Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they came to the tomb, bringing the spices they had prepared.

²They found the stone rolled away from the tomb.

³They went in but did not find the body of the Lord Jesus.

⁴While they were perplexed about this, suddenly two men stood by them in dazzling clothes.

⁵So the women were terrified and bowed down to the ground. “Why are you looking for the living among the dead?” asked the men.

⁶“He is not here, but he has risen! Remember how he spoke to you when he was still in Galilee,

⁷saying, ‘It is necessary that the Son of Man be betrayed into the hands of sinful men, be crucified, and rise on the third day’?”

⁸And they remembered his words.

⁹Returning from the tomb, they reported all these things to the Eleven and to all the rest.

¹⁰Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the other women with them were telling the apostles these things.

¹¹But these words seemed like nonsense to them, and they did not believe the women.

¹²Peter, however, got up and ran to the tomb. When he stooped to look in, he saw only the linen cloths. So he went away, amazed at what had happened.

¹³Now that same day two of them were on their way to a village called Emmaus, which was about seven miles from Jerusalem.

¹⁴Together they were discussing everything that had taken place.

¹⁵And while they were discussing and arguing, Jesus himself came near and began to walk along with them.

¹⁶But they were prevented from recognizing him.

¹⁷Then he asked them, “What is this dispute that you’re having with each other as you are walking?” And they stopped walking and looked discouraged.

¹⁸The one named Cleopas answered him, “Are you the only visitor in Jerusalem who doesn’t know the things that happened there in these days?”

¹⁹“What things?” he asked them. So they said to him, “The things concerning Jesus of Nazareth, who was a prophet powerful in action and speech before God and all the people,

²⁰and how our chief priests and leaders handed him over to be sentenced to death, and they crucified him.

²¹But we were hoping that he was the one who was about to redeem Israel. Besides all this, it’s the third day since these things happened.

²²Moreover, some women from our group astounded us. They arrived early at the tomb,

²³and when they didn’t find his body, they came and reported that they had seen a vision of angels who said he was alive.

²⁴Some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but they didn’t see him.”

²⁵He said to them, “How foolish and slow you are to believe all that the prophets have spoken!

²⁶Wasn’t it necessary for the Messiah to suffer these things and enter into his glory?”

²⁷Then beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted for them the things concerning himself in all the Scriptures.

²⁸They came near the village where they were going, and he gave the impression that he was going farther.

²⁹But they urged him, “Stay with us, because it’s almost evening, and now the day is almost over.” So he went in to stay with them.

³⁰It was as he reclined at the table with them that he took the bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them.

³¹Then their eyes were opened, and they recognized him, but he disappeared from their sight.

³²They said to each other, “Weren’t our hearts burning within us while he was talking with us on the road and explaining the Scriptures to us?”

³³That very hour they got up and returned to Jerusalem. They found the Eleven and those with them gathered together,

³⁴who said, “The Lord has truly been raised and has appeared to Simon!”

³⁵Then they began to describe what had happened on the road and how he was made known to them in the breaking of the bread.

³⁶As they were saying these things, he himself stood in their midst. He said to them, “Peace to you!”

³⁷But they were startled and terrified and thought they were seeing a ghost.

³⁸“Why are you troubled?” he asked them. “And why do doubts arise in your hearts?

³⁹Look at my hands and my feet, that it is I myself! Touch me and see, because a ghost does not have flesh and bones as you can see I have.”

⁴⁰Having said this, he showed them his hands and feet.

⁴¹But while they still were amazed and in disbelief because of their joy, he asked them, “Do you have anything here to eat?”

⁴²So they gave him a piece of a broiled fish,

⁴³and he took it and ate in their presence.

⁴⁴He told them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you — that everything written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets, and the Psalms must be fulfilled.”

⁴⁵Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures.

⁴⁶He also said to them, “This is what is written: The Messiah would suffer and rise from the dead the third day,

⁴⁷and repentance for forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed in his name to all the nations, beginning at Jerusalem.

⁴⁸You are witnesses of these things.

⁴⁹And look, I am sending you what my Father promised. As for you, stay in the city until you are empowered from on high.”

⁵⁰Then he led them out to the vicinity of Bethany, and lifting up his hands he blessed them.

⁵¹And while he was blessing them, he left them and was carried up into heaven.

⁵²After worshiping him, they returned to Jerusalem with great joy.

⁵³And they were continually in the temple praising God.

¹Then the LORD said to Moses, “Go in to Pharaoh and say to him: This is what the LORD, the God of the Hebrews, says: Let my people go, so that they may worship me.

²But if you refuse to let them go and keep holding them,

³then the LORD’s hand will bring a severe plague against your livestock in the field — the horses, donkeys, camels, herds, and flocks.

⁴But the LORD will make a distinction between the livestock of Israel and the livestock of Egypt, so that nothing of all that the Israelites own will die.”

⁵And the LORD set a time, saying, “Tomorrow the LORD will do this thing in the land.”

⁶The LORD did this the next day. All the Egyptian livestock died, but none among the Israelite livestock died.

⁷Pharaoh sent messengers who saw that not a single one of the Israelite livestock was dead. But Pharaoh’s heart was hard, and he did not let the people go.

⁸Then the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, “Take handfuls of furnace soot, and Moses is to throw it toward heaven in the sight of Pharaoh.

⁹It will become fine dust over the entire land of Egypt. It will become festering boils on people and animals throughout the land of Egypt.”

¹⁰So they took furnace soot and stood before Pharaoh. Moses threw it toward heaven, and it became festering boils on people and animals.

¹¹The magicians could not stand before Moses because of the boils, for the boils were on the magicians as well as on all the Egyptians.

¹²But the LORD hardened Pharaoh’s heart and he did not listen to them, as the LORD had told Moses.

¹³Then the LORD said to Moses, “Get up early in the morning and present yourself to Pharaoh. Tell him: This is what the LORD, the God of the Hebrews says: Let my people go, so that they may worship me.

¹⁴For this time I am about to send all my plagues against you, your officials, and your people. Then you will know there is no one like me on the whole earth.

¹⁵By now I could have stretched out my hand and struck you and your people with a plague, and you would have been obliterated from the earth.

¹⁶However, I have let you live for this purpose: to show you my power and to make my name known on the whole earth.

¹⁷You are still acting arrogantly against my people by not letting them go.

¹⁸Tomorrow at this time I will rain down the worst hail that has ever occurred in Egypt from the day it was founded until now.

¹⁹Therefore give orders to bring your livestock and all that you have in the field into shelters. Every person and animal that is in the field and not brought inside will die when the hail falls on them.”

²⁰Those among Pharaoh’s officials who feared the word of the LORD made their servants and livestock flee to shelters,

²¹but those who didn’t take to heart the LORD’s word left their servants and livestock in the field.

²²Then the LORD said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand toward heaven and let there be hail throughout the land of Egypt — on people and animals and every plant of the field in the land of Egypt.”

²³So Moses stretched out his staff toward heaven, and the LORD sent thunder and hail. Lightning struck the land, and the LORD rained hail on the land of Egypt.

²⁴The hail, with lightning flashing through it, was so severe that nothing like it had occurred in the land of Egypt since it had become a nation.

²⁵Throughout the land of Egypt, the hail struck down everything in the field, both people and animals. The hail beat down every plant of the field and shattered every tree in the field.

²⁶The only place it didn’t hail was in the land of Goshen, where the Israelites were.

²⁷Pharaoh sent for Moses and Aaron. “I have sinned this time,” he said to them. “The LORD is the righteous one, and I and my people are the guilty ones.

²⁸Make an appeal to the LORD. There has been enough of God’s thunder and hail. I will let you go; you don’t need to stay any longer.”

²⁹Moses said to him, “When I have left the city, I will spread out my hands to the LORD. The thunder will cease, and there will be no more hail, so that you may know the earth belongs to the LORD.

³⁰But as for you and your officials, I know that you still do not fear the LORD God.”

³¹The flax and the barley were destroyed because the barley was ripe and the flax was budding,

³²but the wheat and the spelt were not destroyed since they are later crops.

³³Moses left Pharaoh and the city, and spread out his hands to the LORD. Then the thunder and hail ceased, and rain no longer poured down on the land.

³⁴When Pharaoh saw that the rain, hail, and thunder had ceased, he sinned again and hardened his heart, he and his officials.

³⁵So Pharaoh’s heart was hard, and he did not let the Israelites go, as the LORD had said through Moses.

¹Therefore, brothers and sisters, in view of the mercies of God, I urge you to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God; this is your true worship.

²Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may discern what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God.

³For by the grace given to me, I tell everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he should think. Instead, think sensibly, as God has distributed a measure of faith to each one.

⁴Now as we have many parts in one body, and all the parts do not have the same function,

⁵in the same way we who are many are one body in Christ and individually members of one another.

⁶According to the grace given to us, we have different gifts: If prophecy, use it according to the proportion of one’s faith;

⁷if service, use it in service; if teaching, in teaching;

⁸if exhorting, in exhortation; giving, with generosity; leading, with diligence; showing mercy, with cheerfulness.

⁹Let love be without hypocrisy. Detest evil; cling to what is good.

¹⁰Love one another deeply as brothers and sisters. Outdo one another in showing honor.

¹¹Do not lack diligence in zeal; be fervent in the Spirit; serve the Lord.

¹²Rejoice in hope; be patient in affliction; be persistent in prayer.

¹³Share with the saints in their needs; pursue hospitality.

¹⁴Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse.

¹⁵Rejoice with those who rejoice; weep with those who weep.

¹⁶Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud; instead, associate with the humble. Do not be wise in your own estimation.

¹⁷Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Give careful thought to do what is honorable in everyone’s eyes.

¹⁸If possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.

¹⁹Friends, do not avenge yourselves; instead, leave room for God’s wrath, because it is written, Vengeance belongs to me; I will repay, says the Lord.

²⁰But If your enemy is hungry, feed him. If he is thirsty, give him something to drink. For in so doing you will be heaping fiery coals on his head.

²¹Do not be conquered by evil, but conquer evil with good.

¹When he opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour.

²Then I saw the seven angels who stand in the presence of God; seven trumpets were given to them.

³Another angel, with a golden incense burner, came and stood at the altar. He was given a large amount of incense to offer with the prayers of all the saints on the golden altar in front of the throne.

⁴The smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, went up in the presence of God from the angel’s hand.

⁵The angel took the incense burner, filled it with fire from the altar, and hurled it to the earth; there were peals of thunder, rumblings, flashes of lightning, and an earthquake.

⁶And the seven angels who had the seven trumpets prepared to blow them.

⁷The first angel blew his trumpet, and hail and fire, mixed with blood, were hurled to the earth. So a third of the earth was burned up, a third of the trees were burned up, and all the green grass was burned up.

⁸The second angel blew his trumpet, and something like a great mountain ablaze with fire was hurled into the sea. So a third of the sea became blood,

⁹a third of the living creatures in the sea died, and a third of the ships were destroyed.

¹⁰The third angel blew his trumpet, and a great star, blazing like a torch, fell from heaven. It fell on a third of the rivers and springs of water.

¹¹The name of the star is Wormwood, and a third of the waters became wormwood. So, many of the people died from the waters, because they had been made bitter.

¹²The fourth angel blew his trumpet, and a third of the sun was struck, a third of the moon, and a third of the stars, so that a third of them were darkened. A third of the day was without light and also a third of the night.

¹³I looked and heard an eagle flying high overhead, crying out in a loud voice, “Woe! Woe! Woe to those who live on the earth, because of the remaining trumpet blasts that the three angels are about to sound!”

¹Where has your love gone, most beautiful of women? Which way has he turned? We will seek him with you.

²My love has gone down to his garden, to beds of spice, to feed in the gardens and gather lilies.

³I am my love’s and my love is mine; he feeds among the lilies.

⁴You are as beautiful as Tirzah, my darling, lovely as Jerusalem, awe-inspiring as an army with banners.

⁵Turn your eyes away from me, for they captivate me. Your hair is like a flock of goats streaming down from Gilead.

⁶Your teeth are like a flock of ewes coming up from washing, each one having a twin, and not one missing.

⁷Behind your veil, your brow is like a slice of pomegranate.

⁸There are sixty queens and eighty concubines and young women without number.

⁹But my dove, my virtuous one, is unique; she is the favorite of her mother, perfect to the one who gave her birth. Women see her and declare her fortunate; queens and concubines also, and they sing her praises:

¹⁰Who is this who shines like the dawn, as beautiful as the moon, bright as the sun, awe-inspiring as an army with banners?

¹¹I came down to the walnut grove to see the blossoms of the valley, to see if the vines were budding and the pomegranates blooming.

¹²I didn’t know what was happening to me. I felt like I was in a chariot with a nobleman.

¹³Come back, come back, Shulammite! Come back, come back, that we may look at you! How you gaze at the Shulammite, as you look at the dance of the two camps!

¹[1] Sing a new song to the LORD; let the whole earth sing to the LORD.

²Sing to the LORD, bless his name; proclaim his salvation from day to day.

³Declare his glory among the nations, his wondrous works among all peoples.

⁴For the LORD is great and is highly praised; he is feared above all gods.

⁵For all the gods of the peoples are idols, but the LORD made the heavens.

⁶Splendor and majesty are before him; strength and beauty are in his sanctuary.

⁷Ascribe to the LORD, you families of the peoples, ascribe to the LORD glory and strength.

⁸Ascribe to the LORD the glory of his name; bring an offering and enter his courts.

⁹Worship the LORD in the splendor of his holiness; let the whole earth tremble before him.

¹⁰Say among the nations: “The LORD reigns. The world is firmly established; it cannot be shaken. He judges the peoples fairly.”

¹¹Let the heavens be glad and the earth rejoice; let the sea and all that fills it resound.

¹²Let the fields and everything in them celebrate. Then all the trees of the forest will shout for joy

¹³before the LORD, for he is coming — for he is coming to judge the earth. He will judge the world with righteousness and the peoples with his faithfulness.

¹One who becomes stiff-necked, after many reprimands will be shattered instantly — beyond recovery.

²When the righteous flourish, the people rejoice, but when the wicked rule, people groan.

³A man who loves wisdom brings joy to his father, but one who consorts with prostitutes destroys his wealth.

⁴By justice a king brings stability to a land, but a person who demands “contributions” demolishes it.

⁵A person who flatters his neighbor spreads a net for his feet.

⁶An evil person is caught by sin, but the righteous one sings and rejoices.

⁷The righteous person knows the rights of the poor, but the wicked one does not understand these concerns.

⁸Mockers inflame a city, but the wise turn away anger.

⁹If a wise person goes to court with a fool, there will be ranting and raving but no resolution.

¹⁰Bloodthirsty men hate an honest person, but the upright care about him.

¹¹A fool gives full vent to his anger, but a wise person holds it in check.

¹²If a ruler listens to lies, all his officials will be wicked.

¹³The poor and the oppressor have this in common: the LORD gives light to the eyes of both.

¹⁴A king who judges the poor with fairness — his throne will be established forever.

¹⁵A rod of correction imparts wisdom, but a youth left to himself is a disgrace to his mother.

¹⁶When the wicked increase, rebellion increases, but the righteous will see their downfall.

¹⁷Discipline your child, and it will bring you peace of mind and give you delight.

¹⁸Without revelation people run wild, but one who follows divine instruction will be happy.

¹⁹A servant cannot be disciplined by words; though he understands, he doesn’t respond.

²⁰Do you see someone who speaks too soon? There is more hope for a fool than for him.

²¹A servant pampered from his youth will become arrogant later on.

²²An angry person stirs up conflict, and a hot-tempered one increases rebellion.

²³A person’s pride will humble him, but a humble spirit will gain honor.

²⁴To be a thief’s partner is to hate oneself; he hears the curse but will not testify.

²⁵The fear of mankind is a snare, but the one who trusts in the LORD is protected.

²⁶Many desire a ruler’s favor, but a person receives justice from the LORD.

²⁷An unjust person is detestable to the righteous, and one whose way is upright is detestable to the wicked.

¹The king and Haman came to feast with Esther the queen.

²Once again, on the second day while drinking wine, the king asked Esther, “Queen Esther, whatever you ask will be given to you. Whatever you seek, even to half the kingdom, will be done.”

³Queen Esther answered, “If I have found favor in your eyes, Your Majesty, and if the king is pleased, spare my life; this is my request. And spare my people; this is my desire.

⁴For my people and I have been sold to destruction, death, and extermination. If we had merely been sold as male and female slaves, I would have kept silent. Indeed, the trouble wouldn’t be worth burdening the king.”

⁵King Ahasuerus spoke up and asked Queen Esther, “Who is this, and where is the one who would devise such a scheme?”

⁶Esther answered, “The adversary and enemy is this evil Haman.” Haman stood terrified before the king and queen.

⁷The king arose in anger and went from where they were drinking wine to the palace garden. Haman remained to beg Queen Esther for his life because he realized the king was planning something terrible for him.

⁸Just as the king returned from the palace garden to the banquet hall, Haman was falling on the couch where Esther was reclining. The king exclaimed, “Would he actually violate the queen while I am in the house?” As soon as the statement left the king’s mouth, they covered Haman’s face.

⁹Harbona, one of the king’s eunuchs, said: “There is a gallows seventy-five feet tall at Haman’s house that he made for Mordecai, who gave the report that saved the king.” The king said, “Hang him on it.”

¹⁰They hanged Haman on the gallows he had prepared for Mordecai. Then the king’s anger subsided.

¹Look, a day belonging to the LORD is coming when the plunder taken from you will be divided in your presence.

²I will gather all the nations against Jerusalem for battle. The city will be captured, the houses looted, and the women raped. Half the city will go into exile, but the rest of the people will not be removed from the city.

³Then the LORD will go out to fight against those nations as he fights on a day of battle.

⁴On that day his feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, which faces Jerusalem on the east. The Mount of Olives will be split in half from east to west, forming a huge valley, so that half the mountain will move to the north and half to the south.

⁵You will flee by my mountain valley, for the valley of the mountains will extend to Azal. You will flee as you fled from the earthquake in the days of King Uzziah of Judah. Then the LORD my God will come and all the holy ones with him.

⁶On that day there will be no light; the sunlight and moonlight will diminish.

⁷It will be a unique day known only to the LORD, without day or night, but there will be light at evening.

⁸On that day living water will flow out from Jerusalem, half of it toward the eastern sea and the other half toward the western sea, in summer and winter alike.

⁹On that day the LORD will become King over the whole earth  — the LORD alone, and his name alone.

¹⁰All the land from Geba to Rimmon south of Jerusalem will be changed into a plain. But Jerusalem will be raised up and will remain on its site from the Benjamin Gate to the place of the First Gate, to the Corner Gate, and from the Tower of Hananel to the royal winepresses.

¹¹People will live there, and never again will there be a curse of complete destruction. So Jerusalem will dwell in security.

¹²This will be the plague with which the LORD strikes all the people who have warred against Jerusalem: their flesh will rot while they stand on their feet, their eyes will rot in their sockets, and their tongues will rot in their mouths.

¹³On that day a great panic from the LORD will be among them, so that each will seize the hand of another, and the hand of one will rise against the other.

¹⁴Judah will also fight at Jerusalem, and the wealth of all the surrounding nations will be collected: gold, silver, and clothing in great abundance.

¹⁵The same plague as the previous one will strike the horses, mules, camels, donkeys, and all the animals that are in those camps.

¹⁶Then all the survivors from the nations that came against Jerusalem will go up year after year to worship the King, the LORD of Armies, and to celebrate the Festival of Shelters.

¹⁷Should any of the families of the earth not go up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the LORD of Armies, rain will not fall on them.

¹⁸And if the people of Egypt will not go up and enter, then rain will not fall on them; this will be the plague the LORD inflicts on the nations who do not go up to celebrate the Festival of Shelters.

¹⁹This will be the punishment of Egypt and all the nations that do not go up to celebrate the Festival of Shelters.

²⁰On that day, the words HOLY TO THE LORD will be on the bells of the horses. The pots in the house of the LORD will be like the sprinkling basins before the altar.

²¹Every pot in Jerusalem and in Judah will be holy to the LORD of Armies. All who sacrifice will come and use the pots to cook in. And on that day there will no longer be a Canaanite in the house of the LORD of Armies.

¹“Brothers and fathers, listen now to my defense before you.”

²When they heard that he was addressing them in Aramaic, they became even quieter.

³He continued, “I am a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia but brought up in this city, educated at the feet of Gamaliel according to the law of our ancestors. I was zealous for God, just as all of you are today.

⁴I persecuted this Way to the death, arresting and putting both men and women in jail,

⁵as both the high priest and the whole council of elders can testify about me. After I received letters from them to the brothers, I traveled to Damascus to arrest those who were there and bring them to Jerusalem to be punished.

⁶“As I was traveling and approaching Damascus, about noon an intense light from heaven suddenly flashed around me.

⁷I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?’

⁸“I answered, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ “He said to me, ‘I am Jesus of Nazareth, the one you are persecuting.’

⁹Now those who were with me saw the light, but they did not hear the voice of the one who was speaking to me.

¹⁰“I said, ‘What should I do, Lord?’ “The Lord told me, ‘Get up and go into Damascus, and there you will be told everything that you have been assigned to do.’

¹¹“Since I couldn’t see because of the brightness of the light, I was led by the hand by those who were with me, and went into Damascus.

¹²Someone named Ananias, a devout man according to the law, who had a good reputation with all the Jews living there,

¹³came and stood by me and said, ‘Brother Saul, regain your sight.’ And in that very hour I looked up and saw him.

¹⁴And he said, ‘The God of our ancestors has appointed you to know his will, to see the Righteous One, and to hear the words from his mouth,

¹⁵since you will be a witness for him to all people of what you have seen and heard.

¹⁶And now, why are you delaying? Get up and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on his name.’

¹⁷“After I returned to Jerusalem and was praying in the temple, I fell into a trance

¹⁸and saw him telling me, ‘Hurry and get out of Jerusalem quickly, because they will not accept your testimony about me.’

¹⁹“But I said, ‘Lord, they know that in synagogue after synagogue I had those who believed in you imprisoned and beaten.

²⁰And when the blood of your witness Stephen was being shed, I stood there giving approval and guarding the clothes of those who killed him.’

²¹“He said to me, ‘Go, because I will send you far away to the Gentiles.’  ”

²²They listened to him up to this point. Then they raised their voices, shouting, “Wipe this man off the face of the earth! He should not be allowed to live!”

²³As they were yelling and flinging aside their garments and throwing dust into the air,

²⁴the commander ordered him to be brought into the barracks, directing that he be interrogated with the scourge to discover the reason they were shouting against him like this.

²⁵As they stretched him out for the lash, Paul said to the centurion standing by, “Is it legal for you to scourge a man who is a Roman citizen and is uncondemned?”

²⁶When the centurion heard this, he went and reported to the commander, saying, “What are you going to do? For this man is a Roman citizen.”

²⁷The commander came and said to him, “Tell me, are you a Roman citizen?” “Yes,” he said.

²⁸The commander replied, “I bought this citizenship for a large amount of money.” “But I was born a citizen,” Paul said.

²⁹So those who were about to examine him withdrew from him immediately. The commander too was alarmed when he realized Paul was a Roman citizen and he had bound him.

³⁰The next day, since he wanted to find out exactly why Paul was being accused by the Jews, he released him and instructed the chief priests and all the Sanhedrin to convene. He brought Paul down and placed him before them.