Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem,

²saying, “Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.”

³When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him;

⁴and assembling all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born.

⁵They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for so it is written by the prophet:

⁶“‘And you, O Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for from you shall come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.’”

⁷Then Herod summoned the wise men secretly and ascertained from them what time the star had appeared.

⁸And he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, “Go and search diligently for the child, and when you have found him, bring me word, that I too may come and worship him.”

⁹After listening to the king, they went on their way. And behold, the star that they had seen when it rose went before them until it came to rest over the place where the child was.

¹⁰When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy.

¹¹And going into the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh.

¹²And being warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed to their own country by another way.

¹³Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Rise, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you, for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him.”

¹⁴And he rose and took the child and his mother by night and departed to Egypt

¹⁵and remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet, “Out of Egypt I called my son.”

¹⁶Then Herod, when he saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, became furious, and he sent and killed all the male children in Bethlehem and in all that region who were two years old or under, according to the time that he had ascertained from the wise men.

¹⁷Then was fulfilled what was spoken by the prophet Jeremiah:

¹⁸“A voice was heard in Ramah, weeping and loud lamentation, Rachel weeping for her children; she refused to be comforted, because they are no more.”

¹⁹But when Herod died, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt,

²⁰saying, “Rise, take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel, for those who sought the child's life are dead.”

²¹And he rose and took the child and his mother and went to the land of Israel.

²²But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning over Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there, and being warned in a dream he withdrew to the district of Galilee.

²³And he went and lived in a city called Nazareth, so that what was spoken by the prophets might be fulfilled, that he would be called a Nazarene.

¹Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them.

²And on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done.

³So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all his work that he had done in creation.

⁴These are the generations of the heavens and the earth when they were created, in the day that the LORD God made the earth and the heavens.

⁵When no bush of the field was yet in the land and no small plant of the field had yet sprung up — for the LORD God had not caused it to rain on the land, and there was no man to work the ground,

⁶and a mist was going up from the land and was watering the whole face of the ground —

⁷then the LORD God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature.

⁸And the LORD God planted a garden in Eden, in the east, and there he put the man whom he had formed.

⁹And out of the ground the LORD God made to spring up every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. The tree of life was in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

¹⁰A river flowed out of Eden to water the garden, and there it divided and became four rivers.

¹¹The name of the first is the Pishon. It is the one that flowed around the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold.

¹²And the gold of that land is good; bdellium and onyx stone are there.

¹³The name of the second river is the Gihon. It is the one that flowed around the whole land of Cush.

¹⁴And the name of the third river is the Tigris, which flows east of Assyria. And the fourth river is the Euphrates.

¹⁵The LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it.

¹⁶And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden,

¹⁷but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”

¹⁸Then the LORD God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him.”

¹⁹Now out of the ground the LORD God had formed every beast of the field and every bird of the heavens and brought them to the man to see what he would call them. And whatever the man called every living creature, that was its name.

²⁰The man gave names to all livestock and to the birds of the heavens and to every beast of the field. But for Adam there was not found a helper fit for him.

²¹So the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and while he slept took one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh.

²²And the rib that the LORD God had taken from the man he made into a woman and brought her to the man.

²³Then the man said, “This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.”

²⁴Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.

²⁵And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed.

¹Therefore you have no excuse, O man, every one of you who judges. For in passing judgment on another you condemn yourself, because you, the judge, practice the very same things.

²We know that the judgment of God rightly falls on those who practice such things.

³Do you suppose, O man — you who judge those who practice such things and yet do them yourself — that you will escape the judgment of God?

⁴Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God's kindness is meant to lead you to repentance?

⁵But because of your hard and impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God's righteous judgment will be revealed.

⁶He will render to each one according to his works:

⁷to those who by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, he will give eternal life;

⁸but for those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, there will be wrath and fury.

⁹There will be tribulation and distress for every human being who does evil, the Jew first and also the Greek,

¹⁰but glory and honor and peace for everyone who does good, the Jew first and also the Greek.

¹¹For God shows no partiality.

¹²For all who have sinned without the law will also perish without the law, and all who have sinned under the law will be judged by the law.

¹³For it is not the hearers of the law who are righteous before God, but the doers of the law who will be justified.

¹⁴For when Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do what the law requires, they are a law to themselves, even though they do not have the law.

¹⁵They show that the work of the law is written on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness, and their conflicting thoughts accuse or even excuse them

¹⁶on that day when, according to my gospel, God judges the secrets of men by Christ Jesus.

¹⁷But if you call yourself a Jew and rely on the law and boast in God

¹⁸and know his will and approve what is excellent, because you are instructed from the law;

¹⁹and if you are sure that you yourself are a guide to the blind, a light to those who are in darkness,

²⁰an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of children, having in the law the embodiment of knowledge and truth —

²¹you then who teach others, do you not teach yourself? While you preach against stealing, do you steal?

²²You who say that one must not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples?

²³You who boast in the law dishonor God by breaking the law.

²⁴For, as it is written, “The name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you.”

²⁵For circumcision indeed is of value if you obey the law, but if you break the law, your circumcision becomes uncircumcision.

²⁶So, if a man who is uncircumcised keeps the precepts of the law, will not his uncircumcision be regarded as circumcision?

²⁷Then he who is physically uncircumcised but keeps the law will condemn you who have the written code and circumcision but break the law.

²⁸For no one is a Jew who is merely one outwardly, nor is circumcision outward and physical.

²⁹But a Jew is one inwardly, and circumcision is a matter of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter. His praise is not from man but from God.

¹For you yourselves know, brothers, that our coming to you was not in vain.

²But though we had already suffered and been shamefully treated at Philippi, as you know, we had boldness in our God to declare to you the gospel of God in the midst of much conflict.

³For our appeal does not spring from error or impurity or any attempt to deceive,

⁴but just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, so we speak, not to please man, but to please God who tests our hearts.

⁵For we never came with words of flattery, as you know, nor with a pretext for greed — God is witness.

⁶Nor did we seek glory from people, whether from you or from others, though we could have made demands as apostles of Christ.

⁷But we were gentle among you, like a nursing mother taking care of her own children.

⁸So, being affectionately desirous of you, we were ready to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own selves, because you had become very dear to us.

⁹For you remember, brothers, our labor and toil: we worked night and day, that we might not be a burden to any of you, while we proclaimed to you the gospel of God.

¹⁰You are witnesses, and God also, how holy and righteous and blameless was our conduct toward you believers.

¹¹For you know how, like a father with his children,

¹²we exhorted each one of you and encouraged you and charged you to walk in a manner worthy of God, who calls you into his own kingdom and glory.

¹³And we also thank God constantly for this, that when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men but as what it really is, the word of God, which is at work in you believers.

¹⁴For you, brothers, became imitators of the churches of God in Christ Jesus that are in Judea. For you suffered the same things from your own countrymen as they did from the Jews,

¹⁵who killed both the Lord Jesus and the prophets, and drove us out, and displease God and oppose all mankind

¹⁶by hindering us from speaking to the Gentiles that they might be saved — so as always to fill up the measure of their sins. But wrath has come upon them at last!

¹⁷But since we were torn away from you, brothers, for a short time, in person not in heart, we endeavored the more eagerly and with great desire to see you face to face,

¹⁸because we wanted to come to you — I, Paul, again and again — but Satan hindered us.

¹⁹For what is our hope or joy or crown of boasting before our Lord Jesus at his coming? Is it not you?

²⁰For you are our glory and joy.

¹Again there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came among them to present himself before the LORD.

²And the LORD said to Satan, “From where have you come?” Satan answered the LORD and said, “From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking up and down on it.”

³And the LORD said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, who fears God and turns away from evil? He still holds fast his integrity, although you incited me against him to destroy him without reason.”

⁴Then Satan answered the LORD and said, “Skin for skin! All that a man has he will give for his life.

⁵But stretch out your hand and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will curse you to your face.”

⁶And the LORD said to Satan, “Behold, he is in your hand; only spare his life.”

⁷So Satan went out from the presence of the LORD and struck Job with loathsome sores from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head.

⁸And he took a piece of broken pottery with which to scrape himself while he sat in the ashes.

⁹Then his wife said to him, “Do you still hold fast your integrity? Curse God and die.”

¹⁰But he said to her, “You speak as one of the foolish women would speak. Shall we receive good from God, and shall we not receive evil?” In all this Job did not sin with his lips.

¹¹Now when Job's three friends heard of all this evil that had come upon him, they came each from his own place, Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite. They made an appointment together to come to show him sympathy and comfort him.

¹²And when they saw him from a distance, they did not recognize him. And they raised their voices and wept, and they tore their robes and sprinkled dust on their heads toward heaven.

¹³And they sat with him on the ground seven days and seven nights, and no one spoke a word to him, for they saw that his suffering was very great.

¹Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain?

²The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD and against his Anointed, saying,

³“Let us burst their bonds apart and cast away their cords from us.”

⁴He who sits in the heavens laughs; the Lord holds them in derision.

⁵Then he will speak to them in his wrath, and terrify them in his fury, saying,

⁶“As for me, I have set my King on Zion, my holy hill.”

⁷I will tell of the decree: The LORD said to me, “You are my Son; today I have begotten you.

⁸Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage, and the ends of the earth your possession.

⁹You shall break them with a rod of iron and dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel.”

¹⁰Now therefore, O kings, be wise; be warned, O rulers of the earth.

¹¹Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice with trembling.

¹²Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and you perish in the way, for his wrath is quickly kindled. Blessed are all who take refuge in him.

¹My son, if you receive my words and treasure up my commandments with you,

²making your ear attentive to wisdom and inclining your heart to understanding;

³yes, if you call out for insight and raise your voice for understanding,

⁴if you seek it like silver and search for it as for hidden treasures,

⁵then you will understand the fear of the LORD and find the knowledge of God.

⁶For the LORD gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding;

⁷he stores up sound wisdom for the upright; he is a shield to those who walk in integrity,

⁸guarding the paths of justice and watching over the way of his saints.

⁹Then you will understand righteousness and justice and equity, every good path;

¹⁰for wisdom will come into your heart, and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul;

¹¹discretion will watch over you, understanding will guard you,

¹²delivering you from the way of evil, from men of perverted speech,

¹³who forsake the paths of uprightness to walk in the ways of darkness,

¹⁴who rejoice in doing evil and delight in the perverseness of evil,

¹⁵men whose paths are crooked, and who are devious in their ways.

¹⁶So you will be delivered from the forbidden woman, from the adulteress with her smooth words,

¹⁷who forsakes the companion of her youth and forgets the covenant of her God;

¹⁸for her house sinks down to death, and her paths to the departed;

¹⁹none who go to her come back, nor do they regain the paths of life.

²⁰So you will walk in the way of the good and keep to the paths of the righteous.

²¹For the upright will inhabit the land, and those with integrity will remain in it,

²²but the wicked will be cut off from the land, and the treacherous will be rooted out of it.

¹And Joshua the son of Nun sent two men secretly from Shittim as spies, saying, “Go, view the land, especially Jericho.” And they went and came into the house of a prostitute whose name was Rahab and lodged there.

²And it was told to the king of Jericho, “Behold, men of Israel have come here tonight to search out the land.”

³Then the king of Jericho sent to Rahab, saying, “Bring out the men who have come to you, who entered your house, for they have come to search out all the land.”

⁴But the woman had taken the two men and hidden them. And she said, “True, the men came to me, but I did not know where they were from.

⁵And when the gate was about to be closed at dark, the men went out. I do not know where the men went. Pursue them quickly, for you will overtake them.”

⁶But she had brought them up to the roof and hid them with the stalks of flax that she had laid in order on the roof.

⁷So the men pursued after them on the way to the Jordan as far as the fords. And the gate was shut as soon as the pursuers had gone out.

⁸Before the men lay down, she came up to them on the roof

⁹and said to the men, “I know that the LORD has given you the land, and that the fear of you has fallen upon us, and that all the inhabitants of the land melt away before you.

¹⁰For we have heard how the LORD dried up the water of the Red Sea before you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to the two kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan, to Sihon and Og, whom you devoted to destruction.

¹¹And as soon as we heard it, our hearts melted, and there was no spirit left in any man because of you, for the LORD your God, he is God in the heavens above and on the earth beneath.

¹²Now then, please swear to me by the LORD that, as I have dealt kindly with you, you also will deal kindly with my father's house, and give me a sure sign

¹³that you will save alive my father and mother, my brothers and sisters, and all who belong to them, and deliver our lives from death.”

¹⁴And the men said to her, “Our life for yours even to death! If you do not tell this business of ours, then when the LORD gives us the land we will deal kindly and faithfully with you.”

¹⁵Then she let them down by a rope through the window, for her house was built into the city wall, so that she lived in the wall.

¹⁶And she said to them, “Go into the hills, or the pursuers will encounter you, and hide there three days until the pursuers have returned. Then afterward you may go your way.”

¹⁷The men said to her, “We will be guiltless with respect to this oath of yours that you have made us swear.

¹⁸Behold, when we come into the land, you shall tie this scarlet cord in the window through which you let us down, and you shall gather into your house your father and mother, your brothers, and all your father's household.

¹⁹Then if anyone goes out of the doors of your house into the street, his blood shall be on his own head, and we shall be guiltless. But if a hand is laid on anyone who is with you in the house, his blood shall be on our head.

²⁰But if you tell this business of ours, then we shall be guiltless with respect to your oath that you have made us swear.”

²¹And she said, “According to your words, so be it.” Then she sent them away, and they departed. And she tied the scarlet cord in the window.

²²They departed and went into the hills and remained there three days until the pursuers returned, and the pursuers searched all along the way and found nothing.

²³Then the two men returned. They came down from the hills and passed over and came to Joshua the son of Nun, and they told him all that had happened to them.

²⁴And they said to Joshua, “Truly the LORD has given all the land into our hands. And also, all the inhabitants of the land melt away because of us.”

¹The word that Isaiah the son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem.

²It shall come to pass in the latter days that the mountain of the house of the LORD shall be established as the highest of the mountains, and shall be lifted up above the hills; and all the nations shall flow to it,

³and many peoples shall come, and say: “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob, that he may teach us his ways and that we may walk in his paths.” For out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.

⁴He shall judge between the nations, and shall decide disputes for many peoples; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore.

⁵O house of Jacob, come, let us walk in the light of the LORD.

⁶For you have rejected your people, the house of Jacob, because they are full of things from the east and of fortune-tellers like the Philistines, and they strike hands with the children of foreigners.

⁷Their land is filled with silver and gold, and there is no end to their treasures; their land is filled with horses, and there is no end to their chariots.

⁸Their land is filled with idols; they bow down to the work of their hands, to what their own fingers have made.

⁹So man is humbled, and each one is brought low — do not forgive them!

¹⁰Enter into the rock and hide in the dust from before the terror of the LORD, and from the splendor of his majesty.

¹¹The haughty looks of man shall be brought low, and the lofty pride of men shall be humbled, and the LORD alone will be exalted in that day.

¹²For the LORD of hosts has a day against all that is proud and lofty, against all that is lifted up — and it shall be brought low;

¹³against all the cedars of Lebanon, lofty and lifted up; and against all the oaks of Bashan;

¹⁴against all the lofty mountains, and against all the uplifted hills;

¹⁵against every high tower, and against every fortified wall;

¹⁶against all the ships of Tarshish, and against all the beautiful craft.

¹⁷And the haughtiness of man shall be humbled, and the lofty pride of men shall be brought low, and the LORD alone will be exalted in that day.

¹⁸And the idols shall utterly pass away.

¹⁹And people shall enter the caves of the rocks and the holes of the ground, from before the terror of the LORD, and from the splendor of his majesty, when he rises to terrify the earth.

²⁰In that day mankind will cast away their idols of silver and their idols of gold, which they made for themselves to worship, to the moles and to the bats,

²¹to enter the caverns of the rocks and the clefts of the cliffs, from before the terror of the LORD, and from the splendor of his majesty, when he rises to terrify the earth.

²²Stop regarding man in whose nostrils is breath, for of what account is he?

¹When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place.

²And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting.

³And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them.

⁴And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.

⁵Now there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men from every nation under heaven.

⁶And at this sound the multitude came together, and they were bewildered, because each one was hearing them speak in his own language.

⁷And they were amazed and astonished, saying, “Are not all these who are speaking Galileans?

⁸And how is it that we hear, each of us in his own native language?

⁹Parthians and Medes and Elamites and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia,

¹⁰Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome,

¹¹both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabians — we hear them telling in our own tongues the mighty works of God.”

¹²And all were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, “What does this mean?”

¹³But others mocking said, “They are filled with new wine.”

¹⁴But Peter, standing with the eleven, lifted up his voice and addressed them: “Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and give ear to my words.

¹⁵For these people are not drunk, as you suppose, since it is only the third hour of the day.

¹⁶But this is what was uttered through the prophet Joel:

¹⁷“‘And in the last days it shall be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams;

¹⁸even on my male servants and female servants in those days I will pour out my Spirit, and they shall prophesy.

¹⁹And I will show wonders in the heavens above and signs on the earth below, blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke;

²⁰the sun shall be turned to darkness and the moon to blood, before the day of the Lord comes, the great and magnificent day.

²¹And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.’

²²“Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know —

²³this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men.

²⁴God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it.

²⁵For David says concerning him, “‘I saw the Lord always before me, for he is at my right hand that I may not be shaken;

²⁶therefore my heart was glad, and my tongue rejoiced; my flesh also will dwell in hope.

²⁷For you will not abandon my soul to Hades, or let your Holy One see corruption.

²⁸You have made known to me the paths of life; you will make me full of gladness with your presence.’

²⁹“Brothers, I may say to you with confidence about the patriarch David that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day.

³⁰Being therefore a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that he would set one of his descendants on his throne,

³¹he foresaw and spoke about the resurrection of the Christ, that he was not abandoned to Hades, nor did his flesh see corruption.

³²This Jesus God raised up, and of that we all are witnesses.

³³Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this that you yourselves are seeing and hearing.

³⁴For David did not ascend into the heavens, but he himself says, “‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at my right hand,

³⁵until I make your enemies your footstool.”’

³⁶Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.”

³⁷Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?”

³⁸And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

³⁹For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.”

⁴⁰And with many other words he bore witness and continued to exhort them, saying, “Save yourselves from this crooked generation.”

⁴¹So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls.

⁴²And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.

⁴³And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles.

⁴⁴And all who believed were together and had all things in common.

⁴⁵And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need.

⁴⁶And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts,

⁴⁷praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.