Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹In the fifteenth year of the reign of Emperor Tiberius, when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, and Herod was ruler of Galilee, and his brother Philip ruler of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias ruler of Abilene,

²during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the wilderness.

³He went into all the region around the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins,

⁴as it is written in the book of the words of the prophet Isaiah, “The voice of one crying out in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.

⁵Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be made low, and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways made smooth;

⁶and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.’”

⁷John said to the crowds that came out to be baptized by him, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?

⁸Bear fruits worthy of repentance. Do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our ancestor’; for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham.

⁹Even now the ax is lying at the root of the trees; every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.”

¹⁰And the crowds asked him, “What then should we do?”

¹¹In reply he said to them, “Whoever has two coats must share with anyone who has none; and whoever has food must do likewise.”

¹²Even tax collectors came to be baptized, and they asked him, “Teacher, what should we do?”

¹³He said to them, “Collect no more than the amount prescribed for you.”

¹⁴Soldiers also asked him, “And we, what should we do?” He said to them, “Do not extort money from anyone by threats or false accusation, and be satisfied with your wages.”

¹⁵As the people were filled with expectation, and all were questioning in their hearts concerning John, whether he might be the Messiah,

¹⁶John answered all of them by saying, “I baptize you with water; but one who is more powerful than I is coming; I am not worthy to untie the thong of his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.

¹⁷His winnowing fork is in his hand, to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his granary; but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.”

¹⁸So, with many other exhortations, he proclaimed the good news to the people.

¹⁹But Herod the ruler, who had been rebuked by him because of Herodias, his brother’s wife, and because of all the evil things that Herod had done,

²⁰added to them all by shutting up John in prison.

²¹Now when all the people were baptized, and when Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the heaven was opened,

²²and the Holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.”

²³Jesus was about thirty years old when he began his work. He was the son (as was thought) of Joseph son of Heli,

²⁴son of Matthat, son of Levi, son of Melchi, son of Jannai, son of Joseph,

²⁵son of Mattathias, son of Amos, son of Nahum, son of Esli, son of Naggai,

²⁶son of Maath, son of Mattathias, son of Semein, son of Josech, son of Joda,

²⁷son of Joanan, son of Rhesa, son of Zerubbabel, son of Shealtiel, son of Neri,

²⁸son of Melchi, son of Addi, son of Cosam, son of Elmadam, son of Er,

²⁹son of Joshua, son of Eliezer, son of Jorim, son of Matthat, son of Levi,

³⁰son of Simeon, son of Judah, son of Joseph, son of Jonam, son of Eliakim,

³¹son of Melea, son of Menna, son of Mattatha, son of Nathan, son of David,

³²son of Jesse, son of Obed, son of Boaz, son of Sala, son of Nahshon,

³³son of Amminadab, son of Admin, son of Arni, son of Hezron, son of Perez, son of Judah,

³⁴son of Jacob, son of Isaac, son of Abraham, son of Terah, son of Nahor,

³⁵son of Serug, son of Reu, son of Peleg, son of Eber, son of Shelah,

³⁶son of Cainan, son of Arphaxad, son of Shem, son of Noah, son of Lamech,

³⁷son of Methuselah, son of Enoch, son of Jared, son of Mahalaleel, son of Cainan,

³⁸son of Enos, son of Seth, son of Adam, son of God.

¹It happened at that time that Judah went down from his brothers and settled near a certain Adullamite whose name was Hirah.

²There Judah saw the daughter of a certain Canaanite whose name was Shua; he married her and went in to her.

³She conceived and bore a son; and he named him Er.

⁴Again she conceived and bore a son whom she named Onan.

⁵Yet again she bore a son, and she named him Shelah. She was in Chezib when she bore him.

⁶Judah took a wife for Er his firstborn; her name was Tamar.

⁷But Er, Judah’s firstborn, was wicked in the sight of the LORD, and the LORD put him to death.

⁸Then Judah said to Onan, “Go in to your brother’s wife and perform the duty of a brother-in-law to her; raise up offspring for your brother.”

⁹But since Onan knew that the offspring would not be his, he spilled his semen on the ground whenever he went in to his brother’s wife, so that he would not give offspring to his brother.

¹⁰What he did was displeasing in the sight of the LORD, and he put him to death also.

¹¹Then Judah said to his daughter-in-law Tamar, “Remain a widow in your father’s house until my son Shelah grows up” — for he feared that he too would die, like his brothers. So Tamar went to live in her father’s house.

¹²In course of time the wife of Judah, Shua’s daughter, died; when Judah’s time of mourning was over, he went up to Timnah to his sheepshearers, he and his friend Hirah the Adullamite.

¹³When Tamar was told, “Your father-in-law is going up to Timnah to shear his sheep,”

¹⁴she put off her widow’s garments, put on a veil, wrapped herself up, and sat down at the entrance to Enaim, which is on the road to Timnah. She saw that Shelah was grown up, yet she had not been given to him in marriage.

¹⁵When Judah saw her, he thought her to be a prostitute, for she had covered her face.

¹⁶He went over to her at the roadside, and said, “Come, let me come in to you,” for he did not know that she was his daughter-in-law. She said, “What will you give me, that you may come in to me?”

¹⁷He answered, “I will send you a kid from the flock.” And she said, “Only if you give me a pledge, until you send it.”

¹⁸He said, “What pledge shall I give you?” She replied, “Your signet and your cord, and the staff that is in your hand.” So he gave them to her, and went in to her, and she conceived by him.

¹⁹Then she got up and went away, and taking off her veil she put on the garments of her widowhood.

²⁰When Judah sent the kid by his friend the Adullamite, to recover the pledge from the woman, he could not find her.

²¹He asked the townspeople, “Where is the temple prostitute who was at Enaim by the wayside?” But they said, “No prostitute has been here.”

²²So he returned to Judah, and said, “I have not found her; moreover the townspeople said, ‘No prostitute has been here.’”

²³Judah replied, “Let her keep the things as her own, otherwise we will be laughed at; you see, I sent this kid, and you could not find her.”

²⁴About three months later Judah was told, “Your daughter-in-law Tamar has played the whore; moreover she is pregnant as a result of whoredom.” And Judah said, “Bring her out, and let her be burned.”

²⁵As she was being brought out, she sent word to her father-in-law, “It was the owner of these who made me pregnant.” And she said, “Take note, please, whose these are, the signet and the cord and the staff.”

²⁶Then Judah acknowledged them and said, “She is more in the right than I, since I did not give her to my son Shelah.” And he did not lie with her again.

²⁷When the time of her delivery came, there were twins in her womb.

²⁸While she was in labor, one put out a hand; and the midwife took and bound on his hand a crimson thread, saying, “This one came out first.”

²⁹But just then he drew back his hand, and out came his brother; and she said, “What a breach you have made for yourself!” Therefore he was named Perez.

³⁰Afterward his brother came out with the crimson thread on his hand; and he was named Zerah.

¹Therefore, while the promise of entering his rest is still open, let us take care that none of you should seem to have failed to reach it.

²For indeed the good news came to us just as to them; but the message they heard did not benefit them, because they were not united by faith with those who listened.

³For we who have believed enter that rest, just as God has said, “As in my anger I swore, ‘They shall not enter my rest,’” though his works were finished at the foundation of the world.

⁴For in one place it speaks about the seventh day as follows, “And God rested on the seventh day from all his works.”

⁵And again in this place it says, “They shall not enter my rest.”

⁶Since therefore it remains open for some to enter it, and those who formerly received the good news failed to enter because of disobedience,

⁷again he sets a certain day — “today” — saying through David much later, in the words already quoted, “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts.”

⁸For if Joshua had given them rest, God would not speak later about another day.

⁹So then, a sabbath rest still remains for the people of God;

¹⁰for those who enter God’s rest also cease from their labors as God did from his.

¹¹Let us therefore make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one may fall through such disobedience as theirs.

¹²Indeed, the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing until it divides soul from spirit, joints from marrow; it is able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.

¹³And before him no creature is hidden, but all are naked and laid bare to the eyes of the one to whom we must render an account.

¹⁴Since, then, we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast to our confession.

¹⁵For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who in every respect has been tested as we are, yet without sin.

¹⁶Let us therefore approach the throne of grace with boldness, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

¹Wives, in the same way, accept the authority of your husbands, so that, even if some of them do not obey the word, they may be won over without a word by their wives’ conduct,

²when they see the purity and reverence of your lives.

³Do not adorn yourselves outwardly by braiding your hair, and by wearing gold ornaments or fine clothing;

⁴rather, let your adornment be the inner self with the lasting beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is very precious in God’s sight.

⁵It was in this way long ago that the holy women who hoped in God used to adorn themselves by accepting the authority of their husbands.

⁶Thus Sarah obeyed Abraham and called him lord. You have become her daughters as long as you do what is good and never let fears alarm you.

⁷Husbands, in the same way, show consideration for your wives in your life together, paying honor to the woman as the weaker sex, since they too are also heirs of the gracious gift of life — so that nothing may hinder your prayers.

⁸Finally, all of you, have unity of spirit, sympathy, love for one another, a tender heart, and a humble mind.

⁹Do not repay evil for evil or abuse for abuse; but, on the contrary, repay with a blessing. It is for this that you were called — that you might inherit a blessing.

¹⁰For “Those who desire life and desire to see good days, let them keep their tongues from evil and their lips from speaking deceit;

¹¹let them turn away from evil and do good; let them seek peace and pursue it.

¹²For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and his ears are open to their prayer. But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.”

¹³Now who will harm you if you are eager to do what is good?

¹⁴But even if you do suffer for doing what is right, you are blessed. Do not fear what they fear, and do not be intimidated,

¹⁵but in your hearts sanctify Christ as Lord. Always be ready to make your defense to anyone who demands from you an accounting for the hope that is in you;

¹⁶yet do it with gentleness and reverence. Keep your conscience clear, so that, when you are maligned, those who abuse you for your good conduct in Christ may be put to shame.

¹⁷For it is better to suffer for doing good, if suffering should be God’s will, than to suffer for doing evil.

¹⁸For Christ also suffered for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, in order to bring you to God. He was put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit,

¹⁹in which also he went and made a proclamation to the spirits in prison,

²⁰who in former times did not obey, when God waited patiently in the days of Noah, during the building of the ark, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were saved through water.

²¹And baptism, which this prefigured, now saves you — not as a removal of dirt from the body, but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ,

²²who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers made subject to him.

¹“Do you know when the mountain goats give birth? Do you observe the calving of the deer?

²Can you number the months that they fulfill, and do you know the time when they give birth,

³when they crouch to give birth to their offspring, and are delivered of their young?

⁴Their young ones become strong, they grow up in the open; they go forth, and do not return to them.

⁵“Who has let the wild ass go free? Who has loosed the bonds of the swift ass,

⁶to which I have given the steppe for its home, the salt land for its dwelling place?

⁷It scorns the tumult of the city; it does not hear the shouts of the driver.

⁸It ranges the mountains as its pasture, and it searches after every green thing.

⁹“Is the wild ox willing to serve you? Will it spend the night at your crib?

¹⁰Can you tie it in the furrow with ropes, or will it harrow the valleys after you?

¹¹Will you depend on it because its strength is great, and will you hand over your labor to it?

¹²Do you have faith in it that it will return, and bring your grain to your threshing floor?

¹³“The ostrich’s wings flap wildly, though its pinions lack plumage.

¹⁴For it leaves its eggs to the earth, and lets them be warmed on the ground,

¹⁵forgetting that a foot may crush them, and that a wild animal may trample them.

¹⁶It deals cruelly with its young, as if they were not its own; though its labor should be in vain, yet it has no fear;

¹⁷because God has made it forget wisdom, and given it no share in understanding.

¹⁸When it spreads its plumes aloft, it laughs at the horse and its rider.

¹⁹“Do you give the horse its might? Do you clothe its neck with mane?

²⁰Do you make it leap like the locust? Its majestic snorting is terrible.

²¹It paws violently, exults mightily; it goes out to meet the weapons.

²²It laughs at fear, and is not dismayed; it does not turn back from the sword.

²³Upon it rattle the quiver, the flashing spear, and the javelin.

²⁴With fierceness and rage it swallows the ground; it cannot stand still at the sound of the trumpet.

²⁵When the trumpet sounds, it says ‘Aha!’ From a distance it smells the battle, the thunder of the captains, and the shouting.

²⁶“Is it by your wisdom that the hawk soars, and spreads its wings toward the south?

²⁷Is it at your command that the eagle mounts up and makes its nest on high?

²⁸It lives on the rock and makes its home in the fastness of the rocky crag.

²⁹From there it spies the prey; its eyes see it from far away.

³⁰Its young ones suck up blood; and where the slain are, there it is.”

¹We give thanks to you, O God; we give thanks; your name is near. People tell of your wondrous deeds.

²At the set time that I appoint I will judge with equity.

³When the earth totters, with all its inhabitants, it is I who keep its pillars steady. Selah

⁴I say to the boastful, “Do not boast,” and to the wicked, “Do not lift up your horn;

⁵do not lift up your horn on high, or speak with insolent neck.”

⁶For not from the east or from the west and not from the wilderness comes lifting up;

⁷but it is God who executes judgment, putting down one and lifting up another.

⁸For in the hand of the LORD there is a cup with foaming wine, well mixed; he will pour a draught from it, and all the wicked of the earth shall drain it down to the dregs.

⁹But I will rejoice forever; I will sing praises to the God of Jacob.

¹⁰All the horns of the wicked I will cut off, but the horns of the righteous shall be exalted.

¹Does not wisdom call, and does not understanding raise her voice?

²On the heights, beside the way, at the crossroads she takes her stand;

³beside the gates in front of the town, at the entrance of the portals she cries out:

⁴“To you, O people, I call, and my cry is to all that live.

⁵O simple ones, learn prudence; acquire intelligence, you who lack it.

⁶Hear, for I will speak noble things, and from my lips will come what is right;

⁷for my mouth will utter truth; wickedness is an abomination to my lips.

⁸All the words of my mouth are righteous; there is nothing twisted or crooked in them.

⁹They are all straight to one who understands and right to those who find knowledge.

¹⁰Take my instruction instead of silver, and knowledge rather than choice gold;

¹¹for wisdom is better than jewels, and all that you may desire cannot compare with her.

¹²I, wisdom, live with prudence, and I attain knowledge and discretion.

¹³The fear of the LORD is hatred of evil. Pride and arrogance and the way of evil and perverted speech I hate.

¹⁴I have good advice and sound wisdom; I have insight, I have strength.

¹⁵By me kings reign, and rulers decree what is just;

¹⁶by me rulers rule, and nobles, all who govern rightly.

¹⁷I love those who love me, and those who seek me diligently find me.

¹⁸Riches and honor are with me, enduring wealth and prosperity.

¹⁹My fruit is better than gold, even fine gold, and my yield than choice silver.

²⁰I walk in the way of righteousness, along the paths of justice,

²¹endowing with wealth those who love me, and filling their treasuries.

²²The LORD created me at the beginning of his work, the first of his acts of long ago.

²³Ages ago I was set up, at the first, before the beginning of the earth.

²⁴When there were no depths I was brought forth, when there were no springs abounding with water.

²⁵Before the mountains had been shaped, before the hills, I was brought forth —

²⁶when he had not yet made earth and fields, or the world’s first bits of soil.

²⁷When he established the heavens, I was there, when he drew a circle on the face of the deep,

²⁸when he made firm the skies above, when he established the fountains of the deep,

²⁹when he assigned to the sea its limit, so that the waters might not transgress his command, when he marked out the foundations of the earth,

³⁰then I was beside him, like a master worker; and I was daily his delight, rejoicing before him always,

³¹rejoicing in his inhabited world and delighting in the human race.

³²“And now, my children, listen to me: happy are those who keep my ways.

³³Hear instruction and be wise, and do not neglect it.

³⁴Happy is the one who listens to me, watching daily at my gates, waiting beside my doors.

³⁵For whoever finds me finds life and obtains favor from the LORD;

³⁶but those who miss me injure themselves; all who hate me love death.”

¹After these things had been done, the officials approached me and said, “The people of Israel, the priests, and the Levites have not separated themselves from the peoples of the lands with their abominations, from the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites, the Ammonites, the Moabites, the Egyptians, and the Amorites.

²For they have taken some of their daughters as wives for themselves and for their sons. Thus the holy seed has mixed itself with the peoples of the lands, and in this faithlessness the officials and leaders have led the way.”

³When I heard this, I tore my garment and my mantle, and pulled hair from my head and beard, and sat appalled.

⁴Then all who trembled at the words of the God of Israel, because of the faithlessness of the returned exiles, gathered around me while I sat appalled until the evening sacrifice.

⁵At the evening sacrifice I got up from my fasting, with my garments and my mantle torn, and fell on my knees, spread out my hands to the LORD my God,

⁶and said, “O my God, I am too ashamed and embarrassed to lift my face to you, my God, for our iniquities have risen higher than our heads, and our guilt has mounted up to the heavens.

⁷From the days of our ancestors to this day we have been deep in guilt, and for our iniquities we, our kings, and our priests have been handed over to the kings of the lands, to the sword, to captivity, to plundering, and to utter shame, as is now the case.

⁸But now for a brief moment favor has been shown by the LORD our God, who has left us a remnant, and given us a stake in his holy place, in order that he may brighten our eyes and grant us a little sustenance in our slavery.

⁹For we are slaves; yet our God has not forsaken us in our slavery, but has extended to us his steadfast love before the kings of Persia, to give us new life to set up the house of our God, to repair its ruins, and to give us a wall in Judea and Jerusalem.

¹⁰“And now, our God, what shall we say after this? For we have forsaken your commandments,

¹¹which you commanded by your servants the prophets, saying, ‘The land that you are entering to possess is a land unclean with the pollutions of the peoples of the lands, with their abominations. They have filled it from end to end with their uncleanness.

¹²Therefore do not give your daughters to their sons, neither take their daughters for your sons, and never seek their peace or prosperity, so that you may be strong and eat the good of the land and leave it for an inheritance to your children forever.’

¹³After all that has come upon us for our evil deeds and for our great guilt, seeing that you, our God, have punished us less than our iniquities deserved and have given us such a remnant as this,

¹⁴shall we break your commandments again and intermarry with the peoples who practice these abominations? Would you not be angry with us until you destroy us without remnant or survivor?

¹⁵O LORD, God of Israel, you are just, but we have escaped as a remnant, as is now the case. Here we are before you in our guilt, though no one can face you because of this.”

¹The oracle that the prophet Habakkuk saw.

²O LORD, how long shall I cry for help, and you will not listen? Or cry to you “Violence!” and you will not save?

³Why do you make me see wrongdoing and look at trouble? Destruction and violence are before me; strife and contention arise.

⁴So the law becomes slack and justice never prevails. The wicked surround the righteous — therefore judgment comes forth perverted.

⁵Look at the nations, and see! Be astonished! Be astounded! For a work is being done in your days that you would not believe if you were told.

⁶For I am rousing the Chaldeans, that fierce and impetuous nation, who march through the breadth of the earth to seize dwellings not their own.

⁷Dread and fearsome are they; their justice and dignity proceed from themselves.

⁸Their horses are swifter than leopards, more menacing than wolves at dusk; their horses charge. Their horsemen come from far away; they fly like an eagle swift to devour.

⁹They all come for violence, with faces pressing forward; they gather captives like sand.

¹⁰At kings they scoff, and of rulers they make sport. They laugh at every fortress, and heap up earth to take it.

¹¹Then they sweep by like the wind; they transgress and become guilty; their own might is their god!

¹²Are you not from of old, O LORD my God, my Holy One? You shall not die. O LORD, you have marked them for judgment; and you, O Rock, have established them for punishment.

¹³Your eyes are too pure to behold evil, and you cannot look on wrongdoing; why do you look on the treacherous, and are silent when the wicked swallow those more righteous than they?

¹⁴You have made people like the fish of the sea, like crawling things that have no ruler.

¹⁵The enemy brings all of them up with a hook; he drags them out with his net, he gathers them in his seine; so he rejoices and exults.

¹⁶Therefore he sacrifices to his net and makes offerings to his seine; for by them his portion is lavish, and his food is rich.

¹⁷Is he then to keep on emptying his net, and destroying nations without mercy?

¹In the first book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus did and taught from the beginning

²until the day when he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen.

³After his suffering he presented himself alive to them by many convincing proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God.

⁴While staying with them, he ordered them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait there for the promise of the Father. “This,” he said, “is what you have heard from me;

⁵for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”

⁶So when they had come together, they asked him, “Lord, is this the time when you will restore the kingdom to Israel?”

⁷He replied, “It is not for you to know the times or periods that the Father has set by his own authority.

⁸But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

⁹When he had said this, as they were watching, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight.

¹⁰While he was going and they were gazing up toward heaven, suddenly two men in white robes stood by them.

¹¹They said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking up toward heaven? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.”

¹²Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a sabbath day’s journey away.

¹³When they had entered the city, they went to the room upstairs where they were staying, Peter, and John, and James, and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James son of Alphaeus, and Simon the Zealot, and Judas son of James.

¹⁴All these were constantly devoting themselves to prayer, together with certain women, including Mary the mother of Jesus, as well as his brothers.

¹⁵In those days Peter stood up among the believers (together the crowd numbered about one hundred twenty persons) and said,

¹⁶“Friends, the scripture had to be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit through David foretold concerning Judas, who became a guide for those who arrested Jesus —

¹⁷for he was numbered among us and was allotted his share in this ministry.”

¹⁸(Now this man acquired a field with the reward of his wickedness; and falling headlong, he burst open in the middle and all his bowels gushed out.

¹⁹This became known to all the residents of Jerusalem, so that the field was called in their language Hakeldama, that is, Field of Blood.)

²⁰“For it is written in the book of Psalms, ‘Let his homestead become desolate, and let there be no one to live in it’; and ‘Let another take his position of overseer.’

²¹So one of the men who have accompanied us during all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us,

²²beginning from the baptism of John until the day when he was taken up from us — one of these must become a witness with us to his resurrection.”

²³So they proposed two, Joseph called Barsabbas, who was also known as Justus, and Matthias.

²⁴Then they prayed and said, “Lord, you know everyone’s heart. Show us which one of these two you have chosen

²⁵to take the place in this ministry and apostleship from which Judas turned aside to go to his own place.”

²⁶And they cast lots for them, and the lot fell on Matthias; and he was added to the eleven apostles.