Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹When Jesus had finished giving instructions to his twelve disciples, he moved on from there to teach and preach in their towns.

²Now when John heard in prison what the Christ was doing, he sent a message through his disciples

³and asked him, “Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect someone else?”

⁴Jesus replied to them, “Go and report to John what you hear and see:

⁵The blind receive their sight, the lame walk, those with leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor are told the good news,

⁶and blessed is the one who isn’t offended by me.”

⁷As these men were leaving, Jesus began to speak to the crowds about John: “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed swaying in the wind?

⁸What then did you go out to see? A man dressed in soft clothes? See, those who wear soft clothes are in royal palaces.

⁹What then did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet.

¹⁰This is the one about whom it is written: See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you; he will prepare your way before you.

¹¹“Truly I tell you, among those born of women no one greater than John the Baptist has appeared, but the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.

¹²From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has been suffering violence, and the violent have been seizing it by force.

¹³For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John.

¹⁴And if you’re willing to accept it, he is the Elijah who is to come.

¹⁵Let anyone who has ears listen.

¹⁶“To what should I compare this generation? It’s like children sitting in the marketplaces who call out to other children:

¹⁷We played the flute for you, but you didn’t dance; we sang a lament, but you didn’t mourn!

¹⁸For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon!’

¹⁹The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Look, a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ Yet wisdom is vindicated by her deeds.”

²⁰Then he proceeded to denounce the towns where most of his miracles were done, because they did not repent:

²¹“Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the miracles that were done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented in sackcloth and ashes long ago.

²²But I tell you, it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon on the day of judgment than for you.

²³And you, Capernaum, will you be exalted to heaven? No, you will go down to Hades. For if the miracles that were done in you had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until today.

²⁴But I tell you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom on the day of judgment than for you.”

²⁵At that time Jesus said, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent and revealed them to infants.

²⁶Yes, Father, because this was your good pleasure.

²⁷All things have been entrusted to me by my Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son desires to reveal him.

²⁸“Come to me, all of you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.

²⁹Take up my yoke and learn from me, because I am lowly and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.

³⁰For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

¹The whole earth had the same language and vocabulary.

²As people migrated from the east, they found a valley in the land of Shinar and settled there.

³They said to each other, “Come, let us make oven-fired bricks.” (They used brick for stone and asphalt for mortar.)

⁴And they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the sky. Let us make a name for ourselves; otherwise, we will be scattered throughout the earth.”

⁵Then the LORD came down to look over the city and the tower that the humans were building.

⁶The LORD said, “If they have begun to do this as one people all having the same language, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them.

⁷Come, let’s go down there and confuse their language so that they will not understand one another’s speech.”

⁸So from there the LORD scattered them throughout the earth, and they stopped building the city.

⁹Therefore it is called Babylon, for there the LORD confused the language of the whole earth, and from there the LORD scattered them throughout the earth.

¹⁰These are the family records of Shem. Shem lived 100 years and fathered Arpachshad two years after the flood.

¹¹After he fathered Arpachshad, Shem lived 500 years and fathered other sons and daughters.

¹²Arpachshad lived 35 years and fathered Shelah.

¹³After he fathered Shelah, Arpachshad lived 403 years and fathered other sons and daughters.

¹⁴Shelah lived 30 years and fathered Eber.

¹⁵After he fathered Eber, Shelah lived 403 years and fathered other sons and daughters.

¹⁶Eber lived 34 years and fathered Peleg.

¹⁷After he fathered Peleg, Eber lived 430 years and fathered other sons and daughters.

¹⁸Peleg lived 30 years and fathered Reu.

¹⁹After he fathered Reu, Peleg lived 209 years and fathered other sons and daughters.

²⁰Reu lived 32 years and fathered Serug.

²¹After he fathered Serug, Reu lived 207 years and fathered other sons and daughters.

²²Serug lived 30 years and fathered Nahor.

²³After he fathered Nahor, Serug lived 200 years and fathered other sons and daughters.

²⁴Nahor lived 29 years and fathered Terah.

²⁵After he fathered Terah, Nahor lived 119 years and fathered other sons and daughters.

²⁶Terah lived 70 years and fathered Abram, Nahor, and Haran.

²⁷These are the family records of Terah. Terah fathered Abram, Nahor, and Haran, and Haran fathered Lot.

²⁸Haran died in his native land, in Ur of the Chaldeans, during his father Terah’s lifetime.

²⁹Abram and Nahor took wives: Abram’s wife was named Sarai, and Nahor’s wife was named Milcah. She was the daughter of Haran, the father of both Milcah and Iscah.

³⁰Sarai was unable to conceive; she did not have a child.

³¹Terah took his son Abram, his grandson Lot (Haran’s son), and his daughter-in-law Sarai, his son Abram’s wife, and they set out together from Ur of the Chaldeans to go to the land of Canaan. But when they came to Haran, they settled there.

³²Terah lived 205 years and died in Haran.

¹I ask, then, has God rejected his people? Absolutely not! For I too am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, from the tribe of Benjamin.

²God has not rejected his people whom he foreknew. Or don’t you know what the Scripture says in the passage about Elijah — how he pleads with God against Israel?

³Lord, they have killed your prophets and torn down your altars. I am the only one left, and they are trying to take my life!

⁴But what was God’s answer to him? I have left seven thousand for myself who have not bowed down to Baal.

⁵In the same way, then, there is also at the present time a remnant chosen by grace.

⁶Now if by grace, then it is not by works; otherwise grace ceases to be grace.

⁷What then? Israel did not find what it was looking for, but the elect did find it. The rest were hardened,

⁸as it is written, God gave them a spirit of stupor, eyes that cannot see and ears that cannot hear, to this day.

⁹And David says, Let their table become a snare and a trap, a pitfall and a retribution to them.

¹⁰Let their eyes be darkened so that they cannot see, and their backs be bent continually.

¹¹I ask, then, have they stumbled so as to fall? Absolutely not! On the contrary, by their transgression, salvation has come to the Gentiles to make Israel jealous.

¹²Now if their transgression brings riches for the world, and their failure riches for the Gentiles, how much more will their fullness bring!

¹³Now I am speaking to you Gentiles. Insofar as I am an apostle to the Gentiles, I magnify my ministry,

¹⁴if I might somehow make my own people jealous and save some of them.

¹⁵For if their rejection brings reconciliation to the world, what will their acceptance mean but life from the dead?

¹⁶Now if the firstfruits are holy, so is the whole batch. And if the root is holy, so are the branches.

¹⁷Now if some of the branches were broken off, and you, though a wild olive branch, were grafted in among them and have come to share in the rich root of the cultivated olive tree,

¹⁸do not boast that you are better than those branches. But if you do boast — you do not sustain the root, but the root sustains you.

¹⁹Then you will say, “Branches were broken off so that I might be grafted in.”

²⁰True enough; they were broken off because of unbelief, but you stand by faith. Do not be arrogant, but beware,

²¹because if God did not spare the natural branches, he will not spare you either.

²²Therefore, consider God’s kindness and severity: severity toward those who have fallen but God’s kindness toward you — if you remain in his kindness. Otherwise you too will be cut off.

²³And even they, if they do not remain in unbelief, will be grafted in, because God has the power to graft them in again.

²⁴For if you were cut off from your native wild olive tree and against nature were grafted into a cultivated olive tree, how much more will these — the natural branches — be grafted into their own olive tree?

²⁵I don’t want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers and sisters, so that you will not be conceited: A partial hardening has come upon Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in.

²⁶And in this way all Israel will be saved, as it is written, The Deliverer will come from Zion; he will turn godlessness away from Jacob.

²⁷And this will be my covenant with them when I take away their sins.

²⁸Regarding the gospel, they are enemies for your advantage, but regarding election, they are loved because of the patriarchs,

²⁹since God’s gracious gifts and calling are irrevocable.

³⁰As you once disobeyed God but now have received mercy through their disobedience,

³¹so they too have now disobeyed, resulting in mercy to you, so that they also may now receive mercy.

³²For God has imprisoned all in disobedience so that he may have mercy on all.

³³Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and of the knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments and untraceable his ways!

³⁴For who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been his counselor?

³⁵And who has ever given to God, that he should be repaid?

³⁶For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be the glory forever. Amen.

¹This saying is trustworthy: “If anyone aspires to be an overseer, he desires a noble work.”

²An overseer, therefore, must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, self-controlled, sensible, respectable, hospitable, able to teach,

³not an excessive drinker, not a bully but gentle, not quarrelsome, not greedy.

⁴He must manage his own household competently and have his children under control with all dignity.

⁵(If anyone does not know how to manage his own household, how will he take care of God’s church?)

⁶He must not be a new convert, or he might become conceited and incur the same condemnation as the devil.

⁷Furthermore, he must have a good reputation among outsiders, so that he does not fall into disgrace and the devil’s trap.

⁸Deacons, likewise, should be worthy of respect, not hypocritical, not drinking a lot of wine, not greedy for money,

⁹holding the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience.

¹⁰They must also be tested first; if they prove blameless, then they can serve as deacons.

¹¹Wives, too, must be worthy of respect, not slanderers, self-controlled, faithful in everything.

¹²Deacons are to be husbands of one wife, managing their children and their own households competently.

¹³For those who have served well as deacons acquire a good standing for themselves and great boldness in the faith that is in Christ Jesus.

¹⁴I write these things to you, hoping to come to you soon.

¹⁵But if I should be delayed, I have written so that you will know how people ought to conduct themselves in God’s household, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of the truth.

¹⁶And most certainly, the mystery of godliness is great: He was manifested in the flesh, vindicated in the Spirit, seen by angels, preached among the nations, believed on in the world, taken up in glory.

¹Then Zophar the Naamathite replied:

²Should this abundance of words go unanswered and such a talker be acquitted?

³Should your babbling put others to silence, so that you can keep on ridiculing with no one to humiliate you?

⁴You have said, “My teaching is sound, and I am pure in your sight.”

⁵But if only God would speak and open his lips against you!

⁶He would show you the secrets of wisdom, for true wisdom has two sides. Know then that God has chosen to overlook some of your iniquity.

⁷Can you fathom the depths of God or discover the limits of the Almighty?

⁸They are higher than the heavens — what can you do? They are deeper than Sheol — what can you know?

⁹Their measure is longer than the earth and wider than the sea.

¹⁰If he passes by and throws someone in prison or convenes a court, who can stop him?

¹¹Surely he knows which people are worthless. If he sees iniquity, will he not take note of it?

¹²But a stupid person will gain understanding as soon as a wild donkey is born a human!

¹³As for you, if you redirect your heart and spread out your hands to him in prayer —

¹⁴if there is iniquity in your hand, remove it, and don’t allow injustice to dwell in your tents —

¹⁵then you will hold your head high, free from fault. You will be firmly established and unafraid.

¹⁶For you will forget your suffering, recalling it only as water that has flowed by.

¹⁷Your life will be brighter than noonday; its darkness will be like the morning.

¹⁸You will be confident, because there is hope. You will look carefully about and lie down in safety.

¹⁹You will lie down with no one to frighten you, and many will seek your favor.

²⁰But the sight of the wicked will fail. Their way of escape will be cut off, and their only hope is their last breath.

¹For the choir director. Of David. [1] I have taken refuge in the LORD. How can you say to me, “Escape to the mountains like a bird!

²For look, the wicked string bows; they put their arrows on bowstrings to shoot from the shadows at the upright in heart.

³When the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do?”

⁴The LORD is in his holy temple; the LORD—his throne is in heaven. His eyes watch; his gaze examines everyone.

⁵The LORD examines the righteous, but he hates the wicked and those who love violence.

⁶Let him rain burning coals and sulfur on the wicked; let a scorching wind be the portion in their cup.

⁷For the LORD is righteous; he loves righteous deeds. The upright will see his face.

¹Dishonest scales are detestable to the LORD, but an accurate weight is his delight.

²When arrogance comes, disgrace follows, but with humility comes wisdom.

³The integrity of the upright guides them, but the perversity of the treacherous destroys them.

⁴Wealth is not profitable on a day of wrath, but righteousness rescues from death.

⁵The righteousness of the blameless clears his path, but the wicked person will fall because of his wickedness.

⁶The righteousness of the upright rescues them, but the treacherous are trapped by their own desires.

⁷When the wicked person dies, his expectation comes to nothing, and hope placed in wealth vanishes.

⁸The righteous one is rescued from trouble; in his place, the wicked one goes in.

⁹With his mouth the ungodly destroys his neighbor, but through knowledge the righteous are rescued.

¹⁰When the righteous thrive, a city rejoices; when the wicked die, there is joyful shouting.

¹¹A city is built up by the blessing of the upright, but it is torn down by the mouth of the wicked.

¹²Whoever shows contempt for his neighbor lacks sense, but a person with understanding keeps silent.

¹³A gossip goes around revealing a secret, but a trustworthy person keeps a confidence.

¹⁴Without guidance, a people will fall, but with many counselors there is deliverance.

¹⁵If someone puts up security for a stranger, he will suffer for it, but the one who hates such agreements is protected.

¹⁶A gracious woman gains honor, but violent people gain only riches.

¹⁷A kind man benefits himself, but a cruel person brings ruin on himself.

¹⁸The wicked person earns an empty wage, but the one who sows righteousness, a true reward.

¹⁹Genuine righteousness leads to life, but pursuing evil leads to death.

²⁰Those with twisted minds are detestable to the LORD, but those with blameless conduct are his delight.

²¹Be assured that a wicked person will not go unpunished, but the offspring of the righteous will escape.

²²A beautiful woman who rejects good sense is like a gold ring in a pig’s snout.

²³The desire of the righteous turns out well, but the hope of the wicked leads to wrath.

²⁴One person gives freely, yet gains more; another withholds what is right, only to become poor.

²⁵A generous person will be enriched, and the one who gives a drink of water will receive water.

²⁶People will curse anyone who hoards grain, but a blessing will come to the one who sells it.

²⁷The one who searches for what is good seeks favor, but if someone looks for trouble, it will come to him.

²⁸Anyone trusting in his riches will fall, but the righteous will flourish like foliage.

²⁹The one who brings ruin on his household will inherit the wind, and a fool will be a slave to someone whose heart is wise.

³⁰The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, and a wise person captivates people. 

³¹If the righteous will be repaid on earth, how much more the wicked and sinful.

¹When King Jabin of Hazor heard this news, he sent a message to: King Jobab of Madon, the kings of Shimron and Achshaph,

²and the kings of the north in the hill country, the Arabah south of Chinnereth, the Judean foothills, and the Slopes of Dor to the west,

³the Canaanites in the east and west, the Amorites, Hethites, Perizzites, and Jebusites in the hill country, and the Hivites at the foot of Hermon in the land of Mizpah.

⁴They went out with all their armies — a multitude as numerous as the sand on the seashore  — along with a vast number of horses and chariots.

⁵All these kings joined forces; they came and camped together at the Waters of Merom to attack Israel.

⁶The LORD said to Joshua, “Do not be afraid of them, for at this time tomorrow I will cause all of them to be killed before Israel. You are to hamstring their horses and burn their chariots.”

⁷So Joshua and all his troops surprised them at the Waters of Merom and attacked them.

⁸The LORD handed them over to Israel, and they struck them down, pursuing them as far as greater Sidon and Misrephoth-maim, and to the east as far as the Valley of Mizpeh. They struck them down, leaving no survivors.

⁹Joshua treated them as the LORD had told him; he hamstrung their horses and burned their chariots.

¹⁰At that time Joshua turned back, captured Hazor, and struck down its king with the sword, because Hazor had formerly been the leader of all these kingdoms.

¹¹They struck down everyone in it with the sword, completely destroying them; he left no one alive. Then he burned Hazor.

¹²Joshua captured all these kings and their cities and struck them down with the sword. He completely destroyed them, as Moses the LORD’s servant had commanded.

¹³However, Israel did not burn any of the cities that stood on their mounds except Hazor, which Joshua burned.

¹⁴The Israelites plundered all the spoils and cattle of these cities for themselves. But they struck down every person with the sword until they had annihilated them, leaving no one alive.

¹⁵Just as the LORD had commanded his servant Moses, Moses commanded Joshua. That is what Joshua did, leaving nothing undone of all that the LORD had commanded Moses.

¹⁶So Joshua took all this land — the hill country, all the Negev, all the land of Goshen, the foothills, the Arabah, and the hill country of Israel with its foothills —

¹⁷from Mount Halak, which ascends to Seir, as far as Baal-gad in the Valley of Lebanon at the foot of Mount Hermon. He captured all their kings and struck them down, putting them to death.

¹⁸Joshua waged war with all these kings for a long time.

¹⁹No city made peace with the Israelites except the Hivites who inhabited Gibeon; all of them were taken in battle.

²⁰For it was the LORD’s intention to harden their hearts, so that they would engage Israel in battle, be completely destroyed without mercy, and be annihilated, just as the LORD had commanded Moses.

²¹At that time Joshua proceeded to exterminate the Anakim from the hill country — Hebron, Debir, Anab — all the hill country of Judah and of Israel. Joshua completely destroyed them with their cities.

²²No Anakim were left in the land of the Israelites, except for some remaining in Gaza, Gath, and Ashdod.

²³So Joshua took the entire land, in keeping with all that the LORD had told Moses. Joshua then gave it as an inheritance to Israel according to their tribal allotments. After this, the land had rest from war.

¹Then a shoot will grow from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots will bear fruit.

²The Spirit of the LORD will rest on him  — a Spirit of wisdom and understanding, a Spirit of counsel and strength, a Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD.

³His delight will be in the fear of the LORD. He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes, he will not execute justice by what he hears with his ears,

⁴but he will judge the poor righteously and execute justice for the oppressed of the land. He will strike the land with a scepter from his mouth, and he will kill the wicked with a command from his lips.

⁵Righteousness will be a belt around his hips; faithfulness will be a belt around his waist.

⁶The wolf will dwell with the lamb, and the leopard will lie down with the goat. The calf, the young lion, and the fattened calf will be together, and a child will lead them.

⁷The cow and the bear will graze, their young ones will lie down together, and the lion will eat straw like cattle.

⁸An infant will play beside the cobra’s pit, and a toddler will put his hand into a snake’s den.

⁹They will not harm or destroy each other on my entire holy mountain, for the land will be as full of the knowledge of the LORD as the sea is filled with water.

¹⁰On that day the root of Jesse will stand as a banner for the peoples. The nations will look to him for guidance, and his resting place will be glorious.

¹¹On that day the Lord will extend his hand a second time to recover the remnant of his people who survive — from Assyria, Egypt, Pathros, Cush, Elam, Shinar, Hamath, and the coasts and islands of the west.

¹²He will lift up a banner for the nations and gather the dispersed of Israel; he will collect the scattered of Judah from the four corners of the earth.

¹³Ephraim’s envy will cease; Judah’s harassing will end. Ephraim will no longer be envious of Judah, and Judah will not harass Ephraim.

¹⁴But they will swoop down on the Philistine flank to the west. Together they will plunder the people of the east. They will extend their power over Edom and Moab, and the Ammonites will be their subjects.

¹⁵The LORD will divide the Gulf of Suez. He will wave his hand over the Euphrates with his mighty wind and will split it into seven streams, letting people walk through on foot.

¹⁶There will be a highway for the remnant of his people who will survive from Assyria, as there was for Israel when they came up from the land of Egypt.

¹The apostles and the brothers and sisters who were throughout Judea heard that the Gentiles had also received the word of God.

²When Peter went up to Jerusalem, the circumcision party criticized him,

³saying, “You went to uncircumcised men and ate with them.”

⁴Peter began to explain to them step by step:

⁵“I was in the town of Joppa praying, and I saw, in a trance, an object that resembled a large sheet coming down, being lowered by its four corners from heaven, and it came to me.

⁶When I looked closely and considered it, I saw the four-footed animals of the earth, the wild beasts, the reptiles, and the birds of the sky.

⁷I also heard a voice telling me, ‘Get up, Peter; kill and eat.’

⁸“‘No, Lord! ’ I said. ‘For nothing impure or ritually unclean has ever entered my mouth.’

⁹But a voice answered from heaven a second time, ‘What God has made clean, you must not call impure.’

¹⁰“Now this happened three times, and everything was drawn up again into heaven.

¹¹At that very moment, three men who had been sent to me from Caesarea arrived at the house where we were.

¹²The Spirit told me to accompany them with no doubts at all. These six brothers also accompanied me, and we went into the man’s house.

¹³He reported to us how he had seen the angel standing in his house and saying, ‘Send to Joppa, and call for Simon, who is also named Peter.

¹⁴He will speak a message to you by which you and all your household will be saved.’

¹⁵“As I began to speak, the Holy Spirit came down on them, just as on us at the beginning.

¹⁶I remembered the word of the Lord, how he said, ‘John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’

¹⁷If, then, God gave them the same gift that he also gave to us when we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, how could I possibly hinder God?”

¹⁸When they heard this they became silent. And they glorified God, saying, “So then, God has given repentance resulting in life even to the Gentiles.”

¹⁹Now those who had been scattered as a result of the persecution that started because of Stephen made their way as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch, speaking the word to no one except Jews.

²⁰But there were some of them, men from Cyprus and Cyrene, who came to Antioch and began speaking to the Greeks also, proclaiming the good news about the Lord Jesus.

²¹The Lord’s hand was with them, and a large number who believed turned to the Lord.

²²News about them reached the church in Jerusalem, and they sent out Barnabas to travel as far as Antioch.

²³When he arrived and saw the grace of God, he was glad and encouraged all of them to remain true to the Lord with devoted hearts,

²⁴for he was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith. And large numbers of people were added to the Lord.

²⁵Then he went to Tarsus to search for Saul,

²⁶and when he found him he brought him to Antioch. For a whole year they met with the church and taught large numbers. The disciples were first called Christians at Antioch.

²⁷In those days some prophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch.

²⁸One of them, named Agabus, stood up and predicted by the Spirit that there would be a severe famine throughout the Roman world. This took place during the reign of Claudius.

²⁹Each of the disciples, according to his ability, determined to send relief to the brothers and sisters who lived in Judea.

³⁰They did this, sending it to the elders by means of Barnabas and Saul.