Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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 just as he was coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens torn apart and the Spirit descending like a dove on him.

¹¹And a voice came from heaven, “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.”

¹²And the Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness.

¹³He was in the wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan; and he was with the wild beasts; and the angels waited on him.

¹⁴Now after John was arrested, Jesus came to Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God,

¹⁵and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news.”

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

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

¹⁸And immediately they left their nets and followed him.

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

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

²¹They went to Capernaum; and when the sabbath came, he entered the synagogue and taught.

²²They were astounded at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.

²³Just then there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit,

²⁴and he cried out, “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 with a loud voice, came out of him.

²⁷They were all amazed, and they kept on asking one another, “What is this? A new teaching — with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey him.”

²⁸At once his fame began to spread throughout the surrounding region of Galilee.

²⁹As soon as they left the synagogue, they entered the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John.

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

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

³²That evening, at sunset, they brought to him all who were sick or possessed with demons.

³³And the whole city was gathered around the door.

³⁴And he cured 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.

³⁵In the morning, while it was still very dark, he got up and went out to a deserted place, and there he prayed.

³⁶And Simon and his companions hunted for him.

³⁷When they found him, they said to him, “Everyone is searching for you.”

³⁸He answered, “Let us go on to the neighboring towns, so that I may proclaim the message there also; for that is what I came out to do.”

³⁹And he went throughout Galilee, proclaiming the message in their synagogues and casting out demons.

⁴⁰A leper came to him begging him, and kneeling he said to him, “If you choose, you can make me clean.”

⁴¹Moved with pity, Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him, and said to him, “I do choose. Be made clean!”

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

⁴³After sternly warning him he sent him away at once,

⁴⁴saying 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 word, so that Jesus could no longer go into a town openly, but stayed out in the country; and people came to him from every quarter.

¹From there Abraham journeyed toward the region of the Negeb, and settled between Kadesh and Shur. While residing in Gerar as an alien,

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

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

⁴Now Abimelech had not approached her; so he said, “Lord, will you destroy an innocent people?

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

⁶Then God said to him in the dream, “Yes, I know that you did this in the integrity of your heart; furthermore 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, and he will pray for you and you shall live. But if you do not restore her, know that you shall surely die, you and all that 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? How have I sinned against you, that you have brought such great guilt on me and my kingdom? You have done things to me that ought not to be done.”

¹⁰And Abimelech said to Abraham, “What were you thinking of, 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 but 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 and female slaves, and gave them to Abraham, and restored his wife Sarah to him.

¹⁵Abimelech said, “My land is before you; settle where it pleases you.”

¹⁶To Sarah he said, “Look, I have given your brother a thousand pieces of silver; it is your exoneration before all who are with you; you are completely 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 fast all the wombs of the house of Abimelech because of Sarah, Abraham’s wife.

¹My friends, if anyone is detected in a transgression, you who have received the Spirit should restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness. Take care that you yourselves are not tempted.

²Bear one another’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.

³For if those who are nothing think they are something, they deceive themselves.

⁴All must test their own work; then that work, rather than their neighbor’s work, will become a cause for pride.

⁵For all must carry their own loads.

⁶Those who are taught the word must share in all good things with their teacher.

⁷Do not be deceived; God is not mocked, for you reap whatever you sow.

⁸If you sow to your own flesh, you will reap corruption from the flesh; but if you sow to the Spirit, you will reap eternal life from the Spirit.

⁹So let us not grow weary in doing what is right, for we will reap at harvest time, if we do not give up.

¹⁰So then, whenever we have an opportunity, let us work for the good of all, and especially for those of the family of faith.

¹¹See what large letters I make when I am writing in my own hand!

¹²It is those who want to make a good showing in the flesh that try to compel you to be circumcised — only that they may not be persecuted for the cross of Christ.

¹³Even the circumcised do not themselves obey the law, but they want you to be circumcised so that they may boast about your flesh.

¹⁴May I never boast of anything except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.

¹⁵For neither circumcision nor uncircumcision is anything; but a new creation is everything!

¹⁶As for those who will follow this rule — peace be upon them, and mercy, and upon the Israel of God.

¹⁷From now on, let no one make trouble for me; for I carry the marks of Jesus branded on my body.

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

¹Now the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will renounce the faith by paying attention to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons,

²through the hypocrisy of liars whose consciences are seared with a hot iron.

³They forbid marriage and demand abstinence from foods, which 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, provided it is received with thanksgiving;

⁵for it is sanctified by God’s word and by prayer.

⁶If you put these instructions before the brothers and sisters, you will be a good servant of Christ Jesus, nourished on the words of the faith and of the sound teaching that you have followed.

⁷Have nothing to do with profane myths and old wives’ tales. Train yourself in godliness,

⁸for, while physical training is of some value, godliness is valuable in every way, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come.

⁹The saying is sure and worthy of full acceptance.

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

¹¹These are the things you must insist on and teach.

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

¹³Until I arrive, give attention to the public reading of scripture, to exhorting, to teaching.

¹⁴Do not neglect the gift that is in you, which was given to you through prophecy with the laying on of hands by the council of elders.

¹⁵Put these things into practice, devote yourself to them, so that all may see your progress.

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

¹Then Job answered:

²“Listen carefully to my words, and let this be your consolation.

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

⁴As for me, is my complaint addressed to mortals? Why should I not be impatient?

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

⁶When I think of it I am dismayed, and shuddering seizes my flesh.

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

⁸Their children are established in their presence, and their offspring 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 never miscarries.

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

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, ‘Leave us alone! We do not desire to know your ways.

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

¹⁶Is not their prosperity indeed their own achievement? The plans of the wicked are repugnant to me.

¹⁷“How often is the lamp of the wicked put out? How often does calamity come upon them? How often does God distribute pains in his anger?

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

¹⁹You say, ‘God stores up their iniquity for their children.’ Let it be paid back to them, so 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 household after them, when the number of their months is cut off?

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

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

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

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

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

²⁷“Oh, 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 wicked are spared in the day of calamity, and are rescued in the day of wrath?

³¹Who declares their way to their face, and who repays them for what they have done?

³²When they are carried to the grave, a watch is kept over their tomb.

³³The clods of the valley are sweet to them; everyone will follow after, and those who went before 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, until the destroying storms pass by.

²I cry 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 those who trample on me. Selah God will send forth his steadfast love and his faithfulness.

⁴I lie down among lions that greedily devour human prey; their teeth are spears and arrows, their tongues 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 path, 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 soul! 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 as high as the heavens; your faithfulness extends 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.

²All deeds are right in the sight of the doer, 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 want.

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 right.

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

¹⁰The souls of the wicked desire evil; their neighbors find no mercy in their eyes.

¹¹When a scoffer is punished, the simple become wiser; when the wise are instructed, they increase in knowledge.

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

¹³If you close your ear to the cry of the poor, you will cry out and not be heard.

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

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

¹⁶Whoever wanders from the way of understanding will rest in the assembly of the dead.

¹⁷Whoever loves pleasure will suffer want; whoever loves wine and oil will not be rich.

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

¹⁹It is better to live in a desert land than with a contentious and fretful wife.

²⁰Precious treasure remains in the house of the wise, but the fool devours it.

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

²²One wise person went up against a city of warriors and brought down the stronghold in which they trusted.

²³To watch over mouth and tongue is to keep out of trouble.

²⁴The proud, haughty person, named “Scoffer,” acts with arrogant pride.

²⁵The craving of the lazy person is fatal, for lazy hands refuse to labor.

²⁶All day long the wicked covet, but the righteous give and do not hold back.

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

²⁸A false witness will perish, but a good listener will testify successfully.

²⁹The wicked put on a bold face, but the upright give thought to their 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; he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Jerushah daughter of Zadok.

²He did what was right in the sight of the LORD just as his father Uzziah had done — only he did not invade 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 extensive 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. The Ammonites gave him that year one hundred talents of silver, ten thousand cors of wheat and ten thousand of barley. The Ammonites paid him the same amount in the second and the third years.

⁶So Jotham became strong 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, are written in the Book of the Kings of Israel and Judah.

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

⁹Jotham slept with his ancestors, and they buried him in the city of David; and his son Ahaz succeeded him.

¹This is what the Lord GOD showed me: he was forming locusts at the time the latter growth began to sprout (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, forgive, I beg you! 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: the Lord GOD was calling for a shower of fire, and it devoured the great deep and was eating up the land.

⁵Then I said, “O Lord GOD, cease, I beg you! 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: 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, “See, I am setting a plumb line in the midst of my people Israel; I will never again pass them by;

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 King Jeroboam of Israel, saying, “Amos has conspired against you in the very center 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, earn your 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 Amaziah, “I am no prophet, nor a prophet’s son; but I am a herdsman, and a dresser of sycamore trees,

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

¹⁶“Now 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 become a prostitute in the city, and your sons and your daughters shall fall by the sword, and your land shall be parceled out by 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 believers who were in Judea heard that the Gentiles had also accepted the word of God.

²So when Peter went up to Jerusalem, the circumcised believers criticized him,

³saying, “Why did you go to uncircumcised men and eat with them?”

⁴Then Peter began to explain it to them, step by step, saying,

⁵“I was in the city of Joppa praying, and in a trance I saw a vision. There was something like a large sheet coming down from heaven, being lowered by its four corners; and it came close to me.

⁶As I looked at it closely I saw four-footed animals, beasts of prey, reptiles, and birds of the air.

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

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

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

¹⁰This happened three times; then everything was pulled up again to heaven.

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

¹²The Spirit told me to go with them and not to make a distinction between them and us. These six brothers also accompanied me, and we entered the man’s house.

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

¹⁴he will give you a message by which you and your entire household will be saved.’

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

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

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

¹⁸When they heard this, they were silenced. And they praised God, saying, “Then God has given even to the Gentiles the repentance that leads to life.”

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

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

²¹The hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number became believers and turned to the Lord.

²²News 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 rejoiced, and he exhorted them all to remain faithful to the Lord with steadfast devotion;

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

²⁵Then Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul,

²⁶and when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. So it was that for an entire year they met with the church and taught a great many people, and it was in Antioch that the disciples were first called “Christians.”

²⁷At that time 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 over all the world; and this took place during the reign of Claudius.

²⁹The disciples determined that according to their ability, each would send relief to the believers living in Judea;

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