Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath. And His disciples were hungry, and began to pluck heads of grain and to eat.

²And when the Pharisees saw it, they said to Him, “Look, Your disciples are doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath!”

³But He said to them, “Have you not read what David did when he was hungry, he and those who were with him:

⁴how he entered the house of God and ate the showbread which was not lawful for him to eat, nor for those who were with him, but only for the priests?

⁵Or have you not read in the law that on the Sabbath the priests in the temple profane the Sabbath, and are blameless?

⁶Yet I say to you that in this place there is One greater than the temple.

⁷But if you had known what this means, ‘I desire mercy and not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the guiltless.

⁸For the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.”

⁹Now when He had departed from there, He went into their synagogue.

¹⁰And behold, there was a man who had a withered hand. And they asked Him, saying, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?”—that they might accuse Him.

¹¹Then He said to them, “What man is there among you who has one sheep, and if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will not lay hold of it and lift it out?

¹²Of how much more value then is a man than a sheep? Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.”

¹³Then He said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” And he stretched it out, and it was restored as whole as the other.

¹⁴Then the Pharisees went out and plotted against Him, how they might destroy Him.

¹⁵But when Jesus knew it, He withdrew from there. And great multitudes followed Him, and He healed them all.

¹⁶Yet He warned them not to make Him known,

¹⁷that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying:

¹⁸“Behold! My Servant whom I have chosen, My Beloved in whom My soul is well pleased! I will put My Spirit upon Him, And He will declare justice to the Gentiles.

¹⁹He will not quarrel nor cry out, Nor will anyone hear His voice in the streets.

²⁰A bruised reed He will not break, And smoking flax He will not quench, Till He sends forth justice to victory;

²¹And in His name Gentiles will trust.”

²²Then one was brought to Him who was demon-possessed, blind and mute; and He healed him, so that the blind and mute man both spoke and saw.

²³And all the multitudes were amazed and said, “Could this be the Son of David?”

²⁴Now when the Pharisees heard it they said, “This fellow does not cast out demons except by Beelzebub, the ruler of the demons.”

²⁵But Jesus knew their thoughts, and said to them: “Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and every city or house divided against itself will not stand.

²⁶If Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then will his kingdom stand?

²⁷And if I cast out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore they shall be your judges.

²⁸But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, surely the kingdom of God has come upon you.

²⁹Or how can one enter a strong man’s house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man? And then he will plunder his house.

³⁰He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters abroad.

³¹“Therefore I say to you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven men.

³²Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the age to come.

³³“Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or else make the tree bad and its fruit bad; for a tree is known by its fruit.

³⁴Brood of vipers! How can you, being evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.

³⁵A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things.

³⁶But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment.

³⁷For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”

³⁸Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered, saying, “Teacher, we want to see a sign from You.”

³⁹But He answered and said to them, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah.

⁴⁰For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.

⁴¹The men of Nineveh will rise up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and indeed a greater than Jonah is here.

⁴²The queen of the South will rise up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and indeed a greater than Solomon is here.

⁴³“When an unclean spirit goes out of a man, he goes through dry places, seeking rest, and finds none.

⁴⁴Then he says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ And when he comes, he finds it empty, swept, and put in order.

⁴⁵Then he goes and takes with him seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter and dwell there; and the last state of that man is worse than the first. So shall it also be with this wicked generation.”

⁴⁶While He was still talking to the multitudes, behold, His mother and brothers stood outside, seeking to speak with Him.

⁴⁷Then one said to Him, “Look, Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside, seeking to speak with You.”

⁴⁸But He answered and said to the one who told Him, “Who is My mother and who are My brothers?”

⁴⁹And He stretched out His hand toward His disciples and said, “Here are My mother and My brothers!

⁵⁰For whoever does the will of My Father in heaven is My brother and sister and mother.”

¹Now the LORD had said to Abram: “Get out of your country, From your family And from your father’s house, To a land that I will show you.

²I will make you a great nation; I will bless you And make your name great; And you shall be a blessing.

³I will bless those who bless you, And I will curse him who curses you; And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”

⁴So Abram departed as the LORD had spoken to him, and Lot went with him. And Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran.

⁵Then Abram took Sarai his wife and Lot his brother’s son, and all their possessions that they had gathered, and the people whom they had acquired in Haran, and they departed to go to the land of Canaan. So they came to the land of Canaan.

⁶Abram passed through the land to the place of Shechem, as far as the terebinth tree of Moreh. And the Canaanites were then in the land.

⁷Then the LORD appeared to Abram and said, “To your descendants I will give this land.” And there he built an altar to the LORD, who had appeared to him.

⁸And he moved from there to the mountain east of Bethel, and he pitched his tent with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east; there he built an altar to the LORD and called on the name of the LORD.

⁹So Abram journeyed, going on still toward the South.

¹⁰Now there was a famine in the land, and Abram went down to Egypt to dwell there, for the famine was severe in the land.

¹¹And it came to pass, when he was close to entering Egypt, that he said to Sarai his wife, “Indeed I know that you are a woman of beautiful countenance.

¹²Therefore it will happen, when the Egyptians see you, that they will say, ‘This is his wife’; and they will kill me, but they will let you live.

¹³Please say you are my sister, that it may be well with me for your sake, and that I may live because of you.”

¹⁴So it was, when Abram came into Egypt, that the Egyptians saw the woman, that she was very beautiful.

¹⁵The princes of Pharaoh also saw her and commended her to Pharaoh. And the woman was taken to Pharaoh’s house.

¹⁶He treated Abram well for her sake. He had sheep, oxen, male donkeys, male and female servants, female donkeys, and camels.

¹⁷But the LORD plagued Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because of Sarai, Abram’s wife.

¹⁸And Pharaoh called Abram and said, “What is this you have done to me? Why did you not tell me that she was your wife?

¹⁹Why did you say, ‘She is my sister’? I might have taken her as my wife. Now therefore, here is your wife; take her and go your way.”

²⁰So Pharaoh commanded his men concerning him; and they sent him away, with his wife and all that he had.

¹I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.

²And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

³For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith.

⁴For as we have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same function,

⁵so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another.

⁶Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, let us prophesy in proportion to our faith;

⁷or ministry, let us use it in our ministering; he who teaches, in teaching;

⁸he who exhorts, in exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness.

⁹Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil. Cling to what is good.

¹⁰Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one another;

¹¹not lagging in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord;

¹²rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing steadfastly in prayer;

¹³distributing to the needs of the saints, given to hospitality.

¹⁴Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse.

¹⁵Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep.

¹⁶Be of the same mind toward one another. Do not set your mind on high things, but associate with the humble. Do not be wise in your own opinion.

¹⁷Repay no one evil for evil. Have regard for good things in the sight of all men.

¹⁸If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men.

¹⁹Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord.

²⁰Therefore “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; If he is thirsty, give him a drink; For in so doing you will heap coals of fire on his head.”

²¹Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

¹Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons,

²speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their own conscience seared with a hot iron,

³forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from foods which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth.

⁴For every creature of God is good, and nothing is to be refused if it is received with thanksgiving;

⁵for it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer.

⁶If you instruct the brethren in these things, you will be a good minister of Jesus Christ, nourished in the words of faith and of the good doctrine which you have carefully followed.

⁷But reject profane and old wives’ fables, and exercise yourself toward godliness.

⁸For bodily exercise profits a little, but godliness is profitable for all things, having promise of the life that now is and of that which is to come.

⁹This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance.

¹⁰For to this end we both labor and suffer reproach, because we trust in the living God, who is the Savior of all men, especially of those who believe.

¹¹These things command and teach.

¹²Let no one despise your youth, but be an example to the believers in word, in conduct, in love, in spirit, in faith, in purity.

¹³Till I come, give attention to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine.

¹⁴Do not neglect the gift that is in you, which was given to you by prophecy with the laying on of the hands of the eldership.

¹⁵Meditate on these things; give yourself entirely to them, that your progress may be evident to all.

¹⁶Take heed to yourself and to the doctrine. Continue in them, for in doing this you will save both yourself and those who hear you.

¹Then Job answered and said:

²“No doubt you are the people, And wisdom will die with you!

³But I have understanding as well as you; I am not inferior to you. Indeed, who does not know such things as these?

⁴“I am one mocked by his friends, Who called on God, and He answered him, The just and blameless who is ridiculed.

⁵A lamp is despised in the thought of one who is at ease; It is made ready for those whose feet slip.

⁶The tents of robbers prosper, And those who provoke God are secure— In what God provides by His hand.

⁷“But now ask the beasts, and they will teach you; And the birds of the air, and they will tell you;

⁸Or speak to the earth, and it will teach you; And the fish of the sea will explain to you.

⁹Who among all these does not know That the hand of the LORD has done this,

¹⁰In whose hand is the life of every living thing, And the breath of all mankind?

¹¹Does not the ear test words And the mouth taste its food?

¹²Wisdom is with aged men, And with length of days, understanding.

¹³“With Him are wisdom and strength, He has counsel and understanding.

¹⁴If He breaks a thing down, it cannot be rebuilt; If He imprisons a man, there can be no release.

¹⁵If He withholds the waters, they dry up; If He sends them out, they overwhelm the earth.

¹⁶With Him are strength and prudence. The deceived and the deceiver are His.

¹⁷He leads counselors away plundered, And makes fools of the judges.

¹⁸He loosens the bonds of kings, And binds their waist with a belt.

¹⁹He leads princes away plundered, And overthrows the mighty.

²⁰He deprives the trusted ones of speech, And takes away the discernment of the elders.

²¹He pours contempt on princes, And disarms the mighty.

²²He uncovers deep things out of darkness, And brings the shadow of death to light.

²³He makes nations great, and destroys them; He enlarges nations, and guides them.

²⁴He takes away the understanding of the chiefs of the people of the earth, And makes them wander in a pathless wilderness.

²⁵They grope in the dark without light, And He makes them stagger like a drunken man.

¹To the Chief Musician. On an eight-stringed harp. A Psalm of David. [1] Help, LORD, for the godly man ceases! For the faithful disappear from among the sons of men.

²They speak idly everyone with his neighbor; With flattering lips and a double heart they speak.

³May the LORD cut off all flattering lips, And the tongue that speaks proud things,

⁴Who have said, “With our tongue we will prevail; Our lips are our own; Who is lord over us?”

⁵“For the oppression of the poor, for the sighing of the needy, Now I will arise,” says the LORD; “I will set him in the safety for which he yearns.”

⁶The words of the LORD are pure words, Like silver tried in a furnace of earth, Purified seven times.

⁷You shall keep them, O LORD, You shall preserve them from this generation forever.

⁸The wicked prowl on every side, When vileness is exalted among the sons of men.

¹Whoever loves instruction loves knowledge, But he who hates correction is stupid.

²A good man obtains favor from the LORD, But a man of wicked intentions He will condemn.

³A man is not established by wickedness, But the root of the righteous cannot be moved.

⁴An excellent wife is the crown of her husband, But she who causes shame is like rottenness in his bones.

⁵The thoughts of the righteous are right, But the counsels of the wicked are deceitful.

⁶The words of the wicked are, “Lie in wait for blood,” But the mouth of the upright will deliver them.

⁷The wicked are overthrown and are no more, But the house of the righteous will stand.

⁸A man will be commended according to his wisdom, But he who is of a perverse heart will be despised.

⁹Better is the one who is slighted but has a servant, Than he who honors himself but lacks bread.

¹⁰A righteous man regards the life of his animal, But the tender mercies of the wicked are cruel.

¹¹He who tills his land will be satisfied with bread, But he who follows frivolity is devoid of understanding.

¹²The wicked covet the catch of evil men, But the root of the righteous yields fruit.

¹³The wicked is ensnared by the transgression of his lips, But the righteous will come through trouble.

¹⁴A man will be satisfied with good by the fruit of his mouth, And the recompense of a man’s hands will be rendered to him.

¹⁵The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, But he who heeds counsel is wise.

¹⁶A fool’s wrath is known at once, But a prudent man covers shame.

¹⁷He who speaks truth declares righteousness, But a false witness, deceit.

¹⁸There is one who speaks like the piercings of a sword, But the tongue of the wise promotes health.

¹⁹The truthful lip shall be established forever, But a lying tongue is but for a moment.

²⁰Deceit is in the heart of those who devise evil, But counselors of peace have joy.

²¹No grave trouble will overtake the righteous, But the wicked shall be filled with evil.

²²Lying lips are an abomination to the LORD, But those who deal truthfully are His delight.

²³A prudent man conceals knowledge, But the heart of fools proclaims foolishness.

²⁴The hand of the diligent will rule, But the lazy man will be put to forced labor.

²⁵Anxiety in the heart of man causes depression, But a good word makes it glad.

²⁶The righteous should choose his friends carefully, For the way of the wicked leads them astray.

²⁷The lazy man does not roast what he took in hunting, But diligence is man’s precious possession.

²⁸In the way of righteousness is life, And in its pathway there is no death.

¹These are the kings of the land whom the children of Israel defeated, and whose land they possessed on the other side of the Jordan toward the rising of the sun, from the River Arnon to Mount Hermon, and all the eastern Jordan plain:

²One king was Sihon king of the Amorites, who dwelt in Heshbon and ruled half of Gilead, from Aroer, which is on the bank of the River Arnon, from the middle of that river, even as far as the River Jabbok, which is the border of the Ammonites,

³and the eastern Jordan plain from the Sea of Chinneroth as far as the Sea of the Arabah (the Salt Sea), the road to Beth Jeshimoth, and southward below the slopes of Pisgah.

⁴The other king was Og king of Bashan and his territory, who was of the remnant of the giants, who dwelt at Ashtaroth and at Edrei,

⁵and reigned over Mount Hermon, over Salcah, over all Bashan, as far as the border of the Geshurites and the Maachathites, and over half of Gilead to the border of Sihon king of Heshbon.

⁶These Moses the servant of the LORD and the children of Israel had conquered; and Moses the servant of the LORD had given it as a possession to the Reubenites, the Gadites, and half the tribe of Manasseh.

⁷And these are the kings of the country which Joshua and the children of Israel conquered on this side of the Jordan, on the west, from Baal Gad in the Valley of Lebanon as far as Mount Halak and the ascent to Seir, which Joshua gave to the tribes of Israel as a possession according to their divisions,

⁸in the mountain country, in the lowlands, in the Jordan plain, in the slopes, in the wilderness, and in the South— the Hittites, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites:

⁹the king of Jericho, one; the king of Ai, which is beside Bethel, one;

¹⁰the king of Jerusalem, one; the king of Hebron, one;

¹¹the king of Jarmuth, one; the king of Lachish, one;

¹²the king of Eglon, one; the king of Gezer, one;

¹³the king of Debir, one; the king of Geder, one;

¹⁴the king of Hormah, one; the king of Arad, one;

¹⁵the king of Libnah, one; the king of Adullam, one;

¹⁶the king of Makkedah, one; the king of Bethel, one;

¹⁷the king of Tappuah, one; the king of Hepher, one;

¹⁸the king of Aphek, one; the king of Lasharon, one;

¹⁹the king of Madon, one; the king of Hazor, one;

²⁰the king of Shimron Meron, one; the king of Achshaph, one;

²¹the king of Taanach, one; the king of Megiddo, one;

²²the king of Kedesh, one; the king of Jokneam in Carmel, one;

²³the king of Dor in the heights of Dor, one; the king of the people of Gilgal, one;

²⁴the king of Tirzah, one— all the kings, thirty-one.

¹And in that day you will say: “O LORD, I will praise You; Though You were angry with me, Your anger is turned away, and You comfort me.

²Behold, God is my salvation, I will trust and not be afraid; ‘For YAH, the LORD, is my strength and song; He also has become my salvation.’ ”

³Therefore with joy you will draw water From the wells of salvation.

⁴And in that day you will say: “Praise the LORD, call upon His name; Declare His deeds among the peoples, Make mention that His name is exalted.

⁵Sing to the LORD, For He has done excellent things; This is known in all the earth.

⁶Cry out and shout, O inhabitant of Zion, For great is the Holy One of Israel in your midst!”

¹Now about that time Herod the king stretched out his hand to harass some from the church.

²Then he killed James the brother of John with the sword.

³And because he saw that it pleased the Jews, he proceeded further to seize Peter also. Now it was during the Days of Unleavened Bread.

⁴So when he had arrested him, he put him in prison, and delivered him to four squads of soldiers to keep him, intending to bring him before the people after Passover.

⁵Peter was therefore kept in prison, but constant prayer was offered to God for him by the church.

⁶And when Herod was about to bring him out, that night Peter was sleeping, bound with two chains between two soldiers; and the guards before the door were keeping the prison.

⁷Now behold, an angel of the Lord stood by him, and a light shone in the prison; and he struck Peter on the side and raised him up, saying, “Arise quickly!” And his chains fell off his hands.

⁸Then the angel said to him, “Gird yourself and tie on your sandals”; and so he did. And he said to him, “Put on your garment and follow me.”

⁹So he went out and followed him, and did not know that what was done by the angel was real, but thought he was seeing a vision.

¹⁰When they were past the first and the second guard posts, they came to the iron gate that leads to the city, which opened to them of its own accord; and they went out and went down one street, and immediately the angel departed from him.

¹¹And when Peter had come to himself, he said, “Now I know for certain that the Lord has sent His angel, and has delivered me from the hand of Herod and from all the expectation of the Jewish people.”

¹²So, when he had considered this, he came to the house of Mary, the mother of John whose surname was Mark, where many were gathered together praying.

¹³And as Peter knocked at the door of the gate, a girl named Rhoda came to answer.

¹⁴When she recognized Peter’s voice, because of her gladness she did not open the gate, but ran in and announced that Peter stood before the gate.

¹⁵But they said to her, “You are beside yourself!” Yet she kept insisting that it was so. So they said, “It is his angel.”

¹⁶Now Peter continued knocking; and when they opened the door and saw him, they were astonished.

¹⁷But motioning to them with his hand to keep silent, he declared to them how the Lord had brought him out of the prison. And he said, “Go, tell these things to James and to the brethren.” And he departed and went to another place.

¹⁸Then, as soon as it was day, there was no small stir among the soldiers about what had become of Peter.

¹⁹But when Herod had searched for him and not found him, he examined the guards and commanded that they should be put to death. And he went down from Judea to Caesarea, and stayed there.

²⁰Now Herod had been very angry with the people of Tyre and Sidon; but they came to him with one accord, and having made Blastus the king’s personal aide their friend, they asked for peace, because their country was supplied with food by the king’s country.

²¹So on a set day Herod, arrayed in royal apparel, sat on his throne and gave an oration to them.

²²And the people kept shouting, “The voice of a god and not of a man!”

²³Then immediately an angel of the Lord struck him, because he did not give glory to God. And he was eaten by worms and died.

²⁴But the word of God grew and multiplied.

²⁵And Barnabas and Saul returned from Jerusalem when they had fulfilled their ministry, and they also took with them John whose surname was Mark.