Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹One day as Jesus was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret, the people were crowding around him and listening to the word of God.

²He saw at the water’s edge two boats, left there by the fishermen, who were washing their nets.

³He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little from shore. Then he sat down and taught the people from the boat.

⁴When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch.”

⁵Simon answered, “Master, we’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets.”

⁶When they had done so, they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break.

⁷So they signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them, and they came and filled both boats so full that they began to sink.

⁸When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus’ knees and said, “Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!”

⁹For he and all his companions were astonished at the catch of fish they had taken,

¹⁰and so were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, Simon’s partners. Then Jesus said to Simon, “Don’t be afraid; from now on you will fish for people.”

¹¹So they pulled their boats up on shore, left everything and followed him.

¹²While Jesus was in one of the towns, a man came along who was covered with leprosy. When he saw Jesus, he fell with his face to the ground and begged him, “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.”

¹³Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” he said. “Be clean!” And immediately the leprosy left him.

¹⁴Then Jesus ordered him, “Don’t tell anyone, but go, show yourself to the priest and offer the sacrifices that Moses commanded for your cleansing, as a testimony to them.”

¹⁵Yet the news about him spread all the more, so that crowds of people came to hear him and to be healed of their sicknesses.

¹⁶But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.

¹⁷One day Jesus was teaching, and Pharisees and teachers of the law were sitting there. They had come from every village of Galilee and from Judea and Jerusalem. And the power of the Lord was with Jesus to heal the sick.

¹⁸Some men came carrying a paralyzed man on a mat and tried to take him into the house to lay him before Jesus.

¹⁹When they could not find a way to do this because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and lowered him on his mat through the tiles into the middle of the crowd, right in front of Jesus.

²⁰When Jesus saw their faith, he said, “Friend, your sins are forgiven.”

²¹The Pharisees and the teachers of the law began thinking to themselves, “Who is this fellow who speaks blasphemy? Who can forgive sins but God alone?”

²²Jesus knew what they were thinking and asked, “Why are you thinking these things in your hearts?

²³Which is easier: to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’?

²⁴But I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.” So he said to the paralyzed man, “I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home.”

²⁵Immediately he stood up in front of them, took what he had been lying on and went home praising God.

²⁶Everyone was amazed and gave praise to God. They were filled with awe and said, “We have seen remarkable things today.”

²⁷After this, Jesus went out and saw a tax collector by the name of Levi sitting at his tax booth. “Follow me,” Jesus said to him,

²⁸and Levi got up, left everything and followed him.

²⁹Then Levi held a great banquet for Jesus at his house, and a large crowd of tax collectors and others were eating with them.

³⁰But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law who belonged to their sect complained to his disciples, “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?”

³¹Jesus answered them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick.

³²I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.”

³³They said to him, “John’s disciples often fast and pray, and so do the disciples of the Pharisees, but yours go on eating and drinking.”

³⁴Jesus answered, “Can you make the friends of the bridegroom fast while he is with them?

³⁵But the time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them; in those days they will fast.”

³⁶He told them this parable: “No one tears a piece out of a new garment to patch an old one. Otherwise, they will have torn the new garment, and the patch from the new will not match the old.

³⁷And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise, the new wine will burst the skins; the wine will run out and the wineskins will be ruined.

³⁸No, new wine must be poured into new wineskins.

³⁹And no one after drinking old wine wants the new, for they say, ‘The old is better.’ ”

¹Some time later, the cupbearer and the baker of the king of Egypt offended their master, the king of Egypt.

²Pharaoh was angry with his two officials, the chief cupbearer and the chief baker,

³and put them in custody in the house of the captain of the guard, in the same prison where Joseph was confined.

⁴The captain of the guard assigned them to Joseph, and he attended them. After they had been in custody for some time,

⁵each of the two men—the cupbearer and the baker of the king of Egypt, who were being held in prison—had a dream the same night, and each dream had a meaning of its own.

⁶When Joseph came to them the next morning, he saw that they were dejected.

⁷So he asked Pharaoh’s officials who were in custody with him in his master’s house, “Why do you look so sad today?”

⁸“We both had dreams,” they answered, “but there is no one to interpret them.” Then Joseph said to them, “Do not interpretations belong to God? Tell me your dreams.”

⁹So the chief cupbearer told Joseph his dream. He said to him, “In my dream I saw a vine in front of me,

¹⁰and on the vine were three branches. As soon as it budded, it blossomed, and its clusters ripened into grapes.

¹¹Pharaoh’s cup was in my hand, and I took the grapes, squeezed them into Pharaoh’s cup and put the cup in his hand.”

¹²“This is what it means,” Joseph said to him. “The three branches are three days.

¹³Within three days Pharaoh will lift up your head and restore you to your position, and you will put Pharaoh’s cup in his hand, just as you used to do when you were his cupbearer.

¹⁴But when all goes well with you, remember me and show me kindness; mention me to Pharaoh and get me out of this prison.

¹⁵I was forcibly carried off from the land of the Hebrews, and even here I have done nothing to deserve being put in a dungeon.”

¹⁶When the chief baker saw that Joseph had given a favorable interpretation, he said to Joseph, “I too had a dream: On my head were three baskets of bread.

¹⁷In the top basket were all kinds of baked goods for Pharaoh, but the birds were eating them out of the basket on my head.”

¹⁸“This is what it means,” Joseph said. “The three baskets are three days.

¹⁹Within three days Pharaoh will lift off your head and impale your body on a pole. And the birds will eat away your flesh.”

²⁰Now the third day was Pharaoh’s birthday, and he gave a feast for all his officials. He lifted up the heads of the chief cupbearer and the chief baker in the presence of his officials:

²¹He restored the chief cupbearer to his position, so that he once again put the cup into Pharaoh’s hand—

²²but he impaled the chief baker, just as Joseph had said to them in his interpretation.

²³The chief cupbearer, however, did not remember Joseph; he forgot him.

¹Therefore let us move beyond the elementary teachings about Christ and be taken forward to maturity, not laying again the foundation of repentance from acts that lead to death, and of faith in God,

²instruction about cleansing rites, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment.

³And God permitting, we will do so.

⁴It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit,

⁵who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age

⁶and who have fallen away, to be brought back to repentance. To their loss they are crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting him to public disgrace.

⁷Land that drinks in the rain often falling on it and that produces a crop useful to those for whom it is farmed receives the blessing of God.

⁸But land that produces thorns and thistles is worthless and is in danger of being cursed. In the end it will be burned.

⁹Even though we speak like this, dear friends, we are convinced of better things in your case—the things that have to do with salvation.

¹⁰God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help them.

¹¹We want each of you to show this same diligence to the very end, so that what you hope for may be fully realized.

¹²We do not want you to become lazy, but to imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised.

¹³When God made his promise to Abraham, since there was no one greater for him to swear by, he swore by himself,

¹⁴saying, “I will surely bless you and give you many descendants.”

¹⁵And so after waiting patiently, Abraham received what was promised.

¹⁶People swear by someone greater than themselves, and the oath confirms what is said and puts an end to all argument.

¹⁷Because God wanted to make the unchanging nature of his purpose very clear to the heirs of what was promised, he confirmed it with an oath.

¹⁸God did this so that, by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled to take hold of the hope set before us may be greatly encouraged.

¹⁹We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain,

²⁰where our forerunner, Jesus, has entered on our behalf. He has become a high priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek.

¹To the elders among you, I appeal as a fellow elder and a witness of Christ’s sufferings who also will share in the glory to be revealed:

²Be shepherds of God’s flock that is under your care, watching over them—not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not pursuing dishonest gain, but eager to serve;

³not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock.

⁴And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away.

⁵In the same way, you who are younger, submit yourselves to your elders. All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, “God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble.”

⁶Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time.

⁷Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.

⁸Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.

⁹Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings.

¹⁰And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast.

¹¹To him be the power for ever and ever. Amen.

¹²With the help of Silas, whom I regard as a faithful brother, I have written to you briefly, encouraging you and testifying that this is the true grace of God. Stand fast in it.

¹³She who is in Babylon, chosen together with you, sends you her greetings, and so does my son Mark.

¹⁴Greet one another with a kiss of love. Peace to all of you who are in Christ.

¹“Can you pull in Leviathan with a fishhook or tie down its tongue with a rope?

²Can you put a cord through its nose or pierce its jaw with a hook?

³Will it keep begging you for mercy? Will it speak to you with gentle words?

⁴Will it make an agreement with you for you to take it as your slave for life?

⁵Can you make a pet of it like a bird or put it on a leash for the young women in your house?

⁶Will traders barter for it? Will they divide it up among the merchants?

⁷Can you fill its hide with harpoons or its head with fishing spears?

⁸If you lay a hand on it, you will remember the struggle and never do it again!

⁹Any hope of subduing it is false; the mere sight of it is overpowering.

¹⁰No one is fierce enough to rouse it. Who then is able to stand against me?

¹¹Who has a claim against me that I must pay? Everything under heaven belongs to me.

¹²“I will not fail to speak of Leviathan’s limbs, its strength and its graceful form.

¹³Who can strip off its outer coat? Who can penetrate its double coat of armor?

¹⁴Who dares open the doors of its mouth, ringed about with fearsome teeth?

¹⁵Its back has rows of shields tightly sealed together;

¹⁶each is so close to the next that no air can pass between.

¹⁷They are joined fast to one another; they cling together and cannot be parted.

¹⁸Its snorting throws out flashes of light; its eyes are like the rays of dawn.

¹⁹Flames stream from its mouth; sparks of fire shoot out.

²⁰Smoke pours from its nostrils as from a boiling pot over burning reeds.

²¹Its breath sets coals ablaze, and flames dart from its mouth.

²²Strength resides in its neck; dismay goes before it.

²³The folds of its flesh are tightly joined; they are firm and immovable.

²⁴Its chest is hard as rock, hard as a lower millstone.

²⁵When it rises up, the mighty are terrified; they retreat before its thrashing.

²⁶The sword that reaches it has no effect, nor does the spear or the dart or the javelin.

²⁷Iron it treats like straw and bronze like rotten wood.

²⁸Arrows do not make it flee; slingstones are like chaff to it.

²⁹A club seems to it but a piece of straw; it laughs at the rattling of the lance.

³⁰Its undersides are jagged potsherds, leaving a trail in the mud like a threshing sledge.

³¹It makes the depths churn like a boiling caldron and stirs up the sea like a pot of ointment.

³²It leaves a glistening wake behind it; one would think the deep had white hair.

³³Nothing on earth is its equal— a creature without fear.

³⁴It looks down on all that are haughty; it is king over all that are proud.”

¹For the director of music. For Jeduthun. Of Asaph. A psalm. I cried out to God for help; I cried out to God to hear me.

²When I was in distress, I sought the Lord; at night I stretched out untiring hands, and I would not be comforted.

³I remembered you, God, and I groaned; I meditated, and my spirit grew faint.

⁴You kept my eyes from closing; I was too troubled to speak.

⁵I thought about the former days, the years of long ago;

⁶I remembered my songs in the night. My heart meditated and my spirit asked:

⁷“Will the Lord reject forever? Will he never show his favor again?

⁸Has his unfailing love vanished forever? Has his promise failed for all time?

⁹Has God forgotten to be merciful? Has he in anger withheld his compassion?”

¹⁰Then I thought, “To this I will appeal: the years when the Most High stretched out his right hand.

¹¹I will remember the deeds of the LORD; yes, I will remember your miracles of long ago.

¹²I will consider all your works and meditate on all your mighty deeds.”

¹³Your ways, God, are holy. What god is as great as our God?

¹⁴You are the God who performs miracles; you display your power among the peoples.

¹⁵With your mighty arm you redeemed your people, the descendants of Jacob and Joseph.

¹⁶The waters saw you, God, the waters saw you and writhed; the very depths were convulsed.

¹⁷The clouds poured down water, the heavens resounded with thunder; your arrows flashed back and forth.

¹⁸Your thunder was heard in the whirlwind, your lightning lit up the world; the earth trembled and quaked.

¹⁹Your path led through the sea, your way through the mighty waters, though your footprints were not seen.

²⁰You led your people like a flock by the hand of Moses and Aaron.

¹The proverbs of Solomon: A wise son brings joy to his father, but a foolish son brings grief to his mother.

²Ill-gotten treasures have no lasting value, but righteousness delivers from death.

³The LORD does not let the righteous go hungry, but he thwarts the craving of the wicked.

⁴Lazy hands make for poverty, but diligent hands bring wealth.

⁵He who gathers crops in summer is a prudent son, but he who sleeps during harvest is a disgraceful son.

⁶Blessings crown the head of the righteous, but violence overwhelms the mouth of the wicked.

⁷The name of the righteous is used in blessings, but the name of the wicked will rot.

⁸The wise in heart accept commands, but a chattering fool comes to ruin.

⁹Whoever walks in integrity walks securely, but whoever takes crooked paths will be found out.

¹⁰Whoever winks maliciously causes grief, and a chattering fool comes to ruin.

¹¹The mouth of the righteous is a fountain of life, but the mouth of the wicked conceals violence.

¹²Hatred stirs up conflict, but love covers over all wrongs.

¹³Wisdom is found on the lips of the discerning, but a rod is for the back of one who has no sense.

¹⁴The wise store up knowledge, but the mouth of a fool invites ruin.

¹⁵The wealth of the rich is their fortified city, but poverty is the ruin of the poor.

¹⁶The wages of the righteous is life, but the earnings of the wicked are sin and death.

¹⁷Whoever heeds discipline shows the way to life, but whoever ignores correction leads others astray.

¹⁸Whoever conceals hatred with lying lips and spreads slander is a fool.

¹⁹Sin is not ended by multiplying words, but the prudent hold their tongues.

²⁰The tongue of the righteous is choice silver, but the heart of the wicked is of little value.

²¹The lips of the righteous nourish many, but fools die for lack of sense.

²²The blessing of the LORD brings wealth, without painful toil for it.

²³A fool finds pleasure in wicked schemes, but a person of understanding delights in wisdom.

²⁴What the wicked dread will overtake them; what the righteous desire will be granted.

²⁵When the storm has swept by, the wicked are gone, but the righteous stand firm forever.

²⁶As vinegar to the teeth and smoke to the eyes, so are sluggards to those who send them.

²⁷The fear of the LORD adds length to life, but the years of the wicked are cut short.

²⁸The prospect of the righteous is joy, but the hopes of the wicked come to nothing.

²⁹The way of the LORD is a refuge for the blameless, but it is the ruin of those who do evil.

³⁰The righteous will never be uprooted, but the wicked will not remain in the land.

³¹From the mouth of the righteous comes the fruit of wisdom, but a perverse tongue will be silenced.

³²The lips of the righteous know what finds favor, but the mouth of the wicked only what is perverse.

¹The words of Nehemiah son of Hakaliah: In the month of Kislev in the twentieth year, while I was in the citadel of Susa,

²Hanani, one of my brothers, came from Judah with some other men, and I questioned them about the Jewish remnant that had survived the exile, and also about Jerusalem.

³They said to me, “Those who survived the exile and are back in the province are in great trouble and disgrace. The wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates have been burned with fire.”

⁴When I heard these things, I sat down and wept. For some days I mourned and fasted and prayed before the God of heaven.

⁵Then I said: “LORD, the God of heaven, the great and awesome God, who keeps his covenant of love with those who love him and keep his commandments,

⁶let your ear be attentive and your eyes open to hear the prayer your servant is praying before you day and night for your servants, the people of Israel. I confess the sins we Israelites, including myself and my father’s family, have committed against you.

⁷We have acted very wickedly toward you. We have not obeyed the commands, decrees and laws you gave your servant Moses.

⁸“Remember the instruction you gave your servant Moses, saying, ‘If you are unfaithful, I will scatter you among the nations,

⁹but if you return to me and obey my commands, then even if your exiled people are at the farthest horizon, I will gather them from there and bring them to the place I have chosen as a dwelling for my Name.’

¹⁰“They are your servants and your people, whom you redeemed by your great strength and your mighty hand.

¹¹Lord, let your ear be attentive to the prayer of this your servant and to the prayer of your servants who delight in revering your name. Give your servant success today by granting him favor in the presence of this man.” I was cupbearer to the king.

¹A prayer of Habakkuk the prophet. On shigionoth.

²LORD, I have heard of your fame; I stand in awe of your deeds, LORD. Repeat them in our day, in our time make them known; in wrath remember mercy.

³God came from Teman, the Holy One from Mount Paran. His glory covered the heavens and his praise filled the earth.

⁴His splendor was like the sunrise; rays flashed from his hand, where his power was hidden.

⁵Plague went before him; pestilence followed his steps.

⁶He stood, and shook the earth; he looked, and made the nations tremble. The ancient mountains crumbled and the age-old hills collapsed— but he marches on forever.

⁷I saw the tents of Cushan in distress, the dwellings of Midian in anguish.

⁸Were you angry with the rivers, LORD? Was your wrath against the streams? Did you rage against the sea when you rode your horses and your chariots to victory?

⁹You uncovered your bow, you called for many arrows. You split the earth with rivers;

¹⁰the mountains saw you and writhed. Torrents of water swept by; the deep roared and lifted its waves on high.

¹¹Sun and moon stood still in the heavens at the glint of your flying arrows, at the lightning of your flashing spear.

¹²In wrath you strode through the earth and in anger you threshed the nations.

¹³You came out to deliver your people, to save your anointed one. You crushed the leader of the land of wickedness, you stripped him from head to foot.

¹⁴With his own spear you pierced his head when his warriors stormed out to scatter us, gloating as though about to devour the wretched who were in hiding.

¹⁵You trampled the sea with your horses, churning the great waters.

¹⁶I heard and my heart pounded, my lips quivered at the sound; decay crept into my bones, and my legs trembled. Yet I will wait patiently for the day of calamity to come on the nation invading us.

¹⁷Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls,

¹⁸yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will be joyful in God my Savior.

¹⁹The Sovereign LORD is my strength; he makes my feet like the feet of a deer, he enables me to tread on the heights. For the director of music. On my stringed instruments.

¹One day Peter and John were going up to the temple at the time of prayer—at three in the afternoon.

²Now a man who was lame from birth was being carried to the temple gate called Beautiful, where he was put every day to beg from those going into the temple courts.

³When he saw Peter and John about to enter, he asked them for money.

⁴Peter looked straight at him, as did John. Then Peter said, “Look at us!”

⁵So the man gave them his attention, expecting to get something from them.

⁶Then Peter said, “Silver or gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.”

⁷Taking him by the right hand, he helped him up, and instantly the man’s feet and ankles became strong.

⁸He jumped to his feet and began to walk. Then he went with them into the temple courts, walking and jumping, and praising God.

⁹When all the people saw him walking and praising God,

¹⁰they recognized him as the same man who used to sit begging at the temple gate called Beautiful, and they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him.

¹¹While the man held on to Peter and John, all the people were astonished and came running to them in the place called Solomon’s Colonnade.

¹²When Peter saw this, he said to them: “Fellow Israelites, why does this surprise you? Why do you stare at us as if by our own power or godliness we had made this man walk?

¹³The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified his servant Jesus. You handed him over to be killed, and you disowned him before Pilate, though he had decided to let him go.

¹⁴You disowned the Holy and Righteous One and asked that a murderer be released to you.

¹⁵You killed the author of life, but God raised him from the dead. We are witnesses of this.

¹⁶By faith in the name of Jesus, this man whom you see and know was made strong. It is Jesus’ name and the faith that comes through him that has completely healed him, as you can all see.

¹⁷“Now, fellow Israelites, I know that you acted in ignorance, as did your leaders.

¹⁸But this is how God fulfilled what he had foretold through all the prophets, saying that his Messiah would suffer.

¹⁹Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord,

²⁰and that he may send the Messiah, who has been appointed for you—even Jesus.

²¹Heaven must receive him until the time comes for God to restore everything, as he promised long ago through his holy prophets.

²²For Moses said, ‘The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your own people; you must listen to everything he tells you.

²³Anyone who does not listen to him will be completely cut off from their people.’

²⁴“Indeed, beginning with Samuel, all the prophets who have spoken have foretold these days.

²⁵And you are heirs of the prophets and of the covenant God made with your fathers. He said to Abraham, ‘Through your offspring all peoples on earth will be blessed.’

²⁶When God raised up his servant, he sent him first to you to bless you by turning each of you from your wicked ways.”