a year he shall make atonement upon it throughout your generations. It is most holy to the LORD.”

¹¹Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying:

¹²“When you take the census of the children of Israel for their number, then every man shall give a ransom for himself to the LORD, when you number them, that there may be no plague among them when you number them.

¹³This is what everyone among those who are numbered shall give: half a shekel according to the shekel of the sanctuary (a shekel is twenty gerahs). The half-shekel shall be an offering to the LORD.

¹⁴Everyone included among those who are numbered, from twenty years old and above, shall give an offering to the LORD.

¹⁵The rich shall not give more and the poor shall not give less than half a shekel, when you give an offering to the LORD, to make atonement for yourselves.

¹⁶And you shall take the atonement money of the children of Israel, and shall appoint it for the service of the tabernacle of meeting, that it may be a memorial for the children of Israel before the LORD, to make atonement for yourselves.”

¹⁷Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying:

¹⁸“You shall also make a laver of bronze, with its base also of bronze, for washing. You shall put it between the tabernacle of meeting and the altar. And you shall put water in it,

¹⁹for Aaron and his sons shall wash their hands and their feet in water from it.

²⁰When they go into the tabernacle of meeting, or when they come near the altar to minister, to burn an offering made by fire to the LORD, they shall wash with water, lest they die.

²¹So they shall wash their hands and their feet, lest they die. And it shall be a statute forever to them—to him and his descendants throughout their generations.”

²²Moreover the LORD spoke to Moses, saying:

²³“Also take for yourself quality spices—five hundred shekels of liquid myrrh, half as much sweet-smelling cinnamon (two hundred and fifty shekels), two hundred and fifty shekels of sweet-smelling cane,

²⁴five hundred shekels of cassia, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, and a hin of olive oil.

²⁵And you shall make from these a holy anointing oil, an ointment compounded according to the art of the perfumer. It shall be a holy anointing oil.

²⁶With it you shall anoint the tabernacle of meeting and the ark of the Testimony;

²⁷the table and all its utensils, the lampstand and its utensils, and the altar of incense;

²⁸the altar of burnt offering with all its utensils, and the laver and its base.

²⁹You shall consecrate them, that they may be most holy; whatever touches them must be holy.

³⁰And you shall anoint Aaron and his sons, and consecrate them, that they may minister to Me as priests.

³¹“And you shall speak to the children of Israel, saying: ‘This shall be a holy anointing oil to Me throughout your generations.

³²It shall not be poured on man’s flesh; nor shall you make any other like it, according to its composition. It is holy, and it shall be holy to you.

³³Whoever compounds any like it, or whoever puts any of it on an outsider, shall be cut off from his people.’ ”

³⁴And the LORD said to Moses: “Take sweet spices, stacte and onycha and galbanum, and pure frankincense with these sweet spices; there shall be equal amounts of each.

³⁵You shall make of these an incense, a compound according to the art of the perfumer, salted, pure, and holy.

³⁶And you shall beat some of it very fine, and put some of it before the Testimony in the tabernacle of meeting where I will meet with you. It shall be most holy to you.

³⁷But as for the incense which you shall make, you shall not make any for yourselves, according to its composition. It shall be to you holy for the LORD.

³⁸Whoever makes any like it, to smell it, he shall be cut off from his people.”

¹Therefore you are inexcusable, O man, whoever you are who judge, for in whatever you judge another you condemn yourself; for you who judge practice the same things.

²But we know that the judgment of God is according to truth against those who practice such things.

³And do you think this, O man, you who judge those practicing such things, and doing the same, that you will escape the judgment of God?

⁴Or do you despise the riches of His goodness, forbearance, and longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance?

⁵But in accordance with your hardness and your impenitent heart you are treasuring up for yourself wrath in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God,

⁶who “will render to each one according to his deeds”:

⁷eternal life to those who by patient continuance in doing good seek for glory, honor, and immortality;

⁸but to those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness—indignation and wrath,

⁹tribulation and anguish, on every soul of man who does evil, of the Jew first and also of the Greek;

¹⁰but glory, honor, and peace to everyone who works what is good, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.

¹¹For there is no partiality with God.

¹²For as many as have sinned without law will also perish without law, and as many as have sinned in the law will be judged by the law

¹³(for not the hearers of the law are just in the sight of God, but the doers of the law will be justified;

¹⁴for when Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do the things in the law, these, although not having the law, are a law to themselves,

¹⁵who show the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and between themselves their thoughts accusing or else excusing them)

¹⁶in the day when God will judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ, according to my gospel.

¹⁷Indeed you are called a Jew, and rest on the law, and make your boast in God,

¹⁸and know His will, and approve the things that are excellent, being instructed out of the law,

¹⁹and are confident that you yourself are a guide to the blind, a light to those who are in darkness,

²⁰an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of babes, having the form of knowledge and truth in the law.

²¹You, therefore, who teach another, do you not teach yourself? You who preach that a man should not steal, do you steal?

²²You who say, “Do not commit adultery,” do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples?

²³You who make your boast in the law, do you dishonor God through breaking the law?

²⁴For “the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you,” as it is written.

²⁵For circumcision is indeed profitable if you keep the law; but if you are a breaker of the law, your circumcision has become uncircumcision.

²⁶Therefore, if an uncircumcised man keeps the righteous requirements of the law, will not his uncircumcision be counted as circumcision?

²⁷And will not the physically uncircumcised, if he fulfills the law, judge you who, even with your written code and circumcision, are a transgressor of the law?

²⁸For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh;

²⁹but he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the Spirit, not in the letter; whose praise is not from men but from God.

¹Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, according to the promise of life which is in Christ Jesus,

²To Timothy, a beloved son: Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.

³I thank God, whom I serve with a pure conscience, as my forefathers did, as without ceasing I remember you in my prayers night and day,

⁴greatly desiring to see you, being mindful of your tears, that I may be filled with joy,

⁵when I call to remembrance the genuine faith that is in you, which dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice, and I am persuaded is in you also.

⁶Therefore I remind you to stir up the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands.

⁷For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.

⁸Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me His prisoner, but share with me in the sufferings for the gospel according to the power of God,

⁹who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began,

¹⁰but has now been revealed by the appearing of our Savior Jesus Christ, who has abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel,

¹¹to which I was appointed a preacher, an apostle, and a teacher of the Gentiles.

¹²For this reason I also suffer these things; nevertheless I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep what I have committed to Him until that Day.

¹³Hold fast the pattern of sound words which you have heard from me, in faith and love which are in Christ Jesus.

¹⁴That good thing which was committed to you, keep by the Holy Spirit who dwells in us.

¹⁵This you know, that all those in Asia have turned away from me, among whom are Phygellus and Hermogenes.

¹⁶The Lord grant mercy to the household of Onesiphorus, for he often refreshed me, and was not ashamed of my chain;

¹⁷but when he arrived in Rome, he sought me out very zealously and found me.

¹⁸The Lord grant to him that he may find mercy from the Lord in that Day—and you know very well how many ways he ministered to me at Ephesus.

¹Then Bildad the Shuhite answered and said:

²“How long till you put an end to words? Gain understanding, and afterward we will speak.

³Why are we counted as beasts, And regarded as stupid in your sight?

⁴You who tear yourself in anger, Shall the earth be forsaken for you? Or shall the rock be removed from its place?

⁵“The light of the wicked indeed goes out, And the flame of his fire does not shine.

⁶The light is dark in his tent, And his lamp beside him is put out.

⁷The steps of his strength are shortened, And his own counsel casts him down.

⁸For he is cast into a net by his own feet, And he walks into a snare.

⁹The net takes him by the heel, And a snare lays hold of him.

¹⁰A noose is hidden for him on the ground, And a trap for him in the road.

¹¹Terrors frighten him on every side, And drive him to his feet.

¹²His strength is starved, And destruction is ready at his side.

¹³It devours patches of his skin; The firstborn of death devours his limbs.

¹⁴He is uprooted from the shelter of his tent, And they parade him before the king of terrors.

¹⁵They dwell in his tent who are none of his; Brimstone is scattered on his dwelling.

¹⁶His roots are dried out below, And his branch withers above.

¹⁷The memory of him perishes from the earth, And he has no name among the renowned.

¹⁸He is driven from light into darkness, And chased out of the world.

¹⁹He has neither son nor posterity among his people, Nor any remaining in his dwellings.

²⁰Those in the west are astonished at his day, As those in the east are frightened.

²¹Surely such are the dwellings of the wicked, And this is the place of him who does not know God.”

¹To the Chief Musician. Set to “The Lilies.” A Testimony of Asaph. A Psalm. [1] Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel, You who lead Joseph like a flock; You who dwell between the cherubim, shine forth!

²Before Ephraim, Benjamin, and Manasseh, Stir up Your strength, And come and save us!

³Restore us, O God; Cause Your face to shine, And we shall be saved!

⁴O LORD God of hosts, How long will You be angry Against the prayer of Your people?

⁵You have fed them with the bread of tears, And given them tears to drink in great measure.

⁶You have made us a strife to our neighbors, And our enemies laugh among themselves.

⁷Restore us, O God of hosts; Cause Your face to shine, And we shall be saved!

⁸You have brought a vine out of Egypt; You have cast out the nations, and planted it.

⁹You prepared room for it, And caused it to take deep root, And it filled the land.

¹⁰The hills were covered with its shadow, And the mighty cedars with its boughs.

¹¹She sent out her boughs to the Sea, And her branches to the River.

¹²Why have You broken down her hedges, So that all who pass by the way pluck her fruit?

¹³The boar out of the woods uproots it, And the wild beast of the field devours it.

¹⁴Return, we beseech You, O God of hosts; Look down from heaven and see, And visit this vine

¹⁵And the vineyard which Your right hand has planted, And the branch that You made strong for Yourself.

¹⁶It is burned with fire, it is cut down; They perish at the rebuke of Your countenance.

¹⁷Let Your hand be upon the man of Your right hand, Upon the son of man whom You made strong for Yourself.

¹⁸Then we will not turn back from You; Revive us, and we will call upon Your name.

¹⁹Restore us, O LORD God of hosts; Cause Your face to shine, And we shall be saved!

¹A man who isolates himself seeks his own desire; He rages against all wise judgment.

²A fool has no delight in understanding, But in expressing his own heart.

³When the wicked comes, contempt comes also; And with dishonor comes reproach.

⁴The words of a man’s mouth are deep waters; The wellspring of wisdom is a flowing brook.

⁵It is not good to show partiality to the wicked, Or to overthrow the righteous in judgment.

⁶A fool’s lips enter into contention, And his mouth calls for blows.

⁷A fool’s mouth is his destruction, And his lips are the snare of his soul.

⁸The words of a talebearer are like tasty trifles, And they go down into the inmost body.

⁹He who is slothful in his work Is a brother to him who is a great destroyer.

¹⁰The name of the LORD is a strong tower; The righteous run to it and are safe.

¹¹The rich man’s wealth is his strong city, And like a high wall in his own esteem.

¹²Before destruction the heart of a man is haughty, And before honor is humility.

¹³He who answers a matter before he hears it, It is folly and shame to him.

¹⁴The spirit of a man will sustain him in sickness, But who can bear a broken spirit?

¹⁵The heart of the prudent acquires knowledge, And the ear of the wise seeks knowledge.

¹⁶A man’s gift makes room for him, And brings him before great men.

¹⁷The first one to plead his cause seems right, Until his neighbor comes and examines him.

¹⁸Casting lots causes contentions to cease, And keeps the mighty apart.

¹⁹A brother offended is harder to win than a strong city, And contentions are like the bars of a castle.

²⁰A man’s stomach shall be satisfied from the fruit of his mouth; From the produce of his lips he shall be filled.

²¹Death and life are in the power of the tongue, And those who love it will eat its fruit.

²²He who finds a wife finds a good thing, And obtains favor from the LORD.

²³The poor man uses entreaties, But the rich answers roughly.

²⁴A man who has friends must himself be friendly, But there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.

¹Now the Philistines fought against Israel; and the men of Israel fled from before the Philistines, and fell slain on Mount Gilboa.

²Then the Philistines followed hard after Saul and his sons. And the Philistines killed Jonathan, Abinadab, and Malchishua, Saul’s sons.

³The battle became fierce against Saul. The archers hit him, and he was severely wounded by the archers.

⁴Then Saul said to his armorbearer, “Draw your sword, and thrust me through with it, lest these uncircumcised men come and thrust me through and abuse me.” But his armorbearer would not, for he was greatly afraid. Therefore Saul took a sword and fell on it.

⁵And when his armorbearer saw that Saul was dead, he also fell on his sword, and died with him.

⁶So Saul, his three sons, his armorbearer, and all his men died together that same day.

⁷And when the men of Israel who were on the other side of the valley, and those who were on the other side of the Jordan, saw that the men of Israel had fled and that Saul and his sons were dead, they forsook the cities and fled; and the Philistines came and dwelt in them.

⁸So it happened the next day, when the Philistines came to strip the slain, that they found Saul and his three sons fallen on Mount Gilboa.

⁹And they cut off his head and stripped off his armor, and sent word throughout the land of the Philistines, to proclaim it in the temple of their idols and among the people.

¹⁰Then they put his armor in the temple of the Ashtoreths, and they fastened his body to the wall of Beth Shan.

¹¹Now when the inhabitants of Jabesh Gilead heard what the Philistines had done to Saul,

¹²all the valiant men arose and traveled all night, and took the body of Saul and the bodies of his sons from the wall of Beth Shan; and they came to Jabesh and burned them there.

¹³Then they took their bones and buried them under the tamarisk tree at Jabesh, and fasted seven days.

¹The word of the LORD that came to Jeremiah concerning the droughts.

²“Judah mourns, And her gates languish; They mourn for the land, And the cry of Jerusalem has gone up.

³Their nobles have sent their lads for water; They went to the cisterns and found no water. They returned with their vessels empty; They were ashamed and confounded And covered their heads.

⁴Because the ground is parched, For there was no rain in the land, The plowmen were ashamed; They covered their heads.

⁵Yes, the deer also gave birth in the field, But left because there was no grass.

⁶And the wild donkeys stood in the desolate heights; They sniffed at the wind like jackals; Their eyes failed because there was no grass.”

⁷O LORD, though our iniquities testify against us, Do it for Your name’s sake; For our backslidings are many, We have sinned against You.

⁸O the Hope of Israel, his Savior in time of trouble, Why should You be like a stranger in the land, And like a traveler who turns aside to tarry for a night?

⁹Why should You be like a man astonished, Like a mighty one who cannot save? Yet You, O LORD, are in our midst, And we are called by Your name; Do not leave us!

¹⁰Thus says the LORD to this people: “Thus they have loved to wander; They have not restrained their feet. Therefore the LORD does not accept them; He will remember their iniquity now, And punish their sins.”

¹¹Then the LORD said to me, “Do not pray for this people, for their good.

¹²When they fast, I will not hear their cry; and when they offer burnt offering and grain offering, I will not accept them. But I will consume them by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence.”

¹³Then I said, “Ah, Lord GOD! Behold, the prophets say to them, ‘You shall not see the sword, nor shall you have famine, but I will give you assured peace in this place.’ ”

¹⁴And the LORD said to me, “The prophets prophesy lies in My name. I have not sent them, commanded them, nor spoken to them; they prophesy to you a false vision, divination, a worthless thing, and the deceit of their heart.

¹⁵Therefore thus says the LORD concerning the prophets who prophesy in My name, whom I did not send, and who say, ‘Sword and famine shall not be in this land’—‘By sword and famine those prophets shall be consumed!

¹⁶And the people to whom they prophesy shall be cast out in the streets of Jerusalem because of the famine and the sword; they will have no one to bury them—them nor their wives, their sons nor their daughters—for I will pour their wickedness on them.’

¹⁷“Therefore you shall say this word to them: ‘Let my eyes flow with tears night and day, And let them not cease; For the virgin daughter of my people Has been broken with a mighty stroke, with a very severe blow.

¹⁸If I go out to the field, Then behold, those slain with the sword! And if I enter the city, Then behold, those sick from famine! Yes, both prophet and priest go about in a land they do not know.’ ”

¹⁹Have You utterly rejected Judah? Has Your soul loathed Zion? Why have You stricken us so that there is no healing for us? We looked for peace, but there was no good; And for the time of healing, and there was trouble.

²⁰We acknowledge, O LORD, our wickedness And the iniquity of our fathers, For we have sinned against You.

²¹Do not abhor us, for Your name’s sake; Do not disgrace the throne of Your glory. Remember, do not break Your covenant with us.

²²Are there any among the idols of the nations that can cause rain? Or can the heavens give showers? Are You not He, O LORD our God? Therefore we will wait for You, Since You have made all these.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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