Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

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

²Then Jesus called a little child to Him, set him in the midst of them,

³and said, “Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.

⁴Therefore whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.

⁵Whoever receives one little child like this in My name receives Me.

⁶“Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to sin, it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were drowned in the depth of the sea.

⁷Woe to the world because of offenses! For offenses must come, but woe to that man by whom the offense comes!

⁸“If your hand or foot causes you to sin, cut it off and cast it from you. It is better for you to enter into life lame or maimed, rather than having two hands or two feet, to be cast into the everlasting fire.

⁹And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you. It is better for you to enter into life with one eye, rather than having two eyes, to be cast into hell fire.

¹⁰“Take heed that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you that in heaven their angels always see the face of My Father who is in heaven.

¹¹For the Son of Man has come to save that which was lost.

¹²“What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them goes astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine and go to the mountains to seek the one that is straying?

¹³And if he should find it, assuredly, I say to you, he rejoices more over that sheep than over the ninety-nine that did not go astray.

¹⁴Even so it is not the will of your Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish.

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

¹⁶But if he will not hear, take with you one or two more, that ‘by the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.’

¹⁷And if he refuses to hear them, tell it to the church. But if he refuses even to hear the church, let him be to you like a heathen and a tax collector.

¹⁸“Assuredly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.

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

²⁰For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them.”

²¹Then Peter came to Him and said, “Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Up to seven times?”

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

²³Therefore the kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants.

²⁴And when he had begun to settle accounts, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents.

²⁵But as he was not able to pay, his master commanded that he be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and that payment be made.

²⁶The servant therefore fell down before him, saying, ‘Master, have patience with me, and I will pay you all.’

²⁷Then the master of that servant was moved with compassion, released him, and forgave him the debt.

²⁸“But that servant went out and found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii; and he laid hands on him and took him by the throat, saying, ‘Pay me what you owe!’

²⁹So his fellow servant fell down at his feet and begged him, saying, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you all.’

³⁰And he would not, but went and threw him into prison till he should pay the debt.

³¹So when his fellow servants saw what had been done, they were very grieved, and came and told their master all that had been done.

³²Then his master, after he had called him, said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you begged me.

³³Should you not also have had compassion on your fellow servant, just as I had pity on you?’

³⁴And his master was angry, and delivered him to the torturers until he should pay all that was due to him.

³⁵“So My heavenly Father also will do to you if each of you, from his heart, does not forgive his brother his trespasses.”

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

²And the fear of you and the dread of you shall be on every beast of the earth, on every bird of the air, on all that move on the earth, and on all the fish of the sea. They are given into your hand.

³Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you. I have given you all things, even as the green herbs.

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

⁵Surely for your lifeblood I will demand a reckoning; from the hand of every beast I will require it, and from the hand of man. From the hand of every man’s brother I will require the life of man.

⁶“Whoever sheds man’s blood, By man his blood shall be shed; For in the image of God He made man.

⁷And as for you, be fruitful and multiply; Bring forth abundantly in the earth And multiply in it.”

⁸Then God spoke to Noah and to his sons with him, saying:

⁹“And as for Me, behold, I establish My covenant with you and with your descendants after you,

¹⁰and with every living creature that is with you: the birds, the cattle, and every beast of the earth with you, of all that go out of the ark, every beast of the earth.

¹¹Thus I establish My covenant with you: Never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of the flood; never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth.”

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

¹³I set My rainbow in the cloud, and it shall be for the sign of the covenant between Me and the earth.

¹⁴It shall be, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the rainbow shall be seen in the cloud;

¹⁵and I will remember My covenant which is between Me and you and every living creature of all flesh; the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh.

¹⁶The rainbow shall be in the cloud, and I will look on it to remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth.”

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

¹⁸Now the sons of Noah who went out of the ark were Shem, Ham, and Japheth. And Ham was the father of Canaan.

¹⁹These three were the sons of Noah, and from these the whole earth was populated.

²⁰And Noah began to be a farmer, and he planted a vineyard.

²¹Then he drank of the wine and was drunk, and became uncovered in his tent.

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

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

²⁴So Noah awoke from his wine, and knew what his younger son had done to him.

²⁵Then he said: “Cursed be Canaan; A servant of servants He shall be to his brethren.”

²⁶And he said: “Blessed be the LORD, The God of Shem, And may Canaan be his servant.

²⁷May God enlarge Japheth, And may he dwell in the tents of Shem; And may Canaan be his servant.”

²⁸And Noah lived after the flood three hundred and fifty years.

²⁹So all the days of Noah were nine hundred and fifty years; and he died.

¹Moreover, brethren, we make known to you the grace of God bestowed on the churches of Macedonia:

²that in a great trial of affliction the abundance of their joy and their deep poverty abounded in the riches of their liberality.

³For I bear witness that according to their ability, yes, and beyond their ability, they were freely willing,

⁴imploring us with much urgency that we would receive the gift and the fellowship of the ministering to the saints.

⁵And not only as we had hoped, but they first gave themselves to the Lord, and then to us by the will of God.

⁶So we urged Titus, that as he had begun, so he would also complete this grace in you as well.

⁷But as you abound in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in all diligence, and in your love for us—see that you abound in this grace also.

⁸I speak not by commandment, but I am testing the sincerity of your love by the diligence of others.

⁹For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich.

¹⁰And in this I give advice: It is to your advantage not only to be doing what you began and were desiring to do a year ago;

¹¹but now you also must complete the doing of it; that as there was a readiness to desire it, so there also may be a completion out of what you have.

¹²For if there is first a willing mind, it is accepted according to what one has, and not according to what he does not have.

¹³For I do not mean that others should be eased and you burdened;

¹⁴but by an equality, that now at this time your abundance may supply their lack, that their abundance also may supply your lack—that there may be equality.

¹⁵As it is written, “He who gathered much had nothing left over, and he who gathered little had no lack.”

¹⁶But thanks be to God who puts the same earnest care for you into the heart of Titus.

¹⁷For he not only accepted the exhortation, but being more diligent, he went to you of his own accord.

¹⁸And we have sent with him the brother whose praise is in the gospel throughout all the churches,

¹⁹and not only that, but who was also chosen by the churches to travel with us with this gift, which is administered by us to the glory of the Lord Himself and to show your ready mind,

²⁰avoiding this: that anyone should blame us in this lavish gift which is administered by us—

²¹providing honorable things, not only in the sight of the Lord, but also in the sight of men.

²²And we have sent with them our brother whom we have often proved diligent in many things, but now much more diligent, because of the great confidence which we have in you.

²³If anyone inquires about Titus, he is my partner and fellow worker concerning you. Or if our brethren are inquired about, they are messengers of the churches, the glory of Christ.

²⁴Therefore show to them, and before the churches, the proof of your love and of our boasting on your behalf.

¹“My soul loathes my life; I will give free course to my complaint, I will speak in the bitterness of my soul.

²I will say to God, ‘Do not condemn me; Show me why You contend with me.

³Does it seem good to You that You should oppress, That You should despise the work of Your hands, And smile on the counsel of the wicked?

⁴Do You have eyes of flesh? Or do You see as man sees?

⁵Are Your days like the days of a mortal man? Are Your years like the days of a mighty man,

⁶That You should seek for my iniquity And search out my sin,

⁷Although You know that I am not wicked, And there is no one who can deliver from Your hand?

⁸‘Your hands have made me and fashioned me, An intricate unity; Yet You would destroy me.

⁹Remember, I pray, that You have made me like clay. And will You turn me into dust again?

¹⁰Did You not pour me out like milk, And curdle me like cheese,

¹¹Clothe me with skin and flesh, And knit me together with bones and sinews?

¹²You have granted me life and favor, And Your care has preserved my spirit.

¹³‘And these things You have hidden in Your heart; I know that this was with You:

¹⁴If I sin, then You mark me, And will not acquit me of my iniquity.

¹⁵If I am wicked, woe to me; Even if I am righteous, I cannot lift up my head. I am full of disgrace; See my misery!

¹⁶If my head is exalted, You hunt me like a fierce lion, And again You show Yourself awesome against me.

¹⁷You renew Your witnesses against me, And increase Your indignation toward me; Changes and war are ever with me.

¹⁸‘Why then have You brought me out of the womb? Oh, that I had perished and no eye had seen me!

¹⁹I would have been as though I had not been. I would have been carried from the womb to the grave.

²⁰Are not my days few? Cease! Leave me alone, that I may take a little comfort,

²¹Before I go to the place from which I shall not return, To the land of darkness and the shadow of death,

²²A land as dark as darkness itself, As the shadow of death, without any order, Where even the light is like darkness.’ ”

¹To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of the sons of Korah. A Song for Alamoth. [1] God is our refuge and strength, A very present help in trouble.

²Therefore we will not fear, Even though the earth be removed, And though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea;

³Though its waters roar and be troubled, Though the mountains shake with its swelling. Selah

⁴There is a river whose streams shall make glad the city of God, The holy place of the tabernacle of the Most High.

⁵God is in the midst of her, she shall not be moved; God shall help her, just at the break of dawn.

⁶The nations raged, the kingdoms were moved; He uttered His voice, the earth melted.

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

⁸Come, behold the works of the LORD, Who has made desolations in the earth.

⁹He makes wars cease to the end of the earth; He breaks the bow and cuts the spear in two; He burns the chariot in the fire.

¹⁰Be 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 refuge. Selah

¹The proverbs of Solomon: A wise son makes a glad father, But a foolish son is the grief of his mother.

²Treasures of wickedness profit nothing, But righteousness delivers from death.

³The LORD will not allow the righteous soul to famish, But He casts away the desire of the wicked.

⁴He who has a slack hand becomes poor, But the hand of the diligent makes rich.

⁵He who gathers in summer is a wise son; He who sleeps in harvest is a son who causes shame.

⁶Blessings are on the head of the righteous, But violence covers the mouth of the wicked.

⁷The memory of the righteous is blessed, But the name of the wicked will rot.

⁸The wise in heart will receive commands, But a prating fool will fall.

⁹He who walks with integrity walks securely, But he who perverts his ways will become known.

¹⁰He who winks with the eye causes trouble, But a prating fool will fall.

¹¹The mouth of the righteous is a well of life, But violence covers the mouth of the wicked.

¹²Hatred stirs up strife, But love covers all sins.

¹³Wisdom is found on the lips of him who has understanding, But a rod is for the back of him who is devoid of understanding.

¹⁴Wise people store up knowledge, But the mouth of the foolish is near destruction.

¹⁵The rich man’s wealth is his strong city; The destruction of the poor is their poverty.

¹⁶The labor of the righteous leads to life, The wages of the wicked to sin.

¹⁷He who keeps instruction is in the way of life, But he who refuses correction goes astray.

¹⁸Whoever hides hatred has lying lips, And whoever spreads slander is a fool.

¹⁹In the multitude of words sin is not lacking, But he who restrains his lips is wise.

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

²¹The lips of the righteous feed many, But fools die for lack of wisdom.

²²The blessing of the LORD makes one rich, And He adds no sorrow with it.

²³To do evil is like sport to a fool, But a man of understanding has wisdom.

²⁴The fear of the wicked will come upon him, And the desire of the righteous will be granted.

²⁵When the whirlwind passes by, the wicked is no more, But the righteous has an everlasting foundation.

²⁶As vinegar to the teeth and smoke to the eyes, So is the lazy man to those who send him.

²⁷The fear of the LORD prolongs days, But the years of the wicked will be shortened.

²⁸The hope of the righteous will be gladness, But the expectation of the wicked will perish.

²⁹The way of the LORD is strength for the upright, But destruction will come to the workers of iniquity.

³⁰The righteous will never be removed, But the wicked will not inhabit the earth.

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

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 came up against Judah and built Ramah, that he might let none go out or come in to Asa king of Judah.

²Then Asa brought silver and gold from the treasuries of the house of the LORD and of the king’s house, and sent to Ben-Hadad king of Syria, who dwelt in Damascus, saying,

³“Let there be a treaty between you and me, as there was between my father and your father. See, I have sent you silver and gold; come, break your treaty with Baasha king of Israel, so that he will withdraw from me.”

⁴So Ben-Hadad heeded King Asa, and sent the captains of his armies against the cities of Israel. They attacked Ijon, Dan, Abel Maim, and all the storage cities of Naphtali.

⁵Now it happened, when Baasha heard it, that he stopped building Ramah and ceased his work.

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

⁷And at that time Hanani the seer came to Asa king of Judah, and said to him: “Because you have relied on the king of Syria, and have not relied on the LORD your God, therefore the army of the king of Syria has escaped from your hand.

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

⁹For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him. In this you have done foolishly; therefore from now on you shall have wars.”

¹⁰Then Asa was angry with the seer, and put him in prison, for he was enraged at him because of this. And Asa oppressed some of the people at that time.

¹¹Note that the acts of Asa, first and last, are indeed written in the book of the kings of Judah and Israel.

¹²And in the thirty-ninth year of his reign, Asa became diseased in his feet, and his malady was severe; yet in his disease he did not seek the LORD, but the physicians.

¹³So Asa rested with his fathers; he died in the forty-first year of his reign.

¹⁴They buried him in his own tomb, which he had made for himself in the City of David; and they laid him in the bed which was filled with spices and various ingredients prepared in a mixture of ointments. They made a very great burning for him.

¹When Ephraim spoke, trembling, He exalted himself in Israel; But when he offended through Baal worship, he died.

²Now they sin more and more, And have made for themselves molded images, Idols of their silver, according to their skill; All of it is the work of craftsmen. They say of them, “Let the men who sacrifice kiss the calves!”

³Therefore they shall be like the morning cloud And like the early dew that passes away, Like chaff blown off from a threshing floor And like smoke from a chimney.

⁴“Yet I am the LORD your God Ever since the land of Egypt, And you shall know no God but Me; For there is no savior besides Me.

⁵I knew you in the wilderness, In the land of great drought.

⁶When they had pasture, they were filled; They were filled and their heart was exalted; Therefore they forgot Me.

⁷“So I will be to them like a lion; Like a leopard by the road I will lurk;

⁸I will meet them like a bear deprived of her cubs; I will tear open their rib cage, And there I will devour them like a lion. The wild beast shall tear them.

⁹“O Israel, you are destroyed, But your help is from Me.

¹⁰I will be your King; Where is any other, That he may save you in all your cities? And your judges to whom you said, ‘Give me a king and princes’?

¹¹I gave you a king in My anger, And took him away in My wrath.

¹²“The iniquity of Ephraim is bound up; His sin is stored up.

¹³The sorrows of a woman in childbirth shall come upon him. He is an unwise son, For he should not stay long where children are born.

¹⁴“I will ransom them from the power of the grave; I will redeem them from death. O Death, I will be your plagues! O Grave, I will be your destruction! Pity is hidden from My eyes.”

¹⁵Though he is fruitful among his brethren, An east wind shall come; The wind of the LORD shall come up from the wilderness. Then his spring shall become dry, And his fountain shall be dried up. He shall plunder the treasury of every desirable prize.

¹⁶Samaria is held guilty, For she has rebelled against her God. They shall fall by the sword, Their infants shall be dashed in pieces, And their women with child ripped open.

¹Now when they had escaped, they then found out that the island was called Malta.

²And the natives showed us unusual kindness; for they kindled a fire and made us all welcome, because of the rain that was falling and because of the cold.

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

⁴So when the natives saw the creature hanging from his hand, they said to one another, “No doubt this man is a murderer, whom, though he has escaped the sea, yet justice does not allow to live.”

⁵But he shook off the creature into the fire and suffered no harm.

⁶However, they were expecting that he would swell up or suddenly fall down dead. But after they had looked for a long time and saw no harm come to him, they changed their minds and said that he was a god.

⁷In that region there was an estate of the leading citizen of the island, whose name was Publius, who received us and entertained us courteously for three days.

⁸And it happened that the father of Publius lay sick of a fever and dysentery. Paul went in to him and prayed, and he laid his hands on him and healed him.

⁹So when this was done, the rest of those on the island who had diseases also came and were healed.

¹⁰They also honored us in many ways; and when we departed, they provided such things as were necessary.

¹¹After three months we sailed in an Alexandrian ship whose figurehead was the Twin Brothers, which had wintered at the island.

¹²And landing at Syracuse, we stayed three days.

¹³From there we circled round and reached Rhegium. And after one day the south wind blew; and the next day we came to Puteoli,

¹⁴where we found brethren, and were invited to stay with them seven days. And so we went toward Rome.

¹⁵And from there, when the brethren heard about us, they came to meet us as far as Appii Forum and Three Inns. When Paul saw them, he thanked God and took courage.

¹⁶Now when we came to Rome, the centurion delivered the prisoners to the captain of the guard; but Paul was permitted to dwell by himself with the soldier who guarded him.

¹⁷And it came to pass after three days that Paul called the leaders of the Jews together. So when they had come together, he said to them: “Men and brethren, though I have 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,

¹⁸who, when they had examined me, wanted to let me go, because there was no cause for putting me to death.

¹⁹But when the Jews spoke against it, I was compelled to appeal to Caesar, not that I had anything of which to accuse my nation.

²⁰For this reason therefore I have called for you, to see you and speak with you, because for the hope of Israel I am bound with this chain.”

²¹Then they said to him, “We neither received letters from Judea concerning you, nor have any of the brethren who came reported or spoken any evil of you.

²²But we desire to hear from you what you think; for concerning this sect, we know that it is spoken against everywhere.”

²³So when they had appointed him a day, many came to him at his lodging, to whom he explained and solemnly testified of the kingdom of God, persuading them concerning Jesus from both the Law of Moses and the Prophets, from morning till evening.

²⁴And some were persuaded by the things which were spoken, and some disbelieved.

²⁵So when they did not agree among themselves, they departed after Paul had said one word: “The Holy Spirit spoke rightly through Isaiah the prophet to our fathers,

²⁶saying, ‘Go to this people and say: “Hearing you will hear, and shall not understand; And seeing you will see, and not perceive;

²⁷For the hearts of this people have grown dull. Their ears are hard of hearing, And their eyes they have closed, Lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, Lest they should understand with their hearts and turn, So that I should heal them.” ’

²⁸“Therefore let it be known to you that the salvation of God has been sent to the Gentiles, and they will hear it!”

²⁹And when he had said these words, the Jews departed and had a great dispute among themselves.

³⁰Then Paul dwelt two whole years in his own rented house, and received all who came to him,

³¹preaching the kingdom of God and teaching the things which concern the Lord Jesus Christ with all confidence, no one forbidding him.