Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹This is the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah the son of David, the son of Abraham:

²Abraham was the father of Isaac, Isaac the father of Jacob, Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers,

³Judah the father of Perez and Zerah, whose mother was Tamar, Perez the father of Hezron, Hezron the father of Ram,

⁴Ram the father of Amminadab, Amminadab the father of Nahshon, Nahshon the father of Salmon,

⁵Salmon the father of Boaz, whose mother was Rahab, Boaz the father of Obed, whose mother was Ruth, Obed the father of Jesse,

⁶and Jesse the father of King David. David was the father of Solomon, whose mother had been Uriah’s wife,

⁷Solomon the father of Rehoboam, Rehoboam the father of Abijah, Abijah the father of Asa,

⁸Asa the father of Jehoshaphat, Jehoshaphat the father of Jehoram, Jehoram the father of Uzziah,

⁹Uzziah the father of Jotham, Jotham the father of Ahaz, Ahaz the father of Hezekiah,

¹⁰Hezekiah the father of Manasseh, Manasseh the father of Amon, Amon the father of Josiah,

¹¹and Josiah the father of Jeconiah and his brothers at the time of the exile to Babylon.

¹²After the exile to Babylon: Jeconiah was the father of Shealtiel, Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel,

¹³Zerubbabel the father of Abihud, Abihud the father of Eliakim, Eliakim the father of Azor,

¹⁴Azor the father of Zadok, Zadok the father of Akim, Akim the father of Elihud,

¹⁵Elihud the father of Eleazar, Eleazar the father of Matthan, Matthan the father of Jacob,

¹⁶and Jacob the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary, and Mary was the mother of Jesus who is called the Messiah.

¹⁷Thus there were fourteen generations in all from Abraham to David, fourteen from David to the exile to Babylon, and fourteen from the exile to the Messiah.

¹⁸This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit.

¹⁹Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.

²⁰But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.

²¹She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”

²²All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet:

²³“The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”).

²⁴When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife.

²⁵But he did not consummate their marriage until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.

¹Then the LORD said to Moses,

²“See, I have chosen Bezalel son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah,

³and I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with wisdom, with understanding, with knowledge and with all kinds of skills—

⁴to make artistic designs for work in gold, silver and bronze,

⁵to cut and set stones, to work in wood, and to engage in all kinds of crafts.

⁶Moreover, I have appointed Oholiab son of Ahisamak, of the tribe of Dan, to help him. Also I have given ability to all the skilled workers to make everything I have commanded you:

⁷the tent of meeting, the ark of the covenant law with the atonement cover on it, and all the other furnishings of the tent—

⁸the table and its articles, the pure gold lampstand and all its accessories, the altar of incense,

⁹the altar of burnt offering and all its utensils, the basin with its stand—

¹⁰and also the woven garments, both the sacred garments for Aaron the priest and the garments for his sons when they serve as priests,

¹¹and the anointing oil and fragrant incense for the Holy Place. They are to make them just as I commanded you.”

¹²Then the LORD said to Moses,

¹³“Say to the Israelites, ‘You must observe my Sabbaths. This will be a sign between me and you for the generations to come, so you may know that I am the LORD, who makes you holy.

¹⁴“ ‘Observe the Sabbath, because it is holy to you. Anyone who desecrates it is to be put to death; those who do any work on that day must be cut off from their people.

¹⁵For six days work is to be done, but the seventh day is a day of sabbath rest, holy to the LORD. Whoever does any work on the Sabbath day is to be put to death.

¹⁶The Israelites are to observe the Sabbath, celebrating it for the generations to come as a lasting covenant.

¹⁷It will be a sign between me and the Israelites forever, for in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, and on the seventh day he rested and was refreshed.’ ”

¹⁸When the LORD finished speaking to Moses on Mount Sinai, he gave him the two tablets of the covenant law, the tablets of stone inscribed by the finger of God.

¹So I made up my mind that I would not make another painful visit to you.

²For if I grieve you, who is left to make me glad but you whom I have grieved?

³I wrote as I did, so that when I came I would not be distressed by those who should have made me rejoice. I had confidence in all of you, that you would all share my joy.

⁴For I wrote you out of great distress and anguish of heart and with many tears, not to grieve you but to let you know the depth of my love for you.

⁵If anyone has caused grief, he has not so much grieved me as he has grieved all of you to some extent—not to put it too severely.

⁶The punishment inflicted on him by the majority is sufficient.

⁷Now instead, you ought to forgive and comfort him, so that he will not be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow.

⁸I urge you, therefore, to reaffirm your love for him.

⁹Another reason I wrote you was to see if you would stand the test and be obedient in everything.

¹⁰Anyone you forgive, I also forgive. And what I have forgiven—if there was anything to forgive—I have forgiven in the sight of Christ for your sake,

¹¹in order that Satan might not outwit us. For we are not unaware of his schemes.

¹²Now when I went to Troas to preach the gospel of Christ and found that the Lord had opened a door for me,

¹³I still had no peace of mind, because I did not find my brother Titus there. So I said goodbye to them and went on to Macedonia.

¹⁴But thanks be to God, who always leads us as captives in Christ’s triumphal procession and uses us to spread the aroma of the knowledge of him everywhere.

¹⁵For we are to God the pleasing aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing.

¹⁶To the one we are an aroma that brings death; to the other, an aroma that brings life. And who is equal to such a task?

¹⁷Unlike so many, we do not peddle the word of God for profit. On the contrary, in Christ we speak before God with sincerity, as those sent from God.

¹Then Zophar the Naamathite replied:

²“My troubled thoughts prompt me to answer because I am greatly disturbed.

³I hear a rebuke that dishonors me, and my understanding inspires me to reply.

⁴“Surely you know how it has been from of old, ever since mankind was placed on the earth,

⁵that the mirth of the wicked is brief, the joy of the godless lasts but a moment.

⁶Though the pride of the godless person reaches to the heavens and his head touches the clouds,

⁷he will perish forever, like his own dung; those who have seen him will say, ‘Where is he?’

⁸Like a dream he flies away, no more to be found, banished like a vision of the night.

⁹The eye that saw him will not see him again; his place will look on him no more.

¹⁰His children must make amends to the poor; his own hands must give back his wealth.

¹¹The youthful vigor that fills his bones will lie with him in the dust.

¹²“Though evil is sweet in his mouth and he hides it under his tongue,

¹³though he cannot bear to let it go and lets it linger in his mouth,

¹⁴yet his food will turn sour in his stomach; it will become the venom of serpents within him.

¹⁵He will spit out the riches he swallowed; God will make his stomach vomit them up.

¹⁶He will suck the poison of serpents; the fangs of an adder will kill him.

¹⁷He will not enjoy the streams, the rivers flowing with honey and cream.

¹⁸What he toiled for he must give back uneaten; he will not enjoy the profit from his trading.

¹⁹For he has oppressed the poor and left them destitute; he has seized houses he did not build.

²⁰“Surely he will have no respite from his craving; he cannot save himself by his treasure.

²¹Nothing is left for him to devour; his prosperity will not endure.

²²In the midst of his plenty, distress will overtake him; the full force of misery will come upon him.

²³When he has filled his belly, God will vent his burning anger against him and rain down his blows on him.

²⁴Though he flees from an iron weapon, a bronze-tipped arrow pierces him.

²⁵He pulls it out of his back, the gleaming point out of his liver. Terrors will come over him;

²⁶total darkness lies in wait for his treasures. A fire unfanned will consume him and devour what is left in his tent.

²⁷The heavens will expose his guilt; the earth will rise up against him.

²⁸A flood will carry off his house, rushing waters on the day of God’s wrath.

²⁹Such is the fate God allots the wicked, the heritage appointed for them by God.”

¹Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever.

²Let Israel say: “His love endures forever.”

³Let the house of Aaron say: “His love endures forever.”

⁴Let those who fear the LORD say: “His love endures forever.”

⁵When hard pressed, I cried to the LORD; he brought me into a spacious place.

⁶The LORD is with me; I will not be afraid. What can mere mortals do to me?

⁷The LORD is with me; he is my helper. I look in triumph on my enemies.

⁸It is better to take refuge in the LORD than to trust in humans.

⁹It is better to take refuge in the LORD than to trust in princes.

¹⁰All the nations surrounded me, but in the name of the LORD I cut them down.

¹¹They surrounded me on every side, but in the name of the LORD I cut them down.

¹²They swarmed around me like bees, but they were consumed as quickly as burning thorns; in the name of the LORD I cut them down.

¹³I was pushed back and about to fall, but the LORD helped me.

¹⁴The LORD is my strength and my defense; he has become my salvation.

¹⁵Shouts of joy and victory resound in the tents of the righteous: “The LORD’s right hand has done mighty things!

¹⁶The LORD’s right hand is lifted high; the LORD’s right hand has done mighty things!”

¹⁷I will not die but live, and will proclaim what the LORD has done.

¹⁸The LORD has chastened me severely, but he has not given me over to death.

¹⁹Open for me the gates of the righteous; I will enter and give thanks to the LORD.

²⁰This is the gate of the LORD through which the righteous may enter.

²¹I will give you thanks, for you answered me; you have become my salvation.

²²The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone;

²³the LORD has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes.

²⁴The LORD has done it this very day; let us rejoice today and be glad.

²⁵LORD, save us! LORD, grant us success!

²⁶Blessed is he who comes in the name of the LORD. From the house of the LORD we bless you.

²⁷The LORD is God, and he has made his light shine on us. With boughs in hand, join in the festal procession up to the horns of the altar.

²⁸You are my God, and I will praise you; you are my God, and I will exalt you.

²⁹Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever.

¹Wine is a mocker and beer a brawler; whoever is led astray by them is not wise.

²A king’s wrath strikes terror like the roar of a lion; those who anger him forfeit their lives.

³It is to one’s honor to avoid strife, but every fool is quick to quarrel.

⁴Sluggards do not plow in season; so at harvest time they look but find nothing.

⁵The purposes of a person’s heart are deep waters, but one who has insight draws them out.

⁶Many claim to have unfailing love, but a faithful person who can find?

⁷The righteous lead blameless lives; blessed are their children after them.

⁸When a king sits on his throne to judge, he winnows out all evil with his eyes.

⁹Who can say, “I have kept my heart pure; I am clean and without sin”?

¹⁰Differing weights and differing measures— the LORD detests them both.

¹¹Even small children are known by their actions, so is their conduct really pure and upright?

¹²Ears that hear and eyes that see— the LORD has made them both.

¹³Do not love sleep or you will grow poor; stay awake and you will have food to spare.

¹⁴“It’s no good, it’s no good!” says the buyer— then goes off and boasts about the purchase.

¹⁵Gold there is, and rubies in abundance, but lips that speak knowledge are a rare jewel.

¹⁶Take the garment of one who puts up security for a stranger; hold it in pledge if it is done for an outsider.

¹⁷Food gained by fraud tastes sweet, but one ends up with a mouth full of gravel.

¹⁸Plans are established by seeking advice; so if you wage war, obtain guidance.

¹⁹A gossip betrays a confidence; so avoid anyone who talks too much.

²⁰If someone curses their father or mother, their lamp will be snuffed out in pitch darkness.

²¹An inheritance claimed too soon will not be blessed at the end.

²²Do not say, “I’ll pay you back for this wrong!” Wait for the LORD, and he will avenge you.

²³The LORD detests differing weights, and dishonest scales do not please him.

²⁴A person’s steps are directed by the LORD. How then can anyone understand their own way?

²⁵It is a trap to dedicate something rashly and only later to consider one’s vows.

²⁶A wise king winnows out the wicked; he drives the threshing wheel over them.

²⁷The human spirit is the lamp of the LORD that sheds light on one’s inmost being.

²⁸Love and faithfulness keep a king safe; through love his throne is made secure.

²⁹The glory of young men is their strength, gray hair the splendor of the old.

³⁰Blows and wounds scrub away evil, and beatings purge the inmost being.

¹The second lot came out for the tribe of Simeon according to its clans. Their inheritance lay within the territory of Judah.

²It included: Beersheba (or Sheba), Moladah,

³Hazar Shual, Balah, Ezem,

⁴Eltolad, Bethul, Hormah,

⁵Ziklag, Beth Markaboth, Hazar Susah,

⁶Beth Lebaoth and Sharuhen—thirteen towns and their villages;

⁷Ain, Rimmon, Ether and Ashan—four towns and their villages—

⁸and all the villages around these towns as far as Baalath Beer (Ramah in the Negev). This was the inheritance of the tribe of the Simeonites, according to its clans.

⁹The inheritance of the Simeonites was taken from the share of Judah, because Judah’s portion was more than they needed. So the Simeonites received their inheritance within the territory of Judah.

¹⁰The third lot came up for Zebulun according to its clans: The boundary of their inheritance went as far as Sarid.

¹¹Going west it ran to Maralah, touched Dabbesheth, and extended to the ravine near Jokneam.

¹²It turned east from Sarid toward the sunrise to the territory of Kisloth Tabor and went on to Daberath and up to Japhia.

¹³Then it continued eastward to Gath Hepher and Eth Kazin; it came out at Rimmon and turned toward Neah.

¹⁴There the boundary went around on the north to Hannathon and ended at the Valley of Iphtah El.

¹⁵Included were Kattath, Nahalal, Shimron, Idalah and Bethlehem. There were twelve towns and their villages.

¹⁶These towns and their villages were the inheritance of Zebulun, according to its clans.

¹⁷The fourth lot came out for Issachar according to its clans.

¹⁸Their territory included: Jezreel, Kesulloth, Shunem,

¹⁹Hapharaim, Shion, Anaharath,

²⁰Rabbith, Kishion, Ebez,

²¹Remeth, En Gannim, En Haddah and Beth Pazzez.

²²The boundary touched Tabor, Shahazumah and Beth Shemesh, and ended at the Jordan. There were sixteen towns and their villages.

²³These towns and their villages were the inheritance of the tribe of Issachar, according to its clans.

²⁴The fifth lot came out for the tribe of Asher according to its clans.

²⁵Their territory included: Helkath, Hali, Beten, Akshaph,

²⁶Allammelek, Amad and Mishal. On the west the boundary touched Carmel and Shihor Libnath.

²⁷It then turned east toward Beth Dagon, touched Zebulun and the Valley of Iphtah El, and went north to Beth Emek and Neiel, passing Kabul on the left.

²⁸It went to Abdon, Rehob, Hammon and Kanah, as far as Greater Sidon.

²⁹The boundary then turned back toward Ramah and went to the fortified city of Tyre, turned toward Hosah and came out at the Mediterranean Sea in the region of Akzib,

³⁰Ummah, Aphek and Rehob. There were twenty-two towns and their villages.

³¹These towns and their villages were the inheritance of the tribe of Asher, according to its clans.

³²The sixth lot came out for Naphtali according to its clans:

³³Their boundary went from Heleph and the large tree in Zaanannim, passing Adami Nekeb and Jabneel to Lakkum and ending at the Jordan.

³⁴The boundary ran west through Aznoth Tabor and came out at Hukkok. It touched Zebulun on the south, Asher on the west and the Jordan on the east.

³⁵The fortified towns were Ziddim, Zer, Hammath, Rakkath, Kinnereth,

³⁶Adamah, Ramah, Hazor,

³⁷Kedesh, Edrei, En Hazor,

³⁸Iron, Migdal El, Horem, Beth Anath and Beth Shemesh. There were nineteen towns and their villages.

³⁹These towns and their villages were the inheritance of the tribe of Naphtali, according to its clans.

⁴⁰The seventh lot came out for the tribe of Dan according to its clans.

⁴¹The territory of their inheritance included: Zorah, Eshtaol, Ir Shemesh,

⁴²Shaalabbin, Aijalon, Ithlah,

⁴³Elon, Timnah, Ekron,

⁴⁴Eltekeh, Gibbethon, Baalath,

⁴⁵Jehud, Bene Berak, Gath Rimmon,

⁴⁶Me Jarkon and Rakkon, with the area facing Joppa.

⁴⁷(When the territory of the Danites was lost to them, they went up and attacked Leshem, took it, put it to the sword and occupied it. They settled in Leshem and named it Dan after their ancestor.)

⁴⁸These towns and their villages were the inheritance of the tribe of Dan, according to its clans.

⁴⁹When they had finished dividing the land into its allotted portions, the Israelites gave Joshua son of Nun an inheritance among them,

⁵⁰as the LORD had commanded. They gave him the town he asked for—Timnath Serah in the hill country of Ephraim. And he built up the town and settled there.

⁵¹These are the territories that Eleazar the priest, Joshua son of Nun and the heads of the tribal clans of Israel assigned by lot at Shiloh in the presence of the LORD at the entrance to the tent of meeting. And so they finished dividing the land.

¹Woe to the land of whirring wings along the rivers of Cush,

²which sends envoys by sea in papyrus boats over the water. Go, swift messengers, to a people tall and smooth-skinned, to a people feared far and wide, an aggressive nation of strange speech, whose land is divided by rivers.

³All you people of the world, you who live on the earth, when a banner is raised on the mountains, you will see it, and when a trumpet sounds, you will hear it.

⁴This is what the LORD says to me: “I will remain quiet and will look on from my dwelling place, like shimmering heat in the sunshine, like a cloud of dew in the heat of harvest.”

⁵For, before the harvest, when the blossom is gone and the flower becomes a ripening grape, he will cut off the shoots with pruning knives, and cut down and take away the spreading branches.

⁶They will all be left to the mountain birds of prey and to the wild animals; the birds will feed on them all summer, the wild animals all winter.

⁷At that time gifts will be brought to the LORD Almighty from a people tall and smooth-skinned, from a people feared far and wide, an aggressive nation of strange speech, whose land is divided by rivers— the gifts will be brought to Mount Zion, the place of the Name of the LORD Almighty.

¹Paul came to Derbe and then to Lystra, where a disciple named Timothy lived, whose mother was Jewish and a believer but whose father was a Greek.

²The believers at Lystra and Iconium spoke well of him.

³Paul wanted to take him along on the journey, so he circumcised him because of the Jews who lived in that area, for they all knew that his father was a Greek.

⁴As they traveled from town to town, they delivered the decisions reached by the apostles and elders in Jerusalem for the people to obey.

⁵So the churches were strengthened in the faith and grew daily in numbers.

⁶Paul and his companions traveled throughout the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been kept by the Holy Spirit from preaching the word in the province of Asia.

⁷When they came to the border of Mysia, they tried to enter Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus would not allow them to.

⁸So they passed by Mysia and went down to Troas.

⁹During the night Paul had a vision of a man of Macedonia standing and begging him, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.”

¹⁰After Paul had seen the vision, we got ready at once to leave for Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them.

¹¹From Troas we put out to sea and sailed straight for Samothrace, and the next day we went on to Neapolis.

¹²From there we traveled to Philippi, a Roman colony and the leading city of that district of Macedonia. And we stayed there several days.

¹³On the Sabbath we went outside the city gate to the river, where we expected to find a place of prayer. We sat down and began to speak to the women who had gathered there.

¹⁴One of those listening was a woman from the city of Thyatira named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth. She was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to respond to Paul’s message.

¹⁵When she and the members of her household were baptized, she invited us to her home. “If you consider me a believer in the Lord,” she said, “come and stay at my house.” And she persuaded us.

¹⁶Once when we were going to the place of prayer, we were met by a female slave who had a spirit by which she predicted the future. She earned a great deal of money for her owners by fortune-telling.

¹⁷She followed Paul and the rest of us, shouting, “These men are servants of the Most High God, who are telling you the way to be saved.”

¹⁸She kept this up for many days. Finally Paul became so annoyed that he turned around and said to the spirit, “In the name of Jesus Christ I command you to come out of her!” At that moment the spirit left her.

¹⁹When her owners realized that their hope of making money was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace to face the authorities.

²⁰They brought them before the magistrates and said, “These men are Jews, and are throwing our city into an uproar

²¹by advocating customs unlawful for us Romans to accept or practice.”

²²The crowd joined in the attack against Paul and Silas, and the magistrates ordered them to be stripped and beaten with rods.

²³After they had been severely flogged, they were thrown into prison, and the jailer was commanded to guard them carefully.

²⁴When he received these orders, he put them in the inner cell and fastened their feet in the stocks.

²⁵About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them.

²⁶Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken. At once all the prison doors flew open, and everyone’s chains came loose.

²⁷The jailer woke up, and when he saw the prison doors open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself because he thought the prisoners had escaped.

²⁸But Paul shouted, “Don’t harm yourself! We are all here!”

²⁹The jailer called for lights, rushed in and fell trembling before Paul and Silas.

³⁰He then brought them out and asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”

³¹They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household.”

³²Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all the others in his house.

³³At that hour of the night the jailer took them and washed their wounds; then immediately he and all his household were baptized.

³⁴The jailer brought them into his house and set a meal before them; he was filled with joy because he had come to believe in God—he and his whole household.

³⁵When it was daylight, the magistrates sent their officers to the jailer with the order: “Release those men.”

³⁶The jailer told Paul, “The magistrates have ordered that you and Silas be released. Now you can leave. Go in peace.”

³⁷But Paul said to the officers: “They beat us publicly without a trial, even though we are Roman citizens, and threw us into prison. And now do they want to get rid of us quietly? No! Let them come themselves and escort us out.”

³⁸The officers reported this to the magistrates, and when they heard that Paul and Silas were Roman citizens, they were alarmed.

³⁹They came to appease them and escorted them from the prison, requesting them to leave the city.

⁴⁰After Paul and Silas came out of the prison, they went to Lydia’s house, where they met with the brothers and sisters and encouraged them. Then they left.