Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹Saturday evening, when the Sabbath ended, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome went out and purchased burial spices so they could anoint Jesus’ body.

²Very early on Sunday morning, just at sunrise, they went to the tomb.

³On the way they were asking each other, “Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance to the tomb?”

⁴But as they arrived, they looked up and saw that the stone, which was very large, had already been rolled aside.

⁵When they entered the tomb, they saw a young man clothed in a white robe sitting on the right side. The women were shocked,

⁶but the angel said, “Don’t be alarmed. You are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He isn’t here! He is risen from the dead! Look, this is where they laid his body.

⁷Now go and tell his disciples, including Peter, that Jesus is going ahead of you to Galilee. You will see him there, just as he told you before he died.”

⁸The women fled from the tomb, trembling and bewildered, and they said nothing to anyone because they were too frightened. [The most ancient manuscripts of Mark conclude with verse 16:8. Later manuscripts add one or both of the following endings.] [Shorter Ending of Mark] Then they briefly reported all this to Peter and his companions. Afterward Jesus himself sent them out from east to west with the sacred and unfailing message of salvation that gives eternal life. Amen. [Longer Ending of Mark]

⁹After Jesus rose from the dead early on Sunday morning, the first person who saw him was Mary Magdalene, the woman from whom he had cast out seven demons.

¹⁰She went to the disciples, who were grieving and weeping, and told them what had happened.

¹¹But when she told them that Jesus was alive and she had seen him, they didn’t believe her.

¹²Afterward he appeared in a different form to two of his followers who were walking from Jerusalem into the country.

¹³They rushed back to tell the others, but no one believed them.

¹⁴Still later he appeared to the eleven disciples as they were eating together. He rebuked them for their stubborn unbelief because they refused to believe those who had seen him after he had been raised from the dead.

¹⁵And then he told them, “Go into all the world and preach the Good News to everyone.

¹⁶Anyone who believes and is baptized will be saved. But anyone who refuses to believe will be condemned.

¹⁷These miraculous signs will accompany those who believe: They will cast out demons in my name, and they will speak in new languages.

¹⁸They will be able to handle snakes with safety, and if they drink anything poisonous, it won’t hurt them. They will be able to place their hands on the sick, and they will be healed.”

¹⁹When the Lord Jesus had finished talking with them, he was taken up into heaven and sat down in the place of honor at God’s right hand.

²⁰And the disciples went everywhere and preached, and the Lord worked through them, confirming what they said by many miraculous signs.

¹Then God said to Jacob, “Get ready and move to Bethel and settle there. Build an altar there to the God who appeared to you when you fled from your brother, Esau.”

²So Jacob told everyone in his household, “Get rid of all your pagan idols, purify yourselves, and put on clean clothing.

³We are now going to Bethel, where I will build an altar to the God who answered my prayers when I was in distress. He has been with me wherever I have gone.”

⁴So they gave Jacob all their pagan idols and earrings, and he buried them under the great tree near Shechem.

⁵As they set out, a terror from God spread over the people in all the towns of that area, so no one attacked Jacob’s family.

⁶Eventually, Jacob and his household arrived at Luz (also called Bethel) in Canaan.

⁷Jacob built an altar there and named the place El-bethel (which means “God of Bethel”), because God had appeared to him there when he was fleeing from his brother, Esau.

⁸Soon after this, Rebekah’s old nurse, Deborah, died. She was buried beneath the oak tree in the valley below Bethel. Ever since, the tree has been called Allon-bacuth (which means “oak of weeping”).

⁹Now that Jacob had returned from Paddan-aram, God appeared to him again at Bethel. God blessed him,

¹⁰saying, “Your name is Jacob, but you will not be called Jacob any longer. From now on your name will be Israel.” So God renamed him Israel.

¹¹Then God said, “I am El-Shaddai — ‘God Almighty.’ Be fruitful and multiply. You will become a great nation, even many nations. Kings will be among your descendants!

¹²And I will give you the land I once gave to Abraham and Isaac. Yes, I will give it to you and your descendants after you.”

¹³Then God went up from the place where he had spoken to Jacob.

¹⁴Jacob set up a stone pillar to mark the place where God had spoken to him. Then he poured wine over it as an offering to God and anointed the pillar with olive oil.

¹⁵And Jacob named the place Bethel (which means “house of God”), because God had spoken to him there.

¹⁶Leaving Bethel, Jacob and his clan moved on toward Ephrath. But Rachel went into labor while they were still some distance away. Her labor pains were intense.

¹⁷After a very hard delivery, the midwife finally exclaimed, “Don’t be afraid — you have another son!”

¹⁸Rachel was about to die, but with her last breath she named the baby Ben-oni (which means “son of my sorrow”). The baby’s father, however, called him Benjamin (which means “son of my right hand”).

¹⁹So Rachel died and was buried on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem).

²⁰Jacob set up a stone monument over Rachel’s grave, and it can be seen there to this day.

²¹Then Jacob traveled on and camped beyond Migdal-eder.

²²While he was living there, Reuben had intercourse with Bilhah, his father’s concubine, and Jacob soon heard about it. These are the names of the twelve sons of Jacob:

²³The sons of Leah were Reuben (Jacob’s oldest son), Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun.

²⁴The sons of Rachel were Joseph and Benjamin.

²⁵The sons of Bilhah, Rachel’s servant, were Dan and Naphtali.

²⁶The sons of Zilpah, Leah’s servant, were Gad and Asher. These are the names of the sons who were born to Jacob at Paddan-aram.

²⁷So Jacob returned to his father, Isaac, in Mamre, which is near Kiriath-arba (now called Hebron), where Abraham and Isaac had both lived as foreigners.

²⁸Isaac lived for 180 years.

²⁹Then he breathed his last and died at a ripe old age, joining his ancestors in death. And his sons, Esau and Jacob, buried him.

¹Long ago God spoke many times and in many ways to our ancestors through the prophets.

²And now in these final days, he has spoken to us through his Son. God promised everything to the Son as an inheritance, and through the Son he created the universe.

³The Son radiates God’s own glory and expresses the very character of God, and he sustains everything by the mighty power of his command. When he had cleansed us from our sins, he sat down in the place of honor at the right hand of the majestic God in heaven.

⁴This shows that the Son is far greater than the angels, just as the name God gave him is greater than their names.

⁵For God never said to any angel what he said to Jesus: “You are my Son. Today I have become your Father. ” God also said, “I will be his Father, and he will be my Son.”

⁶And when he brought his supreme Son into the world, God said, “Let all of God’s angels worship him.”

⁷Regarding the angels, he says, “He sends his angels like the winds, his servants like flames of fire.”

⁸But to the Son he says, “Your throne, O God, endures forever and ever. You rule with a scepter of justice.

⁹You love justice and hate evil. Therefore, O God, your God has anointed you, pouring out the oil of joy on you more than on anyone else.”

¹⁰He also says to the Son, “In the beginning, Lord, you laid the foundation of the earth and made the heavens with your hands.

¹¹They will perish, but you remain forever. They will wear out like old clothing.

¹²You will fold them up like a cloak and discard them like old clothing. But you are always the same; you will live forever.”

¹³And God never said to any of the angels, “Sit in the place of honor at my right hand until I humble your enemies, making them a footstool under your feet.”

¹⁴Therefore, angels are only servants — spirits sent to care for people who will inherit salvation.

¹Look here, you rich people: Weep and groan with anguish because of all the terrible troubles ahead of you.

²Your wealth is rotting away, and your fine clothes are moth-eaten rags.

³Your gold and silver are corroded. The very wealth you were counting on will eat away your flesh like fire. This corroded treasure you have hoarded will testify against you on the day of judgment.

⁴For listen! Hear the cries of the field workers whom you have cheated of their pay. The cries of those who harvest your fields have reached the ears of the LORD of Heaven’s Armies.

⁵You have spent your years on earth in luxury, satisfying your every desire. You have fattened yourselves for the day of slaughter.

⁶You have condemned and killed innocent people, who do not resist you.

⁷Dear brothers and sisters, be patient as you wait for the Lord’s return. Consider the farmers who patiently wait for the rains in the fall and in the spring. They eagerly look for the valuable harvest to ripen.

⁸You, too, must be patient. Take courage, for the coming of the Lord is near.

⁹Don’t grumble about each other, brothers and sisters, or you will be judged. For look — the Judge is standing at the door!

¹⁰For examples of patience in suffering, dear brothers and sisters, look at the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord.

¹¹We give great honor to those who endure under suffering. For instance, you know about Job, a man of great endurance. You can see how the Lord was kind to him at the end, for the Lord is full of tenderness and mercy.

¹²But most of all, my brothers and sisters, never take an oath, by heaven or earth or anything else. Just say a simple yes or no, so that you will not sin and be condemned.

¹³Are any of you suffering hardships? You should pray. Are any of you happy? You should sing praises.

¹⁴Are any of you sick? You should call for the elders of the church to come and pray over you, anointing you with oil in the name of the Lord.

¹⁵Such a prayer offered in faith will heal the sick, and the Lord will make you well. And if you have committed any sins, you will be forgiven.

¹⁶Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results.

¹⁷Elijah was as human as we are, and yet when he prayed earnestly that no rain would fall, none fell for three and a half years!

¹⁸Then, when he prayed again, the sky sent down rain and the earth began to yield its crops.

¹⁹My dear brothers and sisters, if someone among you wanders away from the truth and is brought back,

²⁰you can be sure that whoever brings the sinner back from wandering will save that person from death and bring about the forgiveness of many sins.

¹Elihu continued speaking:

²“Let me go on, and I will show you the truth. For I have not finished defending God!

³I will present profound arguments for the righteousness of my Creator.

⁴I am telling you nothing but the truth, for I am a man of great knowledge.

⁵“God is mighty, but he does not despise anyone! He is mighty in both power and understanding.

⁶He does not let the wicked live but gives justice to the afflicted.

⁷He never takes his eyes off the innocent, but he sets them on thrones with kings and exalts them forever.

⁸If they are bound in chains and caught up in a web of trouble,

⁹he shows them the reason. He shows them their sins of pride.

¹⁰He gets their attention and commands that they turn from evil.

¹¹“If they listen and obey God, they will be blessed with prosperity throughout their lives. All their years will be pleasant.

¹²But if they refuse to listen to him, they will cross over the river of death, dying from lack of understanding.

¹³For the godless are full of resentment. Even when he punishes them, they refuse to cry out to him for help.

¹⁴They die when they are young, after wasting their lives in immoral living.

¹⁵But by means of their suffering, he rescues those who suffer. For he gets their attention through adversity.

¹⁶“God is leading you away from danger, Job, to a place free from distress. He is setting your table with the best food.

¹⁷But you are obsessed with whether the godless will be judged. Don’t worry, judgment and justice will be upheld.

¹⁸But watch out, or you may be seduced by wealth. Don’t let yourself be bribed into sin.

¹⁹Could all your wealth or all your mighty efforts keep you from distress?

²⁰Do not long for the cover of night, for that is when people will be destroyed.

²¹Be on guard! Turn back from evil, for God sent this suffering to keep you from a life of evil.

²²“Look, God is all-powerful. Who is a teacher like him?

²³No one can tell him what to do, or say to him, ‘You have done wrong.’

²⁴Instead, glorify his mighty works, singing songs of praise.

²⁵Everyone has seen these things, though only from a distance.

²⁶“Look, God is greater than we can understand. His years cannot be counted.

²⁷He draws up the water vapor and then distills it into rain.

²⁸The rain pours down from the clouds, and everyone benefits.

²⁹Who can understand the spreading of the clouds and the thunder that rolls forth from heaven?

³⁰See how he spreads the lightning around him and how it lights up the depths of the sea.

³¹By these mighty acts he nourishes the people, giving them food in abundance.

³²He fills his hands with lightning bolts and hurls each at its target.

³³The thunder announces his presence; the storm announces his indignant anger.

¹Give your love of justice to the king, O God, and righteousness to the king’s son.

²Help him judge your people in the right way; let the poor always be treated fairly.

³May the mountains yield prosperity for all, and may the hills be fruitful.

⁴Help him to defend the poor, to rescue the children of the needy, and to crush their oppressors.

⁵May they fear you as long as the sun shines, as long as the moon remains in the sky. Yes, forever!

⁶May the king’s rule be refreshing like spring rain on freshly cut grass, like the showers that water the earth.

⁷May all the godly flourish during his reign. May there be abundant prosperity until the moon is no more.

⁸May he reign from sea to sea, and from the Euphrates River to the ends of the earth.

⁹Desert nomads will bow before him; his enemies will fall before him in the dust.

¹⁰The western kings of Tarshish and other distant lands will bring him tribute. The eastern kings of Sheba and Seba will bring him gifts.

¹¹All kings will bow before him, and all nations will serve him.

¹²He will rescue the poor when they cry to him; he will help the oppressed, who have no one to defend them.

¹³He feels pity for the weak and the needy, and he will rescue them.

¹⁴He will redeem them from oppression and violence, for their lives are precious to him.

¹⁵Long live the king! May the gold of Sheba be given to him. May the people always pray for him and bless him all day long.

¹⁶May there be abundant grain throughout the land, flourishing even on the hilltops. May the fruit trees flourish like the trees of Lebanon, and may the people thrive like grass in a field.

¹⁷May the king’s name endure forever; may it continue as long as the sun shines. May all nations be blessed through him and bring him praise.

¹⁸Praise the LORD God, the God of Israel, who alone does such wonderful things.

¹⁹Praise his glorious name forever! Let the whole earth be filled with his glory. Amen and amen!

²⁰(This ends the prayers of David son of Jesse.)

¹My son, pay attention to my wisdom; listen carefully to my wise counsel.

²Then you will show discernment, and your lips will express what you’ve learned.

³For the lips of an immoral woman are as sweet as honey, and her mouth is smoother than oil.

⁴But in the end she is as bitter as poison, as dangerous as a double-edged sword.

⁵Her feet go down to death; her steps lead straight to the grave.

⁶For she cares nothing about the path to life. She staggers down a crooked trail and doesn’t realize it.

⁷So now, my sons, listen to me. Never stray from what I am about to say:

⁸Stay away from her! Don’t go near the door of her house!

⁹If you do, you will lose your honor and will lose to merciless people all you have achieved.

¹⁰Strangers will consume your wealth, and someone else will enjoy the fruit of your labor.

¹¹In the end you will groan in anguish when disease consumes your body.

¹²You will say, “How I hated discipline! If only I had not ignored all the warnings!

¹³Oh, why didn’t I listen to my teachers? Why didn’t I pay attention to my instructors?

¹⁴I have come to the brink of utter ruin, and now I must face public disgrace.”

¹⁵Drink water from your own well — share your love only with your wife.

¹⁶Why spill the water of your springs in the streets, having sex with just anyone?

¹⁷You should reserve it for yourselves. Never share it with strangers.

¹⁸Let your wife be a fountain of blessing for you. Rejoice in the wife of your youth.

¹⁹She is a loving deer, a graceful doe. Let her breasts satisfy you always. May you always be captivated by her love.

²⁰Why be captivated, my son, by an immoral woman, or fondle the breasts of a promiscuous woman?

²¹For the LORD sees clearly what a man does, examining every path he takes.

²²An evil man is held captive by his own sins; they are ropes that catch and hold him.

²³He will die for lack of self-control; he will be lost because of his great foolishness.

¹So King Darius issued orders that a search be made in the Babylonian archives, which were stored in the treasury.

²But it was at the fortress at Ecbatana in the province of Media that a scroll was found. This is what it said: “Memorandum:

³“In the first year of King Cyrus’s reign, a decree was sent out concerning the Temple of God at Jerusalem. “Let the Temple be rebuilt on the site where Jews used to offer their sacrifices, using the original foundations. Its height will be ninety feet, and its width will be ninety feet.

⁴Every three layers of specially prepared stones will be topped by a layer of timber. All expenses will be paid by the royal treasury.

⁵Furthermore, the gold and silver cups, which were taken to Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar from the Temple of God in Jerusalem, must be returned to Jerusalem and put back where they belong. Let them be taken back to the Temple of God.”

⁶So King Darius sent this message: “Now therefore, Tattenai, governor of the province west of the Euphrates River, and Shethar-bozenai, and your colleagues and other officials west of the Euphrates River — stay away from there!

⁷Do not disturb the construction of the Temple of God. Let it be rebuilt on its original site, and do not hinder the governor of Judah and the elders of the Jews in their work.

⁸“Moreover, I hereby decree that you are to help these elders of the Jews as they rebuild this Temple of God. You must pay the full construction costs, without delay, from my taxes collected in the province west of the Euphrates River so that the work will not be interrupted.

⁹“Give the priests in Jerusalem whatever is needed in the way of young bulls, rams, and male lambs for the burnt offerings presented to the God of heaven. And without fail, provide them with as much wheat, salt, wine, and olive oil as they need each day.

¹⁰Then they will be able to offer acceptable sacrifices to the God of heaven and pray for the welfare of the king and his sons.

¹¹“Those who violate this decree in any way will have a beam pulled from their house. Then they will be lifted up and impaled on it, and their house will be reduced to a pile of rubble.

¹²May the God who has chosen the city of Jerusalem as the place to honor his name destroy any king or nation that violates this command and destroys this Temple. “I, Darius, have issued this decree. Let it be obeyed with all diligence.”

¹³Tattenai, governor of the province west of the Euphrates River, and Shethar-bozenai and their colleagues complied at once with the command of King Darius.

¹⁴So the Jewish elders continued their work, and they were greatly encouraged by the preaching of the prophets Haggai and Zechariah son of Iddo. The Temple was finally finished, as had been commanded by the God of Israel and decreed by Cyrus, Darius, and Artaxerxes, the kings of Persia.

¹⁵The Temple was completed on March 12, during the sixth year of King Darius’s reign.

¹⁶The Temple of God was then dedicated with great joy by the people of Israel, the priests, the Levites, and the rest of the people who had returned from exile.

¹⁷During the dedication ceremony for the Temple of God, 100 young bulls, 200 rams, and 400 male lambs were sacrificed. And 12 male goats were presented as a sin offering for the twelve tribes of Israel.

¹⁸Then the priests and Levites were divided into their various divisions to serve at the Temple of God in Jerusalem, as prescribed in the Book of Moses.

¹⁹On April 21 the returned exiles celebrated Passover.

²⁰The priests and Levites had purified themselves and were ceremonially clean. So they slaughtered the Passover lamb for all the returned exiles, for their fellow priests, and for themselves.

²¹The Passover meal was eaten by the people of Israel who had returned from exile and by the others in the land who had turned from their corrupt practices to worship the LORD, the God of Israel.

²²Then they celebrated the Festival of Unleavened Bread for seven days. There was great joy throughout the land because the LORD had caused the king of Assyria to be favorable to them, so that he helped them to rebuild the Temple of God, the God of Israel.

¹Then Agrippa said to Paul, “You may speak in your defense.” So Paul, gesturing with his hand, started his defense:

²“I am fortunate, King Agrippa, that you are the one hearing my defense today against all these accusations made by the Jewish leaders,

³for I know you are an expert on all Jewish customs and controversies. Now please listen to me patiently!

⁴“As the Jewish leaders are well aware, I was given a thorough Jewish training from my earliest childhood among my own people and in Jerusalem.

⁵If they would admit it, they know that I have been a member of the Pharisees, the strictest sect of our religion.

⁶Now I am on trial because of my hope in the fulfillment of God’s promise made to our ancestors.

⁷In fact, that is why the twelve tribes of Israel zealously worship God night and day, and they share the same hope I have. Yet, Your Majesty, they accuse me for having this hope!

⁸Why does it seem incredible to any of you that God can raise the dead?

⁹“I used to believe that I ought to do everything I could to oppose the very name of Jesus the Nazarene.

¹⁰Indeed, I did just that in Jerusalem. Authorized by the leading priests, I caused many believers there to be sent to prison. And I cast my vote against them when they were condemned to death.

¹¹Many times I had them punished in the synagogues to get them to curse Jesus. I was so violently opposed to them that I even chased them down in foreign cities.

¹²“One day I was on such a mission to Damascus, armed with the authority and commission of the leading priests.

¹³About noon, Your Majesty, as I was on the road, a light from heaven brighter than the sun shone down on me and my companions.

¹⁴We all fell down, and I heard a voice saying to me in Aramaic, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? It is useless for you to fight against my will. ’

¹⁵“‘Who are you, lord?’ I asked. “And the Lord replied, ‘I am Jesus, the one you are persecuting.

¹⁶Now get to your feet! For I have appeared to you to appoint you as my servant and witness. Tell people that you have seen me, and tell them what I will show you in the future.

¹⁷And I will rescue you from both your own people and the Gentiles. Yes, I am sending you to the Gentiles

¹⁸to open their eyes, so they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God. Then they will receive forgiveness for their sins and be given a place among God’s people, who are set apart by faith in me.’

¹⁹“And so, King Agrippa, I obeyed that vision from heaven.

²⁰I preached first to those in Damascus, then in Jerusalem and throughout all Judea, and also to the Gentiles, that all must repent of their sins and turn to God — and prove they have changed by the good things they do.

²¹Some Jews arrested me in the Temple for preaching this, and they tried to kill me.

²²But God has protected me right up to this present time so I can testify to everyone, from the least to the greatest. I teach nothing except what the prophets and Moses said would happen —

²³that the Messiah would suffer and be the first to rise from the dead, and in this way announce God’s light to Jews and Gentiles alike.”

²⁴Suddenly, Festus shouted, “Paul, you are insane. Too much study has made you crazy!”

²⁵But Paul replied, “I am not insane, Most Excellent Festus. What I am saying is the sober truth.

²⁶And King Agrippa knows about these things. I speak boldly, for I am sure these events are all familiar to him, for they were not done in a corner!

²⁷King Agrippa, do you believe the prophets? I know you do — ”

²⁸Agrippa interrupted him. “Do you think you can persuade me to become a Christian so quickly?”

²⁹Paul replied, “Whether quickly or not, I pray to God that both you and everyone here in this audience might become the same as I am, except for these chains.”

³⁰Then the king, the governor, Bernice, and all the others stood and left.

³¹As they went out, they talked it over and agreed, “This man hasn’t done anything to deserve death or imprisonment.”

³²And Agrippa said to Festus, “He could have been set free if he hadn’t appealed to Caesar.”