Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹Six days later Jesus took Peter and the two brothers, James and John, and led them up a high mountain to be alone.

²As the men watched, Jesus’ appearance was transformed so that his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as light.

³Suddenly, Moses and Elijah appeared and began talking with Jesus.

⁴Peter exclaimed, “Lord, it’s wonderful for us to be here! If you want, I’ll make three shelters as memorials — one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.”

⁵But even as he spoke, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my dearly loved Son, who brings me great joy. Listen to him.”

⁶The disciples were terrified and fell face down on the ground.

⁷Then Jesus came over and touched them. “Get up,” he said. “Don’t be afraid.”

⁸And when they looked up, Moses and Elijah were gone, and they saw only Jesus.

⁹As they went back down the mountain, Jesus commanded them, “Don’t tell anyone what you have seen until the Son of Man has been raised from the dead.”

¹⁰Then his disciples asked him, “Why do the teachers of religious law insist that Elijah must return before the Messiah comes? ”

¹¹Jesus replied, “Elijah is indeed coming first to get everything ready.

¹²But I tell you, Elijah has already come, but he wasn’t recognized, and they chose to abuse him. And in the same way they will also make the Son of Man suffer.”

¹³Then the disciples realized he was talking about John the Baptist.

¹⁴At the foot of the mountain, a large crowd was waiting for them. A man came and knelt before Jesus and said,

¹⁵“Lord, have mercy on my son. He has seizures and suffers terribly. He often falls into the fire or into the water.

¹⁶So I brought him to your disciples, but they couldn’t heal him.”

¹⁷Jesus said, “You faithless and corrupt people! How long must I be with you? How long must I put up with you? Bring the boy here to me.”

¹⁸Then Jesus rebuked the demon in the boy, and it left him. From that moment the boy was well.

¹⁹Afterward the disciples asked Jesus privately, “Why couldn’t we cast out that demon?”

²⁰“You don’t have enough faith,” Jesus told them. “I tell you the truth, if you had faith even as small as a mustard seed, you could say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it would move. Nothing would be impossible. ”

²¹

²²After they gathered again in Galilee, Jesus told them, “The Son of Man is going to be betrayed into the hands of his enemies.

²³He will be killed, but on the third day he will be raised from the dead.” And the disciples were filled with grief.

²⁴On their arrival in Capernaum, the collectors of the Temple tax came to Peter and asked him, “Doesn’t your teacher pay the Temple tax?”

²⁵“Yes, he does,” Peter replied. Then he went into the house. But before he had a chance to speak, Jesus asked him, “What do you think, Peter? Do kings tax their own people or the people they have conquered? ”

²⁶“They tax the people they have conquered,” Peter replied. “Well, then,” Jesus said, “the citizens are free!

²⁷However, we don’t want to offend them, so go down to the lake and throw in a line. Open the mouth of the first fish you catch, and you will find a large silver coin. Take it and pay the tax for both of us.”

¹But God remembered Noah and all the wild animals and livestock with him in the boat. He sent a wind to blow across the earth, and the floodwaters began to recede.

²The underground waters stopped flowing, and the torrential rains from the sky were stopped.

³So the floodwaters gradually receded from the earth. After 150 days,

⁴exactly five months from the time the flood began, the boat came to rest on the mountains of Ararat.

⁵Two and a half months later, as the waters continued to go down, other mountain peaks became visible.

⁶After another forty days, Noah opened the window he had made in the boat

⁷and released a raven. The bird flew back and forth until the floodwaters on the earth had dried up.

⁸He also released a dove to see if the water had receded and it could find dry ground.

⁹But the dove could find no place to land because the water still covered the ground. So it returned to the boat, and Noah held out his hand and drew the dove back inside.

¹⁰After waiting another seven days, Noah released the dove again.

¹¹This time the dove returned to him in the evening with a fresh olive leaf in its beak. Then Noah knew that the floodwaters were almost gone.

¹²He waited another seven days and then released the dove again. This time it did not come back.

¹³Noah was now 601 years old. On the first day of the new year, ten and a half months after the flood began, the floodwaters had almost dried up from the earth. Noah lifted back the covering of the boat and saw that the surface of the ground was drying.

¹⁴Two more months went by, and at last the earth was dry!

¹⁵Then God said to Noah,

¹⁶“Leave the boat, all of you — you and your wife, and your sons and their wives.

¹⁷Release all the animals — the birds, the livestock, and the small animals that scurry along the ground — so they can be fruitful and multiply throughout the earth.”

¹⁸So Noah, his wife, and his sons and their wives left the boat.

¹⁹And all of the large and small animals and birds came out of the boat, pair by pair.

²⁰Then Noah built an altar to the LORD, and there he sacrificed as burnt offerings the animals and birds that had been approved for that purpose.

²¹And the LORD was pleased with the aroma of the sacrifice and said to himself, “I will never again curse the ground because of the human race, even though everything they think or imagine is bent toward evil from childhood. I will never again destroy all living things.

²²As long as the earth remains, there will be planting and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night.”

¹Because we have these promises, dear friends, let us cleanse ourselves from everything that can defile our body or spirit. And let us work toward complete holiness because we fear God.

²Please open your hearts to us. We have not done wrong to anyone, nor led anyone astray, nor taken advantage of anyone.

³I’m not saying this to condemn you. I said before that you are in our hearts, and we live or die together with you.

⁴I have the highest confidence in you, and I take great pride in you. You have greatly encouraged me and made me happy despite all our troubles.

⁵When we arrived in Macedonia, there was no rest for us. We faced conflict from every direction, with battles on the outside and fear on the inside.

⁶But God, who encourages those who are discouraged, encouraged us by the arrival of Titus.

⁷His presence was a joy, but so was the news he brought of the encouragement he received from you. When he told us how much you long to see me, and how sorry you are for what happened, and how loyal you are to me, I was filled with joy!

⁸I am not sorry that I sent that severe letter to you, though I was sorry at first, for I know it was painful to you for a little while.

⁹Now I am glad I sent it, not because it hurt you, but because the pain caused you to repent and change your ways. It was the kind of sorrow God wants his people to have, so you were not harmed by us in any way.

¹⁰For the kind of sorrow God wants us to experience leads us away from sin and results in salvation. There’s no regret for that kind of sorrow. But worldly sorrow, which lacks repentance, results in spiritual death.

¹¹Just see what this godly sorrow produced in you! Such earnestness, such concern to clear yourselves, such indignation, such alarm, such longing to see me, such zeal, and such a readiness to punish wrong. You showed that you have done everything necessary to make things right.

¹²My purpose, then, was not to write about who did the wrong or who was wronged. I wrote to you so that in the sight of God you could see for yourselves how loyal you are to us.

¹³We have been greatly encouraged by this. In addition to our own encouragement, we were especially delighted to see how happy Titus was about the way all of you welcomed him and set his mind at ease.

¹⁴I had told him how proud I was of you — and you didn’t disappoint me. I have always told you the truth, and now my boasting to Titus has also proved true!

¹⁵Now he cares for you more than ever when he remembers the way all of you obeyed him and welcomed him with such fear and deep respect.

¹⁶I am very happy now because I have complete confidence in you.

¹Then the angel showed me a river with the water of life, clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb.

²It flowed down the center of the main street. On each side of the river grew a tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, with a fresh crop each month. The leaves were used for medicine to heal the nations.

³No longer will there be a curse upon anything. For the throne of God and of the Lamb will be there, and his servants will worship him.

⁴And they will see his face, and his name will be written on their foreheads.

⁵And there will be no night there — no need for lamps or sun — for the Lord God will shine on them. And they will reign forever and ever.

⁶Then the angel said to me, “Everything you have heard and seen is trustworthy and true. The Lord God, who inspires his prophets, has sent his angel to tell his servants what will happen soon. ”

⁷“Look, I am coming soon! Blessed are those who obey the words of prophecy written in this book. ”

⁸I, John, am the one who heard and saw all these things. And when I heard and saw them, I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who showed them to me.

⁹But he said, “No, don’t worship me. I am a servant of God, just like you and your brothers the prophets, as well as all who obey what is written in this book. Worship only God!”

¹⁰Then he instructed me, “Do not seal up the prophetic words in this book, for the time is near.

¹¹Let the one who is doing harm continue to do harm; let the one who is vile continue to be vile; let the one who is righteous continue to live righteously; let the one who is holy continue to be holy.”

¹²“Look, I am coming soon, bringing my reward with me to repay all people according to their deeds.

¹³I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.”

¹⁴Blessed are those who wash their robes. They will be permitted to enter through the gates of the city and eat the fruit from the tree of life.

¹⁵Outside the city are the dogs — the sorcerers, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idol worshipers, and all who love to live a lie.

¹⁶“I, Jesus, have sent my angel to give you this message for the churches. I am both the source of David and the heir to his throne. I am the bright morning star.”

¹⁷The Spirit and the bride say, “Come.” Let anyone who hears this say, “Come.” Let anyone who is thirsty come. Let anyone who desires drink freely from the water of life.

¹⁸And I solemnly declare to everyone who hears the words of prophecy written in this book: If anyone adds anything to what is written here, God will add to that person the plagues described in this book.

¹⁹And if anyone removes any of the words from this book of prophecy, God will remove that person’s share in the tree of life and in the holy city that are described in this book.

²⁰He who is the faithful witness to all these things says, “Yes, I am coming soon!” Amen! Come, Lord Jesus!

²¹May the grace of the Lord Jesus be with God’s holy people.

¹Then Job spoke again:

²“Yes, I know all this is true in principle. But how can a person be declared innocent in God’s sight?

³If someone wanted to take God to court, would it be possible to answer him even once in a thousand times?

⁴For God is so wise and so mighty. Who has ever challenged him successfully?

⁵“Without warning, he moves the mountains, overturning them in his anger.

⁶He shakes the earth from its place, and its foundations tremble.

⁷If he commands it, the sun won’t rise and the stars won’t shine.

⁸He alone has spread out the heavens and marches on the waves of the sea.

⁹He made all the stars — the Bear and Orion, the Pleiades and the constellations of the southern sky.

¹⁰He does great things too marvelous to understand. He performs countless miracles.

¹¹“Yet when he comes near, I cannot see him. When he moves by, I do not see him go.

¹²If he snatches someone in death, who can stop him? Who dares to ask, ‘What are you doing?’

¹³And God does not restrain his anger. Even the monsters of the sea are crushed beneath his feet.

¹⁴“So who am I, that I should try to answer God or even reason with him?

¹⁵Even if I were right, I would have no defense. I could only plead for mercy.

¹⁶And even if I summoned him and he responded, I’m not sure he would listen to me.

¹⁷For he attacks me with a storm and repeatedly wounds me without cause.

¹⁸He will not let me catch my breath, but fills me instead with bitter sorrows.

¹⁹If it’s a question of strength, he’s the strong one. If it’s a matter of justice, who dares to summon him to court?

²⁰Though I am innocent, my own mouth would pronounce me guilty. Though I am blameless, it would prove me wicked.

²¹“I am innocent, but it makes no difference to me — I despise my life.

²²Innocent or wicked, it is all the same to God. That’s why I say, ‘He destroys both the blameless and the wicked.’

²³When a plague sweeps through, he laughs at the death of the innocent.

²⁴The whole earth is in the hands of the wicked, and God blinds the eyes of the judges. If he’s not the one who does it, who is?

²⁵“My life passes more swiftly than a runner. It flees away without a glimpse of happiness.

²⁶It disappears like a swift papyrus boat, like an eagle swooping down on its prey.

²⁷If I decided to forget my complaints, to put away my sad face and be cheerful,

²⁸I would still dread all the pain, for I know you will not find me innocent, O God.

²⁹Whatever happens, I will be found guilty. So what’s the use of trying?

³⁰Even if I were to wash myself with soap and clean my hands with lye,

³¹you would plunge me into a muddy ditch, and my own filthy clothing would hate me.

³²“God is not a mortal like me, so I cannot argue with him or take him to trial.

³³If only there were a mediator between us, someone who could bring us together.

³⁴The mediator could make God stop beating me, and I would no longer live in terror of his punishment.

³⁵Then I could speak to him without fear, but I cannot do that in my own strength.

¹Beautiful words stir my heart. I will recite a lovely poem about the king, for my tongue is like the pen of a skillful poet.

²You are the most handsome of all. Gracious words stream from your lips. God himself has blessed you forever.

³Put on your sword, O mighty warrior! You are so glorious, so majestic!

⁴In your majesty, ride out to victory, defending truth, humility, and justice. Go forth to perform awe-inspiring deeds!

⁵Your arrows are sharp, piercing your enemies’ hearts. The nations fall beneath your feet.

⁶Your throne, O God, endures forever and ever. You rule with a scepter of justice.

⁷You love justice and hate evil. Therefore God, your God, has anointed you, pouring out the oil of joy on you more than on anyone else.

⁸Myrrh, aloes, and cassia perfume your robes. In ivory palaces the music of strings entertains you.

⁹Kings’ daughters are among your noble women. At your right side stands the queen, wearing jewelry of finest gold from Ophir!

¹⁰Listen to me, O royal daughter; take to heart what I say. Forget your people and your family far away.

¹¹For your royal husband delights in your beauty; honor him, for he is your lord.

¹²The princess of Tyre will shower you with gifts. The wealthy will beg your favor.

¹³The bride, a princess, looks glorious in her golden gown.

¹⁴In her beautiful robes, she is led to the king, accompanied by her bridesmaids.

¹⁵What a joyful and enthusiastic procession as they enter the king’s palace!

¹⁶Your sons will become kings like their father. You will make them rulers over many lands.

¹⁷I will bring honor to your name in every generation. Therefore, the nations will praise you forever and ever.

¹Wisdom has built her house; she has carved its seven columns.

²She has prepared a great banquet, mixed the wines, and set the table.

³She has sent her servants to invite everyone to come. She calls out from the heights overlooking the city.

⁴“Come in with me,” she urges the simple. To those who lack good judgment, she says,

⁵“Come, eat my food, and drink the wine I have mixed.

⁶Leave your simple ways behind, and begin to live; learn to use good judgment.”

⁷Anyone who rebukes a mocker will get an insult in return. Anyone who corrects the wicked will get hurt.

⁸So don’t bother correcting mockers; they will only hate you. But correct the wise, and they will love you.

⁹Instruct the wise, and they will be even wiser. Teach the righteous, and they will learn even more.

¹⁰Fear of the LORD is the foundation of wisdom. Knowledge of the Holy One results in good judgment.

¹¹Wisdom will multiply your days and add years to your life.

¹²If you become wise, you will be the one to benefit. If you scorn wisdom, you will be the one to suffer.

¹³The woman named Folly is brash. She is ignorant and doesn’t know it.

¹⁴She sits in her doorway on the heights overlooking the city.

¹⁵She calls out to men going by who are minding their own business.

¹⁶“Come in with me,” she urges the simple. To those who lack good judgment, she says,

¹⁷“Stolen water is refreshing; food eaten in secret tastes the best!”

¹⁸But little do they know that the dead are there. Her guests are in the depths of the grave.

¹Then the Spirit of God came upon Azariah son of Oded,

²and he went out to meet King Asa as he was returning from the battle. “Listen to me, Asa!” he shouted. “Listen, all you people of Judah and Benjamin! The LORD will stay with you as long as you stay with him! Whenever you seek him, you will find him. But if you abandon him, he will abandon you.

³For a long time Israel was without the true God, without a priest to teach them, and without the Law to instruct them.

⁴But whenever they were in trouble and turned to the LORD, the God of Israel, and sought him out, they found him.

⁵“During those dark times, it was not safe to travel. Problems troubled the people of every land.

⁶Nation fought against nation, and city against city, for God was troubling them with every kind of problem.

⁷But as for you, be strong and courageous, for your work will be rewarded.”

⁸When Asa heard this message from Azariah the prophet, he took courage and removed all the detestable idols from the land of Judah and Benjamin and in the towns he had captured in the hill country of Ephraim. And he repaired the altar of the LORD, which stood in front of the entry room of the LORD’s Temple.

⁹Then Asa called together all the people of Judah and Benjamin, along with the people of Ephraim, Manasseh, and Simeon who had settled among them. For many from Israel had moved to Judah during Asa’s reign when they saw that the LORD his God was with him.

¹⁰The people gathered at Jerusalem in late spring, during the fifteenth year of Asa’s reign.

¹¹On that day they sacrificed to the LORD 700 cattle and 7,000 sheep and goats from the plunder they had taken in the battle.

¹²Then they entered into a covenant to seek the LORD, the God of their ancestors, with all their heart and soul.

¹³They agreed that anyone who refused to seek the LORD, the God of Israel, would be put to death — whether young or old, man or woman.

¹⁴They shouted out their oath of loyalty to the LORD with trumpets blaring and rams’ horns sounding.

¹⁵All in Judah were happy about this covenant, for they had entered into it with all their heart. They earnestly sought after God, and they found him. And the LORD gave them rest from their enemies on every side.

¹⁶King Asa even deposed his grandmother Maacah from her position as queen mother because she had made an obscene Asherah pole. He cut down her obscene pole, broke it up, and burned it in the Kidron Valley.

¹⁷Although the pagan shrines were not removed from Israel, Asa’s heart remained completely faithful throughout his life.

¹⁸He brought into the Temple of God the silver and gold and the various items that he and his father had dedicated.

¹⁹So there was no more war until the thirty-fifth year of Asa’s reign.

¹The people of Israel feed on the wind; they chase after the east wind all day long. They pile up lies and violence; they are making an alliance with Assyria while sending olive oil to buy support from Egypt.

²Now the LORD is bringing charges against Judah. He is about to punish Jacob for all his deceitful ways, and pay him back for all he has done.

³Even in the womb, Jacob struggled with his brother; when he became a man, he even fought with God.

⁴Yes, he wrestled with the angel and won. He wept and pleaded for a blessing from him. There at Bethel he met God face to face, and God spoke to him —

⁵the LORD God of Heaven’s Armies, the LORD is his name!

⁶So now, come back to your God. Act with love and justice, and always depend on him.

⁷But no, the people are like crafty merchants selling from dishonest scales — they love to cheat.

⁸Israel boasts, “I am rich! I’ve made a fortune all by myself! No one has caught me cheating! My record is spotless!”

⁹“But I am the LORD your God, who rescued you from slavery in Egypt. And I will make you live in tents again, as you do each year at the Festival of Shelters.

¹⁰I sent my prophets to warn you with many visions and parables.”

¹¹But the people of Gilead are worthless because of their idol worship. And in Gilgal, too, they sacrifice bulls; their altars are lined up like the heaps of stone along the edges of a plowed field.

¹²Jacob fled to the land of Aram, and there he earned a wife by tending sheep.

¹³Then by a prophet the LORD brought Jacob’s descendants out of Egypt; and by that prophet they were protected.

¹⁴But the people of Israel have bitterly provoked the LORD, so their Lord will now sentence them to death in payment for their sins.

¹When the time came, we set sail for Italy. Paul and several other prisoners were placed in the custody of a Roman officer named Julius, a captain of the Imperial Regiment.

²Aristarchus, a Macedonian from Thessalonica, was also with us. We left on a ship whose home port was Adramyttium on the northwest coast of the province of Asia; it was scheduled to make several stops at ports along the coast of the province.

³The next day when we docked at Sidon, Julius was very kind to Paul and let him go ashore to visit with friends so they could provide for his needs.

⁴Putting out to sea from there, we encountered strong headwinds that made it difficult to keep the ship on course, so we sailed north of Cyprus between the island and the mainland.

⁵Keeping to the open sea, we passed along the coast of Cilicia and Pamphylia, landing at Myra, in the province of Lycia.

⁶There the commanding officer found an Egyptian ship from Alexandria that was bound for Italy, and he put us on board.

⁷We had several days of slow sailing, and after great difficulty we finally neared Cnidus. But the wind was against us, so we sailed across to Crete and along the sheltered coast of the island, past the cape of Salmone.

⁸We struggled along the coast with great difficulty and finally arrived at Fair Havens, near the town of Lasea.

⁹We had lost a lot of time. The weather was becoming dangerous for sea travel because it was so late in the fall, and Paul spoke to the ship’s officers about it.

¹⁰“Men,” he said, “I believe there is trouble ahead if we go on — shipwreck, loss of cargo, and danger to our lives as well.”

¹¹But the officer in charge of the prisoners listened more to the ship’s captain and the owner than to Paul.

¹²And since Fair Havens was an exposed harbor — a poor place to spend the winter — most of the crew wanted to go on to Phoenix, farther up the coast of Crete, and spend the winter there. Phoenix was a good harbor with only a southwest and northwest exposure.

¹³When a light wind began blowing from the south, the sailors thought they could make it. So they pulled up anchor and sailed close to the shore of Crete.

¹⁴But the weather changed abruptly, and a wind of typhoon strength (called a “northeaster”) burst across the island and blew us out to sea.

¹⁵The sailors couldn’t turn the ship into the wind, so they gave up and let it run before the gale.

¹⁶We sailed along the sheltered side of a small island named Cauda, where with great difficulty we hoisted aboard the lifeboat being towed behind us.

¹⁷Then the sailors bound ropes around the hull of the ship to strengthen it. They were afraid of being driven across to the sandbars of Syrtis off the African coast, so they lowered the sea anchor to slow the ship and were driven before the wind.

¹⁸The next day, as gale-force winds continued to batter the ship, the crew began throwing the cargo overboard.

¹⁹The following day they even took some of the ship’s gear and threw it overboard.

²⁰The terrible storm raged for many days, blotting out the sun and the stars, until at last all hope was gone.

²¹No one had eaten for a long time. Finally, Paul called the crew together and said, “Men, you should have listened to me in the first place and not left Crete. You would have avoided all this damage and loss.

²²But take courage! None of you will lose your lives, even though the ship will go down.

²³For last night an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I serve stood beside me,

²⁴and he said, ‘Don’t be afraid, Paul, for you will surely stand trial before Caesar! What’s more, God in his goodness has granted safety to everyone sailing with you.’

²⁵So take courage! For I believe God. It will be just as he said.

²⁶But we will be shipwrecked on an island.”

²⁷About midnight on the fourteenth night of the storm, as we were being driven across the Sea of Adria, the sailors sensed land was near.

²⁸They dropped a weighted line and found that the water was 120 feet deep. But a little later they measured again and found it was only 90 feet deep.

²⁹At this rate they were afraid we would soon be driven against the rocks along the shore, so they threw out four anchors from the back of the ship and prayed for daylight.

³⁰Then the sailors tried to abandon the ship; they lowered the lifeboat as though they were going to put out anchors from the front of the ship.

³¹But Paul said to the commanding officer and the soldiers, “You will all die unless the sailors stay aboard.”

³²So the soldiers cut the ropes to the lifeboat and let it drift away.

³³Just as day was dawning, Paul urged everyone to eat. “You have been so worried that you haven’t touched food for two weeks,” he said.

³⁴“Please eat something now for your own good. For not a hair of your heads will perish.”

³⁵Then he took some bread, gave thanks to God before them all, and broke off a piece and ate it.

³⁶Then everyone was encouraged and began to eat —

³⁷all 276 of us who were on board.

³⁸After eating, the crew lightened the ship further by throwing the cargo of wheat overboard.

³⁹When morning dawned, they didn’t recognize the coastline, but they saw a bay with a beach and wondered if they could get to shore by running the ship aground.

⁴⁰So they cut off the anchors and left them in the sea. Then they lowered the rudders, raised the foresail, and headed toward shore.

⁴¹But they hit a shoal and ran the ship aground too soon. The bow of the ship stuck fast, while the stern was repeatedly smashed by the force of the waves and began to break apart.

⁴²The soldiers wanted to kill the prisoners to make sure they didn’t swim ashore and escape.

⁴³But the commanding officer wanted to spare Paul, so he didn’t let them carry out their plan. Then he ordered all who could swim to jump overboard first and make for land.

⁴⁴The others held on to planks or debris from the broken ship. So everyone escaped safely to shore.