Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹When Jesus had finished saying these things, he left Galilee and went into the region of Judea to the other side of the Jordan.

²Large crowds followed him, and he healed them there.

³Some Pharisees came to him to test him. They asked, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any and every reason?”

⁴“Haven’t you read,” he replied, “that at the beginning the Creator ‘made them male and female,’

⁵and said, ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh’?

⁶So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.”

⁷“Why then,” they asked, “did Moses command that a man give his wife a certificate of divorce and send her away?”

⁸Jesus replied, “Moses permitted you to divorce your wives because your hearts were hard. But it was not this way from the beginning.

⁹I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another woman commits adultery.”

¹⁰The disciples said to him, “If this is the situation between a husband and wife, it is better not to marry.”

¹¹Jesus replied, “Not everyone can accept this word, but only those to whom it has been given.

¹²For there are eunuchs who were born that way, and there are eunuchs who have been made eunuchs by others—and there are those who choose to live like eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. The one who can accept this should accept it.”

¹³Then people brought little children to Jesus for him to place his hands on them and pray for them. But the disciples rebuked them.

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

¹⁵When he had placed his hands on them, he went on from there.

¹⁶Just then a man came up to Jesus and asked, “Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?”

¹⁷“Why do you ask me about what is good?” Jesus replied. “There is only One who is good. If you want to enter life, keep the commandments.”

¹⁸“Which ones?” he inquired. Jesus replied, “ ‘You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony,

¹⁹honor your father and mother,’ and ‘love your neighbor as yourself.’”

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

²¹Jesus answered, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”

²²When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth.

²³Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Truly I tell you, it is hard for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of heaven.

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

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

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

²⁷Peter answered him, “We have left everything to follow you! What then will there be for us?”

²⁸Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, at the renewal of all things, when the Son of Man sits on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.

²⁹And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or fields for my sake will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life.

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

¹This is the account of Shem, Ham and Japheth, Noah’s sons, who themselves had sons after the flood.

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

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

⁴The sons of Javan: Elishah, Tarshish, the Kittites and the Rodanites.

⁵(From these the maritime peoples spread out into their territories by their clans within their nations, each with its own language.)

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

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

⁸Cush was the father of Nimrod, who became a mighty warrior on the earth.

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

¹⁰The first centers of his kingdom were Babylon, Uruk, Akkad and Kalneh, in Shinar.

¹¹From that land he went to Assyria, where he built Nineveh, Rehoboth Ir, Calah

¹²and Resen, which is between Nineveh and Calah—which is the great city.

¹³Egypt was the father of the Ludites, Anamites, Lehabites, Naphtuhites,

¹⁴Pathrusites, Kasluhites (from whom the Philistines came) and Caphtorites.

¹⁵Canaan was the father of Sidon his firstborn, and of the Hittites,

¹⁶Jebusites, Amorites, Girgashites,

¹⁷Hivites, Arkites, Sinites,

¹⁸Arvadites, Zemarites and Hamathites. Later the Canaanite clans scattered

¹⁹and the borders of Canaan reached from Sidon toward Gerar as far as Gaza, and then toward Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboyim, as far as Lasha.

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

²¹Sons were also born to Shem, whose older brother was Japheth; Shem was the ancestor of all the sons of Eber.

²²The sons of Shem: Elam, Ashur, Arphaxad, Lud and Aram.

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

²⁴Arphaxad was the father of Shelah, and Shelah the father of Eber.

²⁵Two sons were born to Eber: One was named Peleg, because in his time the earth was divided; his brother was named Joktan.

²⁶Joktan was the father of Almodad, Sheleph, Hazarmaveth, Jerah,

²⁷Hadoram, Uzal, Diklah,

²⁸Obal, Abimael, Sheba,

²⁹Ophir, Havilah and Jobab. All these were sons of Joktan.

³⁰The region where they lived stretched from Mesha toward Sephar, in the eastern hill country.

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

³²These are the clans of Noah’s sons, according to their lines of descent, within their nations. From these the nations spread out over the earth after the flood.

¹There is no need for me to write to you about this service to the Lord’s people.

²For I know your eagerness to help, and I have been boasting about it to the Macedonians, telling them that since last year you in Achaia were ready to give; and your enthusiasm has stirred most of them to action.

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

⁴For if any Macedonians come with me and find you unprepared, we—not to say anything about you—would be ashamed of having been so confident.

⁵So I thought it necessary to urge the brothers to visit you in advance and finish the arrangements for the generous gift you had promised. Then it will be ready as a generous gift, not as one grudgingly given.

⁶Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously.

⁷Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.

⁸And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.

⁹As it is written: “They have freely scattered their gifts to the poor; their righteousness endures forever.”

¹⁰Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness.

¹¹You will be enriched in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.

¹²This service that you perform is not only supplying the needs of the Lord’s people but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God.

¹³Because of the service by which you have proved yourselves, others will praise God for the obedience that accompanies your confession of the gospel of Christ, and for your generosity in sharing with them and with everyone else.

¹⁴And in their prayers for you their hearts will go out to you, because of the surpassing grace God has given you.

¹⁵Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!

¹Then Zophar the Naamathite replied:

²“Are all these words to go unanswered? Is this talker to be vindicated?

³Will your idle talk reduce others to silence? Will no one rebuke you when you mock?

⁴You say to God, ‘My beliefs are flawless and I am pure in your sight.’

⁵Oh, how I wish that God would speak, that he would open his lips against you

⁶and disclose to you the secrets of wisdom, for true wisdom has two sides. Know this: God has even forgotten some of your sin.

⁷“Can you fathom the mysteries of God? Can you probe the limits of the Almighty?

⁸They are higher than the heavens above—what can you do? They are deeper than the depths below—what can you know?

⁹Their measure is longer than the earth and wider than the sea.

¹⁰“If he comes along and confines you in prison and convenes a court, who can oppose him?

¹¹Surely he recognizes deceivers; and when he sees evil, does he not take note?

¹²But the witless can no more become wise than a wild donkey’s colt can be born human.

¹³“Yet if you devote your heart to him and stretch out your hands to him,

¹⁴if you put away the sin that is in your hand and allow no evil to dwell in your tent,

¹⁵then, free of fault, you will lift up your face; you will stand firm and without fear.

¹⁶You will surely forget your trouble, recalling it only as waters gone by.

¹⁷Life will be brighter than noonday, and darkness will become like morning.

¹⁸You will be secure, because there is hope; you will look about you and take your rest in safety.

¹⁹You will lie down, with no one to make you afraid, and many will court your favor.

²⁰But the eyes of the wicked will fail, and escape will elude them; their hope will become a dying gasp.”

¹For the director of music. Of the Sons of Korah. A psalm. Clap your hands, all you nations; shout to God with cries of joy.

²For the LORD Most High is awesome, the great King over all the earth.

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

⁴He chose our inheritance for us, the pride of Jacob, whom he loved.

⁵God has ascended amid shouts of joy, the LORD amid the sounding of trumpets.

⁶Sing praises to God, sing praises; sing praises to our King, sing praises.

⁷For God is the King of all the earth; sing to him a psalm of praise.

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

⁹The nobles of the nations assemble as the people of the God of Abraham, for the kings of the earth belong to God; he is greatly exalted.

¹The LORD detests dishonest scales, but accurate weights find favor with him.

²When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom.

³The integrity of the upright guides them, but the unfaithful are destroyed by their duplicity.

⁴Wealth is worthless in the day of wrath, but righteousness delivers from death.

⁵The righteousness of the blameless makes their paths straight, but the wicked are brought down by their own wickedness.

⁶The righteousness of the upright delivers them, but the unfaithful are trapped by evil desires.

⁷Hopes placed in mortals die with them; all the promise of their power comes to nothing.

⁸The righteous person is rescued from trouble, and it falls on the wicked instead.

⁹With their mouths the godless destroy their neighbors, but through knowledge the righteous escape.

¹⁰When the righteous prosper, the city rejoices; when the wicked perish, there are shouts of joy.

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

¹²Whoever derides their neighbor has no sense, but the one who has understanding holds their tongue.

¹³A gossip betrays a confidence, but a trustworthy person keeps a secret.

¹⁴For lack of guidance a nation falls, but victory is won through many advisers.

¹⁵Whoever puts up security for a stranger will surely suffer, but whoever refuses to shake hands in pledge is safe.

¹⁶A kindhearted woman gains honor, but ruthless men gain only wealth.

¹⁷Those who are kind benefit themselves, but the cruel bring ruin on themselves.

¹⁸A wicked person earns deceptive wages, but the one who sows righteousness reaps a sure reward.

¹⁹Truly the righteous attain life, but whoever pursues evil finds death.

²⁰The LORD detests those whose hearts are perverse, but he delights in those whose ways are blameless.

²¹Be sure of this: The wicked will not go unpunished, but those who are righteous will go free.

²²Like a gold ring in a pig’s snout is a beautiful woman who shows no discretion.

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

²⁴One person gives freely, yet gains even more; another withholds unduly, but comes to poverty.

²⁵A generous person will prosper; whoever refreshes others will be refreshed.

²⁶People curse the one who hoards grain, but they pray God’s blessing on the one who is willing to sell.

²⁷Whoever seeks good finds favor, but evil comes to one who searches for it.

²⁸Those who trust in their riches will fall, but the righteous will thrive like a green leaf.

²⁹Whoever brings ruin on their family will inherit only wind, and the fool will be servant to the wise.

³⁰The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, and the one who is wise saves lives.

³¹If the righteous receive their due on earth, how much more the ungodly and the sinner!

¹Jehoshaphat his son succeeded him as king and strengthened himself against Israel.

²He stationed troops in all the fortified cities of Judah and put garrisons in Judah and in the towns of Ephraim that his father Asa had captured.

³The LORD was with Jehoshaphat because he followed the ways of his father David before him. He did not consult the Baals

⁴but sought the God of his father and followed his commands rather than the practices of Israel.

⁵The LORD established the kingdom under his control; and all Judah brought gifts to Jehoshaphat, so that he had great wealth and honor.

⁶His heart was devoted to the ways of the LORD; furthermore, he removed the high places and the Asherah poles from Judah.

⁷In the third year of his reign he sent his officials Ben-Hail, Obadiah, Zechariah, Nethanel and Micaiah to teach in the towns of Judah.

⁸With them were certain Levites—Shemaiah, Nethaniah, Zebadiah, Asahel, Shemiramoth, Jehonathan, Adonijah, Tobijah and Tob-Adonijah—and the priests Elishama and Jehoram.

⁹They taught throughout Judah, taking with them the Book of the Law of the LORD; they went around to all the towns of Judah and taught the people.

¹⁰The fear of the LORD fell on all the kingdoms of the lands surrounding Judah, so that they did not go to war against Jehoshaphat.

¹¹Some Philistines brought Jehoshaphat gifts and silver as tribute, and the Arabs brought him flocks: seven thousand seven hundred rams and seven thousand seven hundred goats.

¹²Jehoshaphat became more and more powerful; he built forts and store cities in Judah

¹³and had large supplies in the towns of Judah. He also kept experienced fighting men in Jerusalem.

¹⁴Their enrollment by families was as follows: From Judah, commanders of units of 1,000: Adnah the commander, with 300,000 fighting men;

¹⁵next, Jehohanan the commander, with 280,000;

¹⁶next, Amasiah son of Zikri, who volunteered himself for the service of the LORD, with 200,000.

¹⁷From Benjamin: Eliada, a valiant soldier, with 200,000 men armed with bows and shields;

¹⁸next, Jehozabad, with 180,000 men armed for battle.

¹⁹These were the men who served the king, besides those he stationed in the fortified cities throughout Judah.

¹Return, Israel, to the LORD your God. Your sins have been your downfall!

²Take words with you and return to the LORD. Say to him: “Forgive all our sins and receive us graciously, that we may offer the fruit of our lips.

³Assyria cannot save us; we will not mount warhorses. We will never again say ‘Our gods’ to what our own hands have made, for in you the fatherless find compassion.”

⁴“I will heal their waywardness and love them freely, for my anger has turned away from them.

⁵I will be like the dew to Israel; he will blossom like a lily. Like a cedar of Lebanon he will send down his roots;

⁶his young shoots will grow. His splendor will be like an olive tree, his fragrance like a cedar of Lebanon.

⁷People will dwell again in his shade; they will flourish like the grain, they will blossom like the vine— Israel’s fame will be like the wine of Lebanon.

⁸Ephraim, what more have I to do with idols? I will answer him and care for him. I am like a flourishing juniper; your fruitfulness comes from me.”

⁹Who is wise? Let them realize these things. Who is discerning? Let them understand. The ways of the LORD are right; the righteous walk in them, but the rebellious stumble in them.

¹In my former book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to teach

²until the day he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles he had chosen.

³After his suffering, he presented himself to them and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God.

⁴On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about.

⁵For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”

⁶Then they gathered around him and asked him, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?”

⁷He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority.

⁸But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

⁹After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight.

¹⁰They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them.

¹¹“Men of Galilee,” they said, “why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.”

¹²Then the apostles returned to Jerusalem from the hill called the Mount of Olives, a Sabbath day’s walk from the city.

¹³When they arrived, they went upstairs to the room where they were staying. Those present were Peter, John, James and Andrew; Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew; James son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot, and Judas son of James.

¹⁴They all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers.

¹⁵In those days Peter stood up among the believers (a group numbering about a hundred and twenty)

¹⁶and said, “Brothers and sisters, the Scripture had to be fulfilled in which the Holy Spirit spoke long ago through David concerning Judas, who served as guide for those who arrested Jesus.

¹⁷He was one of our number and shared in our ministry.”

¹⁸(With the payment he received for his wickedness, Judas bought a field; there he fell headlong, his body burst open and all his intestines spilled out.

¹⁹Everyone in Jerusalem heard about this, so they called that field in their language Akeldama, that is, Field of Blood.)

²⁰“For,” said Peter, “it is written in the Book of Psalms: “ ‘May his place be deserted; let there be no one to dwell in it,’ and, “ ‘May another take his place of leadership.’

²¹Therefore it is necessary to choose one of the men who have been with us the whole time the Lord Jesus was living among us,

²²beginning from John’s baptism to the time when Jesus was taken up from us. For one of these must become a witness with us of his resurrection.”

²³So they nominated two men: Joseph called Barsabbas (also known as Justus) and Matthias.

²⁴Then they prayed, “Lord, you know everyone’s heart. Show us which of these two you have chosen

²⁵to take over this apostolic ministry, which Judas left to go where he belongs.”

²⁶Then they cast lots, and the lot fell to Matthias; so he was added to the eleven apostles.