Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹And Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness

²for forty days, being tempted by the devil. And he ate nothing during those days. And when they were ended, he was hungry.

³The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.”

⁴And Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone.’”

⁵And the devil took him up and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time,

⁶and said to him, “To you I will give all this authority and their glory, for it has been delivered to me, and I give it to whom I will.

⁷If you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours.”

⁸And Jesus answered him, “It is written, “‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and him only shall you serve.’”

⁹And he took him to Jerusalem and set him on the pinnacle of the temple and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here,

¹⁰for it is written, “‘He will command his angels concerning you, to guard you,’

¹¹and “‘On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.’”

¹²And Jesus answered him, “It is said, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’”

¹³And when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from him until an opportune time.

¹⁴And Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee, and a report about him went out through all the surrounding country.

¹⁵And he taught in their synagogues, being glorified by all.

¹⁶And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up. And as was his custom, he went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and he stood up to read.

¹⁷And the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written,

¹⁸ “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed,

¹⁹ to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor.”

²⁰And he rolled up the scroll and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him.

²¹And he began to say to them, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”

²²And all spoke well of him and marveled at the gracious words that were coming from his mouth. And they said, “Is not this Joseph's son?”

²³And he said to them, “Doubtless you will quote to me this proverb, ‘“Physician, heal yourself.” What we have heard you did at Capernaum, do here in your hometown as well.’”

²⁴And he said, “Truly, I say to you, no prophet is acceptable in his hometown.

²⁵But in truth, I tell you, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heavens were shut up three years and six months, and a great famine came over all the land,

²⁶and Elijah was sent to none of them but only to Zarephath, in the land of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow.

²⁷And there were many lepers in Israel in the time of the prophet Elisha, and none of them was cleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian.”

²⁸When they heard these things, all in the synagogue were filled with wrath.

²⁹And they rose up and drove him out of the town and brought him to the brow of the hill on which their town was built, so that they could throw him down the cliff.

³⁰But passing through their midst, he went away.

³¹And he went down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee. And he was teaching them on the Sabbath,

³²and they were astonished at his teaching, for his word possessed authority.

³³And in the synagogue there was a man who had the spirit of an unclean demon, and he cried out with a loud voice,

³⁴“Ha! What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are — the Holy One of God.”

³⁵But Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be silent and come out of him!” And when the demon had thrown him down in their midst, he came out of him, having done him no harm.

³⁶And they were all amazed and said to one another, “What is this word? For with authority and power he commands the unclean spirits, and they come out!”

³⁷And reports about him went out into every place in the surrounding region.

³⁸And he arose and left the synagogue and entered Simon's house. Now Simon's mother-in-law was ill with a high fever, and they appealed to him on her behalf.

³⁹And he stood over her and rebuked the fever, and it left her, and immediately she rose and began to serve them.

⁴⁰Now when the sun was setting, all those who had any who were sick with various diseases brought them to him, and he laid his hands on every one of them and healed them.

⁴¹And demons also came out of many, crying, “You are the Son of God!” But he rebuked them and would not allow them to speak, because they knew that he was the Christ.

⁴²And when it was day, he departed and went into a desolate place. And the people sought him and came to him, and would have kept him from leaving them,

⁴³but he said to them, “I must preach the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns as well; for I was sent for this purpose.”

⁴⁴And he was preaching in the synagogues of Judea.

¹And the people of Israel, the whole congregation, came into the wilderness of Zin in the first month, and the people stayed in Kadesh. And Miriam died there and was buried there.

²Now there was no water for the congregation. And they assembled themselves together against Moses and against Aaron.

³And the people quarreled with Moses and said, “Would that we had perished when our brothers perished before the LORD!

⁴Why have you brought the assembly of the LORD into this wilderness, that we should die here, both we and our cattle?

⁵And why have you made us come up out of Egypt to bring us to this evil place? It is no place for grain or figs or vines or pomegranates, and there is no water to drink.”

⁶Then Moses and Aaron went from the presence of the assembly to the entrance of the tent of meeting and fell on their faces. And the glory of the LORD appeared to them,

⁷and the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,

⁸“Take the staff, and assemble the congregation, you and Aaron your brother, and tell the rock before their eyes to yield its water. So you shall bring water out of the rock for them and give drink to the congregation and their cattle.”

⁹And Moses took the staff from before the LORD, as he commanded him.

¹⁰Then Moses and Aaron gathered the assembly together before the rock, and he said to them, “Hear now, you rebels: shall we bring water for you out of this rock?”

¹¹And Moses lifted up his hand and struck the rock with his staff twice, and water came out abundantly, and the congregation drank, and their livestock.

¹²And the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, “Because you did not believe in me, to uphold me as holy in the eyes of the people of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land that I have given them.”

¹³These are the waters of Meribah, where the people of Israel quarreled with the LORD, and through them he showed himself holy.

¹⁴Moses sent messengers from Kadesh to the king of Edom: “Thus says your brother Israel: You know all the hardship that we have met:

¹⁵how our fathers went down to Egypt, and we lived in Egypt a long time. And the Egyptians dealt harshly with us and our fathers.

¹⁶And when we cried to the LORD, he heard our voice and sent an angel and brought us out of Egypt. And here we are in Kadesh, a city on the edge of your territory.

¹⁷Please let us pass through your land. We will not pass through field or vineyard, or drink water from a well. We will go along the King's Highway. We will not turn aside to the right hand or to the left until we have passed through your territory.”

¹⁸But Edom said to him, “You shall not pass through, lest I come out with the sword against you.”

¹⁹And the people of Israel said to him, “We will go up by the highway, and if we drink of your water, I and my livestock, then I will pay for it. Let me only pass through on foot, nothing more.”

²⁰But he said, “You shall not pass through.” And Edom came out against them with a large army and with a strong force.

²¹Thus Edom refused to give Israel passage through his territory, so Israel turned away from him.

²²And they journeyed from Kadesh, and the people of Israel, the whole congregation, came to Mount Hor.

²³And the LORD said to Moses and Aaron at Mount Hor, on the border of the land of Edom,

²⁴“Let Aaron be gathered to his people, for he shall not enter the land that I have given to the people of Israel, because you rebelled against my command at the waters of Meribah.

²⁵Take Aaron and Eleazar his son and bring them up to Mount Hor.

²⁶And strip Aaron of his garments and put them on Eleazar his son. And Aaron shall be gathered to his people and shall die there.”

²⁷Moses did as the LORD commanded. And they went up Mount Hor in the sight of all the congregation.

²⁸And Moses stripped Aaron of his garments and put them on Eleazar his son. And Aaron died there on the top of the mountain. Then Moses and Eleazar came down from the mountain.

²⁹And when all the congregation saw that Aaron had perished, all the house of Israel wept for Aaron thirty days.

¹So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy,

²complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind.

³Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves.

⁴Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.

⁵Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus,

⁶who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped,

⁷but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.

⁸And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

⁹Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name,

¹⁰so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth,

¹¹and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

¹²Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling,

¹³for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.

¹⁴Do all things without grumbling or disputing,

¹⁵that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world,

¹⁶holding fast to the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I may be proud that I did not run in vain or labor in vain.

¹⁷Even if I am to be poured out as a drink offering upon the sacrificial offering of your faith, I am glad and rejoice with you all.

¹⁸Likewise you also should be glad and rejoice with me.

¹⁹I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you soon, so that I too may be cheered by news of you.

²⁰For I have no one like him, who will be genuinely concerned for your welfare.

²¹For they all seek their own interests, not those of Jesus Christ.

²²But you know Timothy's proven worth, how as a son with a father he has served with me in the gospel.

²³I hope therefore to send him just as soon as I see how it will go with me,

²⁴and I trust in the Lord that shortly I myself will come also.

²⁵I have thought it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus my brother and fellow worker and fellow soldier, and your messenger and minister to my need,

²⁶for he has been longing for you all and has been distressed because you heard that he was ill.

²⁷Indeed he was ill, near to death. But God had mercy on him, and not only on him but on me also, lest I should have sorrow upon sorrow.

²⁸I am the more eager to send him, therefore, that you may rejoice at seeing him again, and that I may be less anxious.

²⁹So receive him in the Lord with all joy, and honor such men,

³⁰for he nearly died for the work of Christ, risking his life to complete what was lacking in your service to me.

¹“Behold, my eye has seen all this, my ear has heard and understood it.

²What you know, I also know; I am not inferior to you.

³But I would speak to the Almighty, and I desire to argue my case with God.

⁴As for you, you whitewash with lies; worthless physicians are you all.

⁵Oh that you would keep silent, and it would be your wisdom!

⁶Hear now my argument and listen to the pleadings of my lips.

⁷Will you speak falsely for God and speak deceitfully for him?

⁸Will you show partiality toward him? Will you plead the case for God?

⁹Will it be well with you when he searches you out? Or can you deceive him, as one deceives a man?

¹⁰He will surely rebuke you if in secret you show partiality.

¹¹Will not his majesty terrify you, and the dread of him fall upon you?

¹²Your maxims are proverbs of ashes; your defenses are defenses of clay.

¹³“Let me have silence, and I will speak, and let come on me what may.

¹⁴Why should I take my flesh in my teeth and put my life in my hand?

¹⁵Though he slay me, I will hope in him; yet I will argue my ways to his face.

¹⁶This will be my salvation, that the godless shall not come before him.

¹⁷Keep listening to my words, and let my declaration be in your ears.

¹⁸Behold, I have prepared my case; I know that I shall be in the right.

¹⁹Who is there who will contend with me? For then I would be silent and die.

²⁰Only grant me two things, then I will not hide myself from your face:

²¹withdraw your hand far from me, and let not dread of you terrify me.

²²Then call, and I will answer; or let me speak, and you reply to me.

²³How many are my iniquities and my sins? Make me know my transgression and my sin.

²⁴Why do you hide your face and count me as your enemy?

²⁵Will you frighten a driven leaf and pursue dry chaff?

²⁶For you write bitter things against me and make me inherit the iniquities of my youth.

²⁷You put my feet in the stocks and watch all my paths; you set a limit for the soles of my feet.

²⁸Man wastes away like a rotten thing, like a garment that is moth-eaten.

¹By the waters of Babylon, there we sat down and wept, when we remembered Zion.

²On the willows there we hung up our lyres.

³For there our captors required of us songs, and our tormentors, mirth, saying, “Sing us one of the songs of Zion!”

⁴How shall we sing the LORD's song in a foreign land?

⁵If I forget you, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget its skill!

⁶Let my tongue stick to the roof of my mouth, if I do not remember you, if I do not set Jerusalem above my highest joy!

⁷Remember, O LORD, against the Edomites the day of Jerusalem, how they said, “Lay it bare, lay it bare, down to its foundations!”

⁸O daughter of Babylon, doomed to be destroyed, blessed shall he be who repays you with what you have done to us!

⁹Blessed shall he be who takes your little ones and dashes them against the rock!

¹A wise son hears his father's instruction, but a scoffer does not listen to rebuke.

²From the fruit of his mouth a man eats what is good, but the desire of the treacherous is for violence.

³Whoever guards his mouth preserves his life; he who opens wide his lips comes to ruin.

⁴The soul of the sluggard craves and gets nothing, while the soul of the diligent is richly supplied.

⁵The righteous hates falsehood, but the wicked brings shame and disgrace.

⁶Righteousness guards him whose way is blameless, but sin overthrows the wicked.

⁷One pretends to be rich, yet has nothing; another pretends to be poor, yet has great wealth.

⁸The ransom of a man's life is his wealth, but a poor man hears no threat.

⁹The light of the righteous rejoices, but the lamp of the wicked will be put out.

¹⁰By insolence comes nothing but strife, but with those who take advice is wisdom.

¹¹Wealth gained hastily will dwindle, but whoever gathers little by little will increase it.

¹²Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a desire fulfilled is a tree of life.

¹³Whoever despises the word brings destruction on himself, but he who reveres the commandment will be rewarded.

¹⁴The teaching of the wise is a fountain of life, that one may turn away from the snares of death.

¹⁵Good sense wins favor, but the way of the treacherous is their ruin.

¹⁶Every prudent man acts with knowledge, but a fool flaunts his folly.

¹⁷A wicked messenger falls into trouble, but a faithful envoy brings healing.

¹⁸Poverty and disgrace come to him who ignores instruction, but whoever heeds reproof is honored.

¹⁹A desire fulfilled is sweet to the soul, but to turn away from evil is an abomination to fools.

²⁰Whoever walks with the wise becomes wise, but the companion of fools will suffer harm.

²¹Disaster pursues sinners, but the righteous are rewarded with good.

²²A good man leaves an inheritance to his children's children, but the sinner's wealth is laid up for the righteous.

²³The fallow ground of the poor would yield much food, but it is swept away through injustice.

²⁴Whoever spares the rod hates his son, but he who loves him is diligent to discipline him.

²⁵The righteous has enough to satisfy his appetite, but the belly of the wicked suffers want.

¹Now when Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah saw that her son was dead, she arose and destroyed all the royal family.

²But Jehosheba, the daughter of King Joram, sister of Ahaziah, took Joash the son of Ahaziah and stole him away from among the king's sons who were being put to death, and she put him and his nurse in a bedroom. Thus they hid him from Athaliah, so that he was not put to death.

³And he remained with her six years, hidden in the house of the LORD, while Athaliah reigned over the land.

⁴But in the seventh year Jehoiada sent and brought the captains of the Carites and of the guards, and had them come to him in the house of the LORD. And he made a covenant with them and put them under oath in the house of the LORD, and he showed them the king's son.

⁵And he commanded them, “This is the thing that you shall do: one third of you, those who come off duty on the Sabbath and guard the king's house

⁶(another third being at the gate Sur and a third at the gate behind the guards) shall guard the palace.

⁷And the two divisions of you, which come on duty in force on the Sabbath and guard the house of the LORD on behalf of the king,

⁸shall surround the king, each with his weapons in his hand. And whoever approaches the ranks is to be put to death. Be with the king when he goes out and when he comes in.”

⁹The captains did according to all that Jehoiada the priest commanded, and they each brought his men who were to go off duty on the Sabbath, with those who were to come on duty on the Sabbath, and came to Jehoiada the priest.

¹⁰And the priest gave to the captains the spears and shields that had been King David's, which were in the house of the LORD.

¹¹And the guards stood, every man with his weapons in his hand, from the south side of the house to the north side of the house, around the altar and the house on behalf of the king.

¹²Then he brought out the king's son and put the crown on him and gave him the testimony. And they proclaimed him king and anointed him, and they clapped their hands and said, “Long live the king!”

¹³When Athaliah heard the noise of the guard and of the people, she went into the house of the LORD to the people.

¹⁴And when she looked, there was the king standing by the pillar, according to the custom, and the captains and the trumpeters beside the king, and all the people of the land rejoicing and blowing trumpets. And Athaliah tore her clothes and cried, “Treason! Treason!”

¹⁵Then Jehoiada the priest commanded the captains who were set over the army, “Bring her out between the ranks, and put to death with the sword anyone who follows her.” For the priest said, “Let her not be put to death in the house of the LORD.”

¹⁶So they laid hands on her; and she went through the horses' entrance to the king's house, and there she was put to death.

¹⁷And Jehoiada made a covenant between the LORD and the king and people, that they should be the LORD's people, and also between the king and the people.

¹⁸Then all the people of the land went to the house of Baal and tore it down; his altars and his images they broke in pieces, and they killed Mattan the priest of Baal before the altars. And the priest posted watchmen over the house of the LORD.

¹⁹And he took the captains, the Carites, the guards, and all the people of the land, and they brought the king down from the house of the LORD, marching through the gate of the guards to the king's house. And he took his seat on the throne of the kings.

²⁰So all the people of the land rejoiced, and the city was quiet after Athaliah had been put to death with the sword at the king's house.

²¹Jehoash was seven years old when he began to reign.

¹Then certain of the elders of Israel came to me and sat before me.

²And the word of the LORD came to me:

³“Son of man, these men have taken their idols into their hearts, and set the stumbling block of their iniquity before their faces. Should I indeed let myself be consulted by them?

⁴Therefore speak to them and say to them, Thus says the Lord GOD: Any one of the house of Israel who takes his idols into his heart and sets the stumbling block of his iniquity before his face, and yet comes to the prophet, I the LORD will answer him as he comes with the multitude of his idols,

⁵that I may lay hold of the hearts of the house of Israel, who are all estranged from me through their idols.

⁶“Therefore say to the house of Israel, Thus says the Lord GOD: Repent and turn away from your idols, and turn away your faces from all your abominations.

⁷For any one of the house of Israel, or of the strangers who sojourn in Israel, who separates himself from me, taking his idols into his heart and putting the stumbling block of his iniquity before his face, and yet comes to a prophet to consult me through him, I the LORD will answer him myself.

⁸And I will set my face against that man; I will make him a sign and a byword and cut him off from the midst of my people, and you shall know that I am the LORD.

⁹And if the prophet is deceived and speaks a word, I, the LORD, have deceived that prophet, and I will stretch out my hand against him and will destroy him from the midst of my people Israel.

¹⁰And they shall bear their punishment — the punishment of the prophet and the punishment of the inquirer shall be alike —

¹¹that the house of Israel may no more go astray from me, nor defile themselves anymore with all their transgressions, but that they may be my people and I may be their God, declares the Lord GOD.”

¹²And the word of the LORD came to me:

¹³“Son of man, when a land sins against me by acting faithlessly, and I stretch out my hand against it and break its supply of bread and send famine upon it, and cut off from it man and beast,

¹⁴even if these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, they would deliver but their own lives by their righteousness, declares the Lord GOD.

¹⁵“If I cause wild beasts to pass through the land, and they ravage it, and it be made desolate, so that no one may pass through because of the beasts,

¹⁶even if these three men were in it, as I live, declares the Lord GOD, they would deliver neither sons nor daughters. They alone would be delivered, but the land would be desolate.

¹⁷“Or if I bring a sword upon that land and say, Let a sword pass through the land, and I cut off from it man and beast,

¹⁸though these three men were in it, as I live, declares the Lord GOD, they would deliver neither sons nor daughters, but they alone would be delivered.

¹⁹“Or if I send a pestilence into that land and pour out my wrath upon it with blood, to cut off from it man and beast,

²⁰even if Noah, Daniel, and Job were in it, as I live, declares the Lord GOD, they would deliver neither son nor daughter. They would deliver but their own lives by their righteousness.

²¹“For thus says the Lord GOD: How much more when I send upon Jerusalem my four disastrous acts of judgment, sword, famine, wild beasts, and pestilence, to cut off from it man and beast!

²²But behold, some survivors will be left in it, sons and daughters who will be brought out; behold, when they come out to you, and you see their ways and their deeds, you will be consoled for the disaster that I have brought upon Jerusalem, for all that I have brought upon it.

²³They will console you, when you see their ways and their deeds, and you shall know that I have not done without cause all that I have done in it, declares the Lord GOD.”

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.”