Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹“For the Kingdom of Heaven is like the landowner who went out early one morning to hire workers for his vineyard.

²He agreed to pay the normal daily wage and sent them out to work.

³“At nine o’clock in the morning he was passing through the marketplace and saw some people standing around doing nothing.

⁴So he hired them, telling them he would pay them whatever was right at the end of the day.

⁵So they went to work in the vineyard. At noon and again at three o’clock he did the same thing.

⁶“At five o’clock that afternoon he was in town again and saw some more people standing around. He asked them, ‘Why haven’t you been working today?’

⁷“They replied, ‘Because no one hired us.’ “The landowner told them, ‘Then go out and join the others in my vineyard.’

⁸“That evening he told the foreman to call the workers in and pay them, beginning with the last workers first.

⁹When those hired at five o’clock were paid, each received a full day’s wage.

¹⁰When those hired first came to get their pay, they assumed they would receive more. But they, too, were paid a day’s wage.

¹¹When they received their pay, they protested to the owner,

¹²‘Those people worked only one hour, and yet you’ve paid them just as much as you paid us who worked all day in the scorching heat.’

¹³“He answered one of them, ‘Friend, I haven’t been unfair! Didn’t you agree to work all day for the usual wage?

¹⁴Take your money and go. I wanted to pay this last worker the same as you.

¹⁵Is it against the law for me to do what I want with my money? Should you be jealous because I am kind to others?’

¹⁶“So those who are last now will be first then, and those who are first will be last.”

¹⁷As Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, he took the twelve disciples aside privately and told them what was going to happen to him.

¹⁸“Listen,” he said, “we’re going up to Jerusalem, where the Son of Man will be betrayed to the leading priests and the teachers of religious law. They will sentence him to die.

¹⁹Then they will hand him over to the Romans to be mocked, flogged with a whip, and crucified. But on the third day he will be raised from the dead.”

²⁰Then the mother of James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to Jesus with her sons. She knelt respectfully to ask a favor.

²¹“What is your request?” he asked. She replied, “In your Kingdom, please let my two sons sit in places of honor next to you, one on your right and the other on your left.”

²²But Jesus answered by saying to them, “You don’t know what you are asking! Are you able to drink from the bitter cup of suffering I am about to drink?” “Oh yes,” they replied, “we are able!”

²³Jesus told them, “You will indeed drink from my bitter cup. But I have no right to say who will sit on my right or my left. My Father has prepared those places for the ones he has chosen.”

²⁴When the ten other disciples heard what James and John had asked, they were indignant.

²⁵But Jesus called them together and said, “You know that the rulers in this world lord it over their people, and officials flaunt their authority over those under them.

²⁶But among you it will be different. Whoever wants to be a leader among you must be your servant,

²⁷and whoever wants to be first among you must become your slave.

²⁸For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

²⁹As Jesus and the disciples left the town of Jericho, a large crowd followed behind.

³⁰Two blind men were sitting beside the road. When they heard that Jesus was coming that way, they began shouting, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!”

³¹“Be quiet!” the crowd yelled at them. But they only shouted louder, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!”

³²When Jesus heard them, he stopped and called, “What do you want me to do for you?”

³³“Lord,” they said, “we want to see!”

³⁴Jesus felt sorry for them and touched their eyes. Instantly they could see! Then they followed him.

¹Abraham moved south to the Negev and lived for a while between Kadesh and Shur, and then he moved on to Gerar. While living there as a foreigner,

²Abraham introduced his wife, Sarah, by saying, “She is my sister.” So King Abimelech of Gerar sent for Sarah and had her brought to him at his palace.

³But that night God came to Abimelech in a dream and told him, “You are a dead man, for that woman you have taken is already married!”

⁴But Abimelech had not slept with her yet, so he said, “Lord, will you destroy an innocent nation?

⁵Didn’t Abraham tell me, ‘She is my sister’? And she herself said, ‘Yes, he is my brother.’ I acted in complete innocence! My hands are clean.”

⁶In the dream God responded, “Yes, I know you are innocent. That’s why I kept you from sinning against me, and why I did not let you touch her.

⁷Now return the woman to her husband, and he will pray for you, for he is a prophet. Then you will live. But if you don’t return her to him, you can be sure that you and all your people will die.”

⁸Abimelech got up early the next morning and quickly called all his servants together. When he told them what had happened, his men were terrified.

⁹Then Abimelech called for Abraham. “What have you done to us?” he demanded. “What crime have I committed that deserves treatment like this, making me and my kingdom guilty of this great sin? No one should ever do what you have done!

¹⁰Whatever possessed you to do such a thing?”

¹¹Abraham replied, “I thought, ‘This is a godless place. They will want my wife and will kill me to get her.’

¹²And she really is my sister, for we both have the same father, but different mothers. And I married her.

¹³When God called me to leave my father’s home and to travel from place to place, I told her, ‘Do me a favor. Wherever we go, tell the people that I am your brother.’”

¹⁴Then Abimelech took some of his sheep and goats, cattle, and male and female servants, and he presented them to Abraham. He also returned his wife, Sarah, to him.

¹⁵Then Abimelech said, “Look over my land and choose any place where you would like to live.”

¹⁶And he said to Sarah, “Look, I am giving your ‘brother’ 1,000 pieces of silver in the presence of all these witnesses. This is to compensate you for any wrong I may have done to you. This will settle any claim against me, and your reputation is cleared.”

¹⁷Then Abraham prayed to God, and God healed Abimelech, his wife, and his female servants, so they could have children.

¹⁸For the LORD had caused all the women to be infertile because of what happened with Abraham’s wife, Sarah.

¹So look at Apollos and me as mere servants of Christ who have been put in charge of explaining God’s mysteries.

²Now, a person who is put in charge as a manager must be faithful.

³As for me, it matters very little how I might be evaluated by you or by any human authority. I don’t even trust my own judgment on this point.

⁴My conscience is clear, but that doesn’t prove I’m right. It is the Lord himself who will examine me and decide.

⁵So don’t make judgments about anyone ahead of time — before the Lord returns. For he will bring our darkest secrets to light and will reveal our private motives. Then God will give to each one whatever praise is due.

⁶Dear brothers and sisters, I have used Apollos and myself to illustrate what I’ve been saying. If you pay attention to what I have quoted from the Scriptures, you won’t be proud of one of your leaders at the expense of another.

⁷For what gives you the right to make such a judgment? What do you have that God hasn’t given you? And if everything you have is from God, why boast as though it were not a gift?

⁸You think you already have everything you need. You think you are already rich. You have begun to reign in God’s kingdom without us! I wish you really were reigning already, for then we would be reigning with you.

⁹Instead, I sometimes think God has put us apostles on display, like prisoners of war at the end of a victor’s parade, condemned to die. We have become a spectacle to the entire world — to people and angels alike.

¹⁰Our dedication to Christ makes us look like fools, but you claim to be so wise in Christ! We are weak, but you are so powerful! You are honored, but we are ridiculed.

¹¹Even now we go hungry and thirsty, and we don’t have enough clothes to keep warm. We are often beaten and have no home.

¹²We work wearily with our own hands to earn our living. We bless those who curse us. We are patient with those who abuse us.

¹³We appeal gently when evil things are said about us. Yet we are treated like the world’s garbage, like everybody’s trash — right up to the present moment.

¹⁴I am not writing these things to shame you, but to warn you as my beloved children.

¹⁵For even if you had ten thousand others to teach you about Christ, you have only one spiritual father. For I became your father in Christ Jesus when I preached the Good News to you.

¹⁶So I urge you to imitate me.

¹⁷That’s why I have sent Timothy, my beloved and faithful child in the Lord. He will remind you of how I follow Christ Jesus, just as I teach in all the churches wherever I go.

¹⁸Some of you have become arrogant, thinking I will not visit you again.

¹⁹But I will come — and soon — if the Lord lets me, and then I’ll find out whether these arrogant people just give pretentious speeches or whether they really have God’s power.

²⁰For the Kingdom of God is not just a lot of talk; it is living by God’s power.

²¹Which do you choose? Should I come with a rod to punish you, or should I come with love and a gentle spirit?

¹As for you, Titus, promote the kind of living that reflects wholesome teaching.

²Teach the older men to exercise self-control, to be worthy of respect, and to live wisely. They must have sound faith and be filled with love and patience.

³Similarly, teach the older women to live in a way that honors God. They must not slander others or be heavy drinkers. Instead, they should teach others what is good.

⁴These older women must train the younger women to love their husbands and their children,

⁵to live wisely and be pure, to work in their homes, to do good, and to be submissive to their husbands. Then they will not bring shame on the word of God.

⁶In the same way, encourage the young men to live wisely.

⁷And you yourself must be an example to them by doing good works of every kind. Let everything you do reflect the integrity and seriousness of your teaching.

⁸Teach the truth so that your teaching can’t be criticized. Then those who oppose us will be ashamed and have nothing bad to say about us.

⁹Slaves must always obey their masters and do their best to please them. They must not talk back

¹⁰or steal, but must show themselves to be entirely trustworthy and good. Then they will make the teaching about God our Savior attractive in every way.

¹¹For the grace of God has been revealed, bringing salvation to all people.

¹²And we are instructed to turn from godless living and sinful pleasures. We should live in this evil world with wisdom, righteousness, and devotion to God,

¹³while we look forward with hope to that wonderful day when the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, will be revealed.

¹⁴He gave his life to free us from every kind of sin, to cleanse us, and to make us his very own people, totally committed to doing good deeds.

¹⁵You must teach these things and encourage the believers to do them. You have the authority to correct them when necessary, so don’t let anyone disregard what you say.

¹Then Zophar the Naamathite replied:

²“I must reply because I am greatly disturbed.

³I’ve had to endure your insults, but now my spirit prompts me to reply.

⁴“Don’t you realize that from the beginning of time, ever since people were first placed on the earth,

⁵the triumph of the wicked has been short lived and the joy of the godless has been only temporary?

⁶Though the pride of the godless reaches to the heavens and their heads touch the clouds,

⁷yet they will vanish forever, thrown away like their own dung. Those who knew them will ask, ‘Where are they?’

⁸They will fade like a dream and not be found. They will vanish like a vision in the night.

⁹Those who once saw them will see them no more. Their families will never see them again.

¹⁰Their children will beg from the poor, for they must give back their stolen riches.

¹¹Though they are young, their bones will lie in the dust.

¹²“They enjoyed the sweet taste of wickedness, letting it melt under their tongue.

¹³They savored it, holding it long in their mouths.

¹⁴But suddenly the food in their bellies turns sour, a poisonous venom in their stomach.

¹⁵They will vomit the wealth they swallowed. God won’t let them keep it down.

¹⁶They will suck the poison of cobras. The viper will kill them.

¹⁷They will never again enjoy streams of olive oil or rivers of milk and honey.

¹⁸They will give back everything they worked for. Their wealth will bring them no joy.

¹⁹For they oppressed the poor and left them destitute. They foreclosed on their homes.

²⁰They were always greedy and never satisfied. Nothing remains of all the things they dreamed about.

²¹Nothing is left after they finish gorging themselves. Therefore, their prosperity will not endure.

²²“In the midst of plenty, they will run into trouble and be overcome by misery.

²³May God give them a bellyful of trouble. May God rain down his anger upon them.

²⁴When they try to escape an iron weapon, a bronze-tipped arrow will pierce them.

²⁵The arrow is pulled from their back, and the arrowhead glistens with blood. The terrors of death are upon them.

²⁶Their treasures will be thrown into deepest darkness. A wildfire will devour their goods, consuming all they have left.

²⁷The heavens will reveal their guilt, and the earth will testify against them.

²⁸A flood will sweep away their house. God’s anger will descend on them in torrents.

²⁹This is the reward that God gives the wicked. It is the inheritance decreed by God.”

¹In times of trouble, may the LORD answer your cry. May the name of the God of Jacob keep you safe from all harm.

²May he send you help from his sanctuary and strengthen you from Jerusalem.

³May he remember all your gifts and look favorably on your burnt offerings. Interlude

⁴May he grant your heart’s desires and make all your plans succeed.

⁵May we shout for joy when we hear of your victory and raise a victory banner in the name of our God. May the LORD answer all your prayers.

⁶Now I know that the LORD rescues his anointed king. He will answer him from his holy heaven and rescue him by his great power.

⁷Some nations boast of their chariots and horses, but we boast in the name of the LORD our God.

⁸Those nations will fall down and collapse, but we will rise up and stand firm.

⁹Give victory to our king, O LORD! Answer our cry for help.

¹Wine produces mockers; alcohol leads to brawls. Those led astray by drink cannot be wise.

²The king’s fury is like a lion’s roar; to rouse his anger is to risk your life.

³Avoiding a fight is a mark of honor; only fools insist on quarreling.

⁴Those too lazy to plow in the right season will have no food at the harvest.

⁵Though good advice lies deep within the heart, a person with understanding will draw it out.

⁶Many will say they are loyal friends, but who can find one who is truly reliable?

⁷The godly walk with integrity; blessed are their children who follow them.

⁸When a king sits in judgment, he weighs all the evidence, distinguishing the bad from the good.

⁹Who can say, “I have cleansed my heart; I am pure and free from sin”?

¹⁰False weights and unequal measures — the LORD detests double standards of every kind.

¹¹Even children are known by the way they act, whether their conduct is pure, and whether it is right.

¹²Ears to hear and eyes to see — both are gifts from the LORD.

¹³If you love sleep, you will end in poverty. Keep your eyes open, and there will be plenty to eat!

¹⁴The buyer haggles over the price, saying, “It’s worthless,” then brags about getting a bargain!

¹⁵Wise words are more valuable than much gold and many rubies.

¹⁶Get security from someone who guarantees a stranger’s debt. Get a deposit if he does it for foreigners.

¹⁷Stolen bread tastes sweet, but it turns to gravel in the mouth.

¹⁸Plans succeed through good counsel; don’t go to war without wise advice.

¹⁹A gossip goes around telling secrets, so don’t hang around with chatterers.

²⁰If you insult your father or mother, your light will be snuffed out in total darkness.

²¹An inheritance obtained too early in life is not a blessing in the end.

²²Don’t say, “I will get even for this wrong.” Wait for the LORD to handle the matter.

²³The LORD detests double standards; he is not pleased by dishonest scales.

²⁴The LORD directs our steps, so why try to understand everything along the way?

²⁵Don’t trap yourself by making a rash promise to God and only later counting the cost.

²⁶A wise king scatters the wicked like wheat, then runs his threshing wheel over them.

²⁷The LORD’s light penetrates the human spirit, exposing every hidden motive.

²⁸Unfailing love and faithfulness protect the king; his throne is made secure through love.

²⁹The glory of the young is their strength; the gray hair of experience is the splendor of the old.

³⁰Physical punishment cleanses away evil; such discipline purifies the heart.

¹The LORD said to Joshua,

²“Now tell the Israelites to designate the cities of refuge, as I instructed Moses.

³Anyone who kills another person accidentally and unintentionally can run to one of these cities; they will be places of refuge from relatives seeking revenge for the person who was killed.

⁴“Upon reaching one of these cities, the one who caused the death will appear before the elders at the city gate and present his case. They must allow him to enter the city and give him a place to live among them.

⁵If the relatives of the victim come to avenge the killing, the leaders must not release the slayer to them, for he killed the other person unintentionally and without previous hostility.

⁶But the slayer must stay in that city and be tried by the local assembly, which will render a judgment. And he must continue to live in that city until the death of the high priest who was in office at the time of the accident. After that, he is free to return to his own home in the town from which he fled.”

⁷The following cities were designated as cities of refuge: Kedesh of Galilee, in the hill country of Naphtali; Shechem, in the hill country of Ephraim; and Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron), in the hill country of Judah.

⁸On the east side of the Jordan River, across from Jericho, the following cities were designated: Bezer, in the wilderness plain of the tribe of Reuben; Ramoth in Gilead, in the territory of the tribe of Gad; and Golan in Bashan, in the land of the tribe of Manasseh.

⁹These cities were set apart for all the Israelites as well as the foreigners living among them. Anyone who accidentally killed another person could take refuge in one of these cities. In this way, they could escape being killed in revenge prior to standing trial before the local assembly.

¹In the year when King Sargon of Assyria sent his commander in chief to capture the Philistine city of Ashdod,

²the LORD told Isaiah son of Amoz, “Take off the burlap you have been wearing, and remove your sandals.” Isaiah did as he was told and walked around naked and barefoot.

³Then the LORD said, “My servant Isaiah has been walking around naked and barefoot for the last three years. This is a sign — a symbol of the terrible troubles I will bring upon Egypt and Ethiopia.

⁴For the king of Assyria will take away the Egyptians and Ethiopians as prisoners. He will make them walk naked and barefoot, both young and old, their buttocks bared, to the shame of Egypt.

⁵Then the Philistines will be thrown into panic, for they counted on the power of Ethiopia and boasted of their allies in Egypt!

⁶They will say, ‘If this can happen to Egypt, what chance do we have? We were counting on Egypt to protect us from the king of Assyria.’”

¹When the uproar was over, Paul sent for the believers and encouraged them. Then he said good-bye and left for Macedonia.

²While there, he encouraged the believers in all the towns he passed through. Then he traveled down to Greece,

³where he stayed for three months. He was preparing to sail back to Syria when he discovered a plot by some Jews against his life, so he decided to return through Macedonia.

⁴Several men were traveling with him. They were Sopater son of Pyrrhus from Berea; Aristarchus and Secundus from Thessalonica; Gaius from Derbe; Timothy; and Tychicus and Trophimus from the province of Asia.

⁵They went on ahead and waited for us at Troas.

⁶After the Passover ended, we boarded a ship at Philippi in Macedonia and five days later joined them in Troas, where we stayed a week.

⁷On the first day of the week, we gathered with the local believers to share in the Lord’s Supper. Paul was preaching to them, and since he was leaving the next day, he kept talking until midnight.

⁸The upstairs room where we met was lighted with many flickering lamps.

⁹As Paul spoke on and on, a young man named Eutychus, sitting on the windowsill, became very drowsy. Finally, he fell sound asleep and dropped three stories to his death below.

¹⁰Paul went down, bent over him, and took him into his arms. “Don’t worry,” he said, “he’s alive!”

¹¹Then they all went back upstairs, shared in the Lord’s Supper, and ate together. Paul continued talking to them until dawn, and then he left.

¹²Meanwhile, the young man was taken home alive and well, and everyone was greatly relieved.

¹³Paul went by land to Assos, where he had arranged for us to join him, while we traveled by ship.

¹⁴He joined us there, and we sailed together to Mitylene.

¹⁵The next day we sailed past the island of Kios. The following day we crossed to the island of Samos, and a day later we arrived at Miletus.

¹⁶Paul had decided to sail on past Ephesus, for he didn’t want to spend any more time in the province of Asia. He was hurrying to get to Jerusalem, if possible, in time for the Festival of Pentecost.

¹⁷But when we landed at Miletus, he sent a message to the elders of the church at Ephesus, asking them to come and meet him.

¹⁸When they arrived he declared, “You know that from the day I set foot in the province of Asia until now

¹⁹I have done the Lord’s work humbly and with many tears. I have endured the trials that came to me from the plots of the Jews.

²⁰I never shrank back from telling you what you needed to hear, either publicly or in your homes.

²¹I have had one message for Jews and Greeks alike — the necessity of repenting from sin and turning to God, and of having faith in our Lord Jesus.

²²“And now I am bound by the Spirit to go to Jerusalem. I don’t know what awaits me,

²³except that the Holy Spirit tells me in city after city that jail and suffering lie ahead.

²⁴But my life is worth nothing to me unless I use it for finishing the work assigned me by the Lord Jesus — the work of telling others the Good News about the wonderful grace of God.

²⁵“And now I know that none of you to whom I have preached the Kingdom will ever see me again.

²⁶I declare today that I have been faithful. If anyone suffers eternal death, it’s not my fault,

²⁷for I didn’t shrink from declaring all that God wants you to know.

²⁸“So guard yourselves and God’s people. Feed and shepherd God’s flock — his church, purchased with his own blood — over which the Holy Spirit has appointed you as leaders.

²⁹I know that false teachers, like vicious wolves, will come in among you after I leave, not sparing the flock.

³⁰Even some men from your own group will rise up and distort the truth in order to draw a following.

³¹Watch out! Remember the three years I was with you — my constant watch and care over you night and day, and my many tears for you.

³²“And now I entrust you to God and the message of his grace that is able to build you up and give you an inheritance with all those he has set apart for himself.

³³“I have never coveted anyone’s silver or gold or fine clothes.

³⁴You know that these hands of mine have worked to supply my own needs and even the needs of those who were with me.

³⁵And I have been a constant example of how you can help those in need by working hard. You should remember the words of the Lord Jesus: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’”

³⁶When he had finished speaking, he knelt and prayed with them.

³⁷They all cried as they embraced and kissed him good-bye.

³⁸They were sad most of all because he had said that they would never see him again. Then they escorted him down to the ship.