Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹At that time Herod the tetrarch heard about the fame of Jesus,

²and he said to his servants, “This is John the Baptist. He has been raised from the dead; that is why these miraculous powers are at work in him.”

³For Herod had seized John and bound him and put him in prison for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip's wife,

⁴because John had been saying to him, “It is not lawful for you to have her.”

⁵And though he wanted to put him to death, he feared the people, because they held him to be a prophet.

⁶But when Herod's birthday came, the daughter of Herodias danced before the company and pleased Herod,

⁷so that he promised with an oath to give her whatever she might ask.

⁸Prompted by her mother, she said, “Give me the head of John the Baptist here on a platter.”

⁹And the king was sorry, but because of his oaths and his guests he commanded it to be given.

¹⁰He sent and had John beheaded in the prison,

¹¹and his head was brought on a platter and given to the girl, and she brought it to her mother.

¹²And his disciples came and took the body and buried it, and they went and told Jesus.

¹³Now when Jesus heard this, he withdrew from there in a boat to a desolate place by himself. But when the crowds heard it, they followed him on foot from the towns.

¹⁴When he went ashore he saw a great crowd, and he had compassion on them and healed their sick.

¹⁵Now when it was evening, the disciples came to him and said, “This is a desolate place, and the day is now over; send the crowds away to go into the villages and buy food for themselves.”

¹⁶But Jesus said, “They need not go away; you give them something to eat.”

¹⁷They said to him, “We have only five loaves here and two fish.”

¹⁸And he said, “Bring them here to me.”

¹⁹Then he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass, and taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven and said a blessing. Then he broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds.

²⁰And they all ate and were satisfied. And they took up twelve baskets full of the broken pieces left over.

²¹And those who ate were about five thousand men, besides women and children.

²²Immediately he made the disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds.

²³And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up on the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone,

²⁴but the boat by this time was a long way from the land, beaten by the waves, for the wind was against them.

²⁵And in the fourth watch of the night he came to them, walking on the sea.

²⁶But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified, and said, “It is a ghost!” and they cried out in fear.

²⁷But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, “Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid.”

²⁸And Peter answered him, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.”

²⁹He said, “Come.” So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus.

³⁰But when he saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, “Lord, save me.”

³¹Jesus immediately reached out his hand and took hold of him, saying to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?”

³²And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased.

³³And those in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.”

³⁴And when they had crossed over, they came to land at Gennesaret.

³⁵And when the men of that place recognized him, they sent around to all that region and brought to him all who were sick

³⁶and implored him that they might only touch the fringe of his garment. And as many as touched it were made well.

¹In the days of Amraphel king of Shinar, Arioch king of Ellasar, Chedorlaomer king of Elam, and Tidal king of Goiim,

²these kings made war with Bera king of Sodom, Birsha king of Gomorrah, Shinab king of Admah, Shemeber king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar).

³And all these joined forces in the Valley of Siddim (that is, the Salt Sea).

⁴Twelve years they had served Chedorlaomer, but in the thirteenth year they rebelled.

⁵In the fourteenth year Chedorlaomer and the kings who were with him came and defeated the Rephaim in Ashteroth-karnaim, the Zuzim in Ham, the Emim in Shaveh-kiriathaim,

⁶and the Horites in their hill country of Seir as far as El-paran on the border of the wilderness.

⁷Then they turned back and came to En-mishpat (that is, Kadesh) and defeated all the country of the Amalekites, and also the Amorites who were dwelling in Hazazon-tamar.

⁸Then the king of Sodom, the king of Gomorrah, the king of Admah, the king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar) went out, and they joined battle in the Valley of Siddim

⁹with Chedorlaomer king of Elam, Tidal king of Goiim, Amraphel king of Shinar, and Arioch king of Ellasar, four kings against five.

¹⁰Now the Valley of Siddim was full of bitumen pits, and as the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, some fell into them, and the rest fled to the hill country.

¹¹So the enemy took all the possessions of Sodom and Gomorrah, and all their provisions, and went their way.

¹²They also took Lot, the son of Abram's brother, who was dwelling in Sodom, and his possessions, and went their way.

¹³Then one who had escaped came and told Abram the Hebrew, who was living by the oaks of Mamre the Amorite, brother of Eshcol and of Aner. These were allies of Abram.

¹⁴When Abram heard that his kinsman had been taken captive, he led forth his trained men, born in his house, 318 of them, and went in pursuit as far as Dan.

¹⁵And he divided his forces against them by night, he and his servants, and defeated them and pursued them to Hobah, north of Damascus.

¹⁶Then he brought back all the possessions, and also brought back his kinsman Lot with his possessions, and the women and the people.

¹⁷After his return from the defeat of Chedorlaomer and the kings who were with him, the king of Sodom went out to meet him at the Valley of Shaveh (that is, the King's Valley).

¹⁸And Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine. (He was priest of God Most High.)

¹⁹And he blessed him and said, “Blessed be Abram by God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth;

²⁰and blessed be God Most High, who has delivered your enemies into your hand!” And Abram gave him a tenth of everything.

²¹And the king of Sodom said to Abram, “Give me the persons, but take the goods for yourself.”

²²But Abram said to the king of Sodom, “I have lifted my hand to the LORD, God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth,

²³that I would not take a thread or a sandal strap or anything that is yours, lest you should say, ‘I have made Abram rich.’

²⁴I will take nothing but what the young men have eaten, and the share of the men who went with me. Let Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre take their share.”

¹As for the one who is weak in faith, welcome him, but not to quarrel over opinions.

²One person believes he may eat anything, while the weak person eats only vegetables.

³Let not the one who eats despise the one who abstains, and let not the one who abstains pass judgment on the one who eats, for God has welcomed him.

⁴Who are you to pass judgment on the servant of another? It is before his own master that he stands or falls. And he will be upheld, for the Lord is able to make him stand.

⁵One person esteems one day as better than another, while another esteems all days alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind.

⁶The one who observes the day, observes it in honor of the Lord. The one who eats, eats in honor of the Lord, since he gives thanks to God, while the one who abstains, abstains in honor of the Lord and gives thanks to God.

⁷For none of us lives to himself, and none of us dies to himself.

⁸For if we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord's.

⁹For to this end Christ died and lived again, that he might be Lord both of the dead and of the living.

¹⁰Why do you pass judgment on your brother? Or you, why do you despise your brother? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God;

¹¹for it is written, “As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God.”

¹²So then each of us will give an account of himself to God.

¹³Therefore let us not pass judgment on one another any longer, but rather decide never to put a stumbling block or hindrance in the way of a brother.

¹⁴I know and am persuaded in the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean in itself, but it is unclean for anyone who thinks it unclean.

¹⁵For if your brother is grieved by what you eat, you are no longer walking in love. By what you eat, do not destroy the one for whom Christ died.

¹⁶So do not let what you regard as good be spoken of as evil.

¹⁷For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.

¹⁸Whoever thus serves Christ is acceptable to God and approved by men.

¹⁹So then let us pursue what makes for peace and for mutual upbuilding.

²⁰Do not, for the sake of food, destroy the work of God. Everything is indeed clean, but it is wrong for anyone to make another stumble by what he eats.

²¹It is good not to eat meat or drink wine or do anything that causes your brother to stumble.

²²The faith that you have, keep between yourself and God. Blessed is the one who has no reason to pass judgment on himself for what he approves.

²³But whoever has doubts is condemned if he eats, because the eating is not from faith. For whatever does not proceed from faith is sin.

¹Let all who are under a yoke as bondservants regard their own masters as worthy of all honor, so that the name of God and the teaching may not be reviled.

²Those who have believing masters must not be disrespectful on the ground that they are brothers; rather they must serve all the better since those who benefit by their good service are believers and beloved. False Teachers and True Contentment Teach and urge these things.

³If anyone teaches a different doctrine and does not agree with the sound words of our Lord Jesus Christ and the teaching that accords with godliness,

⁴he is puffed up with conceit and understands nothing. He has an unhealthy craving for controversy and for quarrels about words, which produce envy, dissension, slander, evil suspicions,

⁵and constant friction among people who are depraved in mind and deprived of the truth, imagining that godliness is a means of gain.

⁶But godliness with contentment is great gain,

⁷for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world.

⁸But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content.

⁹But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction.

¹⁰For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs.

¹¹But as for you, O man of God, flee these things. Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness.

¹²Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called and about which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.

¹³I charge you in the presence of God, who gives life to all things, and of Christ Jesus, who in his testimony before Pontius Pilate made the good confession,

¹⁴to keep the commandment unstained and free from reproach until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ,

¹⁵which he will display at the proper time — he who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords,

¹⁶who alone has immortality, who dwells in unapproachable light, whom no one has ever seen or can see. To him be honor and eternal dominion. Amen.

¹⁷As for the rich in this present age, charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy.

¹⁸They are to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share,

¹⁹thus storing up treasure for themselves as a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is truly life.

²⁰O Timothy, guard the deposit entrusted to you. Avoid the irreverent babble and contradictions of what is falsely called “knowledge,”

²¹for by professing it some have swerved from the faith. Grace be with you.

¹“Man who is born of a woman is few of days and full of trouble.

²He comes out like a flower and withers; he flees like a shadow and continues not.

³And do you open your eyes on such a one and bring me into judgment with you?

⁴Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? There is not one.

⁵Since his days are determined, and the number of his months is with you, and you have appointed his limits that he cannot pass,

⁶look away from him and leave him alone, that he may enjoy, like a hired hand, his day.

⁷“For there is hope for a tree, if it be cut down, that it will sprout again, and that its shoots will not cease.

⁸Though its root grow old in the earth, and its stump die in the soil,

⁹yet at the scent of water it will bud and put out branches like a young plant.

¹⁰But a man dies and is laid low; man breathes his last, and where is he?

¹¹As waters fail from a lake and a river wastes away and dries up,

¹²so a man lies down and rises not again; till the heavens are no more he will not awake or be roused out of his sleep.

¹³Oh that you would hide me in Sheol, that you would conceal me until your wrath be past, that you would appoint me a set time, and remember me!

¹⁴If a man dies, shall he live again? All the days of my service I would wait, till my renewal should come.

¹⁵You would call, and I would answer you; you would long for the work of your hands.

¹⁶For then you would number my steps; you would not keep watch over my sin;

¹⁷my transgression would be sealed up in a bag, and you would cover over my iniquity.

¹⁸“But the mountain falls and crumbles away, and the rock is removed from its place;

¹⁹the waters wear away the stones; the torrents wash away the soil of the earth; so you destroy the hope of man.

²⁰You prevail forever against him, and he passes; you change his countenance, and send him away.

²¹His sons come to honor, and he does not know it; they are brought low, and he perceives it not.

²²He feels only the pain of his own body, and he mourns only for himself.”

¹The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, they do abominable deeds; there is none who does good.

²The LORD looks down from heaven on the children of man, to see if there are any who understand, who seek after God.

³They have all turned aside; together they have become corrupt; there is none who does good, not even one.

⁴Have they no knowledge, all the evildoers who eat up my people as they eat bread and do not call upon the LORD?

⁵There they are in great terror, for God is with the generation of the righteous.

⁶You would shame the plans of the poor, but the LORD is his refuge.

⁷Oh, that salvation for Israel would come out of Zion! When the LORD restores the fortunes of his people, let Jacob rejoice, let Israel be glad.

¹The wisest of women builds her house, but folly with her own hands tears it down.

²Whoever walks in uprightness fears the LORD, but he who is devious in his ways despises him.

³By the mouth of a fool comes a rod for his back, but the lips of the wise will preserve them.

⁴Where there are no oxen, the manger is clean, but abundant crops come by the strength of the ox.

⁵A faithful witness does not lie, but a false witness breathes out lies.

⁶A scoffer seeks wisdom in vain, but knowledge is easy for a man of understanding.

⁷Leave the presence of a fool, for there you do not meet words of knowledge.

⁸The wisdom of the prudent is to discern his way, but the folly of fools is deceiving.

⁹Fools mock at the guilt offering, but the upright enjoy acceptance.

¹⁰The heart knows its own bitterness, and no stranger shares its joy.

¹¹The house of the wicked will be destroyed, but the tent of the upright will flourish.

¹²There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death.

¹³Even in laughter the heart may ache, and the end of joy may be grief.

¹⁴The backslider in heart will be filled with the fruit of his ways, and a good man will be filled with the fruit of his ways.

¹⁵The simple believes everything, but the prudent gives thought to his steps.

¹⁶One who is wise is cautious and turns away from evil, but a fool is reckless and careless.

¹⁷A man of quick temper acts foolishly, and a man of evil devices is hated.

¹⁸The simple inherit folly, but the prudent are crowned with knowledge.

¹⁹The evil bow down before the good, the wicked at the gates of the righteous.

²⁰The poor is disliked even by his neighbor, but the rich has many friends.

²¹Whoever despises his neighbor is a sinner, but blessed is he who is generous to the poor.

²²Do they not go astray who devise evil? Those who devise good meet steadfast love and faithfulness.

²³In all toil there is profit, but mere talk tends only to poverty.

²⁴The crown of the wise is their wealth, but the folly of fools brings folly.

²⁵A truthful witness saves lives, but one who breathes out lies is deceitful.

²⁶In the fear of the LORD one has strong confidence, and his children will have a refuge.

²⁷The fear of the LORD is a fountain of life, that one may turn away from the snares of death.

²⁸In a multitude of people is the glory of a king, but without people a prince is ruined.

²⁹Whoever is slow to anger has great understanding, but he who has a hasty temper exalts folly.

³⁰A tranquil heart gives life to the flesh, but envy makes the bones rot.

³¹Whoever oppresses a poor man insults his Maker, but he who is generous to the needy honors him.

³²The wicked is overthrown through his evildoing, but the righteous finds refuge in his death.

³³Wisdom rests in the heart of a man of understanding, but it makes itself known even in the midst of fools.

³⁴Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people.

³⁵A servant who deals wisely has the king's favor, but his wrath falls on one who acts shamefully.

¹These are the inheritances that the people of Israel received in the land of Canaan, which Eleazar the priest and Joshua the son of Nun and the heads of the fathers' houses of the tribes of the people of Israel gave them to inherit.

²Their inheritance was by lot, just as the LORD had commanded by the hand of Moses for the nine and one-half tribes.

³For Moses had given an inheritance to the two and one-half tribes beyond the Jordan, but to the Levites he gave no inheritance among them.

⁴For the people of Joseph were two tribes, Manasseh and Ephraim. And no portion was given to the Levites in the land, but only cities to dwell in, with their pasturelands for their livestock and their substance.

⁵The people of Israel did as the LORD commanded Moses; they allotted the land.

⁶Then the people of Judah came to Joshua at Gilgal. And Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite said to him, “You know what the LORD said to Moses the man of God in Kadesh-barnea concerning you and me.

⁷I was forty years old when Moses the servant of the LORD sent me from Kadesh-barnea to spy out the land, and I brought him word again as it was in my heart.

⁸But my brothers who went up with me made the heart of the people melt; yet I wholly followed the LORD my God.

⁹And Moses swore on that day, saying, ‘Surely the land on which your foot has trodden shall be an inheritance for you and your children forever, because you have wholly followed the LORD my God.’

¹⁰And now, behold, the LORD has kept me alive, just as he said, these forty-five years since the time that the LORD spoke this word to Moses, while Israel walked in the wilderness. And now, behold, I am this day eighty-five years old.

¹¹I am still as strong today as I was in the day that Moses sent me; my strength now is as my strength was then, for war and for going and coming.

¹²So now give me this hill country of which the LORD spoke on that day, for you heard on that day how the Anakim were there, with great fortified cities. It may be that the LORD will be with me, and I shall drive them out just as the LORD said.”

¹³Then Joshua blessed him, and he gave Hebron to Caleb the son of Jephunneh for an inheritance.

¹⁴Therefore Hebron became the inheritance of Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite to this day, because he wholly followed the LORD, the God of Israel.

¹⁵Now the name of Hebron formerly was Kiriath-arba. (Arba was the greatest man among the Anakim.) And the land had rest from war.

¹For the LORD will have compassion on Jacob and will again choose Israel, and will set them in their own land, and sojourners will join them and will attach themselves to the house of Jacob.

²And the peoples will take them and bring them to their place, and the house of Israel will possess them in the LORD's land as male and female slaves. They will take captive those who were their captors, and rule over those who oppressed them.

³When the LORD has given you rest from your pain and turmoil and the hard service with which you were made to serve,

⁴you will take up this taunt against the king of Babylon: “How the oppressor has ceased, the insolent fury ceased!

⁵The LORD has broken the staff of the wicked, the scepter of rulers,

⁶that struck the peoples in wrath with unceasing blows, that ruled the nations in anger with unrelenting persecution.

⁷The whole earth is at rest and quiet; they break forth into singing.

⁸The cypresses rejoice at you, the cedars of Lebanon, saying, ‘Since you were laid low, no woodcutter comes up against us.’

⁹Sheol beneath is stirred up to meet you when you come; it rouses the shades to greet you, all who were leaders of the earth; it raises from their thrones all who were kings of the nations.

¹⁰All of them will answer and say to you: ‘You too have become as weak as we! You have become like us!’

¹¹Your pomp is brought down to Sheol, the sound of your harps; maggots are laid as a bed beneath you, and worms are your covers.

¹²“How you are fallen from heaven, O Day Star, son of Dawn! How you are cut down to the ground, you who laid the nations low!

¹³You said in your heart, ‘I will ascend to heaven; above the stars of God I will set my throne on high; I will sit on the mount of assembly in the far reaches of the north;

¹⁴I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.’

¹⁵But you are brought down to Sheol, to the far reaches of the pit.

¹⁶Those who see you will stare at you and ponder over you: ‘Is this the man who made the earth tremble, who shook kingdoms,

¹⁷who made the world like a desert and overthrew its cities, who did not let his prisoners go home?’

¹⁸All the kings of the nations lie in glory, each in his own tomb;

¹⁹but you are cast out, away from your grave, like a loathed branch, clothed with the slain, those pierced by the sword, who go down to the stones of the pit, like a dead body trampled underfoot.

²⁰You will not be joined with them in burial, because you have destroyed your land, you have slain your people. “May the offspring of evildoers nevermore be named!

²¹Prepare slaughter for his sons because of the guilt of their fathers, lest they rise and possess the earth, and fill the face of the world with cities.”

²²“I will rise up against them,” declares the LORD of hosts, “and will cut off from Babylon name and remnant, descendants and posterity,” declares the LORD.

²³“And I will make it a possession of the hedgehog, and pools of water, and I will sweep it with the broom of destruction,” declares the LORD of hosts.

²⁴The LORD of hosts has sworn: “As I have planned, so shall it be, and as I have purposed, so shall it stand,

²⁵that I will break the Assyrian in my land, and on my mountains trample him underfoot; and his yoke shall depart from them, and his burden from their shoulder.”

²⁶This is the purpose that is purposed concerning the whole earth, and this is the hand that is stretched out over all the nations.

²⁷For the LORD of hosts has purposed, and who will annul it? His hand is stretched out, and who will turn it back?

²⁸In the year that King Ahaz died came this oracle:

²⁹Rejoice not, O Philistia, all of you, that the rod that struck you is broken, for from the serpent's root will come forth an adder, and its fruit will be a flying fiery serpent.

³⁰And the firstborn of the poor will graze, and the needy lie down in safety; but I will kill your root with famine, and your remnant it will slay.

³¹Wail, O gate; cry out, O city; melt in fear, O Philistia, all of you! For smoke comes out of the north, and there is no straggler in his ranks.

³²What will one answer the messengers of the nation? “The LORD has founded Zion, and in her the afflicted of his people find refuge.”

¹Now at Iconium they entered together into the Jewish synagogue and spoke in such a way that a great number of both Jews and Greeks believed.

²But the unbelieving Jews stirred up the Gentiles and poisoned their minds against the brothers.

³So they remained for a long time, speaking boldly for the Lord, who bore witness to the word of his grace, granting signs and wonders to be done by their hands.

⁴But the people of the city were divided; some sided with the Jews and some with the apostles.

⁵When an attempt was made by both Gentiles and Jews, with their rulers, to mistreat them and to stone them,

⁶they learned of it and fled to Lystra and Derbe, cities of Lycaonia, and to the surrounding country,

⁷and there they continued to preach the gospel.

⁸Now at Lystra there was a man sitting who could not use his feet. He was crippled from birth and had never walked.

⁹He listened to Paul speaking. And Paul, looking intently at him and seeing that he had faith to be made well,

¹⁰said in a loud voice, “Stand upright on your feet.” And he sprang up and began walking.

¹¹And when the crowds saw what Paul had done, they lifted up their voices, saying in Lycaonian, “The gods have come down to us in the likeness of men!”

¹²Barnabas they called Zeus, and Paul, Hermes, because he was the chief speaker.

¹³And the priest of Zeus, whose temple was at the entrance to the city, brought oxen and garlands to the gates and wanted to offer sacrifice with the crowds.

¹⁴But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard of it, they tore their garments and rushed out into the crowd, crying out,

¹⁵“Men, why are you doing these things? We also are men, of like nature with you, and we bring you good news, that you should turn from these vain things to a living God, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and all that is in them.

¹⁶In past generations he allowed all the nations to walk in their own ways.

¹⁷Yet he did not leave himself without witness, for he did good by giving you rains from heaven and fruitful seasons, satisfying your hearts with food and gladness.”

¹⁸Even with these words they scarcely restrained the people from offering sacrifice to them.

¹⁹But Jews came from Antioch and Iconium, and having persuaded the crowds, they stoned Paul and dragged him out of the city, supposing that he was dead.

²⁰But when the disciples gathered about him, he rose up and entered the city, and on the next day he went on with Barnabas to Derbe.

²¹When they had preached the gospel to that city and had made many disciples, they returned to Lystra and to Iconium and to Antioch,

²²strengthening the souls of the disciples, encouraging them to continue in the faith, and saying that through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God.

²³And when they had appointed elders for them in every church, with prayer and fasting they committed them to the Lord in whom they had believed.

²⁴Then they passed through Pisidia and came to Pamphylia.

²⁵And when they had spoken the word in Perga, they went down to Attalia,

²⁶and from there they sailed to Antioch, where they had been commended to the grace of God for the work that they had fulfilled.

²⁷And when they arrived and gathered the church together, they declared all that God had done with them, and how he had opened a door of faith to the Gentiles.

²⁸And they remained no little time with the disciples.