Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

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

²just as it is written in Isaiah the prophet: “BEHOLD, I AM SENDING MY MESSENGER BEFORE YOU, WHO WILL PREPARE YOUR WAY;

³THE VOICE OF ONE CALLING OUT IN THE WILDERNESS, ‘PREPARE THE WAY OF THE LORD, MAKE HIS PATHS STRAIGHT!’ ”

⁴John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.

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

⁶John was clothed with camel’s hair and wore a leather belt around his waist, and his diet was locusts and wild honey.

⁷And he was preaching, saying, “After me One is coming who is mightier than I, and I am not fit to bend down and untie the straps of His sandals.

⁸I baptized you with water; but He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”

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

¹⁰And immediately coming up out of the water, He saw the heavens opening, and the Spirit, like a dove, descending upon Him;

¹¹and a voice came from the heavens: “You are My beloved Son; in You I am well pleased.”

¹²And immediately the Spirit *brought Him out into the wilderness.

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

¹⁴Now after John was taken into custody, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God,

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

¹⁶As He was going along the Sea of Galilee, He saw Simon and Andrew, the brother of Simon, casting a net in the sea; for they were fishermen.

¹⁷And Jesus said to them, “Follow Me, and I will have you become fishers of people.”

¹⁸Immediately they left their nets and followed Him.

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

²⁰Immediately He called them; and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men, and went away to follow Him.

²¹They *went into Capernaum; and immediately on the Sabbath Jesus entered the synagogue and began to teach.

²²And they were amazed at His teaching; for He was teaching them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.

²³Just then there was a man in their synagogue with an unclean spirit; and he cried out,

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

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

²⁶After throwing him into convulsions and crying out with a loud voice, the unclean spirit came out of him.

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

²⁸Immediately the news about Him spread everywhere into all the surrounding region of Galilee.

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

³⁰Now Simon’s mother-in-law was lying sick with a fever; and they immediately *spoke to Jesus about her.

³¹And He came to her and raised her up, taking her by the hand, and the fever left her, and she served them.

³²Now when evening came, after the sun had set, they began bringing to Him all who were ill and those who were demon-possessed.

³³And the whole city had gathered at the door.

³⁴And He healed many who were ill with various diseases, and cast out many demons; and He would not permit the demons to speak, because they knew who He was.

³⁵And in the early morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house, and went away to a secluded place, and prayed there for a time.

³⁶Simon and his companions eagerly searched for Him;

³⁷and they found Him and *said to Him, “Everyone is looking for You.”

³⁸He *said to them, “Let’s go somewhere else to the towns nearby, so that I may alsopreach there; for this is why I came.”

³⁹And He went into their synagogues preaching throughout Galilee, and casting out the demons.

⁴⁰And a man with leprosy *came to Jesus, imploring Him and kneeling down, and saying to Him, “If You are willing, You can make me clean.”

⁴¹Moved with compassion, Jesus reached out with His hand and touched him, and *said to him, “I am willing; be cleansed.”

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

⁴³And He sternly warned him and immediately sent him away,

⁴⁴and He *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, as a testimony to them.”

⁴⁵But he went out and began to proclaim it freely and to spread the news around, to such an extent that Jesus could no longer publicly enter a city, but stayed out in unpopulated areas; and they were coming to Him from everywhere.

¹Now Abraham journeyed from there toward the land of the Negev, and settled between Kadesh and Shur; then he lived for a time in Gerar.

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

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

⁴Now Abimelech had not come near her; and he said, “Lord, will You kill a nation, even though blameless?

⁵Did he himself not 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 in the integrity of your heart you have done this, and I also 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, 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.”

⁸So Abimelech got up early in the morning and called all his servants, and told all these things in their presence; and the people were greatly frightened.

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 on my kingdom a great sin? You have done to me things that ought not to be done.”

¹⁰And Abimelech said to Abraham, “What have you encountered, that you have done this thing?”

¹¹Abraham said, “Because I thought, surely there is no fear of God in this place, and they will kill me because of my wife.

¹²Besides, she actually is my sister, the daughter of my father, but not the daughter of my mother; and she became my wife;

¹³and it came about, when God caused me to wander from my father’s house, that I said to her, ‘This is the kindness which you will show to me: everywhere we go, say of me, “He is my brother.” ’ ”

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

¹⁵Abimelech said, “Behold, my land is before you; settle wherever you please.”

¹⁶To Sarah he said, “Look, I have given your brother a thousand pieces of silver. It is your vindication before all who are with you, and before everyone you are cleared.”

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

¹⁸For the LORD had completely closed all the wombs of the household of Abimelech because of Sarah, Abraham’s wife.

¹Brothers and sisters, even if a person is caught in any wrongdoing, you who are spiritual are to restore such a person in a spirit of gentleness; each one looking to yourself, so that you are not tempted as well.

²Bear one another’s burdens, and thereby fulfill the law of Christ.

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

⁴But each one must examine his own work, and then he will have reason for boasting, but to himself alone, and not to another.

⁵For each one will bear his own load.

⁶The one who is taught the word is to share all good things with the one who teaches him.

⁷Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a person sows, this he will also reap.

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

⁹Let’s not become discouraged in doing good, for in due time we will reap, if we do not become weary.

¹⁰So then, while we have opportunity, let’s do good to all people, and especially to those who are of the household of the faith.

¹¹See with what large letters I have written to you with my own hand!

¹²All who want to make a good showing in the flesh try to compel you to be circumcised, simply so that they will not be persecuted for the cross of Christ.

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

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

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

¹⁶And all who will follow this rule, peace and mercy be upon them, and upon the Israel of God.

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

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

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

²by means of the hypocrisy of liars seared in their own conscience as with a branding iron,

³who forbid marriage and advocate abstaining from foods which God has created to be gratefully shared in 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 gratitude;

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

⁶In pointing out these things to the brothers and sisters, you will be a good servant of Christ Jesus, constantly nourished on the words of the faith and of the good doctrine which you have been following.

⁷But stay away from worthless stories that are typical of old women. Rather, discipline yourself for the purpose of godliness;

⁸for bodily training is just slightly beneficial, but godliness is beneficial for all things, since it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come.

⁹It is a trustworthy statement deserving full acceptance.

¹⁰For it is for this we labor and strive, because we have set our hope on the living God, who is the Savior of all mankind, especially of believers.

¹¹Prescribe and teach these things.

¹²Let no one look down on your youthfulness, but rather in speech, conduct, love, faith, and purity, show yourself an example of those who believe.

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

¹⁴Do not neglect the spiritual gift within you, which was granted to you through words of prophecy with the laying on of hands by the council of elders.

¹⁵Take pains with these things; be absorbed in them, so that your progress will be evident to all.

¹⁶Pay close attention to yourself and to the teaching; persevere in these things, for as you do this you will save both yourself and those who hear you.

¹Then Job responded,

²“Listen carefully to my speech, And let this be your way of consolation.

³Bear with me that I may speak; Then after I have spoken, you may mock me.

⁴As for me, is my complaint to a mortal? Or why should I not be impatient?

⁵Look at me, and be astonished, And put your hand over your mouth.

⁶Even when I remember, I am disturbed, And horror takes hold of my flesh.

⁷Why do the wicked still live, Grow old, and also become very powerful?

⁸Their descendants endure with them in their sight, And their offspring before their eyes,

⁹Their houses are safe from fear, And the rod of God is not on them.

¹⁰His ox mates without fail; His cow calves and does not miscarry.

¹¹They send out their boys like the flock, And their children dance.

¹²They sing with the tambourine and harp, And rejoice at the sound of the flute.

¹³They spend their days in prosperity, And suddenly they go down to Sheol.

¹⁴Yet they say to God, ‘Go away from us! We do not even desire the knowledge of Your ways.

¹⁵Who is the Almighty, that we should serve Him, And what would we gain if we plead with Him?’

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

¹⁷“How often is the lamp of the wicked put out, Or does their disaster fall on them? Does God apportion destruction in His anger?

¹⁸Are they as straw before the wind, And like chaff which the storm carries away?

¹⁹You say, ‘God saves up a person’s wrongdoing for his sons.’ Let God repay him so that he may know it.

²⁰Let his own eyes see his destruction, And let him drink of the wrath of the Almighty.

²¹For what does he care about his household after him, When the number of his months is at an end?

²²Can anyone teach God knowledge, In that He judges those on high?

²³One dies in his full strength, Being wholly undisturbed and at ease;

²⁴His sides are filled with fat, And the marrow of his bones is wet,

²⁵While another dies with a bitter soul, Never even tasting anything good.

²⁶Together they lie down in the dust, And maggots cover them.

²⁷“Behold, I know your thoughts, And the plots you devise against me.

²⁸For you say, ‘Where is the house of the nobleman, And where is the tent, the dwelling places of the wicked?’

²⁹Have you not asked travelers, And do you not examine their evidence?

³⁰For the wicked person is spared a day of disaster; They are led away from a day of fury.

³¹Who confronts him with his actions, And who repays him for what he has done?

³²When he is carried to the grave, People will keep watch over his tomb.

³³The clods of the valley will gently cover him; Moreover, all mankind will follow after him, While countless others go before him.

³⁴So how dare you give me empty comfort? For your answers remain nothing but falsehood!”

¹Be gracious to me, God, be gracious to me, For my soul takes refuge in You; And in the shadow of Your wings I will take refuge Until destruction passes by.

²I will cry to God Most High, To God who accomplishes all things for me.

³He will send from heaven and save me; He rebukes the one who tramples upon me. Selah God will send His favor and His truth.

⁴My soul is among lions; I must lie among those who devour, Among sons of mankind whose teeth are spears and arrows, And their tongue is a sharp sword.

⁵Be exalted above the heavens, God; May Your glory be above all the earth.

⁶They have prepared a net for my steps; My soul is bowed down; They dug a pit before me; They themselves have fallen into the midst of it. Selah

⁷My heart is steadfast, God, my heart is steadfast; I will sing, yes, I will sing praises!

⁸Awake, my glory! Awake, harp and lyre! I will awaken the dawn.

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

¹⁰For Your goodness is great to the heavens And Your truth to the clouds.

¹¹Be exalted above the heavens, God; May Your glory be above all the earth.

¹The king’s heart is like channels of water in the hand of the LORD; He turns it wherever He pleases.

²Every person’s way is right in his own eyes, But the LORD examines the hearts.

³To do righteousness and justice Is preferred by the LORD more than sacrifice.

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

⁵The plans of the diligent certainly lead to advantage, But everyone who is in a hurry certainly comes to poverty.

⁶The acquisition of treasures by a lying tongue Is a fleeting vapor, the pursuit of death.

⁷The violence of the wicked will sweep them away, Because they refuse to act with justice.

⁸The way of a guilty person is crooked, But as for the pure, his conduct is upright.

⁹It is better to live on a corner of a roof Than in a house shared with a contentious woman.

¹⁰The soul of the wicked desires evil; His neighbor is shown no compassion in his eyes.

¹¹When the scoffer is punished, the naive becomes wise; But when the wise is instructed, he receives knowledge.

¹²The righteous one considers the house of the wicked, Bringing the wicked to ruin.

¹³One who shuts his ear to the outcry of the poor Will also call out himself, and not be answered.

¹⁴A gift in secret subdues anger, And a bribe in an inside pocket, strong wrath.

¹⁵The exercise of justice is joy for the righteous, But terror to those who practice injustice.

¹⁶A person who wanders from the way of understanding Will rest in the assembly of the dead.

¹⁷One who loves pleasure will become a poor person; One who loves wine and oil will not become rich.

¹⁸The wicked is a ransom for the righteous, And the treacherous is in the place of the upright.

¹⁹It is better to live in a desert land Than with a contentious and irritating woman.

²⁰There is precious treasure and oil in the home of the wise, But a foolish person swallows it up.

²¹One who pursues righteousness and loyalty Finds life, righteousness, and honor.

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

²³One who guards his mouth and his tongue, Guards his soul from troubles.

²⁴“Proud,” “Arrogant,” “Scoffer,” are his names, One who acts with insolent pride.

²⁵The desire of the lazy one puts him to death, For his hands refuse to work;

²⁶All day long he is craving, While 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 a person who listens will speak forever.

²⁹A wicked person displays a bold face, But as for the upright, he makes his way sure.

³⁰There is no wisdom, no understanding, And no plan against the LORD.

³¹The horse is prepared for the day of battle, But the victory belongs to the LORD.

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

²He did what was right in the sight of the LORD, according to all that his father Uzziah had done; however he did not enter the temple of the LORD. But the people continued acting corruptly.

³He built the upper gate of the house of the LORD, and he built the wall of Ophel extensively.

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

⁵He fought with the king of the Ammonites and prevailed over them so that during that year the Ammonites gave him a hundred talents of silver, ten thousand kors of wheat, and ten thousand of barley. The Ammonites also paid him this amount in the second year and in the third.

⁶So Jotham became powerful because he directed his ways before the LORD his God.

⁷Now the rest of the acts of Jotham, 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 became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem for sixteen years.

⁹And Jotham lay down with his fathers, and they buried him in the city of David; and his son Ahaz became king in his place.

¹This is what the Lord GOD showed me, and behold, He was forming a swarm of locusts when the spring crop began to sprout. And behold, the spring crop was after the king’s mowing.

²And it came about, when it had finished eating the vegetation of the land, that I said, “Lord GOD, please pardon! How can Jacob stand? For he is small.”

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

⁴So the Lord GOD showed me, and behold, the Lord GOD was calling to contend with them by fire, and it consumed the great deep and began to consume the farmland.

⁵Then I said, “Lord GOD, please stop! How can Jacob stand? For he is small.”

⁶The LORD relented of this. “This too shall not be,” said the Lord GOD.

⁷So He showed me, and behold, the Lord was standing by a vertical wall with a plumb line in His hand.

⁸And the LORD said to me, “What do you see, Amos?” And I said, “A plumb line.” Then the Lord said, “Behold I am about to put a plumb line In the midst of My people Israel. I will not spare them any longer.

⁹The high places of Isaac will become deserted, And the sanctuaries of Israel will be in ruins. Then I will rise up against the house of Jeroboam with the sword.”

¹⁰Then Amaziah, the priest of Bethel, sent word to Jeroboam king of Israel, saying, “Amos has conspired against you in the midst of the house of Israel; the land is unable to endure all his words.

¹¹For this is what Amos says: ‘Jeroboam will die by the sword, and Israel will certainly go from its land into exile.’ ”

¹²Then Amaziah said to Amos, “Go, you seer, flee to the land of Judah; and eat bread there and do your prophesying there!

¹³But do not prophesy at Bethel any longer, for it is a sanctuary of the king and a royal residence.”

¹⁴Then Amos replied to Amaziah, “I am not a prophet, nor am I the son of a prophet; for I am a herdsman and a grower of sycamore figs.

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

¹⁶So now hear the word of the LORD: you are saying, ‘You shall not prophesy against Israel nor shall you prophesy against the house of Isaac.’

¹⁷Therefore, this is what the LORD says: ‘Your wife will become a prostitute in the city, your sons and your daughters will fall by the sword, your land will be parceled up by a measuring line, and you yourself will die upon unclean soil. Furthermore Israel will certainly go from its land into exile.’ ”

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

²And when Peter came up to Jerusalem, the Jewish believers took issue with him,

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

⁴But Peter began and explained at length to them in an orderly sequence, saying,

⁵“I was in the city of Joppa praying; and in a trance I saw a vision, an object coming down like a great sheet lowered by four corners from the sky; and it came to where I was,

⁶and I stared at it and was thinking about it, and I saw the four-footed animals of the earth, the wild animals, the crawling creatures, and the birds of the sky.

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

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

⁹But a voice from heaven answered a second time, ‘What God has cleansed, no longer consider unholy.’

¹⁰This happened three times, and everything was drawn back up into the sky.

¹¹And behold, at that moment three men who had been sent to me from Caesarea came up to the house where we were staying.

¹²And the Spirit told me to go with them without misgivings. These six brothers also went with me, and we entered the man’s house.

¹³And he reported to us how he had seen the angel standing in his house, and saying, ‘Send some men to Joppa and have Simon, who is also called Peter, brought here;

¹⁴and he will speak words to you by which you will be saved, you and all your household.’

¹⁵And as I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell upon them just as He did upon us at the beginning.

¹⁶And I remembered the word of the Lord, how He used to say, ‘John baptized with water, but you will be baptizedwith the Holy Spirit.’

¹⁷Therefore, if God gave them the same gift as He also gave to us after believing in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could stand in God’s way?”

¹⁸When they heard this, they quieted down and glorified God, saying, “Well then, God has also granted to the Gentiles the repentance that leads to life.”

¹⁹So then those who were scattered because of the persecution that occurred in connection with Stephen made their way to Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch, speaking the word to no one except to Jews alone.

²⁰But there were some of them, men of Cyprus and Cyrene, who came to Antioch and began speaking to the Greeks as well, preaching the good news of the Lord Jesus.

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

²²The news about them reached the ears of the church in Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas off to Antioch.

²³Then when he arrived and witnessed the grace of God, he rejoiced and began to encourage them all with resolute heart to remain true to the Lord;

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

²⁵And he left for Tarsus to look for Saul;

²⁶and when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. And for an entire year they met with the church and taught considerable numbers of people; and the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch.

²⁷Now at this time some prophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch.

²⁸One of them, named Agabus, stood up and indicated by the Spirit that there would definitely be a severe famine all over the world. And this took place in the reign of Claudius.

²⁹And to the extent that any of the disciples had means, each of them determined to send a contribution for the relief of the brothers and sisters living in Judea.

³⁰And they did this, sending it with Barnabas and Saul to the elders.