Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹Summoning the Twelve, he gave them power and authority over all the demons and to heal diseases.

²Then he sent them to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal the sick.

³“Take nothing for the road,” he told them, “no staff, no traveling bag, no bread, no money; and don’t take an extra shirt.

⁴Whatever house you enter, stay there and leave from there.

⁵If they do not welcome you, when you leave that town, shake off the dust from your feet as a testimony against them.”

⁶So they went out and traveled from village to village, proclaiming the good news and healing everywhere.

⁷Herod the tetrarch heard about everything that was going on. He was perplexed, because some said that John had been raised from the dead,

⁸some that Elijah had appeared, and others that one of the ancient prophets had risen.

⁹“I beheaded John,” Herod said, “but who is this I hear such things about?” And he wanted to see him.

¹⁰When the apostles returned, they reported to Jesus all that they had done. He took them along and withdrew privately to a town called Bethsaida.

¹¹When the crowds found out, they followed him. He welcomed them, spoke to them about the kingdom of God, and healed those who needed healing.

¹²Late in the day, the Twelve approached and said to him, “Send the crowd away, so that they can go into the surrounding villages and countryside to find food and lodging, because we are in a deserted place here.”

¹³“You give them something to eat,” he told them. “We have no more than five loaves and two fish,” they said, “unless we go and buy food for all these people.”

¹⁴(For about five thousand men were there.) Then he told his disciples, “Have them sit down in groups of about fifty each.”

¹⁵They did what he said, and had them all sit down.

¹⁶Then he took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, he blessed and broke them. He kept giving them to the disciples to set before the crowd.

¹⁷Everyone ate and was filled. They picked up twelve baskets of leftover pieces.

¹⁸While he was praying in private and his disciples were with him, he asked them, “Who do the crowds say that I am?”

¹⁹They answered, “John the Baptist; others, Elijah; still others, that one of the ancient prophets has come back.”

²⁰“But you,” he asked them, “who do you say that I am?” Peter answered, “God’s Messiah.”

²¹But he strictly warned and instructed them to tell this to no one,

²²saying, “It is necessary that the Son of Man suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, chief priests, and scribes, be killed, and be raised the third day.”

²³Then he said to them all, “If anyone wants to follow after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow me.

²⁴For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life because of me will save it.

²⁵For what does it benefit someone if he gains the whole world, and yet loses or forfeits himself?

²⁶For whoever is ashamed of me and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his glory and that of the Father and the holy angels.

²⁷Truly I tell you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God.”

²⁸About eight days after this conversation, he took along Peter, John, and James and went up on the mountain to pray.

²⁹As he was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became dazzling white.

³⁰Suddenly, two men were talking with him — Moses and Elijah.

³¹They appeared in glory and were speaking of his departure, which he was about to accomplish in Jerusalem.

³²Peter and those with him were in a deep sleep, and when they became fully awake, they saw his glory and the two men who were standing with him.

³³As the two men were departing from him, Peter said to Jesus, “Master, it’s good for us to be here. Let us set up three shelters: one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah” — not knowing what he was saying.

³⁴While he was saying this, a cloud appeared and overshadowed them. They became afraid as they entered the cloud.

³⁵Then a voice came from the cloud, saying: “This is my Son, the Chosen One; listen to him!”

³⁶After the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone. They kept silent, and at that time told no one what they had seen.

³⁷The next day, when they came down from the mountain, a large crowd met him.

³⁸Just then a man from the crowd cried out, “Teacher, I beg you to look at my son, because he’s my only child.

³⁹A spirit seizes him; suddenly he shrieks, and it throws him into convulsions until he foams at the mouth; severely bruising him, it scarcely ever leaves him.

⁴⁰I begged your disciples to drive it out, but they couldn’t.”

⁴¹Jesus replied, “You unbelieving and perverse generation, how long will I be with you and put up with you? Bring your son here.”

⁴²As the boy was still approaching, the demon knocked him down and threw him into severe convulsions. But Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit, healed the boy, and gave him back to his father.

⁴³And they were all astonished at the greatness of God. While everyone was amazed at all the things he was doing, he told his disciples,

⁴⁴“Let these words sink in: The Son of Man is about to be betrayed into the hands of men.”

⁴⁵But they did not understand this statement; it was concealed from them so that they could not grasp it, and they were afraid to ask him about it.

⁴⁶An argument started among them about who was the greatest of them.

⁴⁷But Jesus, knowing their inner thoughts, took a little child and had him stand next to him.

⁴⁸He told them, “Whoever welcomes this little child in my name welcomes me. And whoever welcomes me welcomes him who sent me. For whoever is least among you — this one is great.”

⁴⁹John responded, “Master, we saw someone driving out demons in your name, and we tried to stop him because he does not follow us.”

⁵⁰“Don’t stop him,” Jesus told him, “because whoever is not against you is for you.”

⁵¹When the days were coming to a close for him to be taken up, he determined to journey to Jerusalem.

⁵²He sent messengers ahead of himself, and on the way they entered a village of the Samaritans to make preparations for him.

⁵³But they did not welcome him, because he determined to journey to Jerusalem.

⁵⁴When the disciples James and John saw this, they said, “Lord, do you want us to call down fire from heaven to consume them?”

⁵⁵But he turned and rebuked them,

⁵⁶and they went to another village.

⁵⁷As they were traveling on the road someone said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.”

⁵⁸Jesus told him, “Foxes have dens, and birds of the sky have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.”

⁵⁹Then he said to another, “Follow me.” “Lord,” he said, “first let me go bury my father.”

⁶⁰But he told him, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and spread the news of the kingdom of God.”

⁶¹Another said, “I will follow you, Lord, but first let me go and say good-bye to those at my house.”

⁶²But Jesus said to him, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.”

¹While Israel was staying in the Acacia Grove, the people began to prostitute themselves with the women of Moab.

²The women invited them to the sacrifices for their gods, and the people ate and bowed in worship to their gods.

³So Israel aligned itself with Baal of Peor, and the LORD’s anger burned against Israel.

⁴The LORD said to Moses, “Take all the leaders of the people and execute them in broad daylight before the LORD so that his burning anger may turn away from Israel.”

⁵So Moses told Israel’s judges, “Kill each of the men who aligned themselves with Baal of Peor.”

⁶An Israelite man came bringing a Midianite woman to his relatives in the sight of Moses and the whole Israelite community while they were weeping at the entrance to the tent of meeting.

⁷When Phinehas son of Eleazar, son of Aaron the priest, saw this, he got up from the assembly, took a spear in his hand,

⁸followed the Israelite man into the tent, and drove it through both the Israelite man and the woman — through her belly. Then the plague on the Israelites was stopped,

⁹but those who died in the plague numbered twenty-four thousand.

¹⁰The LORD spoke to Moses,

¹¹“Phinehas son of Eleazar, son of Aaron the priest, has turned back my wrath from the Israelites because he was zealous among them with my zeal, so that I did not destroy the Israelites in my zeal.

¹²Therefore declare: I grant him my covenant of peace.

¹³It will be a covenant of perpetual priesthood for him and his future descendants, because he was zealous for his God and made atonement for the Israelites.”

¹⁴The name of the slain Israelite man, who was struck dead with the Midianite woman, was Zimri son of Salu, the leader of a Simeonite family.

¹⁵The name of the slain Midianite woman was Cozbi, the daughter of Zur, a tribal head of a family in Midian.

¹⁶The LORD told Moses:

¹⁷“Attack the Midianites and strike them dead.

¹⁸For they attacked you with the treachery that they used against you in the Peor incident. They did the same in the case involving their sister Cozbi, daughter of the Midianite leader who was killed the day the plague came at Peor.”

¹So if you have been raised with Christ, seek the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.

²Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.

³For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.

⁴When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.

⁵Therefore, put to death what belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desire, and greed, which is idolatry.

⁶Because of these, God’s wrath is coming upon the disobedient,

⁷and you once walked in these things when you were living in them.

⁸But now, put away all the following: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and filthy language from your mouth.

⁹Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old self with its practices

¹⁰and have put on the new self. You are being renewed in knowledge according to the image of your Creator.

¹¹In Christ there is not Greek and Jew, circumcision and uncircumcision, barbarian, Scythian, slave and free; but Christ is all and in all.

¹²Therefore, as God’s chosen ones, holy and dearly loved, put on compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience,

¹³bearing with one another and forgiving one another if anyone has a grievance against another. Just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you are also to forgive.

¹⁴Above all, put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity.

¹⁵And let the peace of Christ, to which you were also called in one body, rule your hearts. And be thankful.

¹⁶Let the word of Christ dwell richly among you, in all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another through psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts.

¹⁷And whatever you do, in word or in deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

¹⁸Wives, submit yourselves to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord.

¹⁹Husbands, love your wives and don’t be bitter toward them.

²⁰Children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord.

²¹Fathers, do not exasperate your children, so that they won’t become discouraged.

²²Slaves, obey your human masters in everything. Don’t work only while being watched, as people-pleasers, but work wholeheartedly, fearing the Lord.

²³Whatever you do, do it from the heart, as something done for the Lord and not for people,

²⁴knowing that you will receive the reward of an inheritance from the Lord. You serve the Lord Christ.

²⁵For the wrongdoer will be paid back for whatever wrong he has done, and there is no favoritism.

¹Now the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will depart from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and the teachings of demons,

²through the hypocrisy of liars whose consciences are seared.

³They forbid marriage and demand abstinence from foods that God created to be received with gratitude by those who believe and know the truth.

⁴For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving,

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

⁶If you point these things out to the brothers and sisters, you will be a good servant of Christ Jesus, nourished by the words of the faith and the good teaching that you have followed.

⁷But have nothing to do with pointless and silly myths. Rather, train yourself in godliness.

⁸For the training of the body has limited benefit, but godliness is beneficial in every way, since it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come.

⁹This saying is trustworthy and deserves full acceptance.

¹⁰For this reason we labor and strive, because we have put our hope in the living God, who is the Savior of all people, especially of those who believe.

¹¹Command and teach these things.

¹²Don’t let anyone despise your youth, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, and in purity.

¹³Until I come, give your attention to public reading, exhortation, and teaching.

¹⁴Don’t neglect the gift that is in you; it was given to you through prophecy, with the laying on of hands by the council of elders.

¹⁵Practice these things; be committed to them, so that your progress may be evident to all.

¹⁶Pay close attention to your life and your teaching; persevere in these things, for in doing this you will save both yourself and your hearers.

¹Then Bildad the Shuhite replied:

²How long until you stop talking? Show some sense, and then we can talk.

³Why are we regarded as cattle, as stupid in your sight?

⁴You who tear yourself in anger  — should the earth be abandoned on your account, or a rock be removed from its place?

⁵Yes, the light of the wicked is extinguished; the flame of his fire does not glow.

⁶The light in his tent grows dark, and the lamp beside him is put out.

⁷His powerful stride is shortened, and his own schemes trip him up.

⁸For his own feet lead him into a net, and he strays into its mesh.

⁹A trap catches him by the heel; a noose seizes him.

¹⁰A rope lies hidden for him on the ground, and a snare waits for him along the path.

¹¹Terrors frighten him on every side and harass him at every step.

¹²His strength is depleted; disaster lies ready for him to stumble.

¹³Parts of his skin are eaten away; death’s firstborn consumes his limbs.

¹⁴He is ripped from the security of his tent and marched away to the king of terrors.

¹⁵Nothing he owned remains in his tent. Burning sulfur is scattered over his home.

¹⁶His roots below dry up, and his branches above wither away.

¹⁷All memory of him perishes from the earth; he has no name anywhere.

¹⁸He is driven from light to darkness and chased from the inhabited world.

¹⁹He has no children or descendants among his people, no survivor where he used to live.

²⁰Those in the west are appalled at his fate, while those in the east tremble in horror.

²¹Indeed, such is the dwelling of the unjust man, and this is the place of the one who does not know God.

¹A of David. When he was in the cave. A prayer. [1] I cry aloud to the LORD; I plead aloud to the LORD for mercy.

²I pour out my complaint before him; I reveal my trouble to him.

³Although my spirit is weak within me, you know my way. Along this path I travel they have hidden a trap for me.

⁴Look to the right and see: no one stands up for me; there is no refuge for me; no one cares about me.

⁵I cry to you, LORD; I say, “You are my shelter, my portion in the land of the living.”

⁶Listen to my cry, for I am very weak. Rescue me from those who pursue me, for they are too strong for me.

⁷Free me from prison so that I can praise your name. The righteous will gather around me because you deal generously with me.

¹One who isolates himself pursues selfish desires; he rebels against all sound wisdom.

²A fool does not delight in understanding, but only wants to show off his opinions.

³When a wicked person comes, contempt also comes, and along with dishonor, derision.

⁴The words of a person’s mouth are deep waters, a flowing river, a fountain of wisdom.

⁵It is not good to show partiality to the guilty, denying an innocent person justice.

⁶A fool’s lips lead to strife, and his mouth provokes a beating.

⁷A fool’s mouth is his devastation, and his lips are a trap for his life.

⁸A gossip’s words are like choice food that goes down to one’s innermost being.

⁹The one who is lazy in his work is brother to a vandal.

¹⁰The name of the LORD is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and are protected.

¹¹The wealth of the rich is his fortified city; in his imagination it is like a high wall.

¹²Before his downfall a person’s heart is proud, but humility comes before honor.

¹³The one who gives an answer before he listens — this is foolishness and disgrace for him.

¹⁴A person’s spirit can endure sickness, but who can survive a broken spirit?

¹⁵The mind of the discerning acquires knowledge, and the ear of the wise seeks it.

¹⁶A person’s gift opens doors for him and brings him before the great.

¹⁷The first to state his case seems right until another comes and cross-examines him.

¹⁸Casting the lot ends quarrels and separates powerful opponents.

¹⁹An offended brother is harder to reach than a fortified city, and quarrels are like the bars of a fortress.

²⁰From the fruit of a person’s mouth his stomach is satisfied; he is filled with the product of his lips.

²¹Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit.

²²A man who finds a wife finds a good thing and obtains favor from the LORD.

²³The poor person pleads, but the rich one answers roughly.

²⁴One with many friends may be harmed, but there is a friend who stays closer than a brother.

¹In the seventeenth year of Pekah son of Remaliah, Ahaz son of Jotham became king of Judah.

²Ahaz was twenty years old when he became king, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem. He did not do what was right in the sight of the LORD his God like his ancestor David

³but walked in the ways of the kings of Israel. He even sacrificed his son in the fire, imitating the detestable practices of the nations the LORD had dispossessed before the Israelites.

⁴He sacrificed and burned incense on the high places, on the hills, and under every green tree.

⁵Then Aram’s King Rezin and Israel’s King Pekah son of Remaliah came to wage war against Jerusalem. They besieged Ahaz but were not able to conquer him.

⁶At that time Aram’s King Rezin recovered Elath for Aram and expelled the Judahites from Elath. Then the Arameans came to Elath, and they still live there today.

⁷So Ahaz sent messengers to King Tiglath-pileser of Assyria, saying, “I am your servant and your son. March up and save me from the grasp of the king of Aram and of the king of Israel, who are rising up against me.”

⁸Ahaz also took the silver and gold found in the LORD’s temple and in the treasuries of the king’s palace and sent them to the king of Assyria as a bribe.

⁹So the king of Assyria listened to him and marched up to Damascus and captured it. He deported its people to Kir but put Rezin to death.

¹⁰King Ahaz went to Damascus to meet King Tiglath-pileser of Assyria. When he saw the altar that was in Damascus, King Ahaz sent a model of the altar and complete plans for its construction to the priest Uriah.

¹¹Uriah built the altar according to all the instructions King Ahaz sent from Damascus. Therefore, by the time King Ahaz came back from Damascus, the priest Uriah had completed it.

¹²When the king came back from Damascus, he saw the altar. Then he approached the altar and ascended it.

¹³He offered his burnt offering and his grain offering, poured out his drink offering, and splattered the blood of his fellowship offerings on the altar.

¹⁴He took the bronze altar that was before the LORD in front of the temple between his altar and the LORD’s temple, and put it on the north side of his altar.

¹⁵Then King Ahaz commanded the priest Uriah, “Offer on the great altar the morning burnt offering, the evening grain offering, and the king’s burnt offering and his grain offering. Also offer the burnt offering of all the people of the land, their grain offering, and their drink offerings. Splatter on the altar all the blood of the burnt offering and all the blood of sacrifice. The bronze altar will be for me to seek guidance.”

¹⁶The priest Uriah did everything King Ahaz commanded.

¹⁷Then King Ahaz cut off the frames of the water carts and removed the bronze basin from each of them. He took the basin from the bronze oxen that were under it and put it on a stone pavement.

¹⁸To satisfy the king of Assyria, he removed from the LORD’s temple the Sabbath canopy they had built in the palace, and he closed the outer entrance for the king.

¹⁹The rest of the events of Ahaz’s reign, along with his accomplishments, are written in the Historical Record of Judah’s Kings.

²⁰Ahaz rested with his fathers and was buried with his fathers in the city of David, and his son Hezekiah became king in his place.

¹“As for you, take up a lament for the princes of Israel,

²and say: What was your mother? A lioness! She lay down among the lions; she reared her cubs among the young lions.

³She brought up one of her cubs, and he became a young lion. After he learned to tear prey, he devoured people.

⁴When the nations heard about him, he was caught in their pit. Then they led him away with hooks to the land of Egypt.

⁵When she saw that she waited in vain, that her hope was lost, she took another of her cubs and made him a young lion.

⁶He prowled among the lions, and he became a young lion. After he learned to tear prey, he devoured people.

⁷He devastated their strongholds and destroyed their cities. The land and everything in it shuddered at the sound of his roaring.

⁸Then the nations from the surrounding provinces set out against him. They spread their net over him; he was caught in their pit.

⁹They put a wooden yoke on him with hooks and led him away to the king of Babylon. They brought him into the fortresses so his roar could no longer be heard on the mountains of Israel.

¹⁰Your mother was like a vine in your vineyard, planted by the water; it was fruitful and full of branches because of abundant water.

¹¹It had strong branches, fit for the scepters of rulers; its height towered among the clouds. So it was conspicuous for its height as well as its many branches.

¹²But it was uprooted in fury, thrown to the ground, and the east wind dried up its fruit. Its strong branches were torn off and dried up; fire consumed them.

¹³Now it is planted in the wilderness, in a dry and thirsty land.

¹⁴Fire has gone out from its main branch and has devoured its fruit, so that it no longer has a strong branch, a scepter for ruling. This is a lament and should be used as a lament.”

¹When the day of Pentecost had arrived, they were all together in one place.

²Suddenly a sound like that of a violent rushing wind came from heaven, and it filled the whole house where they were staying.

³They saw tongues like flames of fire that separated and rested on each one of them.

⁴Then they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in different tongues, as the Spirit enabled them.

⁵Now there were Jews staying in Jerusalem, devout people from every nation under heaven.

⁶When this sound occurred, a crowd came together and was confused because each one heard them speaking in his own language.

⁷They were astounded and amazed, saying, “Look, aren’t all these who are speaking Galileans?

⁸How is it that each of us can hear them in our own native language?

⁹Parthians, Medes, Elamites; those who live in Mesopotamia, in Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia,

¹⁰Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome (both Jews and converts),

¹¹Cretans and Arabs — we hear them declaring the magnificent acts of God in our own tongues.”

¹²They were all astounded and perplexed, saying to one another, “What does this mean?”

¹³But some sneered and said, “They’re drunk on new wine.”

¹⁴Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice, and proclaimed to them: “Fellow Jews and all you residents of Jerusalem, let me explain this to you and pay attention to my words.

¹⁵For these people are not drunk, as you suppose, since it’s only nine in the morning.

¹⁶On the contrary, this is what was spoken through the prophet Joel:

¹⁷And it will be in the last days, says God, that I will pour out my Spirit on all people; then your sons and your daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, and your old men will dream dreams.

¹⁸I will even pour out my Spirit on my servants in those days, both men and women and they will prophesy.

¹⁹I will display wonders in the heaven above and signs on the earth below: blood and fire and a cloud of smoke.

²⁰The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the great and glorious day of the Lord comes.

²¹Then everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.

²²“Fellow Israelites, listen to these words: This Jesus of Nazareth was a man attested to you by God with miracles, wonders, and signs that God did among you through him, just as you yourselves know.

²³Though he was delivered up according to God’s determined plan and foreknowledge, you used lawless people to nail him to a cross and kill him.

²⁴God raised him up, ending the pains of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by death.

²⁵For David says of him: I saw the Lord ever before me; because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken.

²⁶Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices. Moreover, my flesh will rest in hope,

²⁷because you will not abandon me in Hades or allow your holy one to see decay.

²⁸You have revealed the paths of life to me; you will fill me with gladness in your presence.

²⁹“Brothers and sisters, I can confidently speak to you about the patriarch David: He is both dead and buried, and his tomb is with us to this day.

³⁰Since he was a prophet, he knew that God had sworn an oath to him to seat one of his descendants on his throne.

³¹Seeing what was to come, he spoke concerning the resurrection of the Messiah: He was not abandoned in Hades, and his flesh did not experience decay.

³²“God has raised this Jesus; we are all witnesses of this.

³³Therefore, since he has been exalted to the right hand of God and has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit, he has poured out what you both see and hear.

³⁴For it was not David who ascended into the heavens, but he himself says: The Lord declared to my Lord, ‘Sit at my right hand

³⁵until I make your enemies your footstool.’

³⁶“Therefore let all the house of Israel know with certainty that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah.”

³⁷When they heard this, they were pierced to the heart and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles: “Brothers, what should we do?”

³⁸Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, each of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

³⁹For the promise is for you and for your children, and for all who are far off, as many as the Lord our God will call.”

⁴⁰With many other words he testified and strongly urged them, saying, “Be saved from this corrupt generation!”

⁴¹So those who accepted his message were baptized, and that day about three thousand people were added to them.

⁴²They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread, and to prayer.

⁴³Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and signs were being performed through the apostles.

⁴⁴Now all the believers were together and held all things in common.

⁴⁵They sold their possessions and property and distributed the proceeds to all, as any had need.

⁴⁶Every day they devoted themselves to meeting together in the temple, and broke bread from house to house. They ate their food with joyful and sincere hearts,

⁴⁷praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. Every day the Lord added to their number those who were being saved.