Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb.

²They found the stone rolled away from the tomb,

³but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus.

⁴While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them.

⁵In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, “Why do you look for the living among the dead?

⁶He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee:

⁷‘The Son of Man must be delivered over to the hands of sinners, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.’ ”

⁸Then they remembered his words.

⁹When they came back from the tomb, they told all these things to the Eleven and to all the others.

¹⁰It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the others with them who told this to the apostles.

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

¹²Peter, however, got up and ran to the tomb. Bending over, he saw the strips of linen lying by themselves, and he went away, wondering to himself what had happened.

¹³Now that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem.

¹⁴They were talking with each other about everything that had happened.

¹⁵As they talked and discussed these things with each other, Jesus himself came up and walked along with them;

¹⁶but they were kept from recognizing him.

¹⁷He asked them, “What are you discussing together as you walk along?” They stood still, their faces downcast.

¹⁸One of them, named Cleopas, asked him, “Are you the only one visiting Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened there in these days?”

¹⁹“What things?” he asked. “About Jesus of Nazareth,” they replied. “He was a prophet, powerful in word and deed before God and all the people.

²⁰The chief priests and our rulers handed him over to be sentenced to death, and they crucified him;

²¹but we had hoped that he was the one who was going to redeem Israel. And what is more, it is the third day since all this took place.

²²In addition, some of our women amazed us. They went to the tomb early this morning

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

²⁴Then some of our companions went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but they did not see Jesus.”

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

²⁶Did not the Messiah have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?”

²⁷And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.

²⁸As they approached the village to which they were going, Jesus continued on as if he were going farther.

²⁹But they urged him strongly, “Stay with us, for it is nearly evening; the day is almost over.” So he went in to stay with them.

³⁰When he was at the table with them, he took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to them.

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

³²They asked each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?”

³³They got up and returned at once to Jerusalem. There they found the Eleven and those with them, assembled together

³⁴and saying, “It is true! The Lord has risen and has appeared to Simon.”

³⁵Then the two told what had happened on the way, and how Jesus was recognized by them when he broke the bread.

³⁶While they were still talking about this, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.”

³⁷They were startled and frightened, thinking they saw a ghost.

³⁸He said to them, “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts rise in your minds?

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

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

⁴¹And while they still did not believe it because of joy and amazement, he asked them, “Do you have anything here to eat?”

⁴²They gave him a piece of broiled fish,

⁴³and he took it and ate it in their presence.

⁴⁴He said to them, “This is what I told you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms.”

⁴⁵Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures.

⁴⁶He told them, “This is what is written: The Messiah will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day,

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

⁴⁸You are witnesses of these things.

⁴⁹I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.”

⁵⁰When he had led them out to the vicinity of Bethany, he lifted up his hands and blessed them.

⁵¹While he was blessing them, he left them and was taken up into heaven.

⁵²Then they worshiped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy.

⁵³And they stayed continually at the temple, praising God.

¹Then the LORD said to Moses, “Go 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.”

²If you refuse to let them go and continue to hold them back,

³the hand of the LORD will bring a terrible plague on your livestock in the field—on your horses, donkeys and camels and on your cattle, sheep and goats.

⁴But the LORD will make a distinction between the livestock of Israel and that of Egypt, so that no animal belonging to the Israelites will die.’ ”

⁵The LORD set a time and said, “Tomorrow the LORD will do this in the land.”

⁶And the next day the LORD did it: All the livestock of the Egyptians died, but not one animal belonging to the Israelites died.

⁷Pharaoh investigated and found that not even one of the animals of the Israelites had died. Yet his heart was unyielding and he would not let the people go.

⁸Then the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, “Take handfuls of soot from a furnace and have Moses toss it into the air in the presence of Pharaoh.

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

¹⁰So they took soot from a furnace and stood before Pharaoh. Moses tossed it into the air, and festering boils broke out on people and animals.

¹¹The magicians could not stand before Moses because of the boils that were on them and on all the Egyptians.

¹²But the LORD hardened Pharaoh’s heart and he would not listen to Moses and Aaron, just as the LORD had said to Moses.

¹³Then the LORD said to Moses, “Get up early in the morning, confront 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,

¹⁴or this time I will send the full force of my plagues against you and against your officials and your people, so you may know that there is no one like me in all the earth.

¹⁵For by now I could have stretched out my hand and struck you and your people with a plague that would have wiped you off the earth.

¹⁶But I have raised you up for this very purpose, that I might show you my power and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.

¹⁷You still set yourself against my people and will not let them go.

¹⁸Therefore, at this time tomorrow I will send the worst hailstorm that has ever fallen on Egypt, from the day it was founded till now.

¹⁹Give an order now to bring your livestock and everything you have in the field to a place of shelter, because the hail will fall on every person and animal that has not been brought in and is still out in the field, and they will die.’ ”

²⁰Those officials of Pharaoh who feared the word of the LORD hurried to bring their slaves and their livestock inside.

²¹But those who ignored the word of the LORD left their slaves and livestock in the field.

²²Then the LORD said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand toward the sky so that hail will fall all over Egypt—on people and animals and on everything growing in the fields of Egypt.”

²³When Moses stretched out his staff toward the sky, the LORD sent thunder and hail, and lightning flashed down to the ground. So the LORD rained hail on the land of Egypt;

²⁴hail fell and lightning flashed back and forth. It was the worst storm in all the land of Egypt since it had become a nation.

²⁵Throughout Egypt hail struck everything in the fields—both people and animals; it beat down everything growing in the fields and stripped every tree.

²⁶The only place it did not hail was the land of Goshen, where the Israelites were.

²⁷Then Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron. “This time I have sinned,” he said to them. “The LORD is in the right, and I and my people are in the wrong.

²⁸Pray to the LORD, for we have had enough thunder and hail. I will let you go; you don’t have to stay any longer.”

²⁹Moses replied, “When I have gone out of the city, I will spread out my hands in prayer to the LORD. The thunder will stop and there will be no more hail, so you may know that the earth is the LORD’s.

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

³¹(The flax and barley were destroyed, since the barley had headed and the flax was in bloom.

³²The wheat and spelt, however, were not destroyed, because they ripen later.)

³³Then Moses left Pharaoh and went out of the city. He spread out his hands toward the LORD; the thunder and hail stopped, and the rain no longer poured down on the land.

³⁴When Pharaoh saw that the rain and hail and thunder had stopped, he sinned again: He and his officials hardened their hearts.

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

¹Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.

²Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

³For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you.

⁴For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function,

⁵so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.

⁶We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your faith;

⁷if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach;

⁸if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead, do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully.

⁹Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good.

¹⁰Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves.

¹¹Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord.

¹²Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.

¹³Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality.

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

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

¹⁶Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited.

¹⁷Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone.

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

¹⁹Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord.

²⁰On the contrary: “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.”

²¹Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

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

²And I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and seven trumpets were given to them.

³Another angel, who had a golden censer, came and stood at the altar. He was given much incense to offer, with the prayers of all God’s people, on the golden altar in front of the throne.

⁴The smoke of the incense, together with the prayers of God’s people, went up before God from the angel’s hand.

⁵Then the angel took the censer, filled it with fire from the altar, and hurled it on the earth; and there came peals of thunder, rumblings, flashes of lightning and an earthquake.

⁶Then the seven angels who had the seven trumpets prepared to sound them.

⁷The first angel sounded his trumpet, and there came hail and fire mixed with blood, and it was hurled down on the earth. 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 sounded his trumpet, and something like a huge mountain, all ablaze, was thrown into the sea. A third of the sea turned into blood,

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

¹⁰The third angel sounded his trumpet, and a great star, blazing like a torch, fell from the sky on a third of the rivers and on the springs of water—

¹¹the name of the star is Wormwood. A third of the waters turned bitter, and many people died from the waters that had become bitter.

¹²The fourth angel sounded 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 turned dark. A third of the day was without light, and also a third of the night.

¹³As I watched, I heard an eagle that was flying in midair call out in a loud voice: “Woe! Woe! Woe to the inhabitants of the earth, because of the trumpet blasts about to be sounded by the other three angels!”

¹Where has your beloved gone, most beautiful of women? Which way did your beloved turn, that we may look for him with you?

²My beloved has gone down to his garden, to the beds of spices, to browse in the gardens and to gather lilies.

³I am my beloved’s and my beloved is mine; he browses among the lilies.

⁴You are as beautiful as Tirzah, my darling, as lovely as Jerusalem, as majestic as troops with banners.

⁵Turn your eyes from me; they overwhelm me. Your hair is like a flock of goats descending from Gilead.

⁶Your teeth are like a flock of sheep coming up from the washing. Each has its twin, not one of them is missing.

⁷Your temples behind your veil are like the halves of a pomegranate.

⁸Sixty queens there may be, and eighty concubines, and virgins beyond number;

⁹but my dove, my perfect one, is unique, the only daughter of her mother, the favorite of the one who bore her. The young women saw her and called her blessed; the queens and concubines praised her.

¹⁰Who is this that appears like the dawn, fair as the moon, bright as the sun, majestic as the stars in procession?

¹¹I went down to the grove of nut trees to look at the new growth in the valley, to see if the vines had budded or the pomegranates were in bloom.

¹²Before I realized it, my desire set me among the royal chariots of my people.

¹³Come back, come back, O Shulammite; come back, come back, that we may gaze on you! Why would you gaze on the Shulammite as on the dance of Mahanaim?

¹Sing to the LORD a new song; sing to the LORD, all the earth.

²Sing to the LORD, praise his name; proclaim his salvation day after day.

³Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous deeds among all peoples.

⁴For great is the LORD and most worthy of praise; he is to be feared above all gods.

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

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

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

⁸Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name; bring an offering and come into his courts.

⁹Worship the LORD in the splendor of his holiness; tremble before him, all the earth.

¹⁰Say among the nations, “The LORD reigns.” The world is firmly established, it cannot be moved; he will judge the peoples with equity.

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

¹²Let the fields be jubilant, and everything in them; let all the trees of the forest sing for joy.

¹³Let all creation rejoice before the LORD, for he comes, he comes to judge the earth. He will judge the world in righteousness and the peoples in his faithfulness.

¹Whoever remains stiff-necked after many rebukes will suddenly be destroyed—without remedy.

²When the righteous thrive, the people rejoice; when the wicked rule, the people groan.

³A man who loves wisdom brings joy to his father, but a companion of prostitutes squanders his wealth.

⁴By justice a king gives a country stability, but those who are greedy for bribes tear it down.

⁵Those who flatter their neighbors are spreading nets for their feet.

⁶Evildoers are snared by their own sin, but the righteous shout for joy and are glad.

⁷The righteous care about justice for the poor, but the wicked have no such concern.

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

⁹If a wise person goes to court with a fool, the fool rages and scoffs, and there is no peace.

¹⁰The bloodthirsty hate a person of integrity and seek to kill the upright.

¹¹Fools give full vent to their rage, but the wise bring calm in the end.

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

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

¹⁴If a king judges the poor with fairness, his throne will be established forever.

¹⁵A rod and a reprimand impart wisdom, but a child left undisciplined disgraces its mother.

¹⁶When the wicked thrive, so does sin, but the righteous will see their downfall.

¹⁷Discipline your children, and they will give you peace; they will bring you the delights you desire.

¹⁸Where there is no revelation, people cast off restraint; but blessed is the one who heeds wisdom’s instruction.

¹⁹Servants cannot be corrected by mere words; though they understand, they will not respond.

²⁰Do you see someone who speaks in haste? There is more hope for a fool than for them.

²¹A servant pampered from youth will turn out to be insolent.

²²An angry person stirs up conflict, and a hot-tempered person commits many sins.

²³Pride brings a person low, but the lowly in spirit gain honor.

²⁴The accomplices of thieves are their own enemies; they are put under oath and dare not testify.

²⁵Fear of man will prove to be a snare, but whoever trusts in the LORD is kept safe.

²⁶Many seek an audience with a ruler, but it is from the LORD that one gets justice.

²⁷The righteous detest the dishonest; the wicked detest the upright.

¹So the king and Haman went to Queen Esther’s banquet,

²and as they were drinking wine on the second day, the king again asked, “Queen Esther, what is your petition? It will be given you. What is your request? Even up to half the kingdom, it will be granted.”

³Then Queen Esther answered, “If I have found favor with you, Your Majesty, and if it pleases you, grant me my life—this is my petition. And spare my people—this is my request.

⁴For I and my people have been sold to be destroyed, killed and annihilated. If we had merely been sold as male and female slaves, I would have kept quiet, because no such distress would justify disturbing the king.”

⁵King Xerxes asked Queen Esther, “Who is he? Where is he—the man who has dared to do such a thing?”

⁶Esther said, “An adversary and enemy! This vile Haman!” Then Haman was terrified before the king and queen.

⁷The king got up in a rage, left his wine and went out into the palace garden. But Haman, realizing that the king had already decided his fate, stayed behind to beg Queen Esther for his life.

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, “Will he even molest the queen while she is with me in the house?” As soon as the word left the king’s mouth, they covered Haman’s face.

⁹Then Harbona, one of the eunuchs attending the king, said, “A pole reaching to a height of fifty cubits stands by Haman’s house. He had it set up for Mordecai, who spoke up to help the king.” The king said, “Impale him on it!”

¹⁰So they impaled Haman on the pole he had set up for Mordecai. Then the king’s fury subsided.

¹A day of the LORD is coming, Jerusalem, when your possessions will be plundered and divided up within your very walls.

²I will gather all the nations to Jerusalem to fight against it; the city will be captured, the houses ransacked, and the women raped. Half of the city will go into exile, but the rest of the people will not be taken from the city.

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

⁴On that day his feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, east of Jerusalem, and the Mount of Olives will be split in two from east to west, forming a great valley, with half of the mountain moving north and half moving south.

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

⁶On that day there will be neither sunlight nor cold, frosty darkness.

⁷It will be a unique day—a day known only to the LORD—with no distinction between day and night. When evening comes, there will be light.

⁸On that day living water will flow out from Jerusalem, half of it east to the Dead Sea and half of it west to the Mediterranean Sea, in summer and in winter.

⁹The LORD will be king over the whole earth. On that day there will be one LORD, and his name the only name.

¹⁰The whole land, from Geba to Rimmon, south of Jerusalem, will become like the Arabah. But Jerusalem will be raised up high from the Benjamin Gate to the site of the First Gate, to the Corner Gate, and from the Tower of Hananel to the royal winepresses, and will remain in its place.

¹¹It will be inhabited; never again will it be destroyed. Jerusalem will be secure.

¹²This is the plague with which the LORD will strike all the nations that fought against Jerusalem: Their flesh will rot while they are still standing on their feet, their eyes will rot in their sockets, and their tongues will rot in their mouths.

¹³On that day people will be stricken by the LORD with great panic. They will seize each other by the hand and attack one another.

¹⁴Judah too will fight at Jerusalem. The wealth of all the surrounding nations will be collected—great quantities of gold and silver and clothing.

¹⁵A similar plague will strike the horses and mules, the camels and donkeys, and all the animals in those camps.

¹⁶Then the survivors from all the nations that have attacked Jerusalem will go up year after year to worship the King, the LORD Almighty, and to celebrate the Festival of Tabernacles.

¹⁷If any of the peoples of the earth do not go up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the LORD Almighty, they will have no rain.

¹⁸If the Egyptian people do not go up and take part, they will have no rain. The LORD will bring on them the plague he inflicts on the nations that do not go up to celebrate the Festival of Tabernacles.

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

²⁰On that day HOLY TO THE LORD will be inscribed on the bells of the horses, and the cooking pots in the LORD’s house will be like the sacred bowls in front of the altar.

²¹Every pot in Jerusalem and Judah will be holy to the LORD Almighty, and all who come to sacrifice will take some of the pots and cook in them. And on that day there will no longer be a Canaanite in the house of the LORD Almighty.

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

²When they heard him speak to them in Aramaic, they became very quiet. Then Paul said:

³“I am a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but brought up in this city. I studied under Gamaliel and was thoroughly trained in the law of our ancestors. I was just as zealous for God as any of you are today.

⁴I persecuted the followers of this Way to their death, arresting both men and women and throwing them into prison,

⁵as the high priest and all the Council can themselves testify. I even obtained letters from them to their associates in Damascus, and went there to bring these people as prisoners to Jerusalem to be punished.

⁶“About noon as I came near Damascus, suddenly a bright light from heaven flashed around me.

⁷I fell to the ground and heard a voice say to me, ‘Saul! Saul! Why do you persecute me?’

⁸“ ‘Who are you, Lord?’ I asked. “ ‘I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom you are persecuting,’ he replied.

⁹My companions saw the light, but they did not understand the voice of him who was speaking to me.

¹⁰“ ‘What shall I do, Lord?’ I asked. “ ‘Get up,’ the Lord said, ‘and go into Damascus. There you will be told all that you have been assigned to do.’

¹¹My companions led me by the hand into Damascus, because the brilliance of the light had blinded me.

¹²“A man named Ananias came to see me. He was a devout observer of the law and highly respected by all the Jews living there.

¹³He stood beside me and said, ‘Brother Saul, receive your sight!’ And at that very moment I was able to see him.

¹⁴“Then he said: ‘The God of our ancestors has chosen you to know his will and to see the Righteous One and to hear words from his mouth.

¹⁵You will be his witness to all people of what you have seen and heard.

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

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

¹⁸and saw the Lord speaking to me. ‘Quick!’ he said. ‘Leave Jerusalem immediately, because the people here will not accept your testimony about me.’

¹⁹“ ‘Lord,’ I replied, ‘these people know that I went from one synagogue to another to imprison and beat those who believe in you.

²⁰And when the blood of your martyr Stephen was shed, I stood there giving my approval and guarding the clothes of those who were killing him.’

²¹“Then the Lord said to me, ‘Go; I will send you far away to the Gentiles.’ ”

²²The crowd listened to Paul until he said this. Then they raised their voices and shouted, “Rid the earth of him! He’s not fit to live!”

²³As they were shouting and throwing off their cloaks and flinging dust into the air,

²⁴the commander ordered that Paul be taken into the barracks. He directed that he be flogged and interrogated in order to find out why the people were shouting at him like this.

²⁵As they stretched him out to flog him, Paul said to the centurion standing there, “Is it legal for you to flog a Roman citizen who hasn’t even been found guilty?”

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

²⁷The commander went to Paul and asked, “Tell me, are you a Roman citizen?” “Yes, I am,” he answered.

²⁸Then the commander said, “I had to pay a lot of money for my citizenship.” “But I was born a citizen,” Paul replied.

²⁹Those who were about to interrogate him withdrew immediately. The commander himself was alarmed when he realized that he had put Paul, a Roman citizen, in chains.

³⁰The commander wanted to find out exactly why Paul was being accused by the Jews. So the next day he released him and ordered the chief priests and all the members of the Sanhedrin to assemble. Then he brought Paul and had him stand before them.