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.

¹This is the list of the descendants of Adam. When God created humankind, he made them in the likeness of God.

²Male and female he created them, and he blessed them and named them “Humankind” when they were created.

³When Adam had lived one hundred thirty years, he became the father of a son in his likeness, according to his image, and named him Seth.

⁴The days of Adam after he became the father of Seth were eight hundred years; and he had other sons and daughters.

⁵Thus all the days that Adam lived were nine hundred thirty years; and he died.

⁶When Seth had lived one hundred five years, he became the father of Enosh.

⁷Seth lived after the birth of Enosh eight hundred seven years, and had other sons and daughters.

⁸Thus all the days of Seth were nine hundred twelve years; and he died.

⁹When Enosh had lived ninety years, he became the father of Kenan.

¹⁰Enosh lived after the birth of Kenan eight hundred fifteen years, and had other sons and daughters.

¹¹Thus all the days of Enosh were nine hundred five years; and he died.

¹²When Kenan had lived seventy years, he became the father of Mahalalel.

¹³Kenan lived after the birth of Mahalalel eight hundred and forty years, and had other sons and daughters.

¹⁴Thus all the days of Kenan were nine hundred and ten years; and he died.

¹⁵When Mahalalel had lived sixty-five years, he became the father of Jared.

¹⁶Mahalalel lived after the birth of Jared eight hundred thirty years, and had other sons and daughters.

¹⁷Thus all the days of Mahalalel were eight hundred ninety-five years; and he died.

¹⁸When Jared had lived one hundred sixty-two years he became the father of Enoch.

¹⁹Jared lived after the birth of Enoch eight hundred years, and had other sons and daughters.

²⁰Thus all the days of Jared were nine hundred sixty-two years; and he died.

²¹When Enoch had lived sixty-five years, he became the father of Methuselah.

²²Enoch walked with God after the birth of Methuselah three hundred years, and had other sons and daughters.

²³Thus all the days of Enoch were three hundred sixty-five years.

²⁴Enoch walked with God; then he was no more, because God took him.

²⁵When Methuselah had lived one hundred eighty-seven years, he became the father of Lamech.

²⁶Methuselah lived after the birth of Lamech seven hundred eighty-two years, and had other sons and daughters.

²⁷Thus all the days of Methuselah were nine hundred sixty-nine years; and he died.

²⁸When Lamech had lived one hundred eighty-two years, he became the father of a son;

²⁹he named him Noah, saying, “Out of the ground that the LORD has cursed this one shall bring us relief from our work and from the toil of our hands.”

³⁰Lamech lived after the birth of Noah five hundred ninety-five years, and had other sons and daughters.

³¹Thus all the days of Lamech were seven hundred seventy-seven years; and he died.

³²After Noah was five hundred years old, Noah became the father of Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

¹Therefore, since it is by God’s mercy that we are engaged in this ministry, we do not lose heart.

²We have renounced the shameful things that one hides; we refuse to practice cunning or to falsify God’s word; but by the open statement of the truth we commend ourselves to the conscience of everyone in the sight of God.

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

⁴In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.

⁵For we do not proclaim ourselves; we proclaim Jesus Christ as Lord and ourselves as your slaves for Jesus’ sake.

⁶For it is the God who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

⁷But we have this treasure in clay jars, so that it may be made clear that this extraordinary power belongs to God and does not come from us.

⁸We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair;

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

¹⁰always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be made visible in our bodies.

¹¹For while we live, we are always being given up to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus may be made visible in our mortal flesh.

¹²So death is at work in us, but life in you.

¹³But just as we have the same spirit of faith that is in accordance with scripture — “I believed, and so I spoke” — we also believe, and so we speak,

¹⁴because we know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus, and will bring us with you into his presence.

¹⁵Yes, everything is for your sake, so that grace, as it extends to more and more people, may increase thanksgiving, to the glory of God.

¹⁶So we do not lose heart. Even though our outer nature is wasting away, our inner nature is being renewed day by day.

¹⁷For this slight momentary affliction is preparing us for an eternal weight of glory beyond all measure,

¹⁸because we look not at what can be seen but at what cannot be seen; for what can be seen is temporary, but what cannot be seen is eternal.

¹After this I heard what seemed to be the loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, saying, “Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power to our God,

²for his judgments are true and just; he has judged the great whore who corrupted the earth with her fornication, and he has avenged on her the blood of his servants.”

³Once more they said, “Hallelujah! The smoke goes up from her forever and ever.”

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

⁵And from the throne came a voice saying, “Praise our God, all you his servants, and all who fear him, small and great.”

⁶Then I heard what seemed to be the voice of a great multitude, like the sound of many waters and like the sound of mighty thunderpeals, crying out, “Hallelujah! For the Lord our God the Almighty reigns.

⁷Let us rejoice and exult and give him the glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready;

⁸to her it has been granted to be clothed with fine linen, bright and pure” — for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints.

⁹And the angel said to me, “Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.” And he said to me, “These are true words of God.”

¹⁰Then I fell down at his feet to worship him, but he said to me, “You must not do that! I am a fellow servant with you and your comrades who hold the testimony of Jesus. Worship God! For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.”

¹¹Then I saw heaven opened, and there was a white horse! Its rider is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war.

¹²His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems; and he has a name inscribed that no one knows but himself.

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

¹⁴And the armies of heaven, wearing fine linen, white and pure, were following him on white horses.

¹⁵From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron; he will tread the wine press of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty.

¹⁶On his robe and on his thigh he has a name inscribed, “King of kings and Lord of lords.”

¹⁷Then I saw an angel standing in the sun, and with a loud voice he called to all the birds that fly in midheaven, “Come, gather for the great supper of God,

¹⁸to eat the flesh of kings, the flesh of captains, the flesh of the mighty, the flesh of horses and their riders — flesh of all, both free and slave, both small and great.”

¹⁹Then I saw the beast and the kings of the earth with their armies gathered to make war against the rider on the horse and against his army.

²⁰And the beast was captured, and with it the false prophet who had performed in its presence the signs by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped its image. These two were thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns with sulfur.

²¹And the rest were killed by the sword of the rider on the horse, the sword that came from his mouth; and all the birds were gorged with their flesh.

¹Then Job answered:

²“O that my vexation were weighed, and all my calamity laid in the balances!

³For then it would be heavier than the sand of the sea; therefore my words have been rash.

⁴For the arrows of the Almighty are in me; my spirit drinks their poison; the terrors of God are arrayed against me.

⁵Does the wild ass bray over its grass, or the ox low over its fodder?

⁶Can that which is tasteless be eaten without salt, or is there any flavor in the juice of mallows?

⁷My appetite refuses to touch them; they are like food that is loathsome to me.

⁸“O that I might have my request, and that God would grant my desire;

⁹that it would please God to crush me, that he would let loose his hand and cut me off!

¹⁰This would be my consolation; I would even exult in unrelenting pain; for 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 be patient?

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

¹³In truth I have no help in me, and any resource is driven from me.

¹⁴“Those who withhold kindness from a friend forsake the fear of the Almighty.

¹⁵My companions are treacherous like a torrent-bed, like freshets that pass away,

¹⁶that run dark with ice, turbid with melting snow.

¹⁷In time of heat they disappear; when it is hot, they vanish from their place.

¹⁸The caravans turn aside from their course; they go up into the waste, and perish.

¹⁹The caravans of Tema look, the travelers of Sheba hope.

²⁰They are disappointed because they were confident; they come there and are confounded.

²¹Such you have now become to me; you see my calamity, and are afraid.

²²Have I said, ‘Make me a gift’? Or, ‘From your wealth offer a bribe for me’?

²³Or, ‘Save me from an opponent’s hand’? Or, ‘Ransom me from the hand of oppressors’?

²⁴“Teach me, and I will be silent; make me understand how I have gone wrong.

²⁵How forceful are honest words! But your reproof, what does it reprove?

²⁶Do you think that you can reprove words, as if the speech of the desperate were wind?

²⁷You would even cast lots over the orphan, and bargain over your friend.

²⁸“But now, be pleased to look at me; for I will not lie to your face.

²⁹Turn, I pray, let no wrong be done. Turn now, my vindication is at stake.

³⁰Is there any wrong on my tongue? Cannot my taste discern calamity?

¹As a deer longs for flowing streams, so my soul longs for you, O God.

²My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and behold the face of God?

³My tears have been my food day and night, while people say to me continually, “Where is your God?”

⁴These things I remember, as I pour out my soul: how I went with the throng, and led them in procession to the house of God, with glad shouts and songs of thanksgiving, a multitude keeping festival.

⁵Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my help

⁶and my God. My soul is cast down within me; therefore I remember you from the land of Jordan and of Hermon, from Mount Mizar.

⁷Deep calls to deep at the thunder of your cataracts; all your waves and your billows have gone over me.

⁸By day the LORD commands his steadfast love, and at night his song is with me, a prayer to the God of my life.

⁹I say to God, my rock, “Why have you forgotten me? Why must I walk about mournfully because the enemy oppresses me?”

¹⁰As with a deadly wound in my body, my adversaries taunt me, while they say to me continually, “Where is your God?”

¹¹Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my help and my God.

¹My child, if you have given your pledge to your neighbor, if you have bound yourself to another,

²you are snared by the utterance of your lips, caught by the words of your mouth.

³So do this, my child, and save yourself, for you have come into your neighbor’s power: go, hurry, and plead with your neighbor.

⁴Give your eyes no sleep and your eyelids no slumber;

⁵save yourself like a gazelle from the hunter, like a bird from the hand of the fowler.

⁶Go to the ant, you lazybones; consider its ways, and be wise.

⁷Without having any chief or officer or ruler,

⁸it prepares its food in summer, and gathers its sustenance in harvest.

⁹How long will you lie there, O lazybones? When will you rise from your sleep?

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

¹¹and poverty will come upon you like a robber, and want, like an armed warrior.

¹²A scoundrel and a villain goes around with crooked speech,

¹³winking the eyes, shuffling the feet, pointing the fingers,

¹⁴with perverted mind devising evil, continually sowing discord;

¹⁵on such a one calamity will descend suddenly; in a moment, damage beyond repair.

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 hurry to run to evil,

¹⁹a lying witness who testifies falsely, and one who sows discord in a family.

²⁰My child, keep your father’s commandment, and do not forsake your mother’s teaching.

²¹Bind them upon your heart always; tie them around your neck.

²²When you walk, they will lead you; when you lie down, they will watch over you; and when you awake, they will talk with you.

²³For the commandment is a lamp and the teaching a light, and the reproofs of discipline are the way of life,

²⁴to preserve you from the wife of another, from the smooth tongue of the adulteress.

²⁵Do not desire her beauty in your heart, and do not let her capture you with her eyelashes;

²⁶for a prostitute’s fee is only a loaf of bread, but the wife of another stalks a man’s very life.

²⁷Can fire be carried in the bosom without burning one’s clothes?

²⁸Or can one walk on hot coals without scorching the feet?

²⁹So is he who sleeps with his neighbor’s wife; no one who touches her will go unpunished.

³⁰Thieves are not despised who steal only to satisfy their appetite when they are hungry.

³¹Yet if they are caught, they will pay sevenfold; they will forfeit all the goods of their house.

³²But he who commits adultery has no sense; he who does it destroys himself.

³³He will get wounds and dishonor, and his disgrace will not be wiped away.

³⁴For jealousy arouses a husband’s fury, and he shows no restraint when he takes revenge.

³⁵He will accept no compensation, and refuses a bribe no matter how great.

¹When the rule of Rehoboam was established and he grew strong, he abandoned the law of the LORD, he and all Israel with him.

²In the fifth year of King Rehoboam, because they had been unfaithful to the LORD, King Shishak of Egypt came up against Jerusalem

³with twelve hundred chariots and sixty thousand cavalry. A countless army came with him from Egypt — Libyans, Sukkiim, and Ethiopians.

⁴He took the fortified cities of Judah and came as far as Jerusalem.

⁵Then the prophet Shemaiah came to Rehoboam and to the officers of Judah, who had gathered at Jerusalem because of Shishak, and said to them, “Thus says the LORD: You abandoned me, so I have abandoned you to the hand of Shishak.”

⁶Then the officers of Israel and the king humbled themselves and said, “The LORD is in the right.”

⁷When the LORD saw that they humbled themselves, the word of the LORD came to Shemaiah, saying: “They have humbled themselves; I will not destroy them, but I will grant them some deliverance, and my wrath shall not be poured out on Jerusalem by the hand of Shishak.

⁸Nevertheless they shall be his servants, so that they may know the difference between serving me and serving the kingdoms of other lands.”

⁹So King Shishak of Egypt came up against Jerusalem; he took away the treasures of the house of the LORD and the treasures of the king’s house; he took everything. He also took away the shields of gold that Solomon had made;

¹⁰but King Rehoboam made in place of them shields of bronze, and committed them to the hands of the officers of the guard, who kept the door of the king’s house.

¹¹Whenever the king went into the house of the LORD, the guard would come along bearing them, and would then bring them back to the guardroom.

¹²Because he humbled himself the wrath of the LORD turned from him, so as not to destroy them completely; moreover, conditions were good in Judah.

¹³So King Rehoboam established himself in Jerusalem and reigned. Rehoboam was forty-one years old when he began to reign; he reigned seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city that the LORD had chosen out of all the tribes of Israel to put his name there. His mother’s name was Naamah the Ammonite.

¹⁴He did evil, for he did not set his heart to seek the LORD.

¹⁵Now the acts of Rehoboam, from first to last, are they not written in the records of the prophet Shemaiah and of the seer Iddo, recorded by genealogy? There were continual wars between Rehoboam and Jeroboam.

¹⁶Rehoboam slept with his ancestors and was buried in the city of David; and his son Abijah succeeded him.

¹Do not rejoice, O Israel! Do not exult as other nations do; for you have played the whore, departing from your God. You have loved a prostitute’s pay on all threshing floors.

²Threshing floor and wine vat shall not feed them, and the new wine shall fail them.

³They shall not remain in the land of the LORD; but Ephraim shall return to Egypt, and in Assyria they shall eat unclean food.

⁴They shall not pour drink offerings of wine to the LORD, and their sacrifices shall not please him. Such sacrifices shall be like mourners’ bread; all who eat of it shall be defiled; for their bread shall be for their hunger only; it shall not come to the house of the LORD.

⁵What will you do on the day of appointed festival, and on the day of the festival of the LORD?

⁶For even if they escape destruction, Egypt shall gather them, Memphis shall bury them. Nettles shall possess their precious things of silver; thorns shall be in their tents.

⁷The days of punishment have come, the days of recompense have come; Israel cries, “The prophet is a fool, the man of the spirit is mad!” Because of your great iniquity, your hostility is great.

⁸The prophet is a sentinel for my God over Ephraim, yet a fowler’s snare is on all his ways, and hostility in the house of his God.

⁹They have deeply corrupted themselves as in the days of Gibeah; he will remember their iniquity, he will punish their sins.

¹⁰Like grapes in the wilderness, I found Israel. Like the first fruit on the fig tree, in its first season, I saw your ancestors. But they came to Baal-peor, and consecrated themselves to a thing of shame, and became detestable like the thing they loved.

¹¹Ephraim’s glory shall fly away like a bird — no birth, no pregnancy, no conception!

¹²Even if they bring up children, I will bereave them until no one is left. Woe to them indeed when I depart from them!

¹³Once I saw Ephraim as a young palm planted in a lovely meadow, but now Ephraim must lead out his children for slaughter.

¹⁴Give them, O LORD — what will you give? Give them a miscarrying womb and dry breasts.

¹⁵Every evil of theirs began at Gilgal; there I came to hate them. Because of the wickedness of their deeds I will drive them out of my house. I will love them no more; all their officials are rebels.

¹⁶Ephraim is stricken, their root is dried up, they shall bear no fruit. Even though they give birth, I will kill the cherished offspring of their womb.

¹⁷Because they have not listened to him, my God will reject them; they shall become wanderers among the nations.

¹Five days later the high priest Ananias came down with some elders and an attorney, a certain Tertullus, and they reported their case against Paul to the governor.

²When Paul had been summoned, Tertullus began to accuse him, saying: “Your Excellency, because of you we have long enjoyed peace, and reforms have been made for this people because of your foresight.

³We welcome this in every way and everywhere with utmost gratitude.

⁴But, to detain you no further, I beg you to hear us briefly with your customary graciousness.

⁵We have, in fact, found this man a pestilent fellow, an agitator among all the Jews throughout the world, and a ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes.

⁶He even tried to profane the temple, and so we seized him.

⁷

⁸By examining him yourself you will be able to learn from him concerning everything of which we accuse him.”

⁹The Jews also joined in the charge by asserting that all this was true.

¹⁰When the governor motioned to him to speak, Paul replied: “I cheerfully make my defense, knowing that for many years you have been a judge over this nation.

¹¹As you can find out, it is not more than twelve days since I went up to worship in Jerusalem.

¹²They did not find me disputing with anyone in the temple or stirring up a crowd either in the synagogues or throughout the city.

¹³Neither can they prove to you the charge that they now bring against me.

¹⁴But this I admit to you, that according to the Way, which they call a sect, I worship the God of our ancestors, believing everything laid down according to the law or written in the prophets.

¹⁵I have a hope in God — a hope that they themselves also accept — that there will be a resurrection of both the righteous and the unrighteous.

¹⁶Therefore I do my best always to have a clear conscience toward God and all people.

¹⁷Now after some years I came to bring alms to my nation and to offer sacrifices.

¹⁸While I was doing this, they found me in the temple, completing the rite of purification, without any crowd or disturbance.

¹⁹But there were some Jews from Asia — they ought to be here before you to make an accusation, if they have anything against me.

²⁰Or let these men here tell what crime they had found when I stood before the council,

²¹unless it was this one sentence that I called out while standing before them, ‘It is about the resurrection of the dead that I am on trial before you today.’”

²²But Felix, who was rather well informed about the Way, adjourned the hearing with the comment, “When Lysias the tribune comes down, I will decide your case.”

²³Then he ordered the centurion to keep him in custody, but to let him have some liberty and not to prevent any of his friends from taking care of his needs.

²⁴Some days later when Felix came with his wife Drusilla, who was Jewish, he sent for Paul and heard him speak concerning faith in Christ Jesus.

²⁵And as he discussed justice, self-control, and the coming judgment, Felix became frightened and said, “Go away for the present; when I have an opportunity, I will send for you.”

²⁶At the same time he hoped that money would be given him by Paul, and for that reason he used to send for him very often and converse with him.

²⁷After two years had passed, Felix was succeeded by Porcius Festus; and since he wanted to grant the Jews a favor, Felix left Paul in prison.