9th May

¹ And it shall be, when thou art come in unto the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee for an inheritance, and possessest it, and dwellest therein;² That thou shalt take of the first of all the fruit of the earth, which thou shalt bring of thy land that the LORD thy God giveth thee, and shalt put it in a basket, and shalt go unto the place which the LORD thy God shall choose to place his name there.³ And thou shalt go unto the priest that shall be in those days, and say unto him, I profess this day unto the LORD thy God, that I am come unto the country which the LORD sware unto our fathers for to give us.⁴ And the priest shall take the basket out of thine hand, and set it down before the altar of the LORD thy God.⁵ And thou shalt speak and say before the LORD thy God, A Syrian ready to perish was my father, and he went down into Egypt, and sojourned there with a few, and became there a nation, great, mighty, and populous:⁶ And the Egyptians evil entreated us, and afflicted us, and laid upon us hard bondage:⁷ And when we cried unto the LORD God of our fathers, the LORD heard our voice, and looked on our affliction, and our labour, and our oppression:⁸ And the LORD brought us forth out of Egypt with a mighty hand, and with an outstretched arm, and with great terribleness, and with signs, and with wonders:⁹ And he hath brought us into this place, and hath given us this land, even a land that floweth with milk and honey.¹⁰ And now, behold, I have brought the firstfruits of the land, which thou, O LORD, hast given me. And thou shalt set it before the LORD thy God, and worship before the LORD thy God:¹¹ And thou shalt rejoice in every good thing which the LORD thy God hath given unto thee, and unto thine house, thou, and the Levite, and the stranger that is among you.¹² When thou hast made an end of tithing all the tithes of thine increase the third year, which is the year of tithing, and hast given it unto the Levite, the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, that they may eat within thy gates, and be filled;¹³ Then thou shalt say before the LORD thy God, I have brought away the hallowed things out of mine house, and also have given them unto the Levite, and unto the stranger, to the fatherless, and to the widow, according to all thy commandments which thou hast commanded me: I have not transgressed thy commandments, neither have I forgotten them.¹⁴ I have not eaten thereof in my mourning, neither have I taken away ought thereof for any unclean use, nor given ought thereof for the dead: but I have hearkened to the voice of the LORD my God, and have done according to all that thou hast commanded me.¹⁵ Look down from thy holy habitation, from heaven, and bless thy people Israel, and the land which thou hast given us, as thou swarest unto our fathers, a land that floweth with milk and honey.¹⁶ This day the LORD thy God hath commanded thee to do these statutes and judgments: thou shalt therefore keep and do them with all thine heart, and with all thy soul.¹⁷ Thou hast avouched the LORD this day to be thy God, and to walk in his ways, and to keep his statutes, and his commandments, and his judgments, and to hearken unto his voice:¹⁸ And the LORD hath avouched thee this day to be his peculiar people, as he hath promised thee, and that thou shouldest keep all his commandments;¹⁹ And to make thee high above all nations which he hath made, in praise, and in name, and in honour; and that thou mayest be an holy people unto the LORD thy God, as he hath spoken.

¹ Whither is thy beloved gone, O thou fairest among women? whither is thy beloved turned aside? that we may seek him with thee.² My beloved is gone down into his garden, to the beds of spices, to feed in the gardens, and to gather lilies.³ I am my beloved's, and my beloved is mine: he feedeth among the lilies.⁴ Thou art beautiful, O my love, as Tirzah, comely as Jerusalem, terrible as an army with banners.⁵ Turn away thine eyes from me, for they have overcome me: thy hair is as a flock of goats that appear from Gilead.⁶ Thy teeth are as a flock of sheep which go up from the washing, whereof every one beareth twins, and there is not one barren among them.⁷ As a piece of a pomegranate are thy temples within thy locks.⁸ There are threescore queens, and fourscore concubines, and virgins without number.⁹ My dove, my undefiled is but one; she is the only one of her mother, she is the choice one of her that bare her. The daughters saw her, and blessed her; yea, the queens and the concubines, and they praised her.¹⁰ Who is she that looketh forth as the morning, fair as the moon, clear as the sun, and terrible as an army with banners?¹¹ I went down into the garden of nuts to see the fruits of the valley, and to see whether the vine flourished and the pomegranates budded.¹² Or ever I was aware, my soul made me like the chariots of Amminadib.¹³ Return, return, O Shulamite; return, return, that we may look upon thee. What will ye see in the Shulamite? As it were the company of two armies.

¹ And it came to pass, that after we were gotten from them, and had launched, we came with a straight course unto Coos, and the day following unto Rhodes, and from thence unto Patara:² And finding a ship sailing over unto Phenicia, we went aboard, and set forth.³ Now when we had discovered Cyprus, we left it on the left hand, and sailed into Syria, and landed at Tyre: for there the ship was to unlade her burden.⁴ And finding disciples, we tarried there seven days: who said to Paul through the Spirit, that he should not go up to Jerusalem.⁵ And when we had accomplished those days, we departed and went our way; and they all brought us on our way, with wives and children, till we were out of the city: and we kneeled down on the shore, and prayed.⁶ And when we had taken our leave one of another, we took ship; and they returned home again.⁷ And when we had finished our course from Tyre, we came to Ptolemais, and saluted the brethren, and abode with them one day.⁸ And the next day we that were of Paul's company departed, and came unto Caesarea: and we entered into the house of Philip the evangelist, which was one of the seven; and abode with him.⁹ And the same man had four daughters, virgins, which did prophesy.¹⁰ And as we tarried there many days, there came down from Judaea a certain prophet, named Agabus.¹¹ And when he was come unto us, he took Paul's girdle, and bound his own hands and feet, and said, Thus saith the Holy Ghost, So shall the Jews at Jerusalem bind the man that owneth this girdle, and shall deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles.¹² And when we heard these things, both we, and they of that place, besought him not to go up to Jerusalem.¹³ Then Paul answered, What mean ye to weep and to break mine heart? for I am ready not to be bound only, but also to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.¹⁴ And when he would not be persuaded, we ceased, saying, The will of the Lord be done.¹⁵ And after those days we took up our carriages, and went up to Jerusalem.¹⁶ There went with us also certain of the disciples of Caesarea, and brought with them one Mnason of Cyprus, an old disciple, with whom we should lodge.¹⁷ And when we were come to Jerusalem, the brethren received us gladly.¹⁸ And the day following Paul went in with us unto James; and all the elders were present.¹⁹ And when he had saluted them, he declared particularly what things God had wrought among the Gentiles by his ministry.²⁰ And when they heard it, they glorified the Lord, and said unto him, Thou seest, brother, how many thousands of Jews there are which believe; and they are all zealous of the law:²¹ And they are informed of thee, that thou teachest all the Jews which are among the Gentiles to forsake Moses, saying that they ought not to circumcise their children, neither to walk after the customs.²² What is it therefore? the multitude must needs come together: for they will hear that thou art come.²³ Do therefore this that we say to thee: We have four men which have a vow on them;²⁴ Them take, and purify thyself with them, and be at charges with them, that they may shave their heads: and all may know that those things, whereof they were informed concerning thee, are nothing; but that thou thyself also walkest orderly, and keepest the law.²⁵ As touching the Gentiles which believe, we have written and concluded that they observe no such thing, save only that they keep themselves from things offered to idols, and from blood, and from strangled, and from fornication.²⁶ Then Paul took the men, and the next day purifying himself with them entered into the temple, to signify the accomplishment of the days of purification, until that an offering should be offered for every one of them.²⁷ And when the seven days were almost ended, the Jews which were of Asia, when they saw him in the temple, stirred up all the people, and laid hands on him,²⁸ Crying out, Men of Israel, help: This is the man, that teacheth all men every where against the people, and the law, and this place: and further brought Greeks also into the temple, and hath polluted this holy place.²⁹ (For they had seen before with him in the city Trophimus an Ephesian, whom they supposed that Paul had brought into the temple.)³⁰ And all the city was moved, and the people ran together: and they took Paul, and drew him out of the temple: and forthwith the doors were shut.³¹ And as they went about to kill him, tidings came unto the chief captain of the band, that all Jerusalem was in an uproar.³² Who immediately took soldiers and centurions, and ran down unto them: and when they saw the chief captain and the soldiers, they left beating of Paul.³³ Then the chief captain came near, and took him, and commanded him to be bound with two chains; and demanded who he was, and what he had done.³⁴ And some cried one thing, some another, among the multitude: and when he could not know the certainty for the tumult, he commanded him to be carried into the castle.³⁵ And when he came upon the stairs, so it was, that he was borne of the soldiers for the violence of the people.³⁶ For the multitude of the people followed after, crying, Away with him.³⁷ And as Paul was to be led into the castle, he said unto the chief captain, May I speak unto thee? Who said, Canst thou speak Greek?³⁸ Art not thou that Egyptian, which before these days madest an uproar, and leddest out into the wilderness four thousand men that were murderers?³⁹ But Paul said, I am a man which am a Jew of Tarsus, a city in Cilicia, a citizen of no mean city: and, I beseech thee, suffer me to speak unto the people.⁴⁰ And when he had given him licence, Paul stood on the stairs, and beckoned with the hand unto the people. And when there was made a great silence, he spake unto them in the Hebrew tongue, saying,

¹ Men, brethren, and fathers, hear ye my defence which I make now unto you.² (And when they heard that he spake in the Hebrew tongue to them, they kept the more silence: and he saith,)³ I am verily a man which am a Jew, born in Tarsus, a city in Cilicia, yet brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel, and taught according to the perfect manner of the law of the fathers, and was zealous toward God, as ye all are this day.⁴ And I persecuted this way unto the death, binding and delivering into prisons both men and women.⁵ As also the high priest doth bear me witness, and all the estate of the elders: from whom also I received letters unto the brethren, and went to Damascus, to bring them which were there bound unto Jerusalem, for to be punished.⁶ And it came to pass, that, as I made my journey, and was come nigh unto Damascus about noon, suddenly there shone from heaven a great light round about me.⁷ And I fell unto the ground, and heard a voice saying unto me, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?⁸ And I answered, Who art thou, Lord? And he said unto me, I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom thou persecutest.⁹ And they that were with me saw indeed the light, and were afraid; but they heard not the voice of him that spake to me.¹⁰ And I said, What shall I do, LORD? And the Lord said unto me, Arise, and go into Damascus; and there it shall be told thee of all things which are appointed for thee to do.¹¹ And when I could not see for the glory of that light, being led by the hand of them that were with me, I came into Damascus.¹² And one Ananias, a devout man according to the law, having a good report of all the Jews which dwelt there,¹³ Came unto me, and stood, and said unto me, Brother Saul, receive thy sight. And the same hour I looked up upon him.¹⁴ And he said, The God of our fathers hath chosen thee, that thou shouldest know his will, and see that Just One, and shouldest hear the voice of his mouth.¹⁵ For thou shalt be his witness unto all men of what thou hast seen and heard.¹⁶ And now why tarriest thou? arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord.¹⁷ And it came to pass, that, when I was come again to Jerusalem, even while I prayed in the temple, I was in a trance;¹⁸ And saw him saying unto me, Make haste, and get thee quickly out of Jerusalem: for they will not receive thy testimony concerning me.¹⁹ And I said, Lord, they know that I imprisoned and beat in every synagogue them that believed on thee:²⁰ And when the blood of thy martyr Stephen was shed, I also was standing by, and consenting unto his death, and kept the raiment of them that slew him.²¹ And he said unto me, Depart: for I will send thee far hence unto the Gentiles.²² And they gave him audience unto this word, and then lifted up their voices, and said, Away with such a fellow from the earth: for it is not fit that he should live.²³ And as they cried out, and cast off their clothes, and threw dust into the air,²⁴ The chief captain commanded him to be brought into the castle, and bade that he should be examined by scourging; that he might know wherefore they cried so against him.²⁵ And as they bound him with thongs, Paul said unto the centurion that stood by, Is it lawful for you to scourge a man that is a Roman, and uncondemned?²⁶ When the centurion heard that, he went and told the chief captain, saying, Take heed what thou doest: for this man is a Roman.²⁷ Then the chief captain came, and said unto him, Tell me, art thou a Roman? He said, Yea.²⁸ And the chief captain answered, With a great sum obtained I this freedom. And Paul said, But I was free born.²⁹ Then straightway they departed from him which should have examined him: and the chief captain also was afraid, after he knew that he was a Roman, and because he had bound him.³⁰ On the morrow, because he would have known the certainty wherefore he was accused of the Jews, he loosed him from his bands, and commanded the chief priests and all their council to appear, and brought Paul down, and set him before them.