Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹Now when Jesus had finished these sayings, he went away from Galilee and entered the region of Judea beyond the Jordan.

²And large crowds followed him, and he healed them there.

³And Pharisees came up to him and tested him by asking, “Is it lawful to divorce one's wife for any cause?”

⁴He answered, “Have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female,

⁵and said, ‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’?

⁶So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.”

⁷They said to him, “Why then did Moses command one to give a certificate of divorce and to send her away?”

⁸He said to them, “Because of your hardness of heart Moses allowed you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so.

⁹ And I say to you: whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery.”

¹⁰The disciples said to him, “If such is the case of a man with his wife, it is better not to marry.”

¹¹But he said to them, “Not everyone can receive this saying, but only those to whom it is given.

¹²For there are eunuchs who have been so from birth, and there are eunuchs who have been made eunuchs by men, and there are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. Let the one who is able to receive this receive it.”

¹³Then children were brought to him that he might lay his hands on them and pray. The disciples rebuked the people,

¹⁴but Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven.”

¹⁵And he laid his hands on them and went away.

¹⁶And behold, a man came up to him, saying, “Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life?”

¹⁷And he said to him, “Why do you ask me about what is good? There is only one who is good. If you would enter life, keep the commandments.”

¹⁸He said to him, “Which ones?” And Jesus said, “You shall not murder, You shall not commit adultery, You shall not steal, You shall not bear false witness,

¹⁹Honor your father and mother, and, You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

²⁰The young man said to him, “All these I have kept. What do I still lack?”

²¹Jesus said to him, “If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.”

²²When the young man heard this he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.

²³And Jesus said to his disciples, “Truly, I say to you, only with difficulty will a rich person enter the kingdom of heaven.

²⁴ Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.”

²⁵When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished, saying, “Who then can be saved?”

²⁶But Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

²⁷Then Peter said in reply, “See, we have left everything and followed you. What then will we have?”

²⁸Jesus said to them, “Truly, I say to you, in the new world, when the Son of Man will sit on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.

²⁹ And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands, for my name's sake, will receive a hundredfold and will inherit eternal life.

³⁰But many who are first will be last, and the last first.

¹These are the generations of the sons of Noah, Shem, Ham, and Japheth. Sons were born to them after the flood.

²The sons of Japheth: Gomer, Magog, Madai, Javan, Tubal, Meshech, and Tiras.

³The sons of Gomer: Ashkenaz, Riphath, and Togarmah.

⁴The sons of Javan: Elishah, Tarshish, Kittim, and Dodanim.

⁵From these the coastland peoples spread in their lands, each with his own language, by their clans, in their nations.

⁶The sons of Ham: Cush, Egypt, Put, and Canaan.

⁷The sons of Cush: Seba, Havilah, Sabtah, Raamah, and Sabteca. The sons of Raamah: Sheba and Dedan.

⁸Cush fathered Nimrod; he was the first on earth to be a mighty man.

⁹He was a mighty hunter before the LORD. Therefore it is said, “Like Nimrod a mighty hunter before the LORD.”

¹⁰The beginning of his kingdom was Babel, Erech, Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar.

¹¹From that land he went into Assyria and built Nineveh, Rehoboth-Ir, Calah, and

¹²Resen between Nineveh and Calah; that is the great city.

¹³Egypt fathered Ludim, Anamim, Lehabim, Naphtuhim,

¹⁴Pathrusim, Casluhim (from whom the Philistines came), and Caphtorim.

¹⁵Canaan fathered Sidon his firstborn and Heth,

¹⁶and the Jebusites, the Amorites, the Girgashites,

¹⁷the Hivites, the Arkites, the Sinites,

¹⁸the Arvadites, the Zemarites, and the Hamathites. Afterward the clans of the Canaanites dispersed.

¹⁹And the territory of the Canaanites extended from Sidon in the direction of Gerar as far as Gaza, and in the direction of Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboiim, as far as Lasha.

²⁰These are the sons of Ham, by their clans, their languages, their lands, and their nations.

²¹To Shem also, the father of all the children of Eber, the elder brother of Japheth, children were born.

²²The sons of Shem: Elam, Asshur, Arpachshad, Lud, and Aram.

²³The sons of Aram: Uz, Hul, Gether, and Mash.

²⁴Arpachshad fathered Shelah; and Shelah fathered Eber.

²⁵To Eber were born two sons: the name of the one was Peleg, for in his days the earth was divided, and his brother's name was Joktan.

²⁶Joktan fathered Almodad, Sheleph, Hazarmaveth, Jerah,

²⁷Hadoram, Uzal, Diklah,

²⁸Obal, Abimael, Sheba,

²⁹Ophir, Havilah, and Jobab; all these were the sons of Joktan.

³⁰The territory in which they lived extended from Mesha in the direction of Sephar to the hill country of the east.

³¹These are the sons of Shem, by their clans, their languages, their lands, and their nations.

³²These are the clans of the sons of Noah, according to their genealogies, in their nations, and from these the nations spread abroad on the earth after the flood.

¹Now it is superfluous for me to write to you about the ministry for the saints,

²for I know your readiness, of which I boast about you to the people of Macedonia, saying that Achaia has been ready since last year. And your zeal has stirred up most of them.

³But I am sending the brothers so that our boasting about you may not prove empty in this matter, so that you may be ready, as I said you would be.

⁴Otherwise, if some Macedonians come with me and find that you are not ready, we would be humiliated — to say nothing of you — for being so confident.

⁵So I thought it necessary to urge the brothers to go on ahead to you and arrange in advance for the gift you have promised, so that it may be ready as a willing gift, not as an exaction.

⁶The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.

⁷Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.

⁸And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work.

⁹As it is written, “He has distributed freely, he has given to the poor; his righteousness endures forever.”

¹⁰He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness.

¹¹You will be enriched in every way to be generous in every way, which through us will produce thanksgiving to God.

¹²For the ministry of this service is not only supplying the needs of the saints but is also overflowing in many thanksgivings to God.

¹³By their approval of this service, they will glorify God because of your submission that comes from your confession of the gospel of Christ, and the generosity of your contribution for them and for all others,

¹⁴while they long for you and pray for you, because of the surpassing grace of God upon you.

¹⁵Thanks be to God for his inexpressible gift!

¹Then Zophar the Naamathite answered and said:

²“Should a multitude of words go unanswered, and a man full of talk be judged right?

³Should your babble silence men, and when you mock, shall no one shame you?

⁴For you say, ‘My doctrine is pure, and I am clean in God's eyes.’

⁵But oh, that God would speak and open his lips to you,

⁶and that he would tell you the secrets of wisdom! For he is manifold in understanding. Know then that God exacts of you less than your guilt deserves.

⁷“Can you find out the deep things of God? Can you find out the limit of the Almighty?

⁸It is higher than heaven — what can you do? Deeper than Sheol — what can you know?

⁹Its measure is longer than the earth and broader than the sea.

¹⁰If he passes through and imprisons and summons the court, who can turn him back?

¹¹For he knows worthless men; when he sees iniquity, will he not consider it?

¹²But a stupid man will get understanding when a wild donkey's colt is born a man!

¹³“If you prepare your heart, you will stretch out your hands toward him.

¹⁴If iniquity is in your hand, put it far away, and let not injustice dwell in your tents.

¹⁵Surely then you will lift up your face without blemish; you will be secure and will not fear.

¹⁶You will forget your misery; you will remember it as waters that have passed away.

¹⁷And your life will be brighter than the noonday; its darkness will be like the morning.

¹⁸And you will feel secure, because there is hope; you will look around and take your rest in security.

¹⁹You will lie down, and none will make you afraid; many will court your favor.

²⁰But the eyes of the wicked will fail; all way of escape will be lost to them, and their hope is to breathe their last.”

¹Clap your hands, all peoples! Shout to God with loud songs of joy!

²For the LORD, the Most High, is to be feared, a great king over all the earth.

³He subdued peoples under us, and nations under our feet.

⁴He chose our heritage for us, the pride of Jacob whom he loves. Selah

⁵God has gone up with a shout, the LORD with the sound of a trumpet.

⁶Sing praises to God, sing praises! Sing praises to our King, sing praises!

⁷For God is the King of all the earth; sing praises with a psalm!

⁸God reigns over the nations; God sits on his holy throne.

⁹The princes of the peoples gather as the people of the God of Abraham. For the shields of the earth belong to God; he is highly exalted!

¹A false balance is an abomination to the LORD, but a just weight is his delight.

²When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with the humble is wisdom.

³The integrity of the upright guides them, but the crookedness of the treacherous destroys them.

⁴Riches do not profit in the day of wrath, but righteousness delivers from death.

⁵The righteousness of the blameless keeps his way straight, but the wicked falls by his own wickedness.

⁶The righteousness of the upright delivers them, but the treacherous are taken captive by their lust.

⁷When the wicked dies, his hope will perish, and the expectation of wealth perishes too.

⁸The righteous is delivered from trouble, and the wicked walks into it instead.

⁹With his mouth the godless man would destroy his neighbor, but by knowledge the righteous are delivered.

¹⁰When it goes well with the righteous, the city rejoices, and when the wicked perish there are shouts of gladness.

¹¹By the blessing of the upright a city is exalted, but by the mouth of the wicked it is overthrown.

¹²Whoever belittles his neighbor lacks sense, but a man of understanding remains silent.

¹³Whoever goes about slandering reveals secrets, but he who is trustworthy in spirit keeps a thing covered.

¹⁴Where there is no guidance, a people falls, but in an abundance of counselors there is safety.

¹⁵Whoever puts up security for a stranger will surely suffer harm, but he who hates striking hands in pledge is secure.

¹⁶A gracious woman gets honor, and violent men get riches.

¹⁷A man who is kind benefits himself, but a cruel man hurts himself.

¹⁸The wicked earns deceptive wages, but one who sows righteousness gets a sure reward.

¹⁹Whoever is steadfast in righteousness will live, but he who pursues evil will die.

²⁰Those of crooked heart are an abomination to the LORD, but those of blameless ways are his delight.

²¹Be assured, an evil person will not go unpunished, but the offspring of the righteous will be delivered.

²²Like a gold ring in a pig's snout is a beautiful woman without discretion.

²³The desire of the righteous ends only in good, the expectation of the wicked in wrath.

²⁴One gives freely, yet grows all the richer; another withholds what he should give, and only suffers want.

²⁵Whoever brings blessing will be enriched, and one who waters will himself be watered.

²⁶The people curse him who holds back grain, but a blessing is on the head of him who sells it.

²⁷Whoever diligently seeks good seeks favor, but evil comes to him who searches for it.

²⁸Whoever trusts in his riches will fall, but the righteous will flourish like a green leaf.

²⁹Whoever troubles his own household will inherit the wind, and the fool will be servant to the wise of heart.

³⁰The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, and whoever captures souls is wise.

³¹If the righteous is repaid on earth, how much more the wicked and the sinner!

¹Jehoshaphat his son reigned in his place and strengthened himself against Israel.

²He placed forces in all the fortified cities of Judah and set garrisons in the land of Judah, and in the cities of Ephraim that Asa his father had captured.

³The LORD was with Jehoshaphat, because he walked in the earlier ways of his father David. He did not seek the Baals,

⁴but sought the God of his father and walked in his commandments, and not according to the practices of Israel.

⁵Therefore the LORD established the kingdom in his hand. And all Judah brought tribute to Jehoshaphat, and he had great riches and honor.

⁶His heart was courageous in the ways of the LORD. And furthermore, he took the high places and the Asherim out of Judah.

⁷In the third year of his reign he sent his officials, Ben-hail, Obadiah, Zechariah, Nethanel, and Micaiah, to teach in the cities of Judah;

⁸and with them the Levites, Shemaiah, Nethaniah, Zebadiah, Asahel, Shemiramoth, Jehonathan, Adonijah, Tobijah, and Tobadonijah; and with these Levites, the priests Elishama and Jehoram.

⁹And they taught in Judah, having the Book of the Law of the LORD with them. They went about through all the cities of Judah and taught among the people.

¹⁰And the fear of the LORD fell upon all the kingdoms of the lands that were around Judah, and they made no war against Jehoshaphat.

¹¹Some of the Philistines brought Jehoshaphat presents and silver for tribute, and the Arabians also brought him 7,700 rams and 7,700 goats.

¹²And Jehoshaphat grew steadily greater. He built in Judah fortresses and store cities,

¹³and he had large supplies in the cities of Judah. He had soldiers, mighty men of valor, in Jerusalem.

¹⁴This was the muster of them by fathers' houses: Of Judah, the commanders of thousands: Adnah the commander, with 300,000 mighty men of valor;

¹⁵and next to him Jehohanan the commander, with 280,000;

¹⁶and next to him Amasiah the son of Zichri, a volunteer for the service of the LORD, with 200,000 mighty men of valor.

¹⁷Of Benjamin: Eliada, a mighty man of valor, with 200,000 men armed with bow and shield;

¹⁸and next to him Jehozabad with 180,000 armed for war.

¹⁹These were in the service of the king, besides those whom the king had placed in the fortified cities throughout all Judah.

¹Return, O Israel, to the LORD your God, for you have stumbled because of your iniquity.

²Take with you words and return to the LORD; say to him, “Take away all iniquity; accept what is good, and we will pay with bulls the vows of our lips.

³Assyria shall not save us; we will not ride on horses; and we will say no more, ‘Our God,’ to the work of our hands. In you the orphan finds mercy.”

⁴I will heal their apostasy; I will love them freely, for my anger has turned from them.

⁵I will be like the dew to Israel; he shall blossom like the lily; he shall take root like the trees of Lebanon;

⁶his shoots shall spread out; his beauty shall be like the olive, and his fragrance like Lebanon.

⁷They shall return and dwell beneath my shadow; they shall flourish like the grain; they shall blossom like the vine; their fame shall be like the wine of Lebanon.

⁸O Ephraim, what have I to do with idols? It is I who answer and look after you. I am like an evergreen cypress; from me comes your fruit.

⁹Whoever is wise, let him understand these things; whoever is discerning, let him know them; for the ways of the LORD are right, and the upright walk in them, but transgressors stumble in them.

¹In the first book, O Theophilus, I have dealt with all that Jesus began to do and teach,

²until the day when he was taken up, after he had given commands through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen.

³He presented himself alive to them after his suffering by many proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God.

⁴And while staying with them he ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which, he said, “you heard from me;

⁵for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”

⁶So when they had come together, they asked him, “Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?”

⁷He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority.

⁸But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

⁹And when he had said these things, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight.

¹⁰And while they were gazing into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes,

¹¹and said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.”

¹²Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a Sabbath day's journey away.

¹³And when they had entered, they went up to the upper room, where they were staying, Peter and John and James and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot and Judas the son of James.

¹⁴All these with one accord were devoting themselves to prayer, together with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and his brothers.

¹⁵In those days Peter stood up among the brothers (the company of persons was in all about 120) and said,

¹⁶“Brothers, the Scripture had to be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit spoke beforehand by the mouth of David concerning Judas, who became a guide to those who arrested Jesus.

¹⁷For he was numbered among us and was allotted his share in this ministry.”

¹⁸(Now this man acquired a field with the reward of his wickedness, and falling headlong he burst open in the middle and all his bowels gushed out.

¹⁹And it became known to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that the field was called in their own language Akeldama, that is, Field of Blood.)

²⁰“For it is written in the Book of Psalms, “‘May his camp become desolate, and let there be no one to dwell in it’; and “‘Let another take his office.’

²¹So one of the men who have accompanied us during all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us,

²²beginning from the baptism of John until the day when he was taken up from us — one of these men must become with us a witness to his resurrection.”

²³And they put forward two, Joseph called Barsabbas, who was also called Justus, and Matthias.

²⁴And they prayed and said, “You, Lord, who know the hearts of all, show which one of these two you have chosen

²⁵to take the place in this ministry and apostleship from which Judas turned aside to go to his own place.”

²⁶And they cast lots for them, and the lot fell on Matthias, and he was numbered with the eleven apostles.