Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples,

²“The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses’ seat;

³therefore, do whatever they teach you and follow it; but do not do as they do, for they do not practice what they teach.

⁴They tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on the shoulders of others; but they themselves are unwilling to lift a finger to move them.

⁵They do all their deeds to be seen by others; for they make their phylacteries broad and their fringes long.

⁶They love to have the place of honor at banquets and the best seats in the synagogues,

⁷and to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces, and to have people call them rabbi.

⁸But you are not to be called rabbi, for you have one teacher, and you are all students.

⁹And call no one your father on earth, for you have one Father — the one in heaven.

¹⁰Nor are you to be called instructors, for you have one instructor, the Messiah.

¹¹The greatest among you will be your servant.

¹²All who exalt themselves will be humbled, and all who humble themselves will be exalted.

¹³“But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you lock people out of the kingdom of heaven. For you do not go in yourselves, and when others are going in, you stop them.

¹⁴

¹⁵Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you cross sea and land to make a single convert, and you make the new convert twice as much a child of hell as yourselves.

¹⁶“Woe to you, blind guides, who say, ‘Whoever swears by the sanctuary is bound by nothing, but whoever swears by the gold of the sanctuary is bound by the oath.’

¹⁷You blind fools! For which is greater, the gold or the sanctuary that has made the gold sacred?

¹⁸And you say, ‘Whoever swears by the altar is bound by nothing, but whoever swears by the gift that is on the altar is bound by the oath.’

¹⁹How blind you are! For which is greater, the gift or the altar that makes the gift sacred?

²⁰So whoever swears by the altar, swears by it and by everything on it;

²¹and whoever swears by the sanctuary, swears by it and by the one who dwells in it;

²²and whoever swears by heaven, swears by the throne of God and by the one who is seated upon it.

²³“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint, dill, and cummin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith. It is these you ought to have practiced without neglecting the others.

²⁴You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel!

²⁵“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and of the plate, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence.

²⁶You blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup, so that the outside also may become clean.

²⁷“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs, which on the outside look beautiful, but inside they are full of the bones of the dead and of all kinds of filth.

²⁸So you also on the outside look righteous to others, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.

²⁹“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you build the tombs of the prophets and decorate the graves of the righteous,

³⁰and you say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our ancestors, we would not have taken part with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’

³¹Thus you testify against yourselves that you are descendants of those who murdered the prophets.

³²Fill up, then, the measure of your ancestors.

³³You snakes, you brood of vipers! How can you escape being sentenced to hell?

³⁴Therefore I send you prophets, sages, and scribes, some of whom you will kill and crucify, and some you will flog in your synagogues and pursue from town to town,

³⁵so that upon you may come all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah son of Barachiah, whom you murdered between the sanctuary and the altar.

³⁶Truly I tell you, all this will come upon this generation.

³⁷“Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often have I desired to gather your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing!

³⁸See, your house is left to you, desolate.

³⁹For I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, ‘Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord.’”

¹In the days of King Amraphel of Shinar, King Arioch of Ellasar, King Chedorlaomer of Elam, and King Tidal of Goiim,

²these kings made war with King Bera of Sodom, King Birsha of Gomorrah, King Shinab of Admah, King Shemeber of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar).

³All these joined forces in the Valley of Siddim (that is, the Dead Sea).

⁴Twelve years they had served Chedorlaomer, but in the thirteenth year they rebelled.

⁵In the fourteenth year Chedorlaomer and the kings who were with him came and subdued the Rephaim in Ashteroth-karnaim, the Zuzim in Ham, the Emim in Shaveh-kiriathaim,

⁶and the Horites in the hill country of Seir as far as El-paran on the edge of the wilderness;

⁷then they turned back and came to En-mishpat (that is, Kadesh), and subdued all the country of the Amalekites, and also the Amorites who lived in Hazazon-tamar.

⁸Then the king of Sodom, the king of Gomorrah, the king of Admah, the king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar) went out, and they joined battle in the Valley of Siddim

⁹with King Chedorlaomer of Elam, King Tidal of Goiim, King Amraphel of Shinar, and King Arioch of Ellasar, four kings against five.

¹⁰Now the Valley of Siddim was full of bitumen pits; and as the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, some fell into them, and the rest fled to the hill country.

¹¹So the enemy took all the goods of Sodom and Gomorrah, and all their provisions, and went their way;

¹²they also took Lot, the son of Abram’s brother, who lived in Sodom, and his goods, and departed.

¹³Then one who had escaped came and told Abram the Hebrew, who was living by the oaks of Mamre the Amorite, brother of Eshcol and of Aner; these were allies of Abram.

¹⁴When Abram heard that his nephew had been taken captive, he led forth his trained men, born in his house, three hundred eighteen of them, and went in pursuit as far as Dan.

¹⁵He divided his forces against them by night, he and his servants, and routed them and pursued them to Hobah, north of Damascus.

¹⁶Then he brought back all the goods, and also brought back his nephew Lot with his goods, and the women and the people.

¹⁷After his return from the defeat of Chedorlaomer and the kings who were with him, the king of Sodom went out to meet him at the Valley of Shaveh (that is, the King’s Valley).

¹⁸And King Melchizedek of Salem brought out bread and wine; he was priest of God Most High.

¹⁹He blessed him and said, “Blessed be Abram by God Most High, maker of heaven and earth;

²⁰and blessed be God Most High, who has delivered your enemies into your hand!” And Abram gave him one-tenth of everything.

²¹Then the king of Sodom said to Abram, “Give me the persons, but take the goods for yourself.”

²²But Abram said to the king of Sodom, “I have sworn to the LORD, God Most High, maker of heaven and earth,

²³that I would not take a thread or a sandal-thong or anything that is yours, so that you might not say, ‘I have made Abram rich.’

²⁴I will take nothing but what the young men have eaten, and the share of the men who went with me — Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre. Let them take their share.”

¹This is the third time I am coming to you. “Any charge must be sustained by the evidence of two or three witnesses.”

²I warned those who sinned previously and all the others, and I warn them now while absent, as I did when present on my second visit, that if I come again, I will not be lenient —

³since you desire proof that Christ is speaking in me. He is not weak in dealing with you, but is powerful in you.

⁴For he was crucified in weakness, but lives by the power of God. For we are weak in him, but in dealing with you we will live with him by the power of God.

⁵Examine yourselves to see whether you are living in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not realize that Jesus Christ is in you? — unless, indeed, you fail to meet the test!

⁶I hope you will find out that we have not failed.

⁷But we pray to God that you may not do anything wrong — not that we may appear to have met the test, but that you may do what is right, though we may seem to have failed.

⁸For we cannot do anything against the truth, but only for the truth.

⁹For we rejoice when we are weak and you are strong. This is what we pray for, that you may become perfect.

¹⁰So I write these things while I am away from you, so that when I come, I may not have to be severe in using the authority that the Lord has given me for building up and not for tearing down.

¹¹Finally, brothers and sisters, farewell. Put things in order, listen to my appeal, agree with one another, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you.

¹²Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the saints greet you.

¹³The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with all of you.

¹Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered:

²“Should the wise answer with windy knowledge, and fill themselves with the east wind?

³Should they argue in unprofitable talk, or in words with which they can do no good?

⁴But you are doing away with the fear of God, and hindering meditation before God.

⁵For your iniquity teaches your mouth, and you choose the tongue of the crafty.

⁶Your own mouth condemns you, and not I; your own lips testify against you.

⁷“Are you the firstborn of the human race? Were you brought forth before the hills?

⁸Have you listened in the council of God? And do you limit wisdom to yourself?

⁹What do you know that we do not know? What do you understand that is not clear to us?

¹⁰The gray-haired and the aged are on our side, those older than your father.

¹¹Are the consolations of God too small for you, or the word that deals gently with you?

¹²Why does your heart carry you away, and why do your eyes flash,

¹³so that you turn your spirit against God, and let such words go out of your mouth?

¹⁴What are mortals, that they can be clean? Or those born of woman, that they can be righteous?

¹⁵God puts no trust even in his holy ones, and the heavens are not clean in his sight;

¹⁶how much less one who is abominable and corrupt, one who drinks iniquity like water!

¹⁷“I will show you; listen to me; what I have seen I will declare —

¹⁸what sages have told, and their ancestors have not hidden,

¹⁹to whom alone the land was given, and no stranger passed among them.

²⁰The wicked writhe in pain all their days, through all the years that are laid up for the ruthless.

²¹Terrifying sounds are in their ears; in prosperity the destroyer will come upon them.

²²They despair of returning from darkness, and they are destined for the sword.

²³They wander abroad for bread, saying, ‘Where is it?’ They know that a day of darkness is ready at hand;

²⁴distress and anguish terrify them; they prevail against them, like a king prepared for battle.

²⁵Because they stretched out their hands against God, and bid defiance to the Almighty,

²⁶running stubbornly against him with a thick-bossed shield;

²⁷because they have covered their faces with their fat, and gathered fat upon their loins,

²⁸they will live in desolate cities, in houses that no one should inhabit, houses destined to become heaps of ruins;

²⁹they will not be rich, and their wealth will not endure, nor will they strike root in the earth;

³⁰they will not escape from darkness; the flame will dry up their shoots, and their blossom will be swept away by the wind.

³¹Let them not trust in emptiness, deceiving themselves; for emptiness will be their recompense.

³²It will be paid in full before their time, and their branch will not be green.

³³They will shake off their unripe grape, like the vine, and cast off their blossoms, like the olive tree.

³⁴For the company of the godless is barren, and fire consumes the tents of bribery.

³⁵They conceive mischief and bring forth evil and their heart prepares deceit.”

¹Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions.

²Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin.

³For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me.

⁴Against you, you alone, have I sinned, and done what is evil in your sight, so that you are justified in your sentence and blameless when you pass judgment.

⁵Indeed, I was born guilty, a sinner when my mother conceived me.

⁶You desire truth in the inward being; therefore teach me wisdom in my secret heart.

⁷Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.

⁸Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones that you have crushed rejoice.

⁹Hide your face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities.

¹⁰Create in me a clean heart, O God, and put a new and right spirit within me.

¹¹Do not cast me away from your presence, and do not take your holy spirit from me.

¹²Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and sustain in me a willing spirit.

¹³Then I will teach transgressors your ways, and sinners will return to you.

¹⁴Deliver me from bloodshed, O God, O God of my salvation, and my tongue will sing aloud of your deliverance.

¹⁵O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare your praise.

¹⁶For you have no delight in sacrifice; if I were to give a burnt offering, you would not be pleased.

¹⁷The sacrifice acceptable to God is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.

¹⁸Do good to Zion in your good pleasure; rebuild the walls of Jerusalem,

¹⁹then you will delight in right sacrifices, in burnt offerings and whole burnt offerings; then bulls will be offered on your altar.

¹A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.

²The tongue of the wise dispenses knowledge, but the mouths of fools pour out folly.

³The eyes of the LORD are in every place, keeping watch on the evil and the good.

⁴A gentle tongue is a tree of life, but perverseness in it breaks the spirit.

⁵A fool despises a parent’s instruction, but the one who heeds admonition is prudent.

⁶In the house of the righteous there is much treasure, but trouble befalls the income of the wicked.

⁷The lips of the wise spread knowledge; not so the minds of fools.

⁸The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the LORD, but the prayer of the upright is his delight.

⁹The way of the wicked is an abomination to the LORD, but he loves the one who pursues righteousness.

¹⁰There is severe discipline for one who forsakes the way, but one who hates a rebuke will die.

¹¹Sheol and Abaddon lie open before the LORD, how much more human hearts!

¹²Scoffers do not like to be rebuked; they will not go to the wise.

¹³A glad heart makes a cheerful countenance, but by sorrow of heart the spirit is broken.

¹⁴The mind of one who has understanding seeks knowledge, but the mouths of fools feed on folly.

¹⁵All the days of the poor are hard, but a cheerful heart has a continual feast.

¹⁶Better is a little with the fear of the LORD than great treasure and trouble with it.

¹⁷Better is a dinner of vegetables where love is than a fatted ox and hatred with it.

¹⁸Those who are hot-tempered stir up strife, but those who are slow to anger calm contention.

¹⁹The way of the lazy is overgrown with thorns, but the path of the upright is a level highway.

²⁰A wise child makes a glad father, but the foolish despise their mothers.

²¹Folly is a joy to one who has no sense, but a person of understanding walks straight ahead.

²²Without counsel, plans go wrong, but with many advisers they succeed.

²³To make an apt answer is a joy to anyone, and a word in season, how good it is!

²⁴For the wise the path of life leads upward, in order to avoid Sheol below.

²⁵The LORD tears down the house of the proud, but maintains the widow’s boundaries.

²⁶Evil plans are an abomination to the LORD, but gracious words are pure.

²⁷Those who are greedy for unjust gain make trouble for their households, but those who hate bribes will live.

²⁸The mind of the righteous ponders how to answer, but the mouth of the wicked pours out evil.

²⁹The LORD is far from the wicked, but he hears the prayer of the righteous.

³⁰The light of the eyes rejoices the heart, and good news refreshes the body.

³¹The ear that heeds wholesome admonition will lodge among the wise.

³²Those who ignore instruction despise themselves, but those who heed admonition gain understanding.

³³The fear of the LORD is instruction in wisdom, and humility goes before honor.

¹Jehoshaphat slept with his ancestors and was buried with his ancestors in the city of David; his son Jehoram succeeded him.

²He had brothers, the sons of Jehoshaphat: Azariah, Jehiel, Zechariah, Azariah, Michael, and Shephatiah; all these were the sons of King Jehoshaphat of Judah.

³Their father gave them many gifts, of silver, gold, and valuable possessions, together with fortified cities in Judah; but he gave the kingdom to Jehoram, because he was the firstborn.

⁴When Jehoram had ascended the throne of his father and was established, he put all his brothers to the sword, and also some of the officials of Israel.

⁵Jehoram was thirty-two years old when he began to reign; he reigned eight years in Jerusalem.

⁶He walked in the way of the kings of Israel, as the house of Ahab had done; for the daughter of Ahab was his wife. He did what was evil in the sight of the LORD.

⁷Yet the LORD would not destroy the house of David because of the covenant that he had made with David, and since he had promised to give a lamp to him and to his descendants forever.

⁸In his days Edom revolted against the rule of Judah and set up a king of their own.

⁹Then Jehoram crossed over with his commanders and all his chariots. He set out by night and attacked the Edomites, who had surrounded him and his chariot commanders.

¹⁰So Edom has been in revolt against the rule of Judah to this day. At that time Libnah also revolted against his rule, because he had forsaken the LORD, the God of his ancestors.

¹¹Moreover he made high places in the hill country of Judah, and led the inhabitants of Jerusalem into unfaithfulness, and made Judah go astray.

¹²A letter came to him from the prophet Elijah, saying: “Thus says the LORD, the God of your father David: Because you have not walked in the ways of your father Jehoshaphat or in the ways of King Asa of Judah,

¹³but have walked in the way of the kings of Israel, and have led Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem into unfaithfulness, as the house of Ahab led Israel into unfaithfulness, and because you also have killed your brothers, members of your father’s house, who were better than yourself,

¹⁴see, the LORD will bring a great plague on your people, your children, your wives, and all your possessions,

¹⁵and you yourself will have a severe sickness with a disease of your bowels, until your bowels come out, day after day, because of the disease.”

¹⁶The LORD aroused against Jehoram the anger of the Philistines and of the Arabs who are near the Ethiopians.

¹⁷They came up against Judah, invaded it, and carried away all the possessions they found that belonged to the king’s house, along with his sons and his wives, so that no son was left to him except Jehoahaz, his youngest son.

¹⁸After all this the LORD struck him in his bowels with an incurable disease.

¹⁹In course of time, at the end of two years, his bowels came out because of the disease, and he died in great agony. His people made no fire in his honor, like the fires made for his ancestors.

²⁰He was thirty-two years old when he began to reign; he reigned eight years in Jerusalem. He departed with no one’s regret. They buried him in the city of David, but not in the tombs of the kings.

¹The words of Amos, who was among the shepherds of Tekoa, which he saw concerning Israel in the days of King Uzziah of Judah and in the days of King Jeroboam son of Joash of Israel, two years before the earthquake.

²And he said: The LORD roars from Zion, and utters his voice from Jerusalem; the pastures of the shepherds wither, and the top of Carmel dries up.

³Thus says the LORD: For three transgressions of Damascus, and for four, I will not revoke the punishment; because they have threshed Gilead with threshing sledges of iron.

⁴So I will send a fire on the house of Hazael, and it shall devour the strongholds of Ben-hadad.

⁵I will break the gate bars of Damascus, and cut off the inhabitants from the Valley of Aven, and the one who holds the scepter from Beth-eden; and the people of Aram shall go into exile to Kir, — says the LORD.

⁶Thus says the LORD: For three transgressions of Gaza, and for four, I will not revoke the punishment; because they carried into exile entire communities, to hand them over to Edom.

⁷So I will send a fire on the wall of Gaza, fire that shall devour its strongholds.

⁸I will cut off the inhabitants from Ashdod, and the one who holds the scepter from Ashkelon; I will turn my hand against Ekron, and the remnant of the Philistines shall perish, — says the Lord GOD.

⁹Thus says the LORD: For three transgressions of Tyre, and for four, I will not revoke the punishment; because they delivered entire communities over to Edom, and did not remember the covenant of kinship.

¹⁰So I will send a fire on the wall of Tyre, fire that shall devour its strongholds.

¹¹Thus says the LORD: For three transgressions of Edom, and for four, I will not revoke the punishment; because he pursued his brother with the sword and cast off all pity; he maintained his anger perpetually, and kept his wrath forever.

¹²So I will send a fire on Teman, and it shall devour the strongholds of Bozrah.

¹³Thus says the LORD: For three transgressions of the Ammonites, and for four, I will not revoke the punishment; because they have ripped open pregnant women in Gilead in order to enlarge their territory.

¹⁴So I will kindle a fire against the wall of Rabbah, fire that shall devour its strongholds, with shouting on the day of battle, with a storm on the day of the whirlwind;

¹⁵then their king shall go into exile, he and his officials together, — says the LORD.

¹But a man named Ananias, with the consent of his wife Sapphira, sold a piece of property;

²with his wife’s knowledge, he kept back some of the proceeds, and brought only a part and laid it at the apostles’ feet.

³“Ananias,” Peter asked, “why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back part of the proceeds of the land?

⁴While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, were not the proceeds at your disposal? How is it that you have contrived this deed in your heart? You did not lie to us but to God!”

⁵Now when Ananias heard these words, he fell down and died. And great fear seized all who heard of it.

⁶The young men came and wrapped up his body, then carried him out and buried him.

⁷After an interval of about three hours his wife came in, not knowing what had happened.

⁸Peter said to her, “Tell me whether you and your husband sold the land for such and such a price.” And she said, “Yes, that was the price.”

⁹Then Peter said to her, “How is it that you have agreed together to put the Spirit of the Lord to the test? Look, the feet of those who have buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out.”

¹⁰Immediately she fell down at his feet and died. When the young men came in they found her dead, so they carried her out and buried her beside her husband.

¹¹And great fear seized the whole church and all who heard of these things.

¹²Now many signs and wonders were done among the people through the apostles. And they were all together in Solomon’s Portico.

¹³None of the rest dared to join them, but the people held them in high esteem.

¹⁴Yet more than ever believers were added to the Lord, great numbers of both men and women,

¹⁵so that they even carried out the sick into the streets, and laid them on cots and mats, in order that Peter’s shadow might fall on some of them as he came by.

¹⁶A great number of people would also gather from the towns around Jerusalem, bringing the sick and those tormented by unclean spirits, and they were all cured.

¹⁷Then the high priest took action; he and all who were with him (that is, the sect of the Sadducees), being filled with jealousy,

¹⁸arrested the apostles and put them in the public prison.

¹⁹But during the night an angel of the Lord opened the prison doors, brought them out, and said,

²⁰“Go, stand in the temple and tell the people the whole message about this life.”

²¹When they heard this, they entered the temple at daybreak and went on with their teaching. When the high priest and those with him arrived, they called together the council and the whole body of the elders of Israel, and sent to the prison to have them brought.

²²But when the temple police went there, they did not find them in the prison; so they returned and reported,

²³“We found the prison securely locked and the guards standing at the doors, but when we opened them, we found no one inside.”

²⁴Now when the captain of the temple and the chief priests heard these words, they were perplexed about them, wondering what might be going on.

²⁵Then someone arrived and announced, “Look, the men whom you put in prison are standing in the temple and teaching the people!”

²⁶Then the captain went with the temple police and brought them, but without violence, for they were afraid of being stoned by the people.

²⁷When they had brought them, they had them stand before the council. The high priest questioned them,

²⁸saying, “We gave you strict orders not to teach in this name, yet here you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and you are determined to bring this man’s blood on us.”

²⁹But Peter and the apostles answered, “We must obey God rather than any human authority.

³⁰The God of our ancestors raised up Jesus, whom you had killed by hanging him on a tree.

³¹God exalted him at his right hand as Leader and Savior that he might give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins.

³²And we are witnesses to these things, and so is the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey him.”

³³When they heard this, they were enraged and wanted to kill them.

³⁴But a Pharisee in the council named Gamaliel, a teacher of the law, respected by all the people, stood up and ordered the men to be put outside for a short time.

³⁵Then he said to them, “Fellow Israelites, consider carefully what you propose to do to these men.

³⁶For some time ago Theudas rose up, claiming to be somebody, and a number of men, about four hundred, joined him; but he was killed, and all who followed him were dispersed and disappeared.

³⁷After him Judas the Galilean rose up at the time of the census and got people to follow him; he also perished, and all who followed him were scattered.

³⁸So in the present case, I tell you, keep away from these men and let them alone; because if this plan or this undertaking is of human origin, it will fail;

³⁹but if it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow them — in that case you may even be found fighting against God!” They were convinced by him,

⁴⁰and when they had called in the apostles, they had them flogged. Then they ordered them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go.

⁴¹As they left the council, they rejoiced that they were considered worthy to suffer dishonor for the sake of the name.

⁴²And every day in the temple and at home they did not cease to teach and proclaim Jesus as the Messiah.