Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹At that time Herod the ruler heard reports about Jesus;

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

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

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

⁵Though Herod wanted to put him to death, he feared the crowd, because they regarded him as a prophet.

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

⁷so much that he promised on oath to grant her whatever she might ask.

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

⁹The king was grieved, yet out of regard for his oaths and for the guests, he commanded it to be given;

¹⁰he sent and had John beheaded in the prison.

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

¹²His disciples came and took the body and buried it; then they went and told Jesus.

¹³Now when Jesus heard this, he withdrew from there in a boat to a deserted 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 for them and cured their sick.

¹⁵When it was evening, the disciples came to him and said, “This is a deserted place, and the hour is now late; send the crowds away so that they may go into the villages and buy food for themselves.”

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

¹⁷They replied, “We have nothing here but five loaves and two fish.”

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

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

²⁰And all ate and were filled; and they took up what was left over of the broken pieces, twelve baskets full.

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

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

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

²⁴but by this time the boat, battered by the waves, was far from the land, for the wind was against them.

²⁵And early in the morning he came walking toward them on the sea.

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

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

²⁸Peter 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, started walking on the water, and came toward Jesus.

³⁰But when he noticed the strong wind, he became frightened, and beginning to sink, he cried out, “Lord, save me!”

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

³²When they got into the boat, the wind ceased.

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

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

³⁵After the people of that place recognized him, they sent word throughout the region and brought all who were sick to him,

³⁶and begged him that they might touch even the fringe of his cloak; and all who touched it were healed.

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

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

³All these joined forces in the Valley of Siddim (that is, the Dead 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 subdued the Rephaim in Ashteroth-karnaim, the Zuzim in Ham, the Emim in Shaveh-kiriathaim,

⁶and the Horites in the hill country of Seir as far as El-paran on the edge of the wilderness;

⁷then they turned back and came to En-mishpat (that is, Kadesh), and subdued all the country of the Amalekites, and also the Amorites who lived 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 King Chedorlaomer of Elam, King Tidal of Goiim, King Amraphel of Shinar, and King Arioch 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 goods of Sodom and Gomorrah, and all their provisions, and went their way;

¹²they also took Lot, the son of Abram’s brother, who lived in Sodom, and his goods, and departed.

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 nephew had been taken captive, he led forth his trained men, born in his house, three hundred eighteen of them, and went in pursuit as far as Dan.

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

¹⁶Then he brought back all the goods, and also brought back his nephew Lot with his goods, 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 King Melchizedek of Salem brought out bread and wine; he was priest of God Most High.

¹⁹He blessed him and said, “Blessed be Abram by God Most High, maker of heaven and earth;

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

²¹Then 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 sworn to the LORD, God Most High, maker of heaven and earth,

²³that I would not take a thread or a sandal-thong or anything that is yours, so that you might not 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 — Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre. Let them take their share.”

¹Welcome those who are weak in faith, but not for the purpose of quarreling over opinions.

²Some believe in eating anything, while the weak eat only vegetables.

³Those who eat must not despise those who abstain, and those who abstain must not pass judgment on those who eat; for God has welcomed them.

⁴Who are you to pass judgment on servants of another? It is before their own lord that they stand or fall. And they will be upheld, for the Lord is able to make them stand.

⁵Some judge one day to be better than another, while others judge all days to be alike. Let all be fully convinced in their own minds.

⁶Those who observe the day, observe it in honor of the Lord. Also those who eat, eat in honor of the Lord, since they give thanks to God; while those who abstain, abstain in honor of the Lord and give thanks to God.

⁷We do not live to ourselves, and we do not die to ourselves.

⁸If 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, so that he might be Lord of both the dead and the living.

¹⁰Why do you pass judgment on your brother or sister? Or you, why do you despise your brother or sister? 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 give praise to God.”

¹²So then, each of us will be accountable to God.

¹³Let us therefore no longer pass judgment on one another, but resolve instead never to put a stumbling block or hindrance in the way of another.

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.

¹⁵If your brother or sister is being injured by what you eat, you are no longer walking in love. Do not let what you eat cause the ruin of one for whom Christ died.

¹⁶So do not let your good be spoken of as evil.

¹⁷For the kingdom of God is not food and drink but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.

¹⁸The one who thus serves Christ is acceptable to God and has human approval.

¹⁹Let us then 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 you to make others fall by what you eat;

²¹it is good not to eat meat or drink wine or do anything that makes your brother or sister stumble.

²²The faith that you have, have as your own conviction before God. Blessed are those who have no reason to condemn themselves because of what they approve.

²³But those who have doubts are condemned if they eat, because they do not act from faith; for whatever does not proceed from faith is sin.

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

²Those who have believing masters must not be disrespectful to them on the ground that they are members of the church; rather they must serve them all the more, since those who benefit by their service are believers and beloved. False Teaching and True Riches Teach and urge these duties.

³Whoever teaches otherwise and does not agree with the sound words of our Lord Jesus Christ and the teaching that is in accordance with godliness,

⁴is conceited, understanding nothing, and has a morbid craving for controversy and for disputes about words. From these come envy, dissension, slander, base suspicions,

⁵and wrangling among those who are depraved in mind and bereft of the truth, imagining that godliness is a means of gain.

⁶Of course, there is great gain in godliness combined with contentment;

⁷for we brought nothing into the world, so that we can take nothing out of it;

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

⁹But those who want to be rich fall into temptation and are trapped by many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction.

¹⁰For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, and in their eagerness to be rich some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pains.

¹¹But as for you, man of God, shun all this; pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance, gentleness.

¹²Fight the good fight of the faith; take hold of the eternal life, to which you were called and for which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.

¹³In 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, I charge you

¹⁴to keep the commandment without spot or blame until the manifestation of our Lord Jesus Christ,

¹⁵which he will bring about at the right time — he who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords.

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

¹⁷As for those who in the present age are rich, command them not to be haughty, or to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but rather on God who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment.

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

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

²⁰Timothy, guard what has been entrusted to you. Avoid the profane chatter and contradictions of what is falsely called knowledge;

²¹by professing it some have missed the mark as regards the faith. Grace be with you.

¹“A mortal, born of woman, few of days and full of trouble,

²comes up like a flower and withers, flees like a shadow and does not last.

³Do you fix your eyes on such a one? Do you bring me into judgment with you?

⁴Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? No one can.

⁵Since their days are determined, and the number of their months is known to you, and you have appointed the bounds that they cannot pass,

⁶look away from them, and desist, that they may enjoy, like laborers, their days.

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

⁸Though its root grows old in the earth, and its stump dies in the ground,

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

¹⁰But mortals die, and are laid low; humans expire, and where are they?

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

¹²so mortals lie down and do not rise again; until the heavens are no more, they will not awake or be roused out of their sleep.

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

¹⁴If mortals die, will they live again? All the days of my service I would wait until my release should come.

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

¹⁶For then you would not 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 mortals.

²⁰You prevail forever against them, and they pass away; you change their countenance, and send them away.

²¹Their children come to honor, and they do not know it; they are brought low, and it goes unnoticed.

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

¹Fools say in their hearts, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, they do abominable deeds; there is no one who does good.

²The LORD looks down from heaven on humankind to see if there are any who are wise, who seek after God.

³They have all gone astray, they are all alike perverse; there is no one who does good, no, not 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 shall be in great terror, for God is with the company of the righteous.

⁶You would confound the plans of the poor, but the LORD is their refuge.

⁷O that deliverance for Israel would come from Zion! When the LORD restores the fortunes of his people, Jacob will rejoice; Israel will be glad.

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

²Those who walk uprightly fear the LORD, but one who is devious in conduct despises him.

³The talk of fools is a rod for their backs, but the lips of the wise preserve them.

⁴Where there are no oxen, there is no grain; 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 one who understands.

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

⁸It is the wisdom of the clever to understand where they go, but the folly of fools misleads.

⁹Fools mock at the guilt offering, but the upright enjoy God’s favor.

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

¹¹The house of the wicked is destroyed, but the tent of the upright flourishes.

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

¹³Even in laughter the heart is sad, and the end of joy is grief.

¹⁴The perverse get what their ways deserve, and the good, what their deeds deserve.

¹⁵The simple believe everything, but the clever consider their steps.

¹⁶The wise are cautious and turn away from evil, but the fool throws off restraint and is careless.

¹⁷One who is quick-tempered acts foolishly, and the schemer is hated.

¹⁸The simple are adorned with folly, but the clever are crowned with knowledge.

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

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

²¹Those who despise their neighbors are sinners, but happy are those who are kind to the poor.

²²Do they not err that plan evil? Those who plan good find loyalty and faithfulness.

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

²⁴The crown of the wise is their wisdom, but folly is the garland of fools.

²⁵A truthful witness saves lives, but one who utters lies is a betrayer.

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

²⁷The fear of the LORD is a fountain of life, so that one may avoid the snares of death.

²⁸The glory of a king is a multitude of people; without people a prince is ruined.

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

³⁰A tranquil mind gives life to the flesh, but passion makes the bones rot.

³¹Those who oppress the poor insult their Maker, but those who are kind to the needy honor him.

³²The wicked are overthrown by their evildoing, but the righteous find a refuge in their integrity.

³³Wisdom is at home in the mind of one who has understanding, but it is not known in the heart 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 Israelites received in the land of Canaan, which the priest Eleazar, and Joshua son of Nun, and the heads of the families of the tribes of the Israelites distributed to them.

²Their inheritance was by lot, as the LORD had commanded 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 towns to live in, with their pasture lands for their flocks and herds.

⁵The Israelites did as the LORD commanded Moses; they allotted the land.

⁶Then the people of Judah came to 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 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 an honest report.

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

¹⁰And now, as you see, the LORD has kept me alive, as he said, these forty-five years since the time that the LORD spoke this word to Moses, while Israel was journeying through the wilderness; and here I am today, eighty-five years old.

¹¹I am still as strong today as I was on 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, as the LORD said.”

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

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

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

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

²And the nations will take them and bring them to their place, and the house of Israel will possess the nations as male and female slaves in the LORD’s land; 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! How his insolence has ceased!

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

⁶that struck down 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 exult over you, the cedars of Lebanon, saying, “Since you were laid low, no one comes to cut us down.”

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 speak and say to you: “You too have become as weak as we! You have become like us!”

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

¹²How 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; I will raise my throne above the stars of God; I will sit on the mount of assembly on the heights of Zaphon;

¹⁴I will ascend to the tops of the clouds, I will make myself like the Most High.”

¹⁵But you are brought down to Sheol, to the depths 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 would 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 loathsome carrion, clothed with the dead, those pierced by the sword, who go down to the stones of the Pit, like a corpse trampled underfoot.

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

²¹Prepare slaughter for his sons because of the guilt of their father. Let them never rise to possess the earth or cover the face of the world with cities.

²²I will rise up against them, says the LORD of hosts, and will cut off from Babylon name and remnant, offspring and posterity, says the LORD.

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

²⁴The LORD of hosts has sworn: As I have designed, so shall it be; and as I have planned, so shall it come to pass:

²⁵I will break the Assyrian in my land, and on my mountains trample him under foot; his yoke shall be removed from them, and his burden from their shoulders.

²⁶This is the plan that is planned concerning the whole earth; and this is the hand that is stretched out over all the nations.

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

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

²⁹Do not rejoice, all you Philistines, that the rod that struck you is broken, for from the root of the snake will come forth an adder, and its fruit will be a flying fiery serpent.

³⁰The firstborn of the poor will graze, and the needy lie down in safety; but I will make your root die of famine, and your remnant I will kill.

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

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

¹The same thing occurred in Iconium, where Paul and Barnabas went into the Jewish synagogue and spoke in such a way that a great number of both Jews and Greeks became believers.

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 testified to the word of his grace by granting signs and wonders to be done through them.

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

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

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

⁷and there they continued proclaiming the good news.

⁸In Lystra there was a man sitting who could not use his feet and had never walked, for he had been crippled from birth.

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

¹⁰said in a loud voice, “Stand upright on your feet.” And the man sprang up and began to walk.

¹¹When the crowds 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 oxen and garlands to the gates; he and the crowds wanted to offer sacrifice.

¹⁴When the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard of it, they tore their clothes and rushed out into the crowd, shouting,

¹⁵“Friends, why are you doing this? We are mortals just like you, and we bring you good news, that you should turn from these worthless things to the 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 follow their own ways;

¹⁷yet he has not left himself without a witness in doing good — giving you rains from heaven and fruitful seasons, and filling you with food and your hearts with joy.”

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

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

²⁰But when the disciples surrounded him, he got up and went into the city. The next day he went on with Barnabas to Derbe.

²¹After they had proclaimed the good news to that city and had made many disciples, they returned to Lystra, then on to Iconium and Antioch.

²²There they strengthened the souls of the disciples and encouraged them to continue in the faith, saying, “It is through many persecutions that we must enter the kingdom of God.”

²³And after they had appointed elders for them in each church, with prayer and fasting they entrusted them to the Lord in whom they had come to believe.

²⁴Then they passed through Pisidia and came to Pamphylia.

²⁵When they had spoken the word in Perga, they went down to Attalia.

²⁶From there they sailed back to Antioch, where they had been commended to the grace of God for the work that they had completed.

²⁷When they arrived, they called the church together and related all that God had done with them, and how he had opened a door of faith for the Gentiles.

²⁸And they stayed there with the disciples for some time.