Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹The Pharisees and Sadducees came, and to test Jesus they asked him to show them a sign from heaven.

²He answered them, “When it is evening, you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red.’

³And in the morning, ‘It will be stormy today, for the sky is red and threatening.’ You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times.

⁴An evil and adulterous generation asks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah.” Then he left them and went away.

⁵When the disciples reached the other side, they had forgotten to bring any bread.

⁶Jesus said to them, “Watch out, and beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees.”

⁷They said to one another, “It is because we have brought no bread.”

⁸And becoming aware of it, Jesus said, “You of little faith, why are you talking about having no bread?

⁹Do you still not perceive? Do you not remember the five loaves for the five thousand, and how many baskets you gathered?

¹⁰Or the seven loaves for the four thousand, and how many baskets you gathered?

¹¹How could you fail to perceive that I was not speaking about bread? Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees!”

¹²Then they understood that he had not told them to beware of the yeast of bread, but of the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.

¹³Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?”

¹⁴And they said, “Some say John the Baptist, but others Elijah, and still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”

¹⁵He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?”

¹⁶Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”

¹⁷And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father in heaven.

¹⁸And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it.

¹⁹I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”

²⁰Then he sternly ordered the disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah.

²¹From that time on, Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and undergo great suffering at the hands of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised.

²²And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, “God forbid it, Lord! This must never happen to you.”

²³But he turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; for you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things.”

²⁴Then Jesus told his disciples, “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.

²⁵For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it.

²⁶For what will it profit them if they gain the whole world but forfeit their life? Or what will they give in return for their life?

²⁷“For the Son of Man is to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay everyone for what has been done.

²⁸Truly I tell you, there are some standing here who will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.”

¹Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, bore him no children. She had an Egyptian slave-girl whose name was Hagar,

²and Sarai said to Abram, “You see that the LORD has prevented me from bearing children; go in to my slave-girl; it may be that I shall obtain children by her.” And Abram listened to the voice of Sarai.

³So, after Abram had lived ten years in the land of Canaan, Sarai, Abram’s wife, took Hagar the Egyptian, her slave-girl, and gave her to her husband Abram as a wife.

⁴He went in to Hagar, and she conceived; and when she saw that she had conceived, she looked with contempt on her mistress.

⁵Then Sarai said to Abram, “May the wrong done to me be on you! I gave my slave-girl to your embrace, and when she saw that she had conceived, she looked on me with contempt. May the LORD judge between you and me!”

⁶But Abram said to Sarai, “Your slave-girl is in your power; do to her as you please.” Then Sarai dealt harshly with her, and she ran away from her.

⁷The angel of the LORD found her by a spring of water in the wilderness, the spring on the way to Shur.

⁸And he said, “Hagar, slave-girl of Sarai, where have you come from and where are you going?” She said, “I am running away from my mistress Sarai.”

⁹The angel of the LORD said to her, “Return to your mistress, and submit to her.”

¹⁰The angel of the LORD also said to her, “I will so greatly multiply your offspring that they cannot be counted for multitude.”

¹¹And the angel of the LORD said to her, “Now you have conceived and shall bear a son; you shall call him Ishmael, for the LORD has given heed to your affliction.

¹²He shall be a wild ass of a man, with his hand against everyone, and everyone’s hand against him; and he shall live at odds with all his kin.”

¹³So she named the LORD who spoke to her, “You are El-roi”; for she said, “Have I really seen God and remained alive after seeing him?”

¹⁴Therefore the well was called Beer-lahai-roi; it lies between Kadesh and Bered.

¹⁵Hagar bore Abram a son; and Abram named his son, whom Hagar bore, Ishmael.

¹⁶Abram was eighty-six years old when Hagar bore him Ishmael.

¹I commend to you our sister Phoebe, a deacon of the church at Cenchreae,

²so that you may welcome her in the Lord as is fitting for the saints, and help her in whatever she may require from you, for she has been a benefactor of many and of myself as well.

³Greet Prisca and Aquila, who work with me in Christ Jesus,

⁴and who risked their necks for my life, to whom not only I give thanks, but also all the churches of the Gentiles.

⁵Greet also the church in their house. Greet my beloved Epaenetus, who was the first convert in Asia for Christ.

⁶Greet Mary, who has worked very hard among you.

⁷Greet Andronicus and Junia, my relatives who were in prison with me; they are prominent among the apostles, and they were in Christ before I was.

⁸Greet Ampliatus, my beloved in the Lord.

⁹Greet Urbanus, our co-worker in Christ, and my beloved Stachys.

¹⁰Greet Apelles, who is approved in Christ. Greet those who belong to the family of Aristobulus.

¹¹Greet my relative Herodion. Greet those in the Lord who belong to the family of Narcissus.

¹²Greet those workers in the Lord, Tryphaena and Tryphosa. Greet the beloved Persis, who has worked hard in the Lord.

¹³Greet Rufus, chosen in the Lord; and greet his mother — a mother to me also.

¹⁴Greet Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermes, Patrobas, Hermas, and the brothers and sisters who are with them.

¹⁵Greet Philologus, Julia, Nereus and his sister, and Olympas, and all the saints who are with them.

¹⁶Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the churches of Christ greet you.

¹⁷I urge you, brothers and sisters, to keep an eye on those who cause dissensions and offenses, in opposition to the teaching that you have learned; avoid them.

¹⁸For such people do not serve our Lord Christ, but their own appetites, and by smooth talk and flattery they deceive the hearts of the simple-minded.

¹⁹For while your obedience is known to all, so that I rejoice over you, I want you to be wise in what is good and guileless in what is evil.

²⁰The God of peace will shortly crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.

²¹Timothy, my co-worker, greets you; so do Lucius and Jason and Sosipater, my relatives.

²²I Tertius, the writer of this letter, greet you in the Lord.

²³Gaius, who is host to me and to the whole church, greets you. Erastus, the city treasurer, and our brother Quartus, greet you.

²⁴

²⁵Now to God who is able to strengthen you according to my gospel and the proclamation of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery that was kept secret for long ages

²⁶but is now disclosed, and through the prophetic writings is made known to all the Gentiles, according to the command of the eternal God, to bring about the obedience of faith —

²⁷to the only wise God, through Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory forever! Amen.

¹You then, my child, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus;

²and what you have heard from me through many witnesses entrust to faithful people who will be able to teach others as well.

³Share in suffering like a good soldier of Christ Jesus.

⁴No one serving in the army gets entangled in everyday affairs; the soldier’s aim is to please the enlisting officer.

⁵And in the case of an athlete, no one is crowned without competing according to the rules.

⁶It is the farmer who does the work who ought to have the first share of the crops.

⁷Think over what I say, for the Lord will give you understanding in all things.

⁸Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, a descendant of David — that is my gospel,

⁹for which I suffer hardship, even to the point of being chained like a criminal. But the word of God is not chained.

¹⁰Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, so that they may also obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus, with eternal glory.

¹¹The saying is sure: If we have died with him, we will also live with him;

¹²if we endure, we will also reign with him; if we deny him, he will also deny us;

¹³if we are faithless, he remains faithful — for he cannot deny himself.

¹⁴Remind them of this, and warn them before God that they are to avoid wrangling over words, which does no good but only ruins those who are listening.

¹⁵Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved by him, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly explaining the word of truth.

¹⁶Avoid profane chatter, for it will lead people into more and more impiety,

¹⁷and their talk will spread like gangrene. Among them are Hymenaeus and Philetus,

¹⁸who have swerved from the truth by claiming that the resurrection has already taken place. They are upsetting the faith of some.

¹⁹But God’s firm foundation stands, bearing this inscription: “The Lord knows those who are his,” and, “Let everyone who calls on the name of the Lord turn away from wickedness.”

²⁰In a large house there are utensils not only of gold and silver but also of wood and clay, some for special use, some for ordinary.

²¹All who cleanse themselves of the things I have mentioned will become special utensils, dedicated and useful to the owner of the house, ready for every good work.

²²Shun youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart.

²³Have nothing to do with stupid and senseless controversies; you know that they breed quarrels.

²⁴And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but kindly to everyone, an apt teacher, patient,

²⁵correcting opponents with gentleness. God may perhaps grant that they will repent and come to know the truth,

²⁶and that they may escape from the snare of the devil, having been held captive by him to do his will.

¹Then Job answered:

²“I have heard many such things; miserable comforters are you all.

³Have windy words no limit? Or what provokes you that you keep on talking?

⁴I also could talk as you do, if you were in my place; I could join words together against you, and shake my head at you.

⁵I could encourage you with my mouth, and the solace of my lips would assuage your pain.

⁶“If I speak, my pain is not assuaged, and if I forbear, how much of it leaves me?

⁷Surely now God has worn me out; he has made desolate all my company.

⁸And he has shriveled me up, which is a witness against me; my leanness has risen up against me, and it testifies to my face.

⁹He has torn me in his wrath, and hated me; he has gnashed his teeth at me; my adversary sharpens his eyes against me.

¹⁰They have gaped at me with their mouths; they have struck me insolently on the cheek; they mass themselves together against me.

¹¹God gives me up to the ungodly, and casts me into the hands of the wicked.

¹²I was at ease, and he broke me in two; he seized me by the neck and dashed me to pieces; he set me up as his target;

¹³his archers surround me. He slashes open my kidneys, and shows no mercy; he pours out my gall on the ground.

¹⁴He bursts upon me again and again; he rushes at me like a warrior.

¹⁵I have sewed sackcloth upon my skin, and have laid my strength in the dust.

¹⁶My face is red with weeping, and deep darkness is on my eyelids,

¹⁷though there is no violence in my hands, and my prayer is pure.

¹⁸“O earth, do not cover my blood; let my outcry find no resting place.

¹⁹Even now, in fact, my witness is in heaven, and he that vouches for me is on high.

²⁰My friends scorn me; my eye pours out tears to God,

²¹that he would maintain the right of a mortal with God, as one does for a neighbor.

²²For when a few years have come, I shall go the way from which I shall not return.

¹Protect me, O God, for in you I take refuge.

²I say to the LORD, “You are my Lord; I have no good apart from you.”

³As for the holy ones in the land, they are the noble, in whom is all my delight.

⁴Those who choose another god multiply their sorrows; their drink offerings of blood I will not pour out or take their names upon my lips.

⁵The LORD is my chosen portion and my cup; you hold my lot.

⁶The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; I have a goodly heritage.

⁷I bless the LORD who gives me counsel; in the night also my heart instructs me.

⁸I keep the LORD always before me; because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved.

⁹Therefore my heart is glad, and my soul rejoices; my body also rests secure.

¹⁰For you do not give me up to Sheol, or let your faithful one see the Pit.

¹¹You show me the path of life. In your presence there is fullness of joy; in your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

¹The plans of the mind belong to mortals, but the answer of the tongue is from the LORD.

²All one’s ways may be pure in one’s own eyes, but the LORD weighs the spirit.

³Commit your work to the LORD, and your plans will be established.

⁴The LORD has made everything for its purpose, even the wicked for the day of trouble.

⁵All those who are arrogant are an abomination to the LORD; be assured, they will not go unpunished.

⁶By loyalty and faithfulness iniquity is atoned for, and by the fear of the LORD one avoids evil.

⁷When the ways of people please the LORD, he causes even their enemies to be at peace with them.

⁸Better is a little with righteousness than large income with injustice.

⁹The human mind plans the way, but the LORD directs the steps.

¹⁰Inspired decisions are on the lips of a king; his mouth does not sin in judgment.

¹¹Honest balances and scales are the LORD’s; all the weights in the bag are his work.

¹²It is an abomination to kings to do evil, for the throne is established by righteousness.

¹³Righteous lips are the delight of a king, and he loves those who speak what is right.

¹⁴A king’s wrath is a messenger of death, and whoever is wise will appease it.

¹⁵In the light of a king’s face there is life, and his favor is like the clouds that bring the spring rain.

¹⁶How much better to get wisdom than gold! To get understanding is to be chosen rather than silver.

¹⁷The highway of the upright avoids evil; those who guard their way preserve their lives.

¹⁸Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.

¹⁹It is better to be of a lowly spirit among the poor than to divide the spoil with the proud.

²⁰Those who are attentive to a matter will prosper, and happy are those who trust in the LORD.

²¹The wise of heart is called perceptive, and pleasant speech increases persuasiveness.

²²Wisdom is a fountain of life to one who has it, but folly is the punishment of fools.

²³The mind of the wise makes their speech judicious, and adds persuasiveness to their lips.

²⁴Pleasant words are like a honeycomb, sweetness to the soul and health to the body.

²⁵Sometimes there is a way that seems to be right, but in the end it is the way to death.

²⁶The appetite of workers works for them; their hunger urges them on.

²⁷Scoundrels concoct evil, and their speech is like a scorching fire.

²⁸A perverse person spreads strife, and a whisperer separates close friends.

²⁹The violent entice their neighbors, and lead them in a way that is not good.

³⁰One who winks the eyes plans perverse things; one who compresses the lips brings evil to pass.

³¹Gray hair is a crown of glory; it is gained in a righteous life.

³²One who is slow to anger is better than the mighty, and one whose temper is controlled than one who captures a city.

³³The lot is cast into the lap, but the decision is the LORD’s alone.

¹The allotment of the Josephites went from the Jordan by Jericho, east of the waters of Jericho, into the wilderness, going up from Jericho into the hill country to Bethel;

²then going from Bethel to Luz, it passes along to Ataroth, the territory of the Archites;

³then it goes down westward to the territory of the Japhletites, as far as the territory of Lower Beth-horon, then to Gezer, and it ends at the sea.

⁴The Josephites — Manasseh and Ephraim — received their inheritance.

⁵The territory of the Ephraimites by their families was as follows: the boundary of their inheritance on the east was Ataroth-addar as far as Upper Beth-horon,

⁶and the boundary goes from there to the sea; on the north is Michmethath; then on the east the boundary makes a turn toward Taanath-shiloh, and passes along beyond it on the east to Janoah,

⁷then it goes down from Janoah to Ataroth and to Naarah, and touches Jericho, ending at the Jordan.

⁸From Tappuah the boundary goes westward to the Wadi Kanah, and ends at the sea. Such is the inheritance of the tribe of the Ephraimites by their families,

⁹together with the towns that were set apart for the Ephraimites within the inheritance of the Manassites, all those towns with their villages.

¹⁰They did not, however, drive out the Canaanites who lived in Gezer: so the Canaanites have lived within Ephraim to this day but have been made to do forced labor.

¹Send lambs to the ruler of the land, from Sela, by way of the desert, to the mount of daughter Zion.

²Like fluttering birds, like scattered nestlings, so are the daughters of Moab at the fords of the Arnon.

³“Give counsel, grant justice; make your shade like night at the height of noon; hide the outcasts, do not betray the fugitive;

⁴let the outcasts of Moab settle among you; be a refuge to them from the destroyer.” When the oppressor is no more, and destruction has ceased, and marauders have vanished from the land,

⁵then a throne shall be established in steadfast love in the tent of David, and on it shall sit in faithfulness a ruler who seeks justice and is swift to do what is right.

⁶We have heard of the pride of Moab — how proud he is! — of his arrogance, his pride, and his insolence; his boasts are false.

⁷Therefore let Moab wail, let everyone wail for Moab. Mourn, utterly stricken, for the raisin cakes of Kir-hareseth.

⁸For the fields of Heshbon languish, and the vines of Sibmah, whose clusters once made drunk the lords of the nations, reached to Jazer and strayed to the desert; their shoots once spread abroad and crossed over the sea.

⁹Therefore I weep with the weeping of Jazer for the vines of Sibmah; I drench you with my tears, O Heshbon and Elealeh; for the shout over your fruit harvest and your grain harvest has ceased.

¹⁰Joy and gladness are taken away from the fruitful field; and in the vineyards no songs are sung, no shouts are raised; no treader treads out wine in the presses; the vintage-shout is hushed.

¹¹Therefore my heart throbs like a harp for Moab, and my very soul for Kir-heres.

¹²When Moab presents himself, when he wearies himself upon the high place, when he comes to his sanctuary to pray, he will not prevail.

¹³This was the word that the LORD spoke concerning Moab in the past.

¹⁴But now the LORD says, In three years, like the years of a hired worker, the glory of Moab will be brought into contempt, in spite of all its great multitude; and those who survive will be very few and feeble.

¹Paul went on also to Derbe and to Lystra, where there was a disciple named Timothy, the son of a Jewish woman who was a believer; but his father was a Greek.

²He was well spoken of by the believers in Lystra and Iconium.

³Paul wanted Timothy to accompany him; and he took him and had him circumcised because of the Jews who were in those places, for they all knew that his father was a Greek.

⁴As they went from town to town, they delivered to them for observance the decisions that had been reached by the apostles and elders who were in Jerusalem.

⁵So the churches were strengthened in the faith and increased in numbers daily.

⁶They went through the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia.

⁷When they had come opposite Mysia, they attempted to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them;

⁸so, passing by Mysia, they went down to Troas.

⁹During the night Paul had a vision: there stood a man of Macedonia pleading with him and saying, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.”

¹⁰When he had seen the vision, we immediately tried to cross over to Macedonia, being convinced that God had called us to proclaim the good news to them.

¹¹We set sail from Troas and took a straight course to Samothrace, the following day to Neapolis,

¹²and from there to Philippi, which is a leading city of the district of Macedonia and a Roman colony. We remained in this city for some days.

¹³On the sabbath day we went outside the gate by the river, where we supposed there was a place of prayer; and we sat down and spoke to the women who had gathered there.

¹⁴A certain woman named Lydia, a worshiper of God, was listening to us; she was from the city of Thyatira and a dealer in purple cloth. The Lord opened her heart to listen eagerly to what was said by Paul.

¹⁵When she and her household were baptized, she urged us, saying, “If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come and stay at my home.” And she prevailed upon us.

¹⁶One day, as we were going to the place of prayer, we met a slave-girl who had a spirit of divination and brought her owners a great deal of money by fortune-telling.

¹⁷While she followed Paul and us, she would cry out, “These men are slaves of the Most High God, who proclaim to you a way of salvation.”

¹⁸She kept doing this for many days. But Paul, very much annoyed, turned and said to the spirit, “I order you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.” And it came out that very hour.

¹⁹But when her owners saw that their hope of making money was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace before the authorities.

²⁰When they had brought them before the magistrates, they said, “These men are disturbing our city; they are Jews

²¹and are advocating customs that are not lawful for us as Romans to adopt or observe.”

²²The crowd joined in attacking them, and the magistrates had them stripped of their clothing and ordered them to be beaten with rods.

²³After they had given them a severe flogging, they threw them into prison and ordered the jailer to keep them securely.

²⁴Following these instructions, he put them in the innermost cell and fastened their feet in the stocks.

²⁵About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them.

²⁶Suddenly there was an earthquake, so violent that the foundations of the prison were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened and everyone’s chains were unfastened.

²⁷When the jailer woke up and saw the prison doors wide open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself, since he supposed that the prisoners had escaped.

²⁸But Paul shouted in a loud voice, “Do not harm yourself, for we are all here.”

²⁹The jailer called for lights, and rushing in, he fell down trembling before Paul and Silas.

³⁰Then he brought them outside and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”

³¹They answered, “Believe on the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.”

³²They spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house.

³³At the same hour of the night he took them and washed their wounds; then he and his entire family were baptized without delay.

³⁴He brought them up into the house and set food before them; and he and his entire household rejoiced that he had become a believer in God.

³⁵When morning came, the magistrates sent the police, saying, “Let those men go.”

³⁶And the jailer reported the message to Paul, saying, “The magistrates sent word to let you go; therefore come out now and go in peace.”

³⁷But Paul replied, “They have beaten us in public, uncondemned, men who are Roman citizens, and have thrown us into prison; and now are they going to discharge us in secret? Certainly not! Let them come and take us out themselves.”

³⁸The police reported these words to the magistrates, and they were afraid when they heard that they were Roman citizens;

³⁹so they came and apologized to them. And they took them out and asked them to leave the city.

⁴⁰After leaving the prison they went to Lydia’s home; and when they had seen and encouraged the brothers and sisters there, they departed.