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, “Behold, I send my messenger before your face, who will prepare your way,

³the voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight,’”

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

⁵And all the country of Judea and all Jerusalem were going out to him and were being baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins.

⁶Now John was clothed with camel's hair and wore a leather belt around his waist and ate locusts and wild honey.

⁷And he preached, saying, “After me comes he who is mightier than I, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie.

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

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

¹⁰And when he came up out of the water, immediately 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.”

¹²The Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness.

¹³And he was in the wilderness forty days, being tempted by Satan. And he was with the wild animals, and the angels were ministering to him.

¹⁴Now after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God,

¹⁵and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”

¹⁶Passing alongside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew the brother of Simon casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen.

¹⁷And Jesus said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you become fishers of men.”

¹⁸And immediately they left their nets and followed him.

¹⁹And going on a little farther, he saw James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, who were in their boat mending the nets.

²⁰And immediately he called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants and followed him.

²¹And they went into Capernaum, and immediately on the Sabbath he entered the synagogue and was teaching.

²²And they were astonished at his teaching, for he taught them as one who had authority, and not as the scribes.

²³And immediately there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit. And he cried out,

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

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

²⁶And the unclean spirit, convulsing him and crying out with a loud voice, came out of him.

²⁷And they were all amazed, so that they questioned among themselves, saying, “What is this? A new teaching with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey him.”

²⁸And at once his fame spread everywhere throughout all the surrounding region of Galilee.

²⁹And immediately he left the synagogue and entered the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John.

³⁰Now Simon's mother-in-law lay ill with a fever, and immediately they told him about her.

³¹And he came and took her by the hand and lifted her up, and the fever left her, and she began to serve them.

³²That evening at sundown they brought to him all who were sick or oppressed by demons.

³³And the whole city was gathered together at the door.

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

³⁵And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed.

³⁶And Simon and those who were with him searched for him,

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

³⁸And he said to them, “Let us go on to the next towns, that I may preach there also, for that is why I came out.”

³⁹And he went throughout all Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and casting out demons.

⁴⁰And a leper came to him, imploring him, and kneeling said to him, “If you will, you can make me clean.”

⁴¹Moved with pity, he stretched out his hand and touched him and said to him, “I will; be clean.”

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

⁴³And Jesus sternly charged him and sent him away at once,

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

⁴⁵But he went out and began to talk freely about it, and to spread the news, so that Jesus could no longer openly enter a town, but was out in desolate places, and people were coming to him from every quarter.

¹From there Abraham journeyed toward the territory of the Negeb and lived between Kadesh and Shur; and he sojourned in Gerar.

²And Abraham said of Sarah his wife, “She is my sister.” And Abimelech king of Gerar sent and took Sarah.

³But God came to Abimelech in a dream by night and said to him, “Behold, you are a dead man because of the woman whom you have taken, for she is a man's wife.”

⁴Now Abimelech had not approached her. So he said, “Lord, will you kill an innocent people?

⁵Did he not himself say to me, ‘She is my sister’? And she herself said, ‘He is my brother.’ In the integrity of my heart and the innocence of my hands I have done this.”

⁶Then God said to him in the dream, “Yes, I know that you have done this in the integrity of your heart, and it was I who kept you from sinning against me. Therefore I did not let you touch her.

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

⁸So Abimelech rose early in the morning and called all his servants and told them all these things. And the men were very much afraid.

⁹Then Abimelech called Abraham and said to him, “What have you done to us? And how have I sinned against you, that you have brought on me and my kingdom a great sin? You have done to me things that ought not to be done.”

¹⁰And Abimelech said to Abraham, “What did you see, that you did this thing?”

¹¹Abraham said, “I did it because I thought, ‘There is no fear of God at all in this place, and they will kill me because of my wife.’

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

¹³And when God caused me to wander from my father's house, I said to her, ‘This is the kindness you must do me: at every place to which we come, say of me, “He is my brother.”’”

¹⁴Then Abimelech took sheep and oxen, and male servants and female servants, and gave them to Abraham, and returned Sarah his wife to him.

¹⁵And Abimelech said, “Behold, my land is before you; dwell where it pleases you.”

¹⁶To Sarah he said, “Behold, I have given your brother a thousand pieces of silver. It is a sign of your innocence in the eyes of all who are with you, and before everyone you are vindicated.”

¹⁷Then Abraham prayed to God, and God healed Abimelech, and also healed his wife and female slaves so that they bore children.

¹⁸For the LORD had closed all the wombs of the house of Abimelech because of Sarah, Abraham's wife.

¹Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted.

²Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.

³For if anyone thinks he is something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself.

⁴But let each one test his own work, and then his reason to boast will be in himself alone and not in his neighbor.

⁵For each will have to bear his own load.

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

⁷Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap.

⁸For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life.

⁹And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.

¹⁰So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith.

¹¹See with what large letters I am writing to you with my own hand.

¹²It is those who want to make a good showing in the flesh who would force you to be circumcised, and only in order that they may not be persecuted for the cross of Christ.

¹³For even those who are circumcised do not themselves keep the law, but they desire to have you circumcised that they may boast in your flesh.

¹⁴But far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.

¹⁵For neither circumcision counts for anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creation.

¹⁶And as for all who walk by this rule, peace and mercy be upon them, and upon the Israel of God.

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

¹⁸The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit, brothers. Amen.

¹Now the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons,

²through the insincerity of liars whose consciences are seared,

³who forbid marriage and require abstinence from foods that God created to be received with thanksgiving 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,

⁵for it is made holy by the word of God and prayer.

⁶If you put these things before the brothers, you will be a good servant of Christ Jesus, being trained in the words of the faith and of the good doctrine that you have followed.

⁷Have nothing to do with irreverent, silly myths. Rather train yourself for godliness;

⁸for while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come.

⁹The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance.

¹⁰For to this end we toil and strive, because we have our hope set on the living God, who is the Savior of all people, especially of those who believe.

¹¹Command and teach these things.

¹²Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity.

¹³Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation, to teaching.

¹⁴Do not neglect the gift you have, which was given you by prophecy when the council of elders laid their hands on you.

¹⁵Practice these things, immerse yourself in them, so that all may see your progress.

¹⁶Keep a close watch on yourself and on the teaching. Persist in this, for by so doing you will save both yourself and your hearers.

¹Then Job answered and said:

²“Keep listening to my words, and let this be your comfort.

³Bear with me, and I will speak, and after I have spoken, mock on.

⁴As for me, is my complaint against man? Why should I not be impatient?

⁵Look at me and be appalled, and lay your hand over your mouth.

⁶When I remember, I am dismayed, and shuddering seizes my flesh.

⁷Why do the wicked live, reach old age, and grow mighty in power?

⁸Their offspring are established in their presence, and their descendants before their eyes.

⁹Their houses are safe from fear, and no rod of God is upon them.

¹⁰Their bull breeds without fail; their cow calves and does not miscarry.

¹¹They send out their little boys like a flock, and their children dance.

¹²They sing to the tambourine and the lyre and rejoice to the sound of the pipe.

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

¹⁴They say to God, ‘Depart from us! We do not desire the knowledge of your ways.

¹⁵What is the Almighty, that we should serve him? And what profit do we get if we pray to him?’

¹⁶Behold, is not their prosperity in their hand? The counsel of the wicked is far from me.

¹⁷“How often is it that the lamp of the wicked is put out? That their calamity comes upon them? That God distributes pains in his anger?

¹⁸That they are like straw before the wind, and like chaff that the storm carries away?

¹⁹You say, ‘God stores up their iniquity for their children.’ Let him pay it out to them, that they may know it.

²⁰Let their own eyes see their destruction, and let them drink of the wrath of the Almighty.

²¹For what do they care for their houses after them, when the number of their months is cut off?

²²Will any teach God knowledge, seeing that he judges those who are on high?

²³One dies in his full vigor, being wholly at ease and secure,

²⁴his pails full of milk and the marrow of his bones moist.

²⁵Another dies in bitterness of soul, never having tasted of prosperity.

²⁶They lie down alike in the dust, and the worms cover them.

²⁷“Behold, I know your thoughts and your schemes to wrong me.

²⁸For you say, ‘Where is the house of the prince? Where is the tent in which the wicked lived?’

²⁹Have you not asked those who travel the roads, and do you not accept their testimony

³⁰that the evil man is spared in the day of calamity, that he is rescued in the day of wrath?

³¹Who declares his way to his face, and who repays him for what he has done?

³²When he is carried to the grave, watch is kept over his tomb.

³³The clods of the valley are sweet to him; all mankind follows after him, and those who go before him are innumerable.

³⁴How then will you comfort me with empty nothings? There is nothing left of your answers but falsehood.”

¹Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful to me, for in you my soul takes refuge; in the shadow of your wings I will take refuge, till the storms of destruction pass by.

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

³He will send from heaven and save me; he will put to shame him who tramples on me. Selah God will send out his steadfast love and his faithfulness!

⁴My soul is in the midst of lions; I lie down amid fiery beasts — the children of man, whose teeth are spears and arrows, whose tongues are sharp swords.

⁵Be exalted, O God, above the heavens! Let your glory be over all the earth!

⁶They set a net for my steps; my soul was bowed down. They dug a pit in my way, but they have fallen into it themselves. Selah

⁷My heart is steadfast, O God, my heart is steadfast! I will sing and make melody!

⁸Awake, my glory! Awake, O harp and lyre! I will awake the dawn!

⁹I will give thanks to you, O Lord, among the peoples; I will sing praises to you among the nations.

¹⁰For your steadfast love is great to the heavens, your faithfulness to the clouds.

¹¹Be exalted, O God, above the heavens! Let your glory be over all the earth!

¹The king's heart is a stream of water in the hand of the LORD; he turns it wherever he will.

²Every way of a man is right in his own eyes, but the LORD weighs the heart.

³To do righteousness and justice is more acceptable to the LORD than sacrifice.

⁴Haughty eyes and a proud heart, the lamp of the wicked, are sin.

⁵The plans of the diligent lead surely to abundance, but everyone who is hasty comes only to poverty.

⁶The getting of treasures by a lying tongue is a fleeting vapor and a snare of death.

⁷The violence of the wicked will sweep them away, because they refuse to do what is just.

⁸The way of the guilty is crooked, but the conduct of the pure is upright.

⁹It is better to live in a corner of the housetop than in a house shared with a quarrelsome wife.

¹⁰The soul of the wicked desires evil; his neighbor finds no mercy in his eyes.

¹¹When a scoffer is punished, the simple becomes wise; when a wise man is instructed, he gains knowledge.

¹²The Righteous One observes the house of the wicked; he throws the wicked down to ruin.

¹³Whoever closes his ear to the cry of the poor will himself call out and not be answered.

¹⁴A gift in secret averts anger, and a concealed bribe, strong wrath.

¹⁵When justice is done, it is a joy to the righteous but terror to evildoers.

¹⁶One who wanders from the way of good sense will rest in the assembly of the dead.

¹⁷Whoever loves pleasure will be a poor man; he who loves wine and oil will not be rich.

¹⁸The wicked is a ransom for the righteous, and the traitor for the upright.

¹⁹It is better to live in a desert land than with a quarrelsome and fretful woman.

²⁰Precious treasure and oil are in a wise man's dwelling, but a foolish man devours it.

²¹Whoever pursues righteousness and kindness will find life, righteousness, and honor.

²²A wise man scales the city of the mighty and brings down the stronghold in which they trust.

²³Whoever keeps his mouth and his tongue keeps himself out of trouble.

²⁴“Scoffer” is the name of the arrogant, haughty man who acts with arrogant pride.

²⁵The desire of the sluggard kills him, for his hands refuse to labor.

²⁶All day long he craves and craves, but the righteous gives and does not hold back.

²⁷The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination; how much more when he brings it with evil intent.

²⁸A false witness will perish, but the word of a man who hears will endure.

²⁹A wicked man puts on a bold face, but the upright gives thought to his ways.

³⁰No wisdom, no understanding, no counsel can avail against the LORD.

³¹The horse is made ready for the day of battle, but the victory belongs to the LORD.

¹Jotham was twenty-five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Jerushah the daughter of Zadok.

²And he did what was right in the eyes of the LORD according to all that his father Uzziah had done, except he did not enter the temple of the LORD. But the people still followed corrupt practices.

³He built the upper gate of the house of the LORD and did much building on the wall of Ophel.

⁴Moreover, he built cities in the hill country of Judah, and forts and towers on the wooded hills.

⁵He fought with the king of the Ammonites and prevailed against them. And the Ammonites gave him that year 100 talents of silver, and 10,000 cors of wheat and 10,000 of barley. The Ammonites paid him the same amount in the second and the third years.

⁶So Jotham became mighty, because he ordered his ways before the LORD his God.

⁷Now the rest of the acts of Jotham, and all his wars and his ways, behold, they are written in the Book of the Kings of Israel and Judah.

⁸He was twenty-five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem.

⁹And Jotham slept with his fathers, and they buried him in the city of David, and Ahaz his son reigned in his place.

¹This is what the Lord GOD showed me: behold, he was forming locusts when the latter growth was just beginning to sprout, and behold, it was the latter growth after the king's mowings.

²When they had finished eating the grass of the land, I said, “O Lord GOD, please forgive! How can Jacob stand? He is so small!”

³The LORD relented concerning this: “It shall not be,” said the LORD.

⁴This is what the Lord GOD showed me: behold, the Lord GOD was calling for a judgment by fire, and it devoured the great deep and was eating up the land.

⁵Then I said, “O Lord GOD, please cease! How can Jacob stand? He is so small!”

⁶The LORD relented concerning this: “This also shall not be,” said the Lord GOD.

⁷This is what he showed me: behold, the Lord was standing beside a wall built with a plumb line, with a plumb line in his hand.

⁸And the LORD said to me, “Amos, what do you see?” And I said, “A plumb line.” Then the Lord said, “Behold, I am setting a plumb line in the midst of my people Israel; I will never again pass by them;

⁹the high places of Isaac shall be made desolate, and the sanctuaries of Israel shall be laid waste, and I will rise against the house of Jeroboam with the sword.”

¹⁰Then Amaziah the priest of Bethel sent to Jeroboam king of Israel, saying, “Amos has conspired against you in the midst of the house of Israel. The land is not able to bear all his words.

¹¹For thus Amos has said, “‘Jeroboam shall die by the sword, and Israel must go into exile away from his land.’”

¹²And Amaziah said to Amos, “O seer, go, flee away to the land of Judah, and eat bread there, and prophesy there,

¹³but never again prophesy at Bethel, for it is the king's sanctuary, and it is a temple of the kingdom.”

¹⁴Then Amos answered and said to Amaziah, “I was no prophet, nor a prophet's son, but I was a herdsman and a dresser of sycamore figs.

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

¹⁶Now therefore hear the word of the LORD. “You say, ‘Do not prophesy against Israel, and do not preach against the house of Isaac.’

¹⁷Therefore thus says the LORD: “‘Your wife shall be a prostitute in the city, and your sons and your daughters shall fall by the sword, and your land shall be divided up with a measuring line; you yourself shall die in an unclean land, and Israel shall surely go into exile away from its land.’”

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

²So when Peter went up to Jerusalem, the circumcision party criticized him, saying,

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

⁴But Peter began and explained it to them in order:

⁵“I was in the city of Joppa praying, and in a trance I saw a vision, something like a great sheet descending, being let down from heaven by its four corners, and it came down to me.

⁶Looking at it closely, I observed animals and beasts of prey and reptiles and birds of the air.

⁷And I heard a voice saying to me, ‘Rise, Peter; kill and eat.’

⁸But I said, ‘By no means, Lord; for nothing common or unclean has ever entered my mouth.’

⁹But the voice answered a second time from heaven, ‘What God has made clean, do not call common.’

¹⁰This happened three times, and all was drawn up again into heaven.

¹¹And behold, at that very moment three men arrived at the house in which we were, sent to me from Caesarea.

¹²And the Spirit told me to go with them, making no distinction. These six brothers also accompanied me, and we entered the man's house.

¹³And he told us how he had seen the angel stand in his house and say, ‘Send to Joppa and bring Simon who is called Peter;

¹⁴he will declare to you a message by which you will be saved, you and all your household.’

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

¹⁶And I 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 the same gift to them as he gave to us when we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could stand in God's way?”

¹⁸When they heard these things they fell silent. And they glorified God, saying, “Then to the Gentiles also God has granted repentance that leads to life.”

¹⁹Now those who were scattered because of the persecution that arose over Stephen traveled as far as Phoenicia and Cyprus and Antioch, speaking the word to no one except Jews.

²⁰But there were some of them, men of Cyprus and Cyrene, who on coming to Antioch spoke to the Hellenists also, preaching the Lord Jesus.

²¹And the hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number who believed turned to the Lord.

²²The report of this came to the ears of the church in Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas to Antioch.

²³When he came and saw the grace of God, he was glad, and he exhorted them all to remain faithful to the Lord with steadfast purpose,

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

²⁵So Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul,

²⁶and when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. For a whole year they met with the church and taught a great many people. And in Antioch the disciples were first called Christians.

²⁷Now in these days prophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch.

²⁸And one of them named Agabus stood up and foretold by the Spirit that there would be a great famine over all the world (this took place in the days of Claudius).

²⁹So the disciples determined, every one according to his ability, to send relief to the brothers living in Judea.

³⁰And they did so, sending it to the elders by the hand of Barnabas and Saul.