Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

²As it is written in Isaiah the prophet: See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you; he will prepare your way.

³A voice of one crying out in the wilderness: Prepare the way for the Lord; make his paths straight!

⁴John came baptizing in the wilderness and proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.

⁵The whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem were going out to him, and they were baptized by him in the Jordan River, confessing their sins.

⁶John wore a camel-hair garment with a leather belt around his waist and ate locusts and wild honey.

⁷He proclaimed, “One who is more powerful than I am is coming after me. I am not worthy to stoop down and untie the strap of his sandals.

⁸I baptize you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”

⁹In those days Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized in the Jordan by John.

¹⁰As soon as he came up out of the water, he saw the heavens being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove.

¹¹And a voice came from heaven: “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well-pleased.”

¹²Immediately the Spirit drove him into the wilderness.

¹³He was in the wilderness forty days, being tempted by Satan. He was with the wild animals, and the angels were serving him.

¹⁴After John was arrested, Jesus went to Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God:

¹⁵“The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!”

¹⁶As he passed alongside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew, Simon’s brother, casting a net into the sea  — for they were fishermen.

¹⁷“Follow me,” Jesus told them, “and I will make you fish for people.”

¹⁸Immediately they left their nets and followed him.

¹⁹Going on a little farther, he saw James the son of Zebedee and his brother John in a boat putting their nets in order.

²⁰Immediately he called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men and followed him.

²¹They went into Capernaum, and right away he entered the synagogue on the Sabbath and began to teach.

²²They were astonished at his teaching because he was teaching them as one who had authority, and not like the scribes.

²³Just then a man with an unclean spirit was in their synagogue. He cried out,

²⁴“What do you have to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are — the Holy One of God!”

²⁵Jesus rebuked him saying, “Be silent, and come out of him!”

²⁶And the unclean spirit threw him into convulsions, shouted with a loud voice, and came out of him.

²⁷They were all amazed, and so they began to ask each other: “What is this? A new teaching with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey him.”

²⁸At once the news about him spread throughout the entire vicinity of Galilee.

²⁹As soon as they left the synagogue, they went into Simon and Andrew’s house with James and John.

³⁰Simon’s mother-in-law was lying in bed with a fever, and they told him about her at once.

³¹So he went to her, took her by the hand, and raised her up. The fever left her, and she began to serve them.

³²When evening came, after the sun had set, they brought to him all those who were sick and demon-possessed.

³³The whole town was assembled at the door,

³⁴and he healed many who were sick with various diseases and drove out many demons. And he would not permit the demons to speak, because they knew him.

³⁵Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he got up, went out, and made his way to a deserted place; and there he was praying.

³⁶Simon and his companions searched for him,

³⁷and when they found him they said, “Everyone is looking for you.”

³⁸And he said to them, “Let’s go on to the neighboring villages so that I may preach there too. This is why I have come.”

³⁹He went into all of Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and driving out demons.

⁴⁰Then a man with leprosy came to him and, on his knees, begged him: “If you are willing, you can make me clean.”

⁴¹Moved with compassion, Jesus reached out his hand and touched him. “I am willing,” he told him. “Be made clean.”

⁴²Immediately the leprosy left him, and he was made clean.

⁴³Then he sternly warned him and sent him away at once,

⁴⁴telling him, “See that you say nothing to anyone; but go and show yourself to the priest, and offer what Moses commanded for your cleansing, as a testimony to them.”

⁴⁵Yet he went out and began to proclaim it widely and to spread the news, with the result that Jesus could no longer enter a town openly. But he was out in deserted places, and they came to him from everywhere.

¹From there Abraham traveled to the region of the Negev and settled between Kadesh and Shur. While he was staying in Gerar,

²Abraham said about his wife Sarah, “She is my sister.” So King Abimelech of Gerar had Sarah brought to him.

³But God came to Abimelech in a dream by night and said to him, “You are about to die because of the woman you have taken, for she is a married woman.”

⁴Now Abimelech had not approached her, so he said, “Lord, would you destroy a nation even though it is innocent?

⁵Didn’t he himself say to me, ‘She is my sister’? And she herself said, ‘He is my brother.’ I did this with a clear conscience and clean hands.”

⁶Then God said to him in the dream, “Yes, I know that you did this with a clear conscience. I have also kept you from sinning against me. Therefore I have not let you touch her.

⁷Now return the man’s wife, for he is a prophet, and he will pray for you and you will live. But if you do not return her, know that you will certainly die, you and all who are yours.”

⁸Early in the morning Abimelech got up, called all his servants together, and personally told them all these things, and the men were terrified.

⁹Then Abimelech called Abraham in and said to him, “What have you done to us? How did I sin against you that you have brought such enormous guilt on me and on my kingdom? You have done things to me that should never be done.”

¹⁰Abimelech also asked Abraham, “What made you do this?”

¹¹Abraham replied, “I thought, ‘There is absolutely no fear of God in this place. They will kill me because of my wife.’

¹²Besides, she really is my sister, the daughter of my father though not the daughter of my mother, and she became my wife.

¹³So when God had me wander from my father’s house, I said to her: Show your loyalty to me wherever we go and say about me: ‘He’s my brother.’”

¹⁴Then Abimelech took flocks and herds and male and female slaves, gave them to Abraham, and returned his wife Sarah to him.

¹⁵Abimelech said, “Look, my land is before you. Settle wherever you want.”

¹⁶And he said to Sarah, “Look, I am giving your brother one thousand pieces of silver. It is a verification of your honor to all who are with you. You are fully vindicated.”

¹⁷Then Abraham prayed to God, and God healed Abimelech, his wife, and his female slaves so that they could bear children,

¹⁸for the LORD had completely closed all the wombs in Abimelech’s household on account of Sarah, Abraham’s wife.

¹Brothers and sisters, if someone is overtaken in any wrongdoing, you who are spiritual, restore such a person with a gentle spirit, watching out for yourselves so that you also won’t be tempted.

²Carry one another’s burdens; in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.

³For if anyone considers himself to be something when he is nothing, he deceives himself.

⁴Let each person examine his own work, and then he can take pride in himself alone, and not compare himself with someone else.

⁵For each person will have to carry his own load.

⁶Let the one who is taught the word share all his good things with the teacher.

⁷Don’t be deceived: God is not mocked. For whatever a person sows he will also reap,

⁸because the one who sows to his flesh will reap destruction from the flesh, but the one who sows to the Spirit will reap eternal life from the Spirit.

⁹Let us not get tired of doing good, for we will reap at the proper time if we don’t give up.

¹⁰Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us work for the good of all, especially for those who belong to the household of faith.

¹¹Look at what large letters I use as I write to you in my own handwriting.

¹²Those who want to make a good impression in the flesh are the ones who would compel you to be circumcised  — but only to avoid being persecuted for the cross of Christ.

¹³For even the circumcised don’t keep the law themselves, and yet they want you to be circumcised in order to boast about your flesh.

¹⁴But as for me, I will never boast about anything except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. The world has been crucified to me through the cross, and I to the world.

¹⁵For both circumcision and uncircumcision mean nothing; what matters instead is a new creation.

¹⁶May peace come to all those who follow this standard, and mercy even to the Israel of God!

¹⁷From now on, let no one cause me trouble, because I bear on my body the marks of Jesus.

¹⁸Brothers and sisters, the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen.

¹Now the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will depart from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and the teachings of demons,

²through the hypocrisy of liars whose consciences are seared.

³They forbid marriage and demand abstinence from foods that God created to be received with gratitude by those who believe and know the truth.

⁴For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving,

⁵since it is sanctified by the word of God and by prayer.

⁶If you point these things out to the brothers and sisters, you will be a good servant of Christ Jesus, nourished by the words of the faith and the good teaching that you have followed.

⁷But have nothing to do with pointless and silly myths. Rather, train yourself in godliness.

⁸For the training of the body has limited benefit, but godliness is beneficial in every way, since it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come.

⁹This saying is trustworthy and deserves full acceptance.

¹⁰For this reason we labor and strive, because we have put our hope in the living God, who is the Savior of all people, especially of those who believe.

¹¹Command and teach these things.

¹²Don’t let anyone despise your youth, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, and in purity.

¹³Until I come, give your attention to public reading, exhortation, and teaching.

¹⁴Don’t neglect the gift that is in you; it was given to you through prophecy, with the laying on of hands by the council of elders.

¹⁵Practice these things; be committed to them, so that your progress may be evident to all.

¹⁶Pay close attention to your life and your teaching; persevere in these things, for in doing this you will save both yourself and your hearers.

¹Then Job answered:

²Pay close attention to my words; let this be the consolation you offer.

³Bear with me while I speak; then after I have spoken, you may continue mocking.

⁴As for me, is my complaint against a human being? Then why shouldn’t I be impatient?

⁵Look at me and shudder; put your hand over your mouth.

⁶When I think about it, I am terrified and my body trembles in horror.

⁷Why do the wicked continue to live, growing old and becoming powerful?

⁸Their children are established while they are still alive, and their descendants, before their eyes.

⁹Their homes are secure and free of fear; no rod from God strikes them.

¹⁰Their bulls breed without fail; their cows calve and do not miscarry.

¹¹They let their little ones run around like lambs; their children skip about,

¹²singing to the tambourine and lyre and rejoicing at the sound of the flute.

¹³They spend their days in prosperity and go down to Sheol in peace.

¹⁴Yet they say to God, “Leave us alone! We don’t want to know your ways.

¹⁵Who is the Almighty, that we should serve him, and what will we gain by pleading with him?”

¹⁶But their prosperity is not of their own doing. The counsel of the wicked is far from me!

¹⁷How often is the lamp of the wicked put out? Does disaster come on them? Does he apportion destruction in his anger?

¹⁸Are they like straw before the wind, like chaff a storm sweeps away?

¹⁹God reserves a person’s punishment for his children. Let God repay the person himself, so that he may know it.

²⁰Let his own eyes see his demise; let him drink from the Almighty’s wrath!

²¹For what does he care about his family once he is dead, when the number of his months has run out?

²²Can anyone teach God knowledge, since he judges the exalted ones?

²³One person dies in excellent health, completely secure and at ease.

²⁴His body is well fed, and his bones are full of marrow.

²⁵Yet another person dies with a bitter soul, having never tasted prosperity.

²⁶But they both lie in the dust, and worms cover them.

²⁷I know your thoughts very well, the schemes by which you would wrong me.

²⁸For you say, “Where now is the nobleman’s house?” and “Where are the tents the wicked lived in?”

²⁹Have you never consulted those who travel the roads? Don’t you accept their reports?

³⁰Indeed, the evil person is spared from the day of disaster, rescued from the day of wrath.

³¹Who would denounce his behavior to his face? Who would repay him for what he has done?

³²He is carried to the grave, and someone keeps watch over his tomb.

³³The dirt on his grave is sweet to him. Everyone follows behind him, and those who go before him are without number.

³⁴So how can you offer me such futile comfort? Your answers are deceptive.

¹For the choir director: “Do Not Destroy.” A of David. When he fled before Saul into the cave. [1] Be gracious to me, God, be gracious to me, for I take refuge in you. I will seek refuge in the shadow of your wings until danger passes.

²I call to God Most High, to God who fulfills his purpose for me.

³He reaches down from heaven and saves me, challenging the one who tramples me. Selah God sends his faithful love and truth.

⁴I am surrounded by lions; I lie down among devouring lions — people whose teeth are spears and arrows, whose tongues are sharp swords.

⁵God, be exalted above the heavens; let your glory be over the whole earth.

⁶They prepared a net for my steps; I was despondent. They dug a pit ahead of me, but they fell into it! Selah

⁷My heart is confident, God, my heart is confident. I will sing; I will sing praises.

⁸Wake up, my soul! Wake up, harp and lyre! I will wake up the dawn.

⁹I will praise you, Lord, among the peoples; I will sing praises to you among the nations.

¹⁰For your faithful love is as high as the heavens; your faithfulness reaches the clouds.

¹¹God, be exalted above the heavens; let your glory be over the whole earth.

¹A king’s heart is like channeled water in the LORD’s hand: He directs it wherever he chooses.

²All a person’s ways seem right to him, but the LORD weighs hearts.

³Doing what is righteous and just is more acceptable to the LORD than sacrifice.

⁴The lamp that guides the wicked — haughty eyes and an arrogant heart  — is sin.

⁵The plans of the diligent certainly lead to profit, but anyone who is reckless certainly becomes poor.

⁶Making a fortune through a lying tongue is a vanishing mist, a pursuit of death.

⁷The violence of the wicked sweeps them away because they refuse to act justly.

⁸A guilty one’s conduct is crooked, but the behavior of the innocent is upright.

⁹Better to live on the corner of a roof than to share a house with a nagging wife.

¹⁰A wicked person desires evil; he has no consideration for his neighbor.

¹¹When a mocker is punished, the inexperienced become wiser; when one teaches a wise man, he acquires knowledge.

¹²The Righteous One considers the house of the wicked; he brings the wicked to ruin.

¹³The one who shuts his ears to the cry of the poor will himself also call out and not be answered.

¹⁴A secret gift soothes anger, and a covert bribe, fierce rage.

¹⁵Justice executed is a joy to the righteous but a terror to those who practice iniquity.

¹⁶The person who strays from the way of prudence will come to rest in the assembly of the departed spirits.

¹⁷The one who loves pleasure will become poor; whoever loves wine and oil will not get rich.

¹⁸The wicked are a ransom for the righteous, and the treacherous, for the upright.

¹⁹Better to live in a wilderness than with a nagging and hot-tempered wife.

²⁰Precious treasure and oil are in the dwelling of a wise person, but a fool consumes them.

²¹The one who pursues righteousness and faithful love will find life, righteousness, and honor.

²²A wise person went up against a city of warriors and brought down its secure fortress.

²³The one who guards his mouth and tongue keeps himself out of trouble.

²⁴The arrogant and proud person, named “Mocker,” acts with excessive arrogance.

²⁵A slacker’s craving will kill him because his hands refuse to work.

²⁶He is filled with craving all day long, but the righteous give and don’t hold back.

²⁷The sacrifice of a wicked person is detestable — how much more so when he brings it with ulterior motives!

²⁸A lying witness will perish, but the one who listens will speak successfully.

²⁹A wicked person puts on a bold face, but the upright one considers his way.

³⁰No wisdom, no understanding, and no counsel will prevail against the LORD.

³¹A horse is prepared for the day of battle, but victory comes from the LORD.

¹Jotham was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Jerushah daughter of Zadok.

²He did what was right in the LORD’s sight just as his father Uzziah had done. In addition, he didn’t enter the LORD’s sanctuary, but the people still behaved corruptly.

³Jotham built the Upper Gate of the LORD’s temple, and he built extensively on the wall of Ophel.

⁴He also built cities in the hill country of Judah and fortresses and towers in the forests.

⁵He waged war against the king of the Ammonites. He overpowered the Ammonites, and that year they gave him 7,500 pounds of silver, 50,000 bushels of wheat, and 50,000 bushels of barley. They paid him the same in the second and third years.

⁶So Jotham strengthened his position because he did not waver in obeying the LORD his God.

⁷As for the rest of the events of Jotham’s reign, along with all his wars and his ways, note that they are written in the Book of the Kings of Israel and Judah.

⁸He was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem.

⁹Jotham rested with his fathers and was buried in the city of David. His son Ahaz became king in his place.

¹The Lord GOD showed me this: He was forming a swarm of locusts at the time the spring crop first began to sprout — after the cutting of the king’s hay.

²When the locusts finished eating the vegetation of the land, I said, “Lord GOD, please forgive! How will Jacob survive since he is so small?”

³The LORD relented concerning this. “It will not happen,” he said.

⁴The Lord GOD showed me this: The Lord GOD was calling for a judgment by fire. It consumed the great deep and devoured the land.

⁵Then I said, “Lord GOD, please stop! How will Jacob survive since he is so small?”

⁶The LORD relented concerning this. “This will not happen either,” said the Lord GOD.

⁷He showed me this: The Lord was standing there by a vertical wall with a plumb line in his hand.

⁸The LORD asked me, “What do you see, Amos?” I replied, “A plumb line.” Then the Lord said, “I am setting a plumb line among my people Israel; I will no longer spare them:

⁹Isaac’s high places will be deserted, and Israel’s sanctuaries will be in ruins; I will rise up against the house of Jeroboam with a sword.”

¹⁰Amaziah the priest of Bethel sent word to King Jeroboam of Israel, saying, “Amos has conspired against you right here in the house of Israel. The land cannot endure all his words,

¹¹for Amos has said this: ‘Jeroboam will die by the sword, and Israel will certainly go into exile from its homeland.’”

¹²Then Amaziah said to Amos, “Go away, you seer! Flee to the land of Judah. Earn your living and give your prophecies there,

¹³but don’t ever prophesy at Bethel again, for it is the king’s sanctuary and a royal temple.”

¹⁴So Amos answered Amaziah, “I was not a prophet or the son of a prophet; rather, I was a herdsman, and I took care of sycamore figs.

¹⁵But the LORD took me from following the flock and said to me, ‘Go, prophesy to my people Israel.’”

¹⁶Now hear the word of the LORD. You say: Do not prophesy against Israel; do not preach against the house of Isaac.

¹⁷Therefore, this is what the LORD says: Your wife will be a prostitute in the city, your sons and daughters will fall by the sword, and your land will be divided up with a measuring line. You yourself will die on pagan soil, and Israel will certainly go into exile from its homeland.

¹The apostles and the brothers and sisters who were throughout Judea heard that the Gentiles had also received the word of God.

²When Peter went up to Jerusalem, the circumcision party criticized him,

³saying, “You went to uncircumcised men and ate with them.”

⁴Peter began to explain to them step by step:

⁵“I was in the town of Joppa praying, and I saw, in a trance, an object that resembled a large sheet coming down, being lowered by its four corners from heaven, and it came to me.

⁶When I looked closely and considered it, I saw the four-footed animals of the earth, the wild beasts, the reptiles, and the birds of the sky.

⁷I also heard a voice telling me, ‘Get up, Peter; kill and eat.’

⁸“‘No, Lord! ’ I said. ‘For nothing impure or ritually unclean has ever entered my mouth.’

⁹But a voice answered from heaven a second time, ‘What God has made clean, you must not call impure.’

¹⁰“Now this happened three times, and everything was drawn up again into heaven.

¹¹At that very moment, three men who had been sent to me from Caesarea arrived at the house where we were.

¹²The Spirit told me to accompany them with no doubts at all. These six brothers also accompanied me, and we went into the man’s house.

¹³He reported to us how he had seen the angel standing in his house and saying, ‘Send to Joppa, and call for Simon, who is also named Peter.

¹⁴He will speak a message to you by which you and all your household will be saved.’

¹⁵“As I began to speak, the Holy Spirit came down on them, just as on us at the beginning.

¹⁶I remembered the word of the Lord, how he said, ‘John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’

¹⁷If, then, God gave them the same gift that he also gave to us when we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, how could I possibly hinder God?”

¹⁸When they heard this they became silent. And they glorified God, saying, “So then, God has given repentance resulting in life even to the Gentiles.”

¹⁹Now those who had been scattered as a result of the persecution that started because of Stephen made their way as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch, speaking the word to no one except Jews.

²⁰But there were some of them, men from Cyprus and Cyrene, who came to Antioch and began speaking to the Greeks also, proclaiming the good news about the Lord Jesus.

²¹The Lord’s hand was with them, and a large number who believed turned to the Lord.

²²News about them reached the church in Jerusalem, and they sent out Barnabas to travel as far as Antioch.

²³When he arrived and saw the grace of God, he was glad and encouraged all of them to remain true to the Lord with devoted hearts,

²⁴for he was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith. And large numbers of people were added to the Lord.

²⁵Then he went to Tarsus to search for Saul,

²⁶and when he found him he brought him to Antioch. For a whole year they met with the church and taught large numbers. The disciples were first called Christians at Antioch.

²⁷In those days some prophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch.

²⁸One of them, named Agabus, stood up and predicted by the Spirit that there would be a severe famine throughout the Roman world. This took place during the reign of Claudius.

²⁹Each of the disciples, according to his ability, determined to send relief to the brothers and sisters who lived in Judea.

³⁰They did this, sending it to the elders by means of Barnabas and Saul.