Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹At that time Herod the tetrarch heard the reports about Jesus,

²and he said to his attendants, “This is John the Baptist; he has risen from the dead! That is why miraculous powers are at work in him.”

³Now Herod had arrested John and bound him and put him in prison because of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife,

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

⁵Herod wanted to kill John, but he was afraid of the people, because they considered John a prophet.

⁶On Herod’s birthday the daughter of Herodias danced for the guests and pleased Herod so much

⁷that he promised with an oath to give her whatever she asked.

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

⁹The king was distressed, but because of his oaths and his dinner guests, he ordered that her request be granted

¹⁰and had John beheaded in the prison.

¹¹His head was brought in on a platter and given to the girl, who carried it to her mother.

¹²John’s disciples came and took his body and buried it. Then they went and told Jesus.

¹³When Jesus heard what had happened, he withdrew by boat privately to a solitary place. Hearing of this, the crowds followed him on foot from the towns.

¹⁴When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them and healed their sick.

¹⁵As evening approached, the disciples came to him and said, “This is a remote place, and it’s already getting late. Send the crowds away, so they can go to the villages and buy themselves some food.”

¹⁶Jesus replied, “They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat.”

¹⁷“We have here only five loaves of bread and two fish,” they answered.

¹⁸“Bring them here to me,” he said.

¹⁹And he directed the people to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then he gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the people.

²⁰They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over.

²¹The number of those who ate was about five thousand men, besides women and children.

²²Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowd.

²³After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. Later that night, he was there alone,

²⁴and the boat was already a considerable distance from land, buffeted by the waves because the wind was against it.

²⁵Shortly before dawn Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake.

²⁶When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. “It’s a ghost,” they said, and cried out in fear.

²⁷But Jesus immediately said to them: “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.”

²⁸“Lord, if it’s you,” Peter replied, “tell me to come to you on the water.”

²⁹“Come,” he said. Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus.

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

³¹Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?”

³²And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down.

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

³⁴When they had crossed over, they landed at Gennesaret.

³⁵And when the men of that place recognized Jesus, they sent word to all the surrounding country. People brought all their sick to him

³⁶and begged him to let the sick just touch the edge of his cloak, and all who touched it were healed.

¹At the time when Amraphel was king of Shinar, Arioch king of Ellasar, Kedorlaomer king of Elam and Tidal king of Goyim,

²these kings went to war against Bera king of Sodom, Birsha king of Gomorrah, Shinab king of Admah, Shemeber king of Zeboyim, and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar).

³All these latter kings joined forces in the Valley of Siddim (that is, the Dead Sea Valley).

⁴For twelve years they had been subject to Kedorlaomer, but in the thirteenth year they rebelled.

⁵In the fourteenth year, Kedorlaomer and the kings allied with him went out and defeated the Rephaites in Ashteroth Karnaim, the Zuzites in Ham, the Emites in Shaveh Kiriathaim

⁶and the Horites in the hill country of Seir, as far as El Paran near the desert.

⁷Then they turned back and went to En Mishpat (that is, Kadesh), and they conquered the whole territory of the Amalekites, as well as the Amorites who were living in Hazezon Tamar.

⁸Then the king of Sodom, the king of Gomorrah, the king of Admah, the king of Zeboyim and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar) marched out and drew up their battle lines in the Valley of Siddim

⁹against Kedorlaomer king of Elam, Tidal king of Goyim, Amraphel king of Shinar and Arioch king of Ellasar—four kings against five.

¹⁰Now the Valley of Siddim was full of tar pits, and when the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, some of the men fell into them and the rest fled to the hills.

¹¹The four kings seized all the goods of Sodom and Gomorrah and all their food; then they went away.

¹²They also carried off Abram’s nephew Lot and his possessions, since he was living in Sodom.

¹³A man who had escaped came and reported this to Abram the Hebrew. Now Abram was living near the great trees of Mamre the Amorite, a brother of Eshkol and Aner, all of whom were allied with Abram.

¹⁴When Abram heard that his relative had been taken captive, he called out the 318 trained men born in his household and went in pursuit as far as Dan.

¹⁵During the night Abram divided his men to attack them and he routed them, pursuing them as far as Hobah, north of Damascus.

¹⁶He recovered all the goods and brought back his relative Lot and his possessions, together with the women and the other people.

¹⁷After Abram returned from defeating Kedorlaomer and the kings allied with him, the king of Sodom came out to meet him in the Valley of Shaveh (that is, the King’s Valley).

¹⁸Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine. He was priest of God Most High,

¹⁹and he blessed Abram, saying, “Blessed be Abram by God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth.

²⁰And praise be to God Most High, who delivered your enemies into your hand.” Then Abram gave him a tenth of everything.

²¹The king of Sodom said to Abram, “Give me the people and keep the goods for yourself.”

²²But Abram said to the king of Sodom, “With raised hand I have sworn an oath to the LORD, God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth,

²³that I will accept nothing belonging to you, not even a thread or the strap of a sandal, so that you will never be able to say, ‘I made Abram rich.’

²⁴I will accept nothing but what my men have eaten and the share that belongs to the men who went with me—to Aner, Eshkol and Mamre. Let them have their share.”

¹Accept the one whose faith is weak, without quarreling over disputable matters.

²One person’s faith allows them to eat anything, but another, whose faith is weak, eats only vegetables.

³The one who eats everything must not treat with contempt the one who does not, and the one who does not eat everything must not judge the one who does, for God has accepted them.

⁴Who are you to judge someone else’s servant? To their own master, servants stand or fall. And they will stand, for the Lord is able to make them stand.

⁵One person considers one day more sacred than another; another considers every day alike. Each of them should be fully convinced in their own mind.

⁶Whoever regards one day as special does so to the Lord. Whoever eats meat does so to the Lord, for they give thanks to God; and whoever abstains does so to the Lord and gives thanks to God.

⁷For none of us lives for ourselves alone, and none of us dies for ourselves alone.

⁸If we live, we live for the Lord; and if we die, we die for the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord.

⁹For this very reason, Christ died and returned to life so that he might be the Lord of both the dead and the living.

¹⁰You, then, why do you judge your brother or sister? Or why do you treat them with contempt? For we will all stand before God’s judgment seat.

¹¹It is written: “ ‘As surely as I live,’ says the Lord, ‘every knee will bow before me; every tongue will acknowledge God.’ ”

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

¹³Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in the way of a brother or sister.

¹⁴I am convinced, being fully persuaded in the Lord Jesus, that nothing is unclean in itself. But if anyone regards something as unclean, then for that person it is unclean.

¹⁵If your brother or sister is distressed because of what you eat, you are no longer acting in love. Do not by your eating destroy someone for whom Christ died.

¹⁶Therefore do not let what you know is good be spoken of as evil.

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

¹⁸because anyone who serves Christ in this way is pleasing to God and receives human approval.

¹⁹Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification.

²⁰Do not destroy the work of God for the sake of food. All food is clean, but it is wrong for a person to eat anything that causes someone else to stumble.

²¹It is better not to eat meat or drink wine or to do anything else that will cause your brother or sister to fall.

²²So whatever you believe about these things keep between yourself and God. Blessed is the one who does not condemn himself by what he approves.

²³But whoever has doubts is condemned if they eat, because their eating is not from faith; and everything that does not come from faith is sin.

¹All who are under the yoke of slavery should consider their masters worthy of full respect, so that God’s name and our teaching may not be slandered.

²Those who have believing masters should not show them disrespect just because they are fellow believers. Instead, they should serve them even better because their masters are dear to them as fellow believers and are devoted to the welfare of their slaves. These are the things you are to teach and insist on.

³If anyone teaches otherwise and does not agree to the sound instruction of our Lord Jesus Christ and to godly teaching,

⁴they are conceited and understand nothing. They have an unhealthy interest in controversies and quarrels about words that result in envy, strife, malicious talk, evil suspicions

⁵and constant friction between people of corrupt mind, who have been robbed of the truth and who think that godliness is a means to financial gain.

⁶But godliness with contentment is great gain.

⁷For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it.

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

⁹Those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction.

¹⁰For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.

¹¹But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness.

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

¹³In the sight of God, who gives life to everything, and of Christ Jesus, who while testifying before Pontius Pilate made the good confession, I charge you

¹⁴to keep this command without spot or blame until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ,

¹⁵which God will bring about in his own time—God, the blessed and only Ruler, the King of kings and Lord of lords,

¹⁶who alone is immortal and who lives in unapproachable light, whom no one has seen or can see. To him be honor and might forever. Amen.

¹⁷Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment.

¹⁸Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share.

¹⁹In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life.

²⁰Timothy, guard what has been entrusted to your care. Turn away from godless chatter and the opposing ideas of what is falsely called knowledge,

²¹which some have professed and in so doing have departed from the faith. Grace be with you all.

¹“Mortals, born of woman, are of few days and full of trouble.

²They spring up like flowers and wither away; like fleeting shadows, they do not endure.

³Do you fix your eye on them? Will you bring them before you for judgment?

⁴Who can bring what is pure from the impure? No one!

⁵A person’s days are determined; you have decreed the number of his months and have set limits he cannot exceed.

⁶So look away from him and let him alone, till he has put in his time like a hired laborer.

⁷“At least there is hope for a tree: If it is cut down, it will sprout again, and its new shoots will not fail.

⁸Its roots may grow old in the ground and its stump die in the soil,

⁹yet at the scent of water it will bud and put forth shoots like a plant.

¹⁰But a man dies and is laid low; he breathes his last and is no more.

¹¹As the water of a lake dries up or a riverbed becomes parched and dry,

¹²so he lies down and does not rise; till the heavens are no more, people will not awake or be roused from their sleep.

¹³“If only you would hide me in the grave and conceal me till your anger has passed! If only you would set me a time and then remember me!

¹⁴If someone dies, will they live again? All the days of my hard service I will wait for my renewal to come.

¹⁵You will call and I will answer you; you will long for the creature your hands have made.

¹⁶Surely then you will count my steps but not keep track of my sin.

¹⁷My offenses will be sealed up in a bag; you will cover over my sin.

¹⁸“But as a mountain erodes and crumbles and as a rock is moved from its place,

¹⁹as water wears away stones and torrents wash away the soil, so you destroy a person’s hope.

²⁰You overpower them once for all, and they are gone; you change their countenance and send them away.

²¹If their children are honored, they do not know it; if their offspring are brought low, they do not see it.

²²They feel but the pain of their own bodies and mourn only for themselves.”

¹For the director of music. Of David. The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, their deeds are vile; there is no one who does good.

²The LORD looks down from heaven on all mankind to see if there are any who understand, any who seek God.

³All have turned away, all have become corrupt; there is no one who does good, not even one.

⁴Do all these evildoers know nothing? They devour my people as though eating bread; they never call on the LORD.

⁵But there they are, overwhelmed with dread, for God is present in the company of the righteous.

⁶You evildoers frustrate the plans of the poor, but the LORD is their refuge.

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

¹The wise woman builds her house, but with her own hands the foolish one tears hers down.

²Whoever fears the LORD walks uprightly, but those who despise him are devious in their ways.

³A fool’s mouth lashes out with pride, but the lips of the wise protect them.

⁴Where there are no oxen, the manger is empty, but from the strength of an ox come abundant harvests.

⁵An honest witness does not deceive, but a false witness pours out lies.

⁶The mocker seeks wisdom and finds none, but knowledge comes easily to the discerning.

⁷Stay away from a fool, for you will not find knowledge on their lips.

⁸The wisdom of the prudent is to give thought to their ways, but the folly of fools is deception.

⁹Fools mock at making amends for sin, but goodwill is found among the upright.

¹⁰Each heart knows its own bitterness, and no one else can share its joy.

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

¹²There is a way that appears to be right, but in the end it leads to death.

¹³Even in laughter the heart may ache, and rejoicing may end in grief.

¹⁴The faithless will be fully repaid for their ways, and the good rewarded for theirs.

¹⁵The simple believe anything, but the prudent give thought to their steps.

¹⁶The wise fear the LORD and shun evil, but a fool is hotheaded and yet feels secure.

¹⁷A quick-tempered person does foolish things, and the one who devises evil schemes is hated.

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

¹⁹Evildoers will bow down in the presence of the good, and the wicked at the gates of the righteous.

²⁰The poor are shunned even by their neighbors, but the rich have many friends.

²¹It is a sin to despise one’s neighbor, but blessed is the one who is kind to the needy.

²²Do not those who plot evil go astray? But those who plan what is good find love and faithfulness.

²³All hard work brings a profit, but mere talk leads only to poverty.

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

²⁵A truthful witness saves lives, but a false witness is deceitful.

²⁶Whoever fears the LORD has a secure fortress, and for their children it will be a refuge.

²⁷The fear of the LORD is a fountain of life, turning a person from the snares of death.

²⁸A large population is a king’s glory, but without subjects a prince is ruined.

²⁹Whoever is patient has great understanding, but one who is quick-tempered displays folly.

³⁰A heart at peace gives life to the body, but envy rots the bones.

³¹Whoever oppresses the poor shows contempt for their Maker, but whoever is kind to the needy honors God.

³²When calamity comes, the wicked are brought down, but even in death the righteous seek refuge in God.

³³Wisdom reposes in the heart of the discerning and even among fools she lets herself be known.

³⁴Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin condemns any people.

³⁵A king delights in a wise servant, but a shameful servant arouses his fury.

¹Now these are the areas the Israelites received as an inheritance in the land of Canaan, which Eleazar the priest, Joshua son of Nun and the heads of the tribal clans of Israel allotted to them.

²Their inheritances were assigned by lot to the nine-and-a-half tribes, as the LORD had commanded through Moses.

³Moses had granted the two-and-a-half tribes their inheritance east of the Jordan but had not granted the Levites an inheritance among the rest,

⁴for Joseph’s descendants had become two tribes—Manasseh and Ephraim. The Levites received no share of the land but only towns to live in, with pasturelands for their flocks and herds.

⁵So the Israelites divided the land, just as the LORD had commanded Moses.

⁶Now the people of Judah approached Joshua at Gilgal, and Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite said to him, “You know what the LORD said to Moses the man of God at Kadesh Barnea about you and me.

⁷I was forty years old when Moses the servant of the LORD sent me from Kadesh Barnea to explore the land. And I brought him back a report according to my convictions,

⁸but my fellow Israelites who went up with me made the hearts of the people melt in fear. I, however, followed the LORD my God wholeheartedly.

⁹So on that day Moses swore to me, ‘The land on which your feet have walked will be your inheritance and that of your children forever, because you have followed the LORD my God wholeheartedly.’

¹⁰“Now then, just as the LORD promised, he has kept me alive for forty-five years since the time he said this to Moses, while Israel moved about in the wilderness. So here I am today, eighty-five years old!

¹¹I am still as strong today as the day Moses sent me out; I’m just as vigorous to go out to battle now as I was then.

¹²Now give me this hill country that the LORD promised me that day. You yourself heard then that the Anakites were there and their cities were large and fortified, but, the LORD helping me, I will drive them out just as he said.”

¹³Then Joshua blessed Caleb son of Jephunneh and gave him Hebron as his inheritance.

¹⁴So Hebron has belonged to Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite ever since, because he followed the LORD, the God of Israel, wholeheartedly.

¹⁵(Hebron used to be called Kiriath Arba after Arba, who was the greatest man among the Anakites.) Then the land had rest from war.

¹The LORD will have compassion on Jacob; once again he will choose Israel and will settle them in their own land. Foreigners will join them and unite with the descendants of Jacob.

²Nations will take them and bring them to their own place. And Israel will take possession of the nations and make them male and female servants in the LORD’s land. They will make captives of their captors and rule over their oppressors.

³On the day the LORD gives you relief from your suffering and turmoil and from the harsh labor forced on you,

⁴you will take up this taunt against the king of Babylon: How the oppressor has come to an end! How his fury has ended!

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

⁶which in anger struck down peoples with unceasing blows, and in fury subdued nations with relentless aggression.

⁷All the lands are at rest and at peace; they break into singing.

⁸Even the junipers and the cedars of Lebanon gloat over you and say, “Now that you have been laid low, no one comes to cut us down.”

⁹The realm of the dead below is all astir to meet you at your coming; it rouses the spirits of the departed to greet you— all those who were leaders in the world; it makes them rise from their thrones— all those who were kings over the nations.

¹⁰They will all respond, they will say to you, “You also have become weak, as we are; you have become like us.”

¹¹All your pomp has been brought down to the grave, along with the noise of your harps; maggots are spread out beneath you and worms cover you.

¹²How you have fallen from heaven, morning star, son of the dawn! You have been cast down to the earth, you who once laid low the nations!

¹³You said in your heart, “I will ascend to the heavens; I will raise my throne above the stars of God; I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly, on the utmost heights of Mount Zaphon.

¹⁴I will ascend above the tops of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.”

¹⁵But you are brought down to the realm of the dead, to the depths of the pit.

¹⁶Those who see you stare at you, they ponder your fate: “Is this the man who shook the earth and made kingdoms tremble,

¹⁷the man who made the world a wilderness, who overthrew its cities and would not let his captives go home?”

¹⁸All the kings of the nations lie in state, each in his own tomb.

¹⁹But you are cast out of your tomb like a rejected branch; you are covered with the slain, with those pierced by the sword, those who descend to the stones of the pit. Like a corpse trampled underfoot,

²⁰you will not join them in burial, for you have destroyed your land and killed your people. Let the offspring of the wicked never be mentioned again.

²¹Prepare a place to slaughter his children for the sins of their ancestors; they are not to rise to inherit the land and cover the earth with their cities.

²²“I will rise up against them,” declares the LORD Almighty. “I will wipe out Babylon’s name and survivors, her offspring and descendants,” declares the LORD.

²³“I will turn her into a place for owls and into swampland; I will sweep her with the broom of destruction,” declares the LORD Almighty.

²⁴The LORD Almighty has sworn, “Surely, as I have planned, so it will be, and as I have purposed, so it will happen.

²⁵I will crush the Assyrian in my land; on my mountains I will trample him down. His yoke will be taken from my people, and his burden removed from their shoulders.”

²⁶This is the plan determined for the whole world; this is the hand stretched out over all nations.

²⁷For the LORD Almighty has purposed, and who can thwart him? His hand is stretched out, and who can turn it back?

²⁸This prophecy came in the year King Ahaz died:

²⁹Do not rejoice, all you Philistines, that the rod that struck you is broken; from the root of that snake will spring up a viper, its fruit will be a darting, venomous serpent.

³⁰The poorest of the poor will find pasture, and the needy will lie down in safety. But your root I will destroy by famine; it will slay your survivors.

³¹Wail, you gate! Howl, you city! Melt away, all you Philistines! A cloud of smoke comes from the north, and there is not a straggler in its ranks.

³²What answer shall be given to the envoys of that nation? “The LORD has established Zion, and in her his afflicted people will find refuge.”

¹At Iconium Paul and Barnabas went as usual into the Jewish synagogue. There they spoke so effectively that a great number of Jews and Greeks believed.

²But the Jews who refused to believe stirred up the other Gentiles and poisoned their minds against the brothers.

³So Paul and Barnabas spent considerable time there, speaking boldly for the Lord, who confirmed the message of his grace by enabling them to perform signs and wonders.

⁴The people of the city were divided; some sided with the Jews, others with the apostles.

⁵There was a plot afoot among both Gentiles and Jews, together with their leaders, to mistreat them and stone them.

⁶But they found out about it and fled to the Lycaonian cities of Lystra and Derbe and to the surrounding country,

⁷where they continued to preach the gospel.

⁸In Lystra there sat a man who was lame. He had been that way from birth and had never walked.

⁹He listened to Paul as he was speaking. Paul looked directly at him, saw that he had faith to be healed

¹⁰and called out, “Stand up on your feet!” At that, the man jumped up and began to walk.

¹¹When the crowd saw what Paul had done, they shouted in the Lycaonian language, “The gods have come down to us in human form!”

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

¹³The priest of Zeus, whose temple was just outside the city, brought bulls and wreaths to the city gates because he and the crowd wanted to offer sacrifices to them.

¹⁴But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard of this, they tore their clothes and rushed out into the crowd, shouting:

¹⁵“Friends, why are you doing this? We too are only human, like you. We are bringing you good news, telling you to turn from these worthless things to the living God, who made the heavens and the earth and the sea and everything in them.

¹⁶In the past, he let all nations go their own way.

¹⁷Yet he has not left himself without testimony: He has shown kindness by giving you rain from heaven and crops in their seasons; he provides you with plenty of food and fills your hearts with joy.”

¹⁸Even with these words, they had difficulty keeping the crowd from sacrificing to them.

¹⁹Then some Jews came from Antioch and Iconium and won the crowd over. They stoned Paul and dragged him outside the city, thinking he was dead.

²⁰But after the disciples had gathered around him, he got up and went back into the city. The next day he and Barnabas left for Derbe.

²¹They preached the gospel in that city and won a large number of disciples. Then they returned to Lystra, Iconium and Antioch,

²²strengthening the disciples and encouraging them to remain true to the faith. “We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God,” they said.

²³Paul and Barnabas appointed elders for them in each church and, with prayer and fasting, committed them to the Lord, in whom they had put their trust.

²⁴After going through Pisidia, they came into Pamphylia,

²⁵and when they had preached the word in Perga, they went down to Attalia.

²⁶From Attalia they sailed back to Antioch, where they had been committed to the grace of God for the work they had now completed.

²⁷On arriving there, they gathered the church together and reported all that God had done through them and how he had opened a door of faith to the Gentiles.

²⁸And they stayed there a long time with the disciples.