Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?”

²And calling to him a child, he put him in the midst of them

³and said, “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

⁴ Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.

⁵ “Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me,

⁶but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened around his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea.

⁷“Woe to the world for temptations to sin! For it is necessary that temptations come, but woe to the one by whom the temptation comes!

⁸ And if your hand or your foot causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life crippled or lame than with two hands or two feet to be thrown into the eternal fire.

⁹ And if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into the hell of fire.

¹⁰“See that you do not despise one of these little ones. For I tell you that in heaven their angels always see the face of my Father who is in heaven.

¹¹

¹² What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go in search of the one that went astray?

¹³And if he finds it, truly, I say to you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine that never went astray.

¹⁴So it is not the will of my Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish.

¹⁵ “If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother.

¹⁶But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every charge may be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses.

¹⁷If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector.

¹⁸Truly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.

¹⁹Again I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven.

²⁰For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.”

²¹Then Peter came up and said to him, “Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?”

²²Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy-seven times.

²³“Therefore the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his servants.

²⁴When he began to settle, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents.

²⁵ And since he could not pay, his master ordered him to be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and payment to be made.

²⁶So the servant fell on his knees, imploring him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.’

²⁷And out of pity for him, the master of that servant released him and forgave him the debt.

²⁸But when that same servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii, and seizing him, he began to choke him, saying, ‘Pay what you owe.’

²⁹So his fellow servant fell down and pleaded with him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you.’

³⁰He refused and went and put him in prison until he should pay the debt.

³¹When his fellow servants saw what had taken place, they were greatly distressed, and they went and reported to their master all that had taken place.

³²Then his master summoned him and said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me.

³³ And should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?’

³⁴ And in anger his master delivered him to the jailers, until he should pay all his debt.

³⁵ So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart.”

¹And God blessed Noah and his sons and said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth.

²The fear of you and the dread of you shall be upon every beast of the earth and upon every bird of the heavens, upon everything that creeps on the ground and all the fish of the sea. Into your hand they are delivered.

³Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you. And as I gave you the green plants, I give you everything.

⁴But you shall not eat flesh with its life, that is, its blood.

⁵And for your lifeblood I will require a reckoning: from every beast I will require it and from man. From his fellow man I will require a reckoning for the life of man.

⁶“Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed, for God made man in his own image.

⁷And you, be fruitful and multiply, increase greatly on the earth and multiply in it.”

⁸Then God said to Noah and to his sons with him,

⁹“Behold, I establish my covenant with you and your offspring after you,

¹⁰and with every living creature that is with you, the birds, the livestock, and every beast of the earth with you, as many as came out of the ark; it is for every beast of the earth.

¹¹I establish my covenant with you, that never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of the flood, and never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth.”

¹²And God said, “This is the sign of the covenant that I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for all future generations:

¹³I have set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth.

¹⁴When I bring clouds over the earth and the bow is seen in the clouds,

¹⁵I will remember my covenant that is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh. And the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh.

¹⁶When the bow is in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth.”

¹⁷God said to Noah, “This is the sign of the covenant that I have established between me and all flesh that is on the earth.”

¹⁸The sons of Noah who went forth from the ark were Shem, Ham, and Japheth. (Ham was the father of Canaan.)

¹⁹These three were the sons of Noah, and from these the people of the whole earth were dispersed.

²⁰Noah began to be a man of the soil, and he planted a vineyard.

²¹He drank of the wine and became drunk and lay uncovered in his tent.

²²And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father and told his two brothers outside.

²³Then Shem and Japheth took a garment, laid it on both their shoulders, and walked backward and covered the nakedness of their father. Their faces were turned backward, and they did not see their father's nakedness.

²⁴When Noah awoke from his wine and knew what his youngest son had done to him,

²⁵he said, “Cursed be Canaan; a servant of servants shall he be to his brothers.”

²⁶He also said, “Blessed be the LORD, the God of Shem; and let Canaan be his servant.

²⁷May God enlarge Japheth, and let him dwell in the tents of Shem, and let Canaan be his servant.”

²⁸After the flood Noah lived 350 years.

²⁹All the days of Noah were 950 years, and he died.

¹We want you to know, brothers, about the grace of God that has been given among the churches of Macedonia,

²for in a severe test of affliction, their abundance of joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part.

³For they gave according to their means, as I can testify, and beyond their means, of their own accord,

⁴begging us earnestly for the favor of taking part in the relief of the saints —

⁵and this, not as we expected, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and then by the will of God to us.

⁶Accordingly, we urged Titus that as he had started, so he should complete among you this act of grace.

⁷But as you excel in everything — in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in all earnestness, and in our love for you — see that you excel in this act of grace also.

⁸I say this not as a command, but to prove by the earnestness of others that your love also is genuine.

⁹For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich.

¹⁰And in this matter I give my judgment: this benefits you, who a year ago started not only to do this work but also to desire to do it.

¹¹So now finish doing it as well, so that your readiness in desiring it may be matched by your completing it out of what you have.

¹²For if the readiness is there, it is acceptable according to what a person has, not according to what he does not have.

¹³For I do not mean that others should be eased and you burdened, but that as a matter of fairness

¹⁴your abundance at the present time should supply their need, so that their abundance may supply your need, that there may be fairness.

¹⁵As it is written, “Whoever gathered much had nothing left over, and whoever gathered little had no lack.”

¹⁶But thanks be to God, who put into the heart of Titus the same earnest care I have for you.

¹⁷For he not only accepted our appeal, but being himself very earnest he is going to you of his own accord.

¹⁸With him we are sending the brother who is famous among all the churches for his preaching of the gospel.

¹⁹And not only that, but he has been appointed by the churches to travel with us as we carry out this act of grace that is being ministered by us, for the glory of the Lord himself and to show our good will.

²⁰We take this course so that no one should blame us about this generous gift that is being administered by us,

²¹for we aim at what is honorable not only in the Lord's sight but also in the sight of man.

²²And with them we are sending our brother whom we have often tested and found earnest in many matters, but who is now more earnest than ever because of his great confidence in you.

²³As for Titus, he is my partner and fellow worker for your benefit. And as for our brothers, they are messengers of the churches, the glory of Christ.

²⁴So give proof before the churches of your love and of our boasting about you to these men.

¹“I loathe my life; I will give free utterance to my complaint; I will speak in the bitterness of my soul.

²I will say to God, Do not condemn me; let me know why you contend against me.

³Does it seem good to you to oppress, to despise the work of your hands and favor the designs of the wicked?

⁴Have you eyes of flesh? Do you see as man sees?

⁵Are your days as the days of man, or your years as a man's years,

⁶that you seek out my iniquity and search for my sin,

⁷although you know that I am not guilty, and there is none to deliver out of your hand?

⁸Your hands fashioned and made me, and now you have destroyed me altogether.

⁹Remember that you have made me like clay; and will you return me to the dust?

¹⁰Did you not pour me out like milk and curdle me like cheese?

¹¹You clothed me with skin and flesh, and knit me together with bones and sinews.

¹²You have granted me life and steadfast love, and your care has preserved my spirit.

¹³Yet these things you hid in your heart; I know that this was your purpose.

¹⁴If I sin, you watch me and do not acquit me of my iniquity.

¹⁵If I am guilty, woe to me! If I am in the right, I cannot lift up my head, for I am filled with disgrace and look on my affliction.

¹⁶And were my head lifted up, you would hunt me like a lion and again work wonders against me.

¹⁷You renew your witnesses against me and increase your vexation toward me; you bring fresh troops against me.

¹⁸“Why did you bring me out from the womb? Would that I had died before any eye had seen me

¹⁹and were as though I had not been, carried from the womb to the grave.

²⁰Are not my days few? Then cease, and leave me alone, that I may find a little cheer

²¹before I go — and I shall not return — to the land of darkness and deep shadow,

²²the land of gloom like thick darkness, like deep shadow without any order, where light is as thick darkness.”

¹God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.

²Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea,

³though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble at its swelling. Selah

⁴There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy habitation of the Most High.

⁵God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved; God will help her when morning dawns.

⁶The nations rage, the kingdoms totter; he utters his voice, the earth melts.

⁷The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah

⁸Come, behold the works of the LORD, how he has brought desolations on the earth.

⁹He makes wars cease to the end of the earth; he breaks the bow and shatters the spear; he burns the chariots with fire.

¹⁰“Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!”

¹¹The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah

¹The proverbs of Solomon. A wise son makes a glad father, but a foolish son is a sorrow to his mother.

²Treasures gained by wickedness do not profit, but righteousness delivers from death.

³The LORD does not let the righteous go hungry, but he thwarts the craving of the wicked.

⁴A slack hand causes poverty, but the hand of the diligent makes rich.

⁵He who gathers in summer is a prudent son, but he who sleeps in harvest is a son who brings shame.

⁶Blessings are on the head of the righteous, but the mouth of the wicked conceals violence.

⁷The memory of the righteous is a blessing, but the name of the wicked will rot.

⁸The wise of heart will receive commandments, but a babbling fool will come to ruin.

⁹Whoever walks in integrity walks securely, but he who makes his ways crooked will be found out.

¹⁰Whoever winks the eye causes trouble, and a babbling fool will come to ruin.

¹¹The mouth of the righteous is a fountain of life, but the mouth of the wicked conceals violence.

¹²Hatred stirs up strife, but love covers all offenses.

¹³On the lips of him who has understanding, wisdom is found, but a rod is for the back of him who lacks sense.

¹⁴The wise lay up knowledge, but the mouth of a fool brings ruin near.

¹⁵A rich man's wealth is his strong city; the poverty of the poor is their ruin.

¹⁶The wage of the righteous leads to life, the gain of the wicked to sin.

¹⁷Whoever heeds instruction is on the path to life, but he who rejects reproof leads others astray.

¹⁸The one who conceals hatred has lying lips, and whoever utters slander is a fool.

¹⁹When words are many, transgression is not lacking, but whoever restrains his lips is prudent.

²⁰The tongue of the righteous is choice silver; the heart of the wicked is of little worth.

²¹The lips of the righteous feed many, but fools die for lack of sense.

²²The blessing of the LORD makes rich, and he adds no sorrow with it.

²³Doing wrong is like a joke to a fool, but wisdom is pleasure to a man of understanding.

²⁴What the wicked dreads will come upon him, but the desire of the righteous will be granted.

²⁵When the tempest passes, the wicked is no more, but the righteous is established forever.

²⁶Like vinegar to the teeth and smoke to the eyes, so is the sluggard to those who send him.

²⁷The fear of the LORD prolongs life, but the years of the wicked will be short.

²⁸The hope of the righteous brings joy, but the expectation of the wicked will perish.

²⁹The way of the LORD is a stronghold to the blameless, but destruction to evildoers.

³⁰The righteous will never be removed, but the wicked will not dwell in the land.

³¹The mouth of the righteous brings forth wisdom, but the perverse tongue will be cut off.

³²The lips of the righteous know what is acceptable, but the mouth of the wicked, what is perverse.

¹In the thirty-sixth year of the reign of Asa, Baasha king of Israel went up against Judah and built Ramah, that he might permit no one to go out or come in to Asa king of Judah.

²Then Asa took silver and gold from the treasures of the house of the LORD and the king's house and sent them to Ben-hadad king of Syria, who lived in Damascus, saying,

³“There is a covenant between me and you, as there was between my father and your father. Behold, I am sending to you silver and gold. Go, break your covenant with Baasha king of Israel, that he may withdraw from me.”

⁴And Ben-hadad listened to King Asa and sent the commanders of his armies against the cities of Israel, and they conquered Ijon, Dan, Abel-maim, and all the store cities of Naphtali.

⁵And when Baasha heard of it, he stopped building Ramah and let his work cease.

⁶Then King Asa took all Judah, and they carried away the stones of Ramah and its timber, with which Baasha had been building, and with them he built Geba and Mizpah.

⁷At that time Hanani the seer came to Asa king of Judah and said to him, “Because you relied on the king of Syria, and did not rely on the LORD your God, the army of the king of Syria has escaped you.

⁸Were not the Ethiopians and the Libyans a huge army with very many chariots and horsemen? Yet because you relied on the LORD, he gave them into your hand.

⁹For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to give strong support to those whose heart is blameless toward him. You have done foolishly in this, for from now on you will have wars.”

¹⁰Then Asa was angry with the seer and put him in the stocks in prison, for he was in a rage with him because of this. And Asa inflicted cruelties upon some of the people at the same time.

¹¹The acts of Asa, from first to last, are written in the Book of the Kings of Judah and Israel.

¹²In the thirty-ninth year of his reign Asa was diseased in his feet, and his disease became severe. Yet even in his disease he did not seek the LORD, but sought help from physicians.

¹³And Asa slept with his fathers, dying in the forty-first year of his reign.

¹⁴They buried him in the tomb that he had cut for himself in the city of David. They laid him on a bier that had been filled with various kinds of spices prepared by the perfumer's art, and they made a very great fire in his honor.

¹When Ephraim spoke, there was trembling; he was exalted in Israel, but he incurred guilt through Baal and died.

²And now they sin more and more, and make for themselves metal images, idols skillfully made of their silver, all of them the work of craftsmen. It is said of them, “Those who offer human sacrifice kiss calves!”

³Therefore they shall be like the morning mist or like the dew that goes early away, like the chaff that swirls from the threshing floor or like smoke from a window.

⁴But I am the LORD your God from the land of Egypt; you know no God but me, and besides me there is no savior.

⁵It was I who knew you in the wilderness, in the land of drought;

⁶but when they had grazed, they became full, they were filled, and their heart was lifted up; therefore they forgot me.

⁷So I am to them like a lion; like a leopard I will lurk beside the way.

⁸I will fall upon them like a bear robbed of her cubs; I will tear open their breast, and there I will devour them like a lion, as a wild beast would rip them open.

⁹He destroys you, O Israel, for you are against me, against your helper.

¹⁰Where now is your king, to save you in all your cities? Where are all your rulers — those of whom you said, “Give me a king and princes”?

¹¹I gave you a king in my anger, and I took him away in my wrath.

¹²The iniquity of Ephraim is bound up; his sin is kept in store.

¹³The pangs of childbirth come for him, but he is an unwise son, for at the right time he does not present himself at the opening of the womb.

¹⁴I shall ransom them from the power of Sheol; I shall redeem them from Death. O Death, where are your plagues? O Sheol, where is your sting? Compassion is hidden from my eyes.

¹⁵Though he may flourish among his brothers, the east wind, the wind of the LORD, shall come, rising from the wilderness, and his fountain shall dry up; his spring shall be parched; it shall strip his treasury of every precious thing.

¹⁶Samaria shall bear her guilt, because she has rebelled against her God; they shall fall by the sword; their little ones shall be dashed in pieces, and their pregnant women ripped open.

¹After we were brought safely through, we then learned that the island was called Malta.

²The native people showed us unusual kindness, for they kindled a fire and welcomed us all, because it had begun to rain and was cold.

³When Paul had gathered a bundle of sticks and put them on the fire, a viper came out because of the heat and fastened on his hand.

⁴When the native people saw the creature hanging from his hand, they said to one another, “No doubt this man is a murderer. Though he has escaped from the sea, Justice has not allowed him to live.”

⁵He, however, shook off the creature into the fire and suffered no harm.

⁶They were waiting for him to swell up or suddenly fall down dead. But when they had waited a long time and saw no misfortune come to him, they changed their minds and said that he was a god.

⁷Now in the neighborhood of that place were lands belonging to the chief man of the island, named Publius, who received us and entertained us hospitably for three days.

⁸It happened that the father of Publius lay sick with fever and dysentery. And Paul visited him and prayed, and putting his hands on him, healed him.

⁹And when this had taken place, the rest of the people on the island who had diseases also came and were cured.

¹⁰They also honored us greatly, and when we were about to sail, they put on board whatever we needed.

¹¹After three months we set sail in a ship that had wintered in the island, a ship of Alexandria, with the twin gods as a figurehead.

¹²Putting in at Syracuse, we stayed there for three days.

¹³And from there we made a circuit and arrived at Rhegium. And after one day a south wind sprang up, and on the second day we came to Puteoli.

¹⁴There we found brothers and were invited to stay with them for seven days. And so we came to Rome.

¹⁵And the brothers there, when they heard about us, came as far as the Forum of Appius and Three Taverns to meet us. On seeing them, Paul thanked God and took courage.

¹⁶And when we came into Rome, Paul was allowed to stay by himself, with the soldier who guarded him.

¹⁷After three days he called together the local leaders of the Jews, and when they had gathered, he said to them, “Brothers, though I had done nothing against our people or the customs of our fathers, yet I was delivered as a prisoner from Jerusalem into the hands of the Romans.

¹⁸When they had examined me, they wished to set me at liberty, because there was no reason for the death penalty in my case.

¹⁹But because the Jews objected, I was compelled to appeal to Caesar — though I had no charge to bring against my nation.

²⁰For this reason, therefore, I have asked to see you and speak with you, since it is because of the hope of Israel that I am wearing this chain.”

²¹And they said to him, “We have received no letters from Judea about you, and none of the brothers coming here has reported or spoken any evil about you.

²²But we desire to hear from you what your views are, for with regard to this sect we know that everywhere it is spoken against.”

²³When they had appointed a day for him, they came to him at his lodging in greater numbers. From morning till evening he expounded to them, testifying to the kingdom of God and trying to convince them about Jesus both from the Law of Moses and from the Prophets.

²⁴And some were convinced by what he said, but others disbelieved.

²⁵And disagreeing among themselves, they departed after Paul had made one statement: “The Holy Spirit was right in saying to your fathers through Isaiah the prophet:

²⁶“‘Go to this people, and say, “You will indeed hear but never understand, and you will indeed see but never perceive.”

²⁷For this people's heart has grown dull, and with their ears they can barely hear, and their eyes they have closed; lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their heart and turn, and I would heal them.’

²⁸Therefore let it be known to you that this salvation of God has been sent to the Gentiles; they will listen.”

²⁹

³⁰He lived there two whole years at his own expense, and welcomed all who came to him,

³¹proclaiming the kingdom of God and teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ with all boldness and without hindrance.