Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹Now before the Feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart out of this world to the Father, having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end.

²During supper, when the devil had already put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, to betray him,

³Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going back to God,

⁴rose from supper. He laid aside his outer garments, and taking a towel, tied it around his waist.

⁵Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples' feet and to wipe them with the towel that was wrapped around him.

⁶He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, do you wash my feet?”

⁷Jesus answered him, “What I am doing you do not understand now, but afterward you will understand.”

⁸Peter said to him, “You shall never wash my feet.” Jesus answered him, “If I do not wash you, you have no share with me.”

⁹Simon Peter said to him, “Lord, not my feet only but also my hands and my head!”

¹⁰Jesus said to him, “The one who has bathed does not need to wash, except for his feet, but is completely clean. And you are clean, but not every one of you.”

¹¹For he knew who was to betray him; that was why he said, “Not all of you are clean.”

¹²When he had washed their feet and put on his outer garments and resumed his place, he said to them, “Do you understand what I have done to you?

¹³ You call me Teacher and Lord, and you are right, for so I am.

¹⁴If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet.

¹⁵For I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done to you.

¹⁶Truly, truly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him.

¹⁷If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them.

¹⁸ I am not speaking of all of you; I know whom I have chosen. But the Scripture will be fulfilled, ‘He who ate my bread has lifted his heel against me.’

¹⁹ I am telling you this now, before it takes place, that when it does take place you may believe that I am he.

²⁰Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever receives the one I send receives me, and whoever receives me receives the one who sent me.”

²¹After saying these things, Jesus was troubled in his spirit, and testified, “Truly, truly, I say to you, one of you will betray me.”

²²The disciples looked at one another, uncertain of whom he spoke.

²³One of his disciples, whom Jesus loved, was reclining at table at Jesus' side,

²⁴so Simon Peter motioned to him to ask Jesus of whom he was speaking.

²⁵So that disciple, leaning back against Jesus, said to him, “Lord, who is it?”

²⁶Jesus answered, “It is he to whom I will give this morsel of bread when I have dipped it.” So when he had dipped the morsel, he gave it to Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot.

²⁷Then after he had taken the morsel, Satan entered into him. Jesus said to him, “What you are going to do, do quickly.”

²⁸Now no one at the table knew why he said this to him.

²⁹Some thought that, because Judas had the moneybag, Jesus was telling him, “Buy what we need for the feast,” or that he should give something to the poor.

³⁰So, after receiving the morsel of bread, he immediately went out. And it was night.

³¹When he had gone out, Jesus said, “Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in him.

³²If God is glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself, and glorify him at once.

³³Little children, yet a little while I am with you. You will seek me, and just as I said to the Jews, so now I also say to you, ‘Where I am going you cannot come.’

³⁴ A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.

³⁵ By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”

³⁶Simon Peter said to him, “Lord, where are you going?” Jesus answered him, “Where I am going you cannot follow me now, but you will follow afterward.”

³⁷Peter said to him, “Lord, why can I not follow you now? I will lay down my life for you.”

³⁸Jesus answered, “Will you lay down your life for me? Truly, truly, I say to you, the rooster will not crow till you have denied me three times.

¹The LORD said to Moses,

²“See, I have called by name Bezalel the son of Uri, son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah,

³and I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with ability and intelligence, with knowledge and all craftsmanship,

⁴to devise artistic designs, to work in gold, silver, and bronze,

⁵in cutting stones for setting, and in carving wood, to work in every craft.

⁶And behold, I have appointed with him Oholiab, the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan. And I have given to all able men ability, that they may make all that I have commanded you:

⁷the tent of meeting, and the ark of the testimony, and the mercy seat that is on it, and all the furnishings of the tent,

⁸the table and its utensils, and the pure lampstand with all its utensils, and the altar of incense,

⁹and the altar of burnt offering with all its utensils, and the basin and its stand,

¹⁰and the finely worked garments, the holy garments for Aaron the priest and the garments of his sons, for their service as priests,

¹¹and the anointing oil and the fragrant incense for the Holy Place. According to all that I have commanded you, they shall do.”

¹²And the LORD said to Moses,

¹³“You are to speak to the people of Israel and say, ‘Above all you shall keep my Sabbaths, for this is a sign between me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I, the LORD, sanctify you.

¹⁴You shall keep the Sabbath, because it is holy for you. Everyone who profanes it shall be put to death. Whoever does any work on it, that soul shall be cut off from among his people.

¹⁵Six days shall work be done, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of solemn rest, holy to the LORD. Whoever does any work on the Sabbath day shall be put to death.

¹⁶Therefore the people of Israel shall keep the Sabbath, observing the Sabbath throughout their generations, as a covenant forever.

¹⁷It is a sign forever between me and the people of Israel that in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested and was refreshed.’”

¹⁸And he gave to Moses, when he had finished speaking with him on Mount Sinai, the two tablets of the testimony, tablets of stone, written with the finger of God.

¹Then what advantage has the Jew? Or what is the value of circumcision?

²Much in every way. To begin with, the Jews were entrusted with the oracles of God.

³What if some were unfaithful? Does their faithlessness nullify the faithfulness of God?

⁴By no means! Let God be true though every one were a liar, as it is written, “That you may be justified in your words, and prevail when you are judged.”

⁵But if our unrighteousness serves to show the righteousness of God, what shall we say? That God is unrighteous to inflict wrath on us? (I speak in a human way.)

⁶By no means! For then how could God judge the world?

⁷But if through my lie God's truth abounds to his glory, why am I still being condemned as a sinner?

⁸And why not do evil that good may come? — as some people slanderously charge us with saying. Their condemnation is just.

⁹What then? Are we Jews any better off? No, not at all. For we have already charged that all, both Jews and Greeks, are under sin,

¹⁰as it is written: “None is righteous, no, not one;

¹¹no one understands; no one seeks for God.

¹²All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.”

¹³“Their throat is an open grave; they use their tongues to deceive.” “The venom of asps is under their lips.”

¹⁴“Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness.”

¹⁵“Their feet are swift to shed blood;

¹⁶in their paths are ruin and misery,

¹⁷and the way of peace they have not known.”

¹⁸“There is no fear of God before their eyes.”

¹⁹Now we know that whatever the law says it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be stopped, and the whole world may be held accountable to God.

²⁰For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin.

²¹But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it —

²²the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction:

²³for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

²⁴and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,

²⁵whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God's righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins.

²⁶It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.

²⁷Then what becomes of our boasting? It is excluded. By what kind of law? By a law of works? No, but by the law of faith.

²⁸For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law.

²⁹Or is God the God of Jews only? Is he not the God of Gentiles also? Yes, of Gentiles also,

³⁰since God is one — who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith.

³¹Do we then overthrow the law by this faith? By no means! On the contrary, we uphold the law.

¹You then, my child, be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus,

²and what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men, who will be able to teach others also.

³Share in suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus.

⁴No soldier gets entangled in civilian pursuits, since his aim is to please the one who enlisted him.

⁵An athlete is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules.

⁶It is the hard-working farmer who ought to have the first share of the crops.

⁷Think over what I say, for the Lord will give you understanding in everything.

⁸Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, the offspring of David, as preached in my gospel,

⁹for which I am suffering, bound with chains as a criminal. But the word of God is not bound!

¹⁰Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they also may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory.

¹¹The saying is trustworthy, for: If we have died with him, we will also live with him;

¹²if we endure, we will also reign with him; if we deny him, he also will deny us;

¹³if we are faithless, he remains faithful — for he cannot deny himself.

¹⁴Remind them of these things, and charge them before God not to quarrel about words, which does no good, but only ruins the hearers.

¹⁵Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth.

¹⁶But avoid irreverent babble, for it will lead people into more and more ungodliness,

¹⁷and their talk will spread like gangrene. Among them are Hymenaeus and Philetus,

¹⁸who have swerved from the truth, saying that the resurrection has already happened. They are upsetting the faith of some.

¹⁹But God's firm foundation stands, bearing this seal: “The Lord knows those who are his,” and, “Let everyone who names the name of the Lord depart from iniquity.”

²⁰Now in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver but also of wood and clay, some for honorable use, some for dishonorable.

²¹Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from what is dishonorable, he will be a vessel for honorable use, set apart as holy, useful to the master of the house, ready for every good work.

²²So flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart.

²³Have nothing to do with foolish, ignorant controversies; you know that they breed quarrels.

²⁴And the Lord's servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil,

²⁵correcting his opponents with gentleness. God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth,

²⁶and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, after being captured by him to do his will.

¹Then Job answered and said:

²“How long will you torment me and break me in pieces with words?

³These ten times you have cast reproach upon me; are you not ashamed to wrong me?

⁴And even if it be true that I have erred, my error remains with myself.

⁵If indeed you magnify yourselves against me and make my disgrace an argument against me,

⁶know then that God has put me in the wrong and closed his net about me.

⁷Behold, I cry out, ‘Violence!’ but I am not answered; I call for help, but there is no justice.

⁸He has walled up my way, so that I cannot pass, and he has set darkness upon my paths.

⁹He has stripped from me my glory and taken the crown from my head.

¹⁰He breaks me down on every side, and I am gone, and my hope has he pulled up like a tree.

¹¹He has kindled his wrath against me and counts me as his adversary.

¹²His troops come on together; they have cast up their siege ramp against me and encamp around my tent.

¹³“He has put my brothers far from me, and those who knew me are wholly estranged from me.

¹⁴My relatives have failed me, my close friends have forgotten me.

¹⁵The guests in my house and my maidservants count me as a stranger; I have become a foreigner in their eyes.

¹⁶I call to my servant, but he gives me no answer; I must plead with him with my mouth for mercy.

¹⁷My breath is strange to my wife, and I am a stench to the children of my own mother.

¹⁸Even young children despise me; when I rise they talk against me.

¹⁹All my intimate friends abhor me, and those whom I loved have turned against me.

²⁰My bones stick to my skin and to my flesh, and I have escaped by the skin of my teeth.

²¹Have mercy on me, have mercy on me, O you my friends, for the hand of God has touched me!

²²Why do you, like God, pursue me? Why are you not satisfied with my flesh?

²³“Oh that my words were written! Oh that they were inscribed in a book!

²⁴Oh that with an iron pen and lead they were engraved in the rock forever!

²⁵For I know that my Redeemer lives, and at the last he will stand upon the earth.

²⁶And after my skin has been thus destroyed, yet in my flesh I shall see God,

²⁷whom I shall see for myself, and my eyes shall behold, and not another. My heart faints within me!

²⁸If you say, ‘How we will pursue him!’ and, ‘The root of the matter is found in him,’

²⁹be afraid of the sword, for wrath brings the punishment of the sword, that you may know there is a judgment.”

¹Sing aloud to God our strength; shout for joy to the God of Jacob!

²Raise a song; sound the tambourine, the sweet lyre with the harp.

³Blow the trumpet at the new moon, at the full moon, on our feast day.

⁴For it is a statute for Israel, a rule of the God of Jacob.

⁵He made it a decree in Joseph when he went out over the land of Egypt. I hear a language I had not known:

⁶“I relieved your shoulder of the burden; your hands were freed from the basket.

⁷In distress you called, and I delivered you; I answered you in the secret place of thunder; I tested you at the waters of Meribah. Selah

⁸Hear, O my people, while I admonish you! O Israel, if you would but listen to me!

⁹There shall be no strange god among you; you shall not bow down to a foreign god.

¹⁰I am the LORD your God, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt. Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it.

¹¹“But my people did not listen to my voice; Israel would not submit to me.

¹²So I gave them over to their stubborn hearts, to follow their own counsels.

¹³Oh, that my people would listen to me, that Israel would walk in my ways!

¹⁴I would soon subdue their enemies and turn my hand against their foes.

¹⁵Those who hate the LORD would cringe toward him, and their fate would last forever.

¹⁶But he would feed you with the finest of the wheat, and with honey from the rock I would satisfy you.”

¹Better is a poor person who walks in his integrity than one who is crooked in speech and is a fool.

²Desire without knowledge is not good, and whoever makes haste with his feet misses his way.

³When a man's folly brings his way to ruin, his heart rages against the LORD.

⁴Wealth brings many new friends, but a poor man is deserted by his friend.

⁵A false witness will not go unpunished, and he who breathes out lies will not escape.

⁶Many seek the favor of a generous man, and everyone is a friend to a man who gives gifts.

⁷All a poor man's brothers hate him; how much more do his friends go far from him! He pursues them with words, but does not have them.

⁸Whoever gets sense loves his own soul; he who keeps understanding will discover good.

⁹A false witness will not go unpunished, and he who breathes out lies will perish.

¹⁰It is not fitting for a fool to live in luxury, much less for a slave to rule over princes.

¹¹Good sense makes one slow to anger, and it is his glory to overlook an offense.

¹²A king's wrath is like the growling of a lion, but his favor is like dew on the grass.

¹³A foolish son is ruin to his father, and a wife's quarreling is a continual dripping of rain.

¹⁴House and wealth are inherited from fathers, but a prudent wife is from the LORD.

¹⁵Slothfulness casts into a deep sleep, and an idle person will suffer hunger.

¹⁶Whoever keeps the commandment keeps his life; he who despises his ways will die.

¹⁷Whoever is generous to the poor lends to the LORD, and he will repay him for his deed.

¹⁸Discipline your son, for there is hope; do not set your heart on putting him to death.

¹⁹A man of great wrath will pay the penalty, for if you deliver him, you will only have to do it again.

²⁰Listen to advice and accept instruction, that you may gain wisdom in the future.

²¹Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the LORD that will stand.

²²What is desired in a man is steadfast love, and a poor man is better than a liar.

²³The fear of the LORD leads to life, and whoever has it rests satisfied; he will not be visited by harm.

²⁴The sluggard buries his hand in the dish and will not even bring it back to his mouth.

²⁵Strike a scoffer, and the simple will learn prudence; reprove a man of understanding, and he will gain knowledge.

²⁶He who does violence to his father and chases away his mother is a son who brings shame and reproach.

²⁷Cease to hear instruction, my son, and you will stray from the words of knowledge.

²⁸A worthless witness mocks at justice, and the mouth of the wicked devours iniquity.

²⁹Condemnation is ready for scoffers, and beating for the backs of fools.

¹After the death of Saul, when David had returned from striking down the Amalekites, David remained two days in Ziklag.

²And on the third day, behold, a man came from Saul's camp, with his clothes torn and dirt on his head. And when he came to David, he fell to the ground and paid homage.

³David said to him, “Where do you come from?” And he said to him, “I have escaped from the camp of Israel.”

⁴And David said to him, “How did it go? Tell me.” And he answered, “The people fled from the battle, and also many of the people have fallen and are dead, and Saul and his son Jonathan are also dead.”

⁵Then David said to the young man who told him, “How do you know that Saul and his son Jonathan are dead?”

⁶And the young man who told him said, “By chance I happened to be on Mount Gilboa, and there was Saul leaning on his spear, and behold, the chariots and the horsemen were close upon him.

⁷And when he looked behind him, he saw me, and called to me. And I answered, ‘Here I am.’

⁸And he said to me, ‘Who are you?’ I answered him, ‘I am an Amalekite.’

⁹And he said to me, ‘Stand beside me and kill me, for anguish has seized me, and yet my life still lingers.’

¹⁰So I stood beside him and killed him, because I was sure that he could not live after he had fallen. And I took the crown that was on his head and the armlet that was on his arm, and I have brought them here to my lord.”

¹¹Then David took hold of his clothes and tore them, and so did all the men who were with him.

¹²And they mourned and wept and fasted until evening for Saul and for Jonathan his son and for the people of the LORD and for the house of Israel, because they had fallen by the sword.

¹³And David said to the young man who told him, “Where do you come from?” And he answered, “I am the son of a sojourner, an Amalekite.”

¹⁴David said to him, “How is it you were not afraid to put out your hand to destroy the LORD's anointed?”

¹⁵Then David called one of the young men and said, “Go, execute him.” And he struck him down so that he died.

¹⁶And David said to him, “Your blood be on your head, for your own mouth has testified against you, saying, ‘I have killed the LORD's anointed.’”

¹⁷And David lamented with this lamentation over Saul and Jonathan his son,

¹⁸and he said it should be taught to the people of Judah; behold, it is written in the Book of Jashar. He said:

¹⁹“Your glory, O Israel, is slain on your high places! How the mighty have fallen!

²⁰Tell it not in Gath, publish it not in the streets of Ashkelon, lest the daughters of the Philistines rejoice, lest the daughters of the uncircumcised exult.

²¹“You mountains of Gilboa, let there be no dew or rain upon you, nor fields of offerings! For there the shield of the mighty was defiled, the shield of Saul, not anointed with oil.

²²“From the blood of the slain, from the fat of the mighty, the bow of Jonathan turned not back, and the sword of Saul returned not empty.

²³“Saul and Jonathan, beloved and lovely! In life and in death they were not divided; they were swifter than eagles; they were stronger than lions.

²⁴“You daughters of Israel, weep over Saul, who clothed you luxuriously in scarlet, who put ornaments of gold on your apparel.

²⁵“How the mighty have fallen in the midst of the battle! “Jonathan lies slain on your high places.

²⁶I am distressed for you, my brother Jonathan; very pleasant have you been to me; your love to me was extraordinary, surpassing the love of women.

²⁷“How the mighty have fallen, and the weapons of war perished!”

¹Then the LORD said to me, “Though Moses and Samuel stood before me, yet my heart would not turn toward this people. Send them out of my sight, and let them go!

²And when they ask you, ‘Where shall we go?’ you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the LORD: “‘Those who are for pestilence, to pestilence, and those who are for the sword, to the sword; those who are for famine, to famine, and those who are for captivity, to captivity.’

³I will appoint over them four kinds of destroyers, declares the LORD: the sword to kill, the dogs to tear, and the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth to devour and destroy.

⁴And I will make them a horror to all the kingdoms of the earth because of what Manasseh the son of Hezekiah, king of Judah, did in Jerusalem.

⁵“Who will have pity on you, O Jerusalem, or who will grieve for you? Who will turn aside to ask about your welfare?

⁶You have rejected me, declares the LORD; you keep going backward, so I have stretched out my hand against you and destroyed you — I am weary of relenting.

⁷I have winnowed them with a winnowing fork in the gates of the land; I have bereaved them; I have destroyed my people; they did not turn from their ways.

⁸I have made their widows more in number than the sand of the seas; I have brought against the mothers of young men a destroyer at noonday; I have made anguish and terror fall upon them suddenly.

⁹She who bore seven has grown feeble; she has fainted away; her sun went down while it was yet day; she has been shamed and disgraced. And the rest of them I will give to the sword before their enemies, declares the LORD.”

¹⁰Woe is me, my mother, that you bore me, a man of strife and contention to the whole land! I have not lent, nor have I borrowed, yet all of them curse me.

¹¹The LORD said, “Have I not set you free for their good? Have I not pleaded for you before the enemy in the time of trouble and in the time of distress?

¹²Can one break iron, iron from the north, and bronze?

¹³“Your wealth and your treasures I will give as spoil, without price, for all your sins, throughout all your territory.

¹⁴I will make you serve your enemies in a land that you do not know, for in my anger a fire is kindled that shall burn forever.”

¹⁵O LORD, you know; remember me and visit me, and take vengeance for me on my persecutors. In your forbearance take me not away; know that for your sake I bear reproach.

¹⁶Your words were found, and I ate them, and your words became to me a joy and the delight of my heart, for I am called by your name, O LORD, God of hosts.

¹⁷I did not sit in the company of revelers, nor did I rejoice; I sat alone, because your hand was upon me, for you had filled me with indignation.

¹⁸Why is my pain unceasing, my wound incurable, refusing to be healed? Will you be to me like a deceitful brook, like waters that fail?

¹⁹Therefore thus says the LORD: “If you return, I will restore you, and you shall stand before me. If you utter what is precious, and not what is worthless, you shall be as my mouth. They shall turn to you, but you shall not turn to them.

²⁰And I will make you to this people a fortified wall of bronze; they will fight against you, but they shall not prevail over you, for I am with you to save you and deliver you, declares the LORD.

²¹I will deliver you out of the hand of the wicked, and redeem you from the grasp of the ruthless.”

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

²And the chief priests and the principal men of the Jews laid out their case against Paul, and they urged him,

³asking as a favor against Paul that he summon him to Jerusalem — because they were planning an ambush to kill him on the way.

⁴Festus replied that Paul was being kept at Caesarea and that he himself intended to go there shortly.

⁵“So,” said he, “let the men of authority among you go down with me, and if there is anything wrong about the man, let them bring charges against him.”

⁶After he stayed among them not more than eight or ten days, he went down to Caesarea. And the next day he took his seat on the tribunal and ordered Paul to be brought.

⁷When he had arrived, the Jews who had come down from Jerusalem stood around him, bringing many and serious charges against him that they could not prove.

⁸Paul argued in his defense, “Neither against the law of the Jews, nor against the temple, nor against Caesar have I committed any offense.”

⁹But Festus, wishing to do the Jews a favor, said to Paul, “Do you wish to go up to Jerusalem and there be tried on these charges before me?”

¹⁰But Paul said, “I am standing before Caesar's tribunal, where I ought to be tried. To the Jews I have done no wrong, as you yourself know very well.

¹¹If then I am a wrongdoer and have committed anything for which I deserve to die, I do not seek to escape death. But if there is nothing to their charges against me, no one can give me up to them. I appeal to Caesar.”

¹²Then Festus, when he had conferred with his council, answered, “To Caesar you have appealed; to Caesar you shall go.”

¹³Now when some days had passed, Agrippa the king and Bernice arrived at Caesarea and greeted Festus.

¹⁴And as they stayed there many days, Festus laid Paul's case before the king, saying, “There is a man left prisoner by Felix,

¹⁵and when I was at Jerusalem, the chief priests and the elders of the Jews laid out their case against him, asking for a sentence of condemnation against him.

¹⁶I answered them that it was not the custom of the Romans to give up anyone before the accused met the accusers face to face and had opportunity to make his defense concerning the charge laid against him.

¹⁷So when they came together here, I made no delay, but on the next day took my seat on the tribunal and ordered the man to be brought.

¹⁸When the accusers stood up, they brought no charge in his case of such evils as I supposed.

¹⁹Rather they had certain points of dispute with him about their own religion and about a certain Jesus, who was dead, but whom Paul asserted to be alive.

²⁰Being at a loss how to investigate these questions, I asked whether he wanted to go to Jerusalem and be tried there regarding them.

²¹But when Paul had appealed to be kept in custody for the decision of the emperor, I ordered him to be held until I could send him to Caesar.”

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

²³So on the next day Agrippa and Bernice came with great pomp, and they entered the audience hall with the military tribunes and the prominent men of the city. Then, at the command of Festus, Paul was brought in.

²⁴And Festus said, “King Agrippa and all who are present with us, you see this man about whom the whole Jewish people petitioned me, both in Jerusalem and here, shouting that he ought not to live any longer.

²⁵But I found that he had done nothing deserving death. And as he himself appealed to the emperor, I decided to go ahead and send him.

²⁶But I have nothing definite to write to my lord about him. Therefore I have brought him before you all, and especially before you, King Agrippa, so that, after we have examined him, I may have something to write.

²⁷For it seems to me unreasonable, in sending a prisoner, not to indicate the charges against him.”