Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

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

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

³For when Herod had John arrested, he bound him and put him in prison because of Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip.

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

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

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

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

⁸And after being prompted by her mother, she *said, “Give me the head of John the Baptist here on a platter.”

⁹And although he was grieved, the king commanded it to be given because of his oaths and his dinner guests.

¹⁰He sent word 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.

¹²John’s disciples came and took away the body and buried it; and they went and reported to Jesus.

¹³Now when Jesus heard about John, He withdrew from there in a boat to a secluded place by Himself; and when the people heard about this, they followed Him on foot from the cities.

¹⁴When He came ashore, He saw a large crowd, and felt compassion for them and healed their sick.

¹⁵Now when it was evening, the disciples came to Him and said, “This place is secluded and the hour is already past to eat; send the crowds away, so that they may go into the villages and buy food for themselves.”

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

¹⁷They *said to Him, “We have nothing here except five loaves and two fish.”

¹⁸And He said, “Bring them here to Me.”

¹⁹And ordering the crowds to sit down on the grass, He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looked up toward heaven. He blessed the food and breaking the loaves, He gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds.

²⁰And they all ate and were satisfied, and they picked up what was left over of the broken pieces: twelve full baskets.

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

²²Immediately afterward He compelled the disciples to get into the boat and to go ahead of Him to the other side, while He sent the crowds away.

²³After He had sent the crowds away, He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray; and when it was evening, He was there alone.

²⁴But the boat was already a long distance from the land, battered by the waves; for the wind was contrary.

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

²⁶When 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 courage,it is I; do not be afraid.”

²⁸Peter responded and said to Him, “Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.”

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

³⁰But seeing the wind, he became frightened, and when he began to sink, he cried out, saying, “Lord, save me!”

³¹Immediately Jesus reached out with His hand and took hold of him, and *said to him, “You of little faith, why did you doubt?”

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

³³And those who were in the boat worshiped Him, saying, “You are truly God’s Son!”

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

³⁵And when the men of that place recognized Him, they sent word into all that surrounding region and brought to Him all who were sick;

³⁶and they pleaded with Him that they might just touch the border of His cloak; and all who touched it were cured.

¹This is the book of the generations of Adam. On the day when God created man, He made him in the likeness of God.

²He created them male and female, and He blessed them and named them “mankind” on the day when they were created.

³When Adam had lived 130 years, he fathered a son in his own likeness, according to his image, and named him Seth.

⁴Then the days of Adam after he fathered Seth were eight hundred years, and he fathered other sons and daughters.

⁵So all the days that Adam lived were 930 years, and he died.

⁶Now Seth lived 105 years, and fathered Enosh.

⁷Then Seth lived 807 years after he fathered Enosh, and he fathered other sons and daughters.

⁸So all the days of Seth were 912 years, and he died.

⁹Now Enosh lived ninety years, and fathered Kenan.

¹⁰Then Enosh lived 815 years after he fathered Kenan, and he fathered other sons and daughters.

¹¹So all the days of Enosh were 905 years, and he died.

¹²Now Kenan lived seventy years, and fathered Mahalalel.

¹³Then Kenan lived 840 years after he fathered Mahalalel, and he fathered other sons and daughters.

¹⁴So all the days of Kenan were 910 years, and he died.

¹⁵Now Mahalalel lived sixty-five years, and fathered Jared.

¹⁶Then Mahalalel lived 830 years after he fathered Jared, and he fathered other sons and daughters.

¹⁷So all the days of Mahalalel were 895 years, and he died.

¹⁸Now Jared lived 162 years, and fathered Enoch.

¹⁹Then Jared lived eight hundred years after he fathered Enoch, and he fathered other sons and daughters.

²⁰So all the days of Jared were 962 years, and he died.

²¹Now Enoch lived sixty-five years, and fathered Methuselah.

²²Then Enoch walked with God three hundred years after he fathered Methuselah, and he fathered other sons and daughters.

²³So all the days of Enoch were 365 years.

²⁴Enoch walked with God; and he was not, for God took him.

²⁵Now Methuselah lived 187 years, and fathered Lamech.

²⁶Then Methuselah lived 782 years after he fathered Lamech, and he fathered other sons and daughters.

²⁷So all the days of Methuselah were 969 years, and he died.

²⁸Now Lamech lived 182 years, and fathered a son.

²⁹And he named him Noah, saying, “This one will give us comfort from our work and from the hard labor of our hands caused by the ground which the LORD has cursed.”

³⁰Then Lamech lived 595 years after he fathered Noah, and he fathered other sons and daughters.

³¹So all the days of Lamech were 777 years, and he died.

³²Now after Noah was five hundred years old, Noah fathered Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

¹Therefore, since we have this ministry, as we received mercy, we do not lose heart,

²but we have renounced the things hidden because of shame, not walking in trickery nor distorting the word of God, but by the open proclamation of the truth commending ourselves to every person’s conscience in the sight of God.

³And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing,

⁴in whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they will not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.

⁵For we do not preach ourselves, but Christ Jesus as Lord, and ourselves as your bond-servants on account of Jesus.

⁶For God, who said, “Light shall shine out of darkness,” is the One who has shone in our hearts to give the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.

⁷But we have this treasure in earthen containers, so that the extraordinary greatness of the power will be of God and not from ourselves;

⁸we are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not despairing;

⁹persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed;

¹⁰always carrying around in the body the dying of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body.

¹¹For we who live are constantly being handed over to death because of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our mortal flesh.

¹²So death works in us, but life in you.

¹³But having the same spirit of faith, according to what is written: “I BELIEVED, THEREFORE I SPOKE,” we also believe, therefore we also speak,

¹⁴knowing that He who raised the Lord Jesus will also raise us with Jesus, and will present us with you.

¹⁵For all things are for your sakes, so that grace, having spread to more and more people, will cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God.

¹⁶Therefore we do not lose heart, but though our outer person is decaying, yet our inner person is being renewed day by day.

¹⁷For our momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison,

¹⁸while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.

¹After these things I heard something like a loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, saying, “Hallelujah! Salvation, glory, and power belong to our God,

²BECAUSE HIS JUDGMENTS ARE TRUE AND RIGHTEOUS; for He has judged the great prostitute who was corrupting the earth with her sexual immorality, and HE HAS AVENGED THE BLOOD OF HIS BOND-SERVANTS ON HER.”

³And a second time they said, “Hallelujah! HER SMOKE RISES FOREVER AND EVER.”

⁴And the twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God who sits on the throne, saying, “Amen. Hallelujah!”

⁵And a voice came from the throne, saying, “Give praise to our God, all you His bond-servants, you who fear Him, the small and the great.”

⁶Then I heard something like the voice of a great multitude and like the sound of many waters, and like the sound of mighty peals of thunder, saying, “Hallelujah! For the Lord our God, the Almighty, reigns.

⁷Let’s rejoice and be glad and give the glory to Him, because the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His bride has prepared herself.”

⁸It was given to her to clothe herself in fine linen, bright and clean; for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints.

⁹Then he *said to me, “Write: ‘Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding feast of the Lamb.’ ” And he *said to me, “These are the true words of God.”

¹⁰Then I fell at his feet to worship him. But he *said to me, “Do not do that; I am a fellow servant of yours and your brothers and sisters who hold the testimony of Jesus; worship God! For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.”

¹¹And I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse, and He who sat on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and wages war.

¹²His eyes are a flame of fire, and on His head are many crowns; and He has a name written on Him which no one knows except Himself.

¹³He is clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God.

¹⁴And the armies which are in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, were following Him on white horses.

¹⁵From His mouth comes a sharp sword, so that with it He may strike down the nations, and He will rule them with a rod of iron; and He treads the wine press of the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty.

¹⁶And on His robe and on His thigh He has a name written: “KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.”

¹⁷Then I saw an angel standing in the sun, and he cried out with a loud voice, saying to all the birds that fly in midheaven, “Come, assemble for the great feast of God,

¹⁸so that you may eat the flesh of kings and the flesh of commanders, the flesh of mighty men, the flesh of horses and of those who sit on them, and the flesh of all people, both free and slaves, and small and great.”

¹⁹And I saw the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies, assembled to make war against Him who sat on the horse, and against His army.

²⁰And the beast was seized, and with him the false prophet who performed the signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image; these two were thrown alive into the lake of fire, which burns with brimstone.

²¹And the rest were killed with the sword which came from the mouth of Him who sat on the horse, and all the birds were filled with their flesh.

¹Then Job responded,

²“Oh if only my grief were actually weighed And laid in the balances together with my disaster!

³For then it would be heavier than the sand of the seas; For that reason my words have been rash.

⁴For the arrows of the Almighty are within me, My spirit drinks their poison; The terrors of God line up against me.

⁵Does the wild donkey bray over his grass, Or does the ox low over his feed?

⁶Can something tasteless be eaten without salt, Or is there any taste in the juice of an alkanet plant?

⁷My soul refuses to touch them; They are like loathsome food to me.

⁸“Oh, that my request might come to pass, And that God would grant my hope!

⁹Oh, that God would decide to crush me, That He would let loose His hand and cut me off!

¹⁰But it is still my comfort, And I rejoice in unsparing pain, That I have not denied the words of the Holy One.

¹¹What is my strength, that I should wait? And what is my end, that I should endure?

¹²Is my strength the strength of stones, Or is my flesh bronze?

¹³Is it that my help is not within me, And that a good outcome is driven away from me?

¹⁴“For the despairing man there should be kindness from his friend; So that he does not abandon the fear of the Almighty.

¹⁵My brothers have acted deceitfully like a wadi, Like the torrents of wadis which drain away,

¹⁶Which are darkened because of ice, And into which the snow melts.

¹⁷When they dry up, they vanish; When it is hot, they disappear from their place.

¹⁸The paths of their course wind along, They go up into wasteland and perish.

¹⁹The caravans of Tema looked, The travelers of Sheba hoped for them.

²⁰They were put to shame, for they had trusted, They came there and were humiliated.

²¹Indeed, you have now become such, You see terrors and are afraid.

²²Have I said, ‘Give me something,’ Or, ‘Offer a bribe for me from your wealth,’

²³Or, ‘Save me from the hand of the enemy,’ Or, ‘Redeem me from the hand of the tyrants’?

²⁴“Teach me, and I will be silent; And show me how I have done wrong.

²⁵How painful are honest words! But what does your argument prove?

²⁶Do you intend to rebuke my words, When the words of one in despair belong to the wind?

²⁷You would even cast lots for the orphans, And barter over your friend.

²⁸Now please look at me, And see if I am lying to your face.

²⁹Please turn away, let there be no injustice; Turn away, my righteousness is still in it.

³⁰Is there injustice on my tongue? Does my palate not discern disasters?

¹As the deer pants for the water brooks, So my soul pants for You, God.

²My soul thirsts for God, for the living God; When shall I come and appear before God?

³My tears have been my food day and night, While they say to me all day long, “Where is your God?”

⁴I remember these things and pour out my soul within me. For I used to go over with the multitude and walk them to the house of God, With a voice of joy and thanksgiving, a multitude celebrating a festival.

⁵Why are you in despair, my soul? And why are you restless within me? Wait for God, for I will again praise Him For the help of His presence, my God.

⁶My soul is in despair within me; Therefore I remember You from the land of the Jordan And the peaks of Hermon, from Mount Mizar.

⁷Deep calls to deep at the sound of Your waterfalls; All Your breakers and Your waves have passed over me.

⁸The LORD will send His goodness in the daytime; And His song will be with me in the night, A prayer to the God of my life.

⁹I will say to God my rock, “Why have You forgotten me? Why do I go about mourning because of the oppression of the enemy?”

¹⁰As a shattering of my bones, my adversaries taunt me, While they say to me all day long, “Where is your God?”

¹¹Why are you in despair, my soul? And why are you restless within me? Wait for God, for I will again praise Him For the help of His presence, my God.

¹My son, if you have become a guarantor for your neighbor, Or have given a handshake for a stranger,

²If you have been ensnared by the words of your mouth, Or caught by the words of your mouth,

³Then do this, my son, and save yourself: Since you have come into the hand of your neighbor, Go, humble yourself, and be urgent with your neighbor to free yourself.

⁴Give no sleep to your eyes, Nor slumber to your eyelids;

⁵Save yourself like a gazelle from the hunter’s hand, And like a bird from the hand of the fowler.

⁶Go to the ant, you lazy one, Observe its ways and be wise,

⁷Which, having no chief, Officer, or ruler,

⁸Prepares its food in the summer And gathers its provision in the harvest.

⁹How long will you lie down, you lazy one? When will you arise from your sleep?

¹⁰“A little sleep, a little slumber, A little folding of the hands to rest,”

¹¹Then your poverty will come in like a drifter, And your need like an armed man.

¹²A worthless person, a wicked man, Is one who walks with a perverse mouth,

¹³Who winks with his eyes, who signals with his feet, Who points with his fingers;

¹⁴Who, with perversion in his heart, continually devises evil, Who spreads strife.

¹⁵Therefore his disaster will come suddenly; Instantly he will be broken and there will be no healing.

¹⁶There are six things that the LORD hates, Seven that are an abomination to Him:

¹⁷Haughty eyes, a lying tongue, And hands that shed innocent blood,

¹⁸A heart that devises wicked plans, Feet that run rapidly to evil,

¹⁹A false witness who declares lies, And one who spreads strife among brothers.

²⁰My son, comply with the commandment of your father, And do not ignore the teaching of your mother;

²¹Bind them continually on your heart; Tie them around your neck.

²²When you walk, they will guide you; When you sleep, they will watch over you; And when you awake, they will talk to you.

²³For the commandment is a lamp and the teaching is light; And rebukes for discipline are the way of life

²⁴To keep you from the evil woman, From the smooth tongue of the foreign woman.

²⁵Do not desire her beauty in your heart, Nor let her capture you with her eyelids.

²⁶For the price of a prostitute reduces one to a loaf of bread, And an adulteress hunts for a precious life.

²⁷Can anyone take fire in his lap And his clothes not be burned?

²⁸Or can a person walk on hot coals And his feet not be scorched?

²⁹So is the one who goes in to his neighbor’s wife; Whoever touches her will not go unpunished.

³⁰People do not despise a thief if he steals To satisfy himself when he is hungry;

³¹But when he is found, he must repay seven times as much; He must give up all the property of his house.

³²One who commits adultery with a woman is lacking sense; He who would destroy himself commits it.

³³He will find wounds and disgrace, And his shame will not be removed.

³⁴For jealousy enrages a man, And he will not have compassion on the day of vengeance.

³⁵He will not accept any settlement, Nor will he be satisfied though you make it a large gift.

¹When the kingdom of Rehoboam was established and strong, he and all Israel with him abandoned the Law of the LORD.

²And it came about in King Rehoboam’s fifth year, because they had been unfaithful to the LORD, that Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem

³with 1,200 chariots and sixty thousand horsemen. And the people who came with him from Egypt were innumerable: the Lubim, the Sukkiim, and the Ethiopians.

⁴And he captured the fortified cities of Judah and came as far as Jerusalem.

⁵Then Shemaiah the prophet came to Rehoboam and the princes of Judah who had gathered at Jerusalem because of Shishak, and he said to them, “This is what the LORD says: ‘You have abandoned Me, so I also have abandoned you to Shishak.’ ”

⁶So the princes of Israel and the king humbled themselves and said, “The LORD is righteous.”

⁷When the LORD saw that they had humbled themselves, the word of the LORD came to Shemaiah, saying, “They have humbled themselves, so I will not destroy them; and I will grant them a little deliverance, and My wrath will not be poured out on Jerusalem by means of Shishak.

⁸But they will become his slaves, so that they may learn the difference between My service and the service of the kingdoms of the countries.”

⁹So Shishak king of Egypt went up against Jerusalem, and he took the treasures of the house of the LORD and the treasures of the king’s palace. He took everything; he even took the gold shields which Solomon had made.

¹⁰Then King Rehoboam made shields of bronze in their place and committed them to the care of the commanders of the guards who guarded the entrance of the king’s house.

¹¹As often as the king entered the house of the LORD, the guards came and carried them and then brought them back into the guards’ room.

¹²And when he humbled himself, the anger of the LORD turned away from him, so as not to destroy him completely; and conditions were also good in Judah.

¹³So King Rehoboam became powerful in Jerusalem and reigned there. For Rehoboam was forty-one years old when he began to reign, and he reigned for seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city which the LORD had chosen from all the tribes of Israel, to put His name there. And his mother’s name was Naamah the Ammonitess.

¹⁴But he did evil because he did not set his heart to seek the LORD.

¹⁵Now the acts of Rehoboam, from the first to the last, are they not written in the records of Shemaiah the prophet and of Iddo the seer, according to genealogical enrollment? And there were wars between Rehoboam and Jeroboam continually.

¹⁶And Rehoboam lay down with his fathers and was buried in the city of David; and his son Abijah became king in his place.

¹Do not rejoice, Israel, with jubilation like the nations! For you have been unfaithful, abandoning your God. You have loved the earnings of unfaithfulness on every threshing floor.

²Threshing floor and wine press will not feed them, And the new wine will fail them.

³They will not remain in the LORD’S land, But Ephraim will return to Egypt, And in Assyria they will eat unclean food.

⁴They will not pour out drink offerings of wine to the LORD, Nor will their sacrifices please Him. Their bread will be to them like mourners’ bread; All who eat it will be defiled, Because their bread will be for themselves alone; It will not enter the house of the LORD.

⁵What will you do on the day of the appointed festival And on the day of the feast of the LORD?

⁶For behold, they will be gone because of destruction; Egypt will gather them together, Memphis will bury them. Weeds will take possession of their treasures of silver; Thorns will be in their tents.

⁷The days of punishment have come, The days of retribution have come; Let Israel know this! The prophet is a fool, The inspired person is insane, Because of the grossness of your wrongdoing, And because your hostility is so great.

⁸Ephraim was a watchman with my God, a prophet; Yet the snare of a bird catcher is in all his ways, And there is only hostility in the house of his God.

⁹They are deeply depraved As in the days of Gibeah; He will remember their guilt, He will punish their sins.

¹⁰I found Israel like grapes in the wilderness; I saw your forefathers as the earliest fruit on the fig tree in its first season. But they came to Baal-peor and devoted themselves to shame, And they became as detestable as that which they loved.

¹¹As for Ephraim, their glory will fly away like a bird— No birth, no pregnancy, and no conception!

¹²Though they bring up their children, Yet I will bereave them of their children until not a person is left. Yes, woe to them indeed when I depart from them!

¹³Ephraim, as I have seen, Is planted in a pasture like Tyre; But Ephraim is going to bring out his children for slaughter.

¹⁴Give to them, LORD—what will You give? Give them a miscarrying womb and dried-up breasts.

¹⁵All their evil is at Gilgal; Indeed, I came to hate them there! Because of the wickedness of their deeds I will drive them out of My house! I will no longer love them; All their leaders are rebels.

¹⁶Ephraim is stricken, their root is dried up, They will produce no fruit. Even though they give birth to children, I will put to death the precious ones of their womb.

¹⁷My God will reject them Because they have not listened to Him; And they will be wanderers among the nations.

¹Now after five days the high priest Ananias came down with some elders and an attorney named Tertullus, and they brought charges against Paul to the governor.

²After Paul had been summoned, Tertullus began accusing him, saying to the governor, “Since we have attained great peace through you, and since reforms are being carried out for this nation by your foresight,

³we acknowledge this in every way and everywhere, most excellent Felix, with all thankfulness.

⁴But, that I may not weary you further, I beg you to grant us a brief hearing, by your kindness.

⁵For we have found this man a public menace and one who stirs up dissensions among all the Jews throughout the world, and a ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes.

⁶And he even tried to desecrate the temple, so indeed we arrested him.

⁷

⁸By interrogating him yourself concerning all these matters, you will be able to ascertain the things of which we are accusing him.”

⁹The Jews also joined in the attack, asserting that these things were so.

¹⁰And when the governor had nodded for him to speak, Paul responded: “Knowing that for many years you have been a judge to this nation, I cheerfully make my defense,

¹¹since you can take note of the fact that no more than twelve days ago I went up to Jerusalem to worship.

¹²And neither in the temple did they find me carrying on a discussion with anyone or causing a riot, nor in the synagogues, nor in the city itself.

¹³Nor can they prove to you the things of which they now accuse me.

¹⁴But I confess this to you, that in accordance with the Way, which they call a sect, I do serve the God of our fathers, believing everything that is in accordance with the Law and is written in the Prophets;

¹⁵having a hope in God, which these men cherish themselves, that there shall certainly be a resurrection of both the righteous and the wicked.

¹⁶In view of this I also do my best to maintain a blameless conscience both before God and before other people, always.

¹⁷Now after several years I came to bring charitable gifts to my nation and to present offerings,

¹⁸in which they found me occupied in the temple, having been purified, without any crowd or uproar. But there were some Jews from Asia—

¹⁹who ought to have been present before you and to have been bringing charges, if they should have anything against me.

²⁰Or else have these men themselves declare what violation they discovered when I stood before the Council,

²¹other than in regard to this one declaration which I shouted while standing among them, ‘For the resurrection of the dead I am on trial before you today!’ ”

²²But Felix, having quite accurate knowledge about the Way, adjourned them, saying, “When Lysias the commander comes down, I will decide your case.”

²³He gave orders to the centurion for Paul to be kept in custody and yet have some freedom, and not to prevent any of his friends from providing for his needs.

²⁴Now some days later Felix arrived with Drusilla his wife, who was Jewish, and he sent for Paul and heard him speak about faith in Christ Jesus.

²⁵But as he was discussing righteousness, self-control, and the judgment to come, Felix became frightened and responded, “Go away for now, and when I have an opportunity, I will summon you.”

²⁶At the same time he was also hoping that money would be given to him by Paul; therefore he also used to send for him quite often and talk with him.

²⁷But after two years had passed, Felix was succeeded by Porcius Festus; and Felix, wanting to do the Jews a favor, left Paul imprisoned.