Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹Once again Jesus began teaching by the lakeshore. A very large crowd soon gathered around him, so he got into a boat. Then he sat in the boat while all the people remained on the shore.

²He taught them by telling many stories in the form of parables, such as this one:

³“Listen! A farmer went out to plant some seed.

⁴As he scattered it across his field, some of the seed fell on a footpath, and the birds came and ate it.

⁵Other seed fell on shallow soil with underlying rock. The seed sprouted quickly because the soil was shallow.

⁶But the plant soon wilted under the hot sun, and since it didn’t have deep roots, it died.

⁷Other seed fell among thorns that grew up and choked out the tender plants so they produced no grain.

⁸Still other seeds fell on fertile soil, and they sprouted, grew, and produced a crop that was thirty, sixty, and even a hundred times as much as had been planted!”

⁹Then he said, “Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand.”

¹⁰Later, when Jesus was alone with the twelve disciples and with the others who were gathered around, they asked him what the parables meant.

¹¹He replied, “You are permitted to understand the secret of the Kingdom of God. But I use parables for everything I say to outsiders,

¹²so that the Scriptures might be fulfilled: ‘When they see what I do, they will learn nothing. When they hear what I say, they will not understand. Otherwise, they will turn to me and be forgiven.’ ”

¹³Then Jesus said to them, “If you can’t understand the meaning of this parable, how will you understand all the other parables?

¹⁴The farmer plants seed by taking God’s word to others.

¹⁵The seed that fell on the footpath represents those who hear the message, only to have Satan come at once and take it away.

¹⁶The seed on the rocky soil represents those who hear the message and immediately receive it with joy.

¹⁷But since they don’t have deep roots, they don’t last long. They fall away as soon as they have problems or are persecuted for believing God’s word.

¹⁸The seed that fell among the thorns represents others who hear God’s word,

¹⁹but all too quickly the message is crowded out by the worries of this life, the lure of wealth, and the desire for other things, so no fruit is produced.

²⁰And the seed that fell on good soil represents those who hear and accept God’s word and produce a harvest of thirty, sixty, or even a hundred times as much as had been planted!”

²¹Then Jesus asked them, “Would anyone light a lamp and then put it under a basket or under a bed? Of course not! A lamp is placed on a stand, where its light will shine.

²²For everything that is hidden will eventually be brought into the open, and every secret will be brought to light.

²³Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand.”

²⁴Then he added, “Pay close attention to what you hear. The closer you listen, the more understanding you will be given — and you will receive even more.

²⁵To those who listen to my teaching, more understanding will be given. But for those who are not listening, even what little understanding they have will be taken away from them.”

²⁶Jesus also said, “The Kingdom of God is like a farmer who scatters seed on the ground.

²⁷Night and day, while he’s asleep or awake, the seed sprouts and grows, but he does not understand how it happens.

²⁸The earth produces the crops on its own. First a leaf blade pushes through, then the heads of wheat are formed, and finally the grain ripens.

²⁹And as soon as the grain is ready, the farmer comes and harvests it with a sickle, for the harvest time has come.”

³⁰Jesus said, “How can I describe the Kingdom of God? What story should I use to illustrate it?

³¹It is like a mustard seed planted in the ground. It is the smallest of all seeds,

³²but it becomes the largest of all garden plants; it grows long branches, and birds can make nests in its shade.”

³³Jesus used many similar stories and illustrations to teach the people as much as they could understand.

³⁴In fact, in his public ministry he never taught without using parables; but afterward, when he was alone with his disciples, he explained everything to them.

³⁵As evening came, Jesus said to his disciples, “Let’s cross to the other side of the lake.”

³⁶So they took Jesus in the boat and started out, leaving the crowds behind (although other boats followed).

³⁷But soon a fierce storm came up. High waves were breaking into the boat, and it began to fill with water.

³⁸Jesus was sleeping at the back of the boat with his head on a cushion. The disciples woke him up, shouting, “Teacher, don’t you care that we’re going to drown?”

³⁹When Jesus woke up, he rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Silence! Be still!” Suddenly the wind stopped, and there was a great calm.

⁴⁰Then he asked them, “Why are you afraid? Do you still have no faith?”

⁴¹The disciples were absolutely terrified. “Who is this man?” they asked each other. “Even the wind and waves obey him!”

¹When Sarah was 127 years old,

²she died at Kiriath-arba (now called Hebron) in the land of Canaan. There Abraham mourned and wept for her.

³Then, leaving her body, he said to the Hittite elders,

⁴“Here I am, a stranger and a foreigner among you. Please sell me a piece of land so I can give my wife a proper burial.”

⁵The Hittites replied to Abraham,

⁶“Listen, my lord, you are an honored prince among us. Choose the finest of our tombs and bury her there. No one here will refuse to help you in this way.”

⁷Then Abraham bowed low before the Hittites

⁸and said, “Since you are willing to help me in this way, be so kind as to ask Ephron son of Zohar

⁹to let me buy his cave at Machpelah, down at the end of his field. I will pay the full price in the presence of witnesses, so I will have a permanent burial place for my family.”

¹⁰Ephron was sitting there among the others, and he answered Abraham as the others listened, speaking publicly before all the Hittite elders of the town.

¹¹“No, my lord,” he said to Abraham, “please listen to me. I will give you the field and the cave. Here in the presence of my people, I give it to you. Go and bury your dead.”

¹²Abraham again bowed low before the citizens of the land,

¹³and he replied to Ephron as everyone listened. “No, listen to me. I will buy it from you. Let me pay the full price for the field so I can bury my dead there.”

¹⁴Ephron answered Abraham,

¹⁵“My lord, please listen to me. The land is worth 400 pieces of silver, but what is that between friends? Go ahead and bury your dead.”

¹⁶So Abraham agreed to Ephron’s price and paid the amount he had suggested — 400 pieces of silver, weighed according to the market standard. The Hittite elders witnessed the transaction.

¹⁷So Abraham bought the plot of land belonging to Ephron at Machpelah, near Mamre. This included the field itself, the cave that was in it, and all the surrounding trees.

¹⁸It was transferred to Abraham as his permanent possession in the presence of the Hittite elders at the city gate.

¹⁹Then Abraham buried his wife, Sarah, there in Canaan, in the cave of Machpelah, near Mamre (also called Hebron).

²⁰So the field and the cave were transferred from the Hittites to Abraham for use as a permanent burial place.

¹When I think of all this, I, Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus for the benefit of you Gentiles . . .

²assuming, by the way, that you know God gave me the special responsibility of extending his grace to you Gentiles.

³As I briefly wrote earlier, God himself revealed his mysterious plan to me.

⁴As you read what I have written, you will understand my insight into this plan regarding Christ.

⁵God did not reveal it to previous generations, but now by his Spirit he has revealed it to his holy apostles and prophets.

⁶And this is God’s plan: Both Gentiles and Jews who believe the Good News share equally in the riches inherited by God’s children. Both are part of the same body, and both enjoy the promise of blessings because they belong to Christ Jesus.

⁷By God’s grace and mighty power, I have been given the privilege of serving him by spreading this Good News.

⁸Though I am the least deserving of all God’s people, he graciously gave me the privilege of telling the Gentiles about the endless treasures available to them in Christ.

⁹I was chosen to explain to everyone this mysterious plan that God, the Creator of all things, had kept secret from the beginning.

¹⁰God’s purpose in all this was to use the church to display his wisdom in its rich variety to all the unseen rulers and authorities in the heavenly places.

¹¹This was his eternal plan, which he carried out through Christ Jesus our Lord.

¹²Because of Christ and our faith in him, we can now come boldly and confidently into God’s presence.

¹³So please don’t lose heart because of my trials here. I am suffering for you, so you should feel honored.

¹⁴When I think of all this, I fall to my knees and pray to the Father,

¹⁵the Creator of everything in heaven and on earth.

¹⁶I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit.

¹⁷Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong.

¹⁸And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is.

¹⁹May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.

²⁰Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think.

²¹Glory to him in the church and in Christ Jesus through all generations forever and ever! Amen.

¹This letter is from Paul, chosen by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus. I have been sent out to tell others about the life he has promised through faith in Christ Jesus.

²I am writing to Timothy, my dear son. May God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord give you grace, mercy, and peace.

³Timothy, I thank God for you — the God I serve with a clear conscience, just as my ancestors did. Night and day I constantly remember you in my prayers.

⁴I long to see you again, for I remember your tears as we parted. And I will be filled with joy when we are together again.

⁵I remember your genuine faith, for you share the faith that first filled your grandmother Lois and your mother, Eunice. And I know that same faith continues strong in you.

⁶This is why I remind you to fan into flames the spiritual gift God gave you when I laid my hands on you.

⁷For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline.

⁸So never be ashamed to tell others about our Lord. And don’t be ashamed of me, either, even though I’m in prison for him. With the strength God gives you, be ready to suffer with me for the sake of the Good News.

⁹For God saved us and called us to live a holy life. He did this, not because we deserved it, but because that was his plan from before the beginning of time — to show us his grace through Christ Jesus.

¹⁰And now he has made all of this plain to us by the appearing of Christ Jesus, our Savior. He broke the power of death and illuminated the way to life and immortality through the Good News.

¹¹And God chose me to be a preacher, an apostle, and a teacher of this Good News.

¹²That is why I am suffering here in prison. But I am not ashamed of it, for I know the one in whom I trust, and I am sure that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him until the day of his return.

¹³Hold on to the pattern of wholesome teaching you learned from me — a pattern shaped by the faith and love that you have in Christ Jesus.

¹⁴Through the power of the Holy Spirit who lives within us, carefully guard the precious truth that has been entrusted to you.

¹⁵As you know, everyone from the province of Asia has deserted me — even Phygelus and Hermogenes.

¹⁶May the Lord show special kindness to Onesiphorus and all his family because he often visited and encouraged me. He was never ashamed of me because I was in chains.

¹⁷When he came to Rome, he searched everywhere until he found me.

¹⁸May the Lord show him special kindness on the day of Christ’s return. And you know very well how helpful he was in Ephesus.

¹“Why doesn’t the Almighty bring the wicked to judgment? Why must the godly wait for him in vain?

²Evil people steal land by moving the boundary markers. They steal livestock and put them in their own pastures.

³They take the orphan’s donkey and demand the widow’s ox as security for a loan.

⁴The poor are pushed off the path; the needy must hide together for safety.

⁵Like wild donkeys in the wilderness, the poor must spend all their time looking for food, searching even in the desert for food for their children.

⁶They harvest a field they do not own, and they glean in the vineyards of the wicked.

⁷All night they lie naked in the cold, without clothing or covering.

⁸They are soaked by mountain showers, and they huddle against the rocks for want of a home.

⁹“The wicked snatch a widow’s child from her breast, taking the baby as security for a loan.

¹⁰The poor must go about naked, without any clothing. They harvest food for others while they themselves are starving.

¹¹They press out olive oil without being allowed to taste it, and they tread in the winepress as they suffer from thirst.

¹²The groans of the dying rise from the city, and the wounded cry for help, yet God ignores their moaning.

¹³“Wicked people rebel against the light. They refuse to acknowledge its ways or stay in its paths.

¹⁴The murderer rises in the early dawn to kill the poor and needy; at night he is a thief.

¹⁵The adulterer waits for the twilight, saying, ‘No one will see me then.’ He hides his face so no one will know him.

¹⁶Thieves break into houses at night and sleep in the daytime. They are not acquainted with the light.

¹⁷The black night is their morning. They ally themselves with the terrors of the darkness.

¹⁸“But they disappear like foam down a river. Everything they own is cursed, and they are afraid to enter their own vineyards.

¹⁹The grave consumes sinners just as drought and heat consume snow.

²⁰Their own mothers will forget them. Maggots will find them sweet to eat. No one will remember them. Wicked people are broken like a tree in the storm.

²¹They cheat the woman who has no son to help her. They refuse to help the needy widow.

²²“God, in his power, drags away the rich. They may rise high, but they have no assurance of life.

²³They may be allowed to live in security, but God is always watching them.

²⁴And though they are great now, in a moment they will be gone like all others, cut off like heads of grain.

²⁵Can anyone claim otherwise? Who can prove me wrong?”

¹You have rejected us, O God, and broken our defenses. You have been angry with us; now restore us to your favor.

²You have shaken our land and split it open. Seal the cracks, for the land trembles.

³You have been very hard on us, making us drink wine that sent us reeling.

⁴But you have raised a banner for those who fear you — a rallying point in the face of attack. Interlude

⁵Now rescue your beloved people. Answer and save us by your power.

⁶God has promised this by his holiness : “I will divide up Shechem with joy. I will measure out the valley of Succoth.

⁷Gilead is mine, and Manasseh, too. Ephraim, my helmet, will produce my warriors, and Judah, my scepter, will produce my kings.

⁸But Moab, my washbasin, will become my servant, and I will wipe my feet on Edom and shout in triumph over Philistia.”

⁹Who will bring me into the fortified city? Who will bring me victory over Edom?

¹⁰Have you rejected us, O God? Will you no longer march with our armies?

¹¹Oh, please help us against our enemies, for all human help is useless.

¹²With God’s help we will do mighty things, for he will trample down our foes.

¹Don’t envy evil people or desire their company.

²For their hearts plot violence, and their words always stir up trouble.

³A house is built by wisdom and becomes strong through good sense.

⁴Through knowledge its rooms are filled with all sorts of precious riches and valuables.

⁵The wise are mightier than the strong, and those with knowledge grow stronger and stronger.

⁶So don’t go to war without wise guidance; victory depends on having many advisers.

⁷Wisdom is too lofty for fools. Among leaders at the city gate, they have nothing to say.

⁸A person who plans evil will get a reputation as a troublemaker.

⁹The schemes of a fool are sinful; everyone detests a mocker.

¹⁰If you fail under pressure, your strength is too small.

¹¹Rescue those who are unjustly sentenced to die; save them as they stagger to their death.

¹²Don’t excuse yourself by saying, “Look, we didn’t know.” For God understands all hearts, and he sees you. He who guards your soul knows you knew. He will repay all people as their actions deserve.

¹³My child, eat honey, for it is good, and the honeycomb is sweet to the taste.

¹⁴In the same way, wisdom is sweet to your soul. If you find it, you will have a bright future, and your hopes will not be cut short.

¹⁵Don’t wait in ambush at the home of the godly, and don’t raid the house where the godly live.

¹⁶The godly may trip seven times, but they will get up again. But one disaster is enough to overthrow the wicked.

¹⁷Don’t rejoice when your enemies fall; don’t be happy when they stumble.

¹⁸For the LORD will be displeased with you and will turn his anger away from them.

¹⁹Don’t fret because of evildoers; don’t envy the wicked.

²⁰For evil people have no future; the light of the wicked will be snuffed out.

²¹My child, fear the LORD and the king. Don’t associate with rebels,

²²for disaster will hit them suddenly. Who knows what punishment will come from the LORD and the king?

²³Here are some further sayings of the wise: It is wrong to show favoritism when passing judgment.

²⁴A judge who says to the wicked, “You are innocent,” will be cursed by many people and denounced by the nations.

²⁵But it will go well for those who convict the guilty; rich blessings will be showered on them.

²⁶An honest answer is like a kiss of friendship.

²⁷Do your planning and prepare your fields before building your house.

²⁸Don’t testify against your neighbors without cause; don’t lie about them.

²⁹And don’t say, “Now I can pay them back for what they’ve done to me! I’ll get even with them!”

³⁰I walked by the field of a lazy person, the vineyard of one with no common sense.

³¹I saw that it was overgrown with nettles. It was covered with weeds, and its walls were broken down.

³²Then, as I looked and thought about it, I learned this lesson:

³³A little extra sleep, a little more slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest —

³⁴then poverty will pounce on you like a bandit; scarcity will attack you like an armed robber.

¹King Hezekiah now sent word to all Israel and Judah, and he wrote letters of invitation to the people of Ephraim and Manasseh. He asked everyone to come to the Temple of the LORD at Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover of the LORD, the God of Israel.

²The king, his officials, and all the community of Jerusalem decided to celebrate Passover a month later than usual.

³They were unable to celebrate it at the prescribed time because not enough priests could be purified by then, and the people had not yet assembled at Jerusalem.

⁴This plan for keeping the Passover seemed right to the king and all the people.

⁵So they sent a proclamation throughout all Israel, from Beersheba in the south to Dan in the north, inviting everyone to come to Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover of the LORD, the God of Israel. The people had not been celebrating it in great numbers as required in the Law.

⁶At the king’s command, runners were sent throughout Israel and Judah. They carried letters that said: “O people of Israel, return to the LORD, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, so that he will return to the few of us who have survived the conquest of the Assyrian kings.

⁷Do not be like your ancestors and relatives who abandoned the LORD, the God of their ancestors, and became an object of derision, as you yourselves can see.

⁸Do not be stubborn, as they were, but submit yourselves to the LORD. Come to his Temple, which he has set apart as holy forever. Worship the LORD your God so that his fierce anger will turn away from you.

⁹“For if you return to the LORD, your relatives and your children will be treated mercifully by their captors, and they will be able to return to this land. For the LORD your God is gracious and merciful. If you return to him, he will not continue to turn his face from you.”

¹⁰The runners went from town to town throughout Ephraim and Manasseh and as far as the territory of Zebulun. But most of the people just laughed at the runners and made fun of them.

¹¹However, some people from Asher, Manasseh, and Zebulun humbled themselves and went to Jerusalem.

¹²At the same time, God’s hand was on the people in the land of Judah, giving them all one heart to obey the orders of the king and his officials, who were following the word of the LORD.

¹³So a huge crowd assembled at Jerusalem in midspring to celebrate the Festival of Unleavened Bread.

¹⁴They set to work and removed the pagan altars from Jerusalem. They took away all the incense altars and threw them into the Kidron Valley.

¹⁵On the fourteenth day of the second month, one month later than usual, the people slaughtered the Passover lamb. This shamed the priests and Levites, so they purified themselves and brought burnt offerings to the Temple of the LORD.

¹⁶Then they took their places at the Temple as prescribed in the Law of Moses, the man of God. The Levites brought the sacrificial blood to the priests, who then sprinkled it on the altar.

¹⁷Since many of the people had not purified themselves, the Levites had to slaughter their Passover lamb for them, to set them apart for the LORD.

¹⁸Most of those who came from Ephraim, Manasseh, Issachar, and Zebulun had not purified themselves. But King Hezekiah prayed for them, and they were allowed to eat the Passover meal anyway, even though this was contrary to the requirements of the Law. For Hezekiah said, “May the LORD, who is good, pardon those

¹⁹who decide to follow the LORD, the God of their ancestors, even though they are not properly cleansed for the ceremony.”

²⁰And the LORD listened to Hezekiah’s prayer and healed the people.

²¹So the people of Israel who were present in Jerusalem joyously celebrated the Festival of Unleavened Bread for seven days. Each day the Levites and priests sang to the LORD, accompanied by loud instruments.

²²Hezekiah encouraged all the Levites regarding the skill they displayed as they served the LORD. The celebration continued for seven days. Peace offerings were sacrificed, and the people gave thanks to the LORD, the God of their ancestors.

²³The entire assembly then decided to continue the festival another seven days, so they celebrated joyfully for another week.

²⁴King Hezekiah gave the people 1,000 bulls and 7,000 sheep and goats for offerings, and the officials donated 1,000 bulls and 10,000 sheep and goats. Meanwhile, many more priests purified themselves.

²⁵The entire assembly of Judah rejoiced, including the priests, the Levites, all who came from the land of Israel, the foreigners who came to the festival, and all those who lived in Judah.

²⁶There was great joy in the city, for Jerusalem had not seen a celebration like this one since the days of Solomon, King David’s son.

²⁷Then the priests and Levites stood and blessed the people, and God heard their prayer from his holy dwelling in heaven.

¹The same thing happened in Iconium. Paul and Barnabas went to the Jewish synagogue and preached with such power that a great number of both Jews and Greeks became believers.

²Some of the Jews, however, spurned God’s message and poisoned the minds of the Gentiles against Paul and Barnabas.

³But the apostles stayed there a long time, preaching boldly about the grace of the Lord. And the Lord proved their message was true by giving them power to do miraculous signs and wonders.

⁴But the people of the town were divided in their opinion about them. Some sided with the Jews, and some with the apostles.

⁵Then a mob of Gentiles and Jews, along with their leaders, decided to attack and stone them.

⁶When the apostles learned of it, they fled to the region of Lycaonia — to the towns of Lystra and Derbe and the surrounding area.

⁷And there they preached the Good News.

⁸While they were at Lystra, Paul and Barnabas came upon a man with crippled feet. He had been that way from birth, so he had never walked. He was sitting

⁹and listening as Paul preached. Looking straight at him, Paul realized he had faith to be healed.

¹⁰So Paul called to him in a loud voice, “Stand up!” And the man jumped to his feet and started walking.

¹¹When the crowd saw what Paul had done, they shouted in their local dialect, “These men are gods in human form!”

¹²They decided that Barnabas was the Greek god Zeus and that Paul was Hermes, since he was the chief speaker.

¹³Now the temple of Zeus was located just outside the town. So the priest of the temple and the crowd brought bulls and wreaths of flowers to the town gates, and they prepared to offer sacrifices to the apostles.

¹⁴But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard what was happening, they tore their clothing in dismay and ran out among the people, shouting,

¹⁵“Friends, why are you doing this? We are merely human beings — just like you! We have come to bring you the Good News that you should turn from these worthless things and turn to the living God, who made heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them.

¹⁶In the past he permitted all the nations to go their own ways,

¹⁷but he never left them without evidence of himself and his goodness. For instance, he sends you rain and good crops and gives you food and joyful hearts.”

¹⁸But even with these words, Paul and Barnabas could scarcely restrain the people from sacrificing to them.

¹⁹Then some Jews arrived from Antioch and Iconium and won the crowds to their side. They stoned Paul and dragged him out of town, thinking he was dead.

²⁰But as the believers gathered around him, he got up and went back into the town. The next day he left with Barnabas for Derbe.

²¹After preaching the Good News in Derbe and making many disciples, Paul and Barnabas returned to Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch of Pisidia,

²²where they strengthened the believers. They encouraged them to continue in the faith, reminding them that we must suffer many hardships to enter the Kingdom of God.

²³Paul and Barnabas also appointed elders in every church. With prayer and fasting, they turned the elders over to the care of the Lord, in whom they had put their trust.

²⁴Then they traveled back through Pisidia to Pamphylia.

²⁵They preached the word in Perga, then went down to Attalia.

²⁶Finally, they returned by ship to Antioch of Syria, where their journey had begun. The believers there had entrusted them to the grace of God to do the work they had now completed.

²⁷Upon arriving in Antioch, they called the church together and reported everything God had done through them and how he had opened the door of faith to the Gentiles, too.

²⁸And they stayed there with the believers for a long time.