Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹As Jesus and his disciples approached Jerusalem, they came to the towns of Bethphage and Bethany on the Mount of Olives. Jesus sent two of them on ahead.

²“Go into that village over there,” he told them. “As soon as you enter it, you will see a young donkey tied there that no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here.

³If anyone asks, ‘What are you doing?’ just say, ‘The Lord needs it and will return it soon.’”

⁴The two disciples left and found the colt standing in the street, tied outside the front door.

⁵As they were untying it, some bystanders demanded, “What are you doing, untying that colt?”

⁶They said what Jesus had told them to say, and they were permitted to take it.

⁷Then they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their garments over it, and he sat on it.

⁸Many in the crowd spread their garments on the road ahead of him, and others spread leafy branches they had cut in the fields.

⁹Jesus was in the center of the procession, and the people all around him were shouting, “Praise God! Blessings on the one who comes in the name of the LORD!

¹⁰Blessings on the coming Kingdom of our ancestor David! Praise God in highest heaven!”

¹¹So Jesus came to Jerusalem and went into the Temple. After looking around carefully at everything, he left because it was late in the afternoon. Then he returned to Bethany with the twelve disciples.

¹²The next morning as they were leaving Bethany, Jesus was hungry.

¹³He noticed a fig tree in full leaf a little way off, so he went over to see if he could find any figs. But there were only leaves because it was too early in the season for fruit.

¹⁴Then Jesus said to the tree, “May no one ever eat your fruit again!” And the disciples heard him say it.

¹⁵When they arrived back in Jerusalem, Jesus entered the Temple and began to drive out the people buying and selling animals for sacrifices. He knocked over the tables of the money changers and the chairs of those selling doves,

¹⁶and he stopped everyone from using the Temple as a marketplace.

¹⁷He said to them, “The Scriptures declare, ‘My Temple will be called a house of prayer for all nations,’ but you have turned it into a den of thieves.”

¹⁸When the leading priests and teachers of religious law heard what Jesus had done, they began planning how to kill him. But they were afraid of him because the people were so amazed at his teaching.

¹⁹That evening Jesus and the disciples left the city.

²⁰The next morning as they passed by the fig tree he had cursed, the disciples noticed it had withered from the roots up.

²¹Peter remembered what Jesus had said to the tree on the previous day and exclaimed, “Look, Rabbi! The fig tree you cursed has withered and died!”

²²Then Jesus said to the disciples, “Have faith in God.

²³I tell you the truth, you can say to this mountain, ‘May you be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ and it will happen. But you must really believe it will happen and have no doubt in your heart.

²⁴I tell you, you can pray for anything, and if you believe that you’ve received it, it will be yours.

²⁵But when you are praying, first forgive anyone you are holding a grudge against, so that your Father in heaven will forgive your sins, too. ”

²⁶

²⁷Again they entered Jerusalem. As Jesus was walking through the Temple area, the leading priests, the teachers of religious law, and the elders came up to him.

²⁸They demanded, “By what authority are you doing all these things? Who gave you the right to do them?”

²⁹“I’ll tell you by what authority I do these things if you answer one question,” Jesus replied.

³⁰“Did John’s authority to baptize come from heaven, or was it merely human? Answer me!”

³¹They talked it over among themselves. “If we say it was from heaven, he will ask why we didn’t believe John.

³²But do we dare say it was merely human?” For they were afraid of what the people would do, because everyone believed that John was a prophet.

³³So they finally replied, “We don’t know.” And Jesus responded, “Then I won’t tell you by what authority I do these things.”

¹Then the LORD gave these instructions to Moses and Aaron:

²“When the Israelites set up camp, each tribe will be assigned its own area. The tribal divisions will camp beneath their family banners on all four sides of the Tabernacle, but at some distance from it.

³[3-4] “The divisions of Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun are to camp toward the sunrise on the east side of the Tabernacle, beneath their family banners. These are the names of the tribes, their leaders, and the numbers of their registered troops: Tribe — Leader — Number Judah — Nahshon son of Amminadab — 74,600

⁴

⁵[5-6] Issachar — Nethanel son of Zuar — 54,400

⁶

⁷[7-8] Zebulun — Eliab son of Helon — 57,400

⁸

⁹So the total of all the troops on Judah’s side of the camp is 186,400. These three tribes are to lead the way whenever the Israelites travel to a new campsite.

¹⁰[10-11] “The divisions of Reuben, Simeon, and Gad are to camp on the south side of the Tabernacle, beneath their family banners. These are the names of the tribes, their leaders, and the numbers of their registered troops: Tribe — Leader — Number Reuben — Elizur son of Shedeur — 46,500

¹¹

¹²[12-13] Simeon — Shelumiel son of Zurishaddai — 59,300

¹³

¹⁴[14-15] Gad — Eliasaph son of Deuel — 45,650

¹⁵

¹⁶So the total of all the troops on Reuben’s side of the camp is 151,450. These three tribes will be second in line whenever the Israelites travel.

¹⁷“Then the Tabernacle, carried by the Levites, will set out from the middle of the camp. All the tribes are to travel in the same order that they camp, each in position under the appropriate family banner.

¹⁸[18-19] “The divisions of Ephraim, Manasseh, and Benjamin are to camp on the west side of the Tabernacle, beneath their family banners. These are the names of the tribes, their leaders, and the numbers of their registered troops: Tribe — Leader — Number Ephraim — Elishama son of Ammihud — 40,500

¹⁹

²⁰[20-21] Manasseh — Gamaliel son of Pedahzur — 32,200

²¹

²²[22-23] Benjamin — Abidan son of Gideoni — 35,400

²³

²⁴So the total of all the troops on Ephraim’s side of the camp is 108,100. These three tribes will be third in line whenever the Israelites travel.

²⁵[25-26] “The divisions of Dan, Asher, and Naphtali are to camp on the north side of the Tabernacle, beneath their family banners. These are the names of the tribes, their leaders, and the numbers of their registered troops: Tribe — Leader — Number Dan — Ahiezer son of Ammishaddai — 62,700

²⁶

²⁷[27-28] Asher — Pagiel son of Ocran — 41,500

²⁸

²⁹[29-30] Naphtali — Ahira son of Enan — 53,400

³⁰

³¹So the total of all the troops on Dan’s side of the camp is 157,600. These three tribes will be last, marching under their banners whenever the Israelites travel.”

³²In summary, the troops of Israel listed by their families totaled 603,550.

³³But as the LORD had commanded, the Levites were not included in this registration.

³⁴So the people of Israel did everything as the LORD had commanded Moses. Each clan and family set up camp and marched under their banners exactly as the LORD had instructed them.

¹This Melchizedek was king of the city of Salem and also a priest of God Most High. When Abraham was returning home after winning a great battle against the kings, Melchizedek met him and blessed him.

²Then Abraham took a tenth of all he had captured in battle and gave it to Melchizedek. The name Melchizedek means “king of justice,” and king of Salem means “king of peace.”

³There is no record of his father or mother or any of his ancestors — no beginning or end to his life. He remains a priest forever, resembling the Son of God.

⁴Consider then how great this Melchizedek was. Even Abraham, the great patriarch of Israel, recognized this by giving him a tenth of what he had taken in battle.

⁵Now the law of Moses required that the priests, who are descendants of Levi, must collect a tithe from the rest of the people of Israel, who are also descendants of Abraham.

⁶But Melchizedek, who was not a descendant of Levi, collected a tenth from Abraham. And Melchizedek placed a blessing upon Abraham, the one who had already received the promises of God.

⁷And without question, the person who has the power to give a blessing is greater than the one who is blessed.

⁸The priests who collect tithes are men who die, so Melchizedek is greater than they are, because we are told that he lives on.

⁹In addition, we might even say that these Levites — the ones who collect the tithe — paid a tithe to Melchizedek when their ancestor Abraham paid a tithe to him.

¹⁰For although Levi wasn’t born yet, the seed from which he came was in Abraham’s body when Melchizedek collected the tithe from him.

¹¹So if the priesthood of Levi, on which the law was based, could have achieved the perfection God intended, why did God need to establish a different priesthood, with a priest in the order of Melchizedek instead of the order of Levi and Aaron?

¹²And if the priesthood is changed, the law must also be changed to permit it.

¹³For the priest we are talking about belongs to a different tribe, whose members have never served at the altar as priests.

¹⁴What I mean is, our Lord came from the tribe of Judah, and Moses never mentioned priests coming from that tribe.

¹⁵This change has been made very clear since a different priest, who is like Melchizedek, has appeared.

¹⁶Jesus became a priest, not by meeting the physical requirement of belonging to the tribe of Levi, but by the power of a life that cannot be destroyed.

¹⁷And the psalmist pointed this out when he prophesied, “You are a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek.”

¹⁸Yes, the old requirement about the priesthood was set aside because it was weak and useless.

¹⁹For the law never made anything perfect. But now we have confidence in a better hope, through which we draw near to God.

²⁰This new system was established with a solemn oath. Aaron’s descendants became priests without such an oath,

²¹but there was an oath regarding Jesus. For God said to him, “The LORD has taken an oath and will not break his vow: ‘You are a priest forever.’”

²²Because of this oath, Jesus is the one who guarantees this better covenant with God.

²³There were many priests under the old system, for death prevented them from remaining in office.

²⁴But because Jesus lives forever, his priesthood lasts forever.

²⁵Therefore he is able, once and forever, to save those who come to God through him. He lives forever to intercede with God on their behalf.

²⁶He is the kind of high priest we need because he is holy and blameless, unstained by sin. He has been set apart from sinners and has been given the highest place of honor in heaven.

²⁷Unlike those other high priests, he does not need to offer sacrifices every day. They did this for their own sins first and then for the sins of the people. But Jesus did this once for all when he offered himself as the sacrifice for the people’s sins.

²⁸The law appointed high priests who were limited by human weakness. But after the law was given, God appointed his Son with an oath, and his Son has been made the perfect High Priest forever.

¹“Write this letter to the angel of the church in Sardis. This is the message from the one who has the sevenfold Spirit of God and the seven stars: “I know all the things you do, and that you have a reputation for being alive — but you are dead.

²Wake up! Strengthen what little remains, for even what is left is almost dead. I find that your actions do not meet the requirements of my God.

³Go back to what you heard and believed at first; hold to it firmly. Repent and turn to me again. If you don’t wake up, I will come to you suddenly, as unexpected as a thief.

⁴“Yet there are some in the church in Sardis who have not soiled their clothes with evil. They will walk with me in white, for they are worthy.

⁵All who are victorious will be clothed in white. I will never erase their names from the Book of Life, but I will announce before my Father and his angels that they are mine.

⁶“Anyone with ears to hear must listen to the Spirit and understand what he is saying to the churches.

⁷“Write this letter to the angel of the church in Philadelphia. This is the message from the one who is holy and true, the one who has the key of David. What he opens, no one can close; and what he closes, no one can open:

⁸“I know all the things you do, and I have opened a door for you that no one can close. You have little strength, yet you obeyed my word and did not deny me.

⁹Look, I will force those who belong to Satan’s synagogue — those liars who say they are Jews but are not — to come and bow down at your feet. They will acknowledge that you are the ones I love.

¹⁰“Because you have obeyed my command to persevere, I will protect you from the great time of testing that will come upon the whole world to test those who belong to this world.

¹¹I am coming soon. Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take away your crown.

¹²All who are victorious will become pillars in the Temple of my God, and they will never have to leave it. And I will write on them the name of my God, and they will be citizens in the city of my God — the new Jerusalem that comes down from heaven from my God. And I will also write on them my new name.

¹³“Anyone with ears to hear must listen to the Spirit and understand what he is saying to the churches.

¹⁴“Write this letter to the angel of the church in Laodicea. This is the message from the one who is the Amen — the faithful and true witness, the beginning of God’s new creation:

¹⁵“I know all the things you do, that you are neither hot nor cold. I wish that you were one or the other!

¹⁶But since you are like lukewarm water, neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth!

¹⁷You say, ‘I am rich. I have everything I want. I don’t need a thing!’ And you don’t realize that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked.

¹⁸So I advise you to buy gold from me — gold that has been purified by fire. Then you will be rich. Also buy white garments from me so you will not be shamed by your nakedness, and ointment for your eyes so you will be able to see.

¹⁹I correct and discipline everyone I love. So be diligent and turn from your indifference.

²⁰“Look! I stand at the door and knock. If you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in, and we will share a meal together as friends.

²¹Those who are victorious will sit with me on my throne, just as I was victorious and sat with my Father on his throne.

²²“Anyone with ears to hear must listen to the Spirit and understand what he is saying to the churches.”

¹You are beautiful, my darling, beautiful beyond words. Your eyes are like doves behind your veil. Your hair falls in waves, like a flock of goats winding down the slopes of Gilead.

²Your teeth are as white as sheep, recently shorn and freshly washed. Your smile is flawless, each tooth matched with its twin.

³Your lips are like scarlet ribbon; your mouth is inviting. Your cheeks are like rosy pomegranates behind your veil.

⁴Your neck is as beautiful as the tower of David, jeweled with the shields of a thousand heroes.

⁵Your breasts are like two fawns, twin fawns of a gazelle grazing among the lilies.

⁶Before the dawn breezes blow and the night shadows flee, I will hurry to the mountain of myrrh and to the hill of frankincense.

⁷You are altogether beautiful, my darling, beautiful in every way.

⁸Come with me from Lebanon, my bride, come with me from Lebanon. Come down from Mount Amana, from the peaks of Senir and Hermon, where the lions have their dens and leopards live among the hills.

⁹You have captured my heart, my treasure, my bride. You hold it hostage with one glance of your eyes, with a single jewel of your necklace.

¹⁰Your love delights me, my treasure, my bride. Your love is better than wine, your perfume more fragrant than spices.

¹¹Your lips are as sweet as nectar, my bride. Honey and milk are under your tongue. Your clothes are scented like the cedars of Lebanon.

¹²You are my private garden, my treasure, my bride, a secluded spring, a hidden fountain.

¹³Your thighs shelter a paradise of pomegranates with rare spices — henna with nard,

¹⁴nard and saffron, fragrant calamus and cinnamon, with all the trees of frankincense, myrrh, and aloes, and every other lovely spice.

¹⁵You are a garden fountain, a well of fresh water streaming down from Lebanon’s mountains.

¹⁶Awake, north wind! Rise up, south wind! Blow on my garden and spread its fragrance all around. Come into your garden, my love; taste its finest fruits.

¹O LORD, don’t rebuke me in your anger or discipline me in your rage.

²Have compassion on me, LORD, for I am weak. Heal me, LORD, for my bones are in agony.

³I am sick at heart. How long, O LORD, until you restore me?

⁴Return, O LORD, and rescue me. Save me because of your unfailing love.

⁵For the dead do not remember you. Who can praise you from the grave?

⁶I am worn out from sobbing. All night I flood my bed with weeping, drenching it with my tears.

⁷My vision is blurred by grief; my eyes are worn out because of all my enemies.

⁸Go away, all you who do evil, for the LORD has heard my weeping.

⁹The LORD has heard my plea; the LORD will answer my prayer.

¹⁰May all my enemies be disgraced and terrified. May they suddenly turn back in shame.

¹Don’t brag about tomorrow, since you don’t know what the day will bring.

²Let someone else praise you, not your own mouth — a stranger, not your own lips.

³A stone is heavy and sand is weighty, but the resentment caused by a fool is even heavier.

⁴Anger is cruel, and wrath is like a flood, but jealousy is even more dangerous.

⁵An open rebuke is better than hidden love!

⁶Wounds from a sincere friend are better than many kisses from an enemy.

⁷A person who is full refuses honey, but even bitter food tastes sweet to the hungry.

⁸A person who strays from home is like a bird that strays from its nest.

⁹The heartfelt counsel of a friend is as sweet as perfume and incense.

¹⁰Never abandon a friend — either yours or your father’s. When disaster strikes, you won’t have to ask your brother for assistance. It’s better to go to a neighbor than to a brother who lives far away.

¹¹Be wise, my child, and make my heart glad. Then I will be able to answer my critics.

¹²A prudent person foresees danger and takes precautions. The simpleton goes blindly on and suffers the consequences.

¹³Get security from someone who guarantees a stranger’s debt. Get a deposit if he does it for foreigners.

¹⁴A loud and cheerful greeting early in the morning will be taken as a curse!

¹⁵A quarrelsome wife is as annoying as constant dripping on a rainy day.

¹⁶Stopping her complaints is like trying to stop the wind or trying to hold something with greased hands.

¹⁷As iron sharpens iron, so a friend sharpens a friend.

¹⁸As workers who tend a fig tree are allowed to eat the fruit, so workers who protect their employer’s interests will be rewarded.

¹⁹As a face is reflected in water, so the heart reflects the real person.

²⁰Just as Death and Destruction are never satisfied, so human desire is never satisfied.

²¹Fire tests the purity of silver and gold, but a person is tested by being praised.

²²You cannot separate fools from their foolishness, even though you grind them like grain with mortar and pestle.

²³Know the state of your flocks, and put your heart into caring for your herds,

²⁴for riches don’t last forever, and the crown might not be passed to the next generation.

²⁵After the hay is harvested and the new crop appears and the mountain grasses are gathered in,

²⁶your sheep will provide wool for clothing, and your goats will provide the price of a field.

²⁷And you will have enough goats’ milk for yourself, your family, and your servant girls.

¹As Samuel grew old, he appointed his sons to be judges over Israel.

²Joel and Abijah, his oldest sons, held court in Beersheba.

³But they were not like their father, for they were greedy for money. They accepted bribes and perverted justice.

⁴Finally, all the elders of Israel met at Ramah to discuss the matter with Samuel.

⁵“Look,” they told him, “you are now old, and your sons are not like you. Give us a king to judge us like all the other nations have.”

⁶Samuel was displeased with their request and went to the LORD for guidance.

⁷“Do everything they say to you,” the LORD replied, “for they are rejecting me, not you. They don’t want me to be their king any longer.

⁸Ever since I brought them from Egypt they have continually abandoned me and followed other gods. And now they are giving you the same treatment.

⁹Do as they ask, but solemnly warn them about the way a king will reign over them.”

¹⁰So Samuel passed on the LORD’s warning to the people who were asking him for a king.

¹¹“This is how a king will reign over you,” Samuel said. “The king will draft your sons and assign them to his chariots and his charioteers, making them run before his chariots.

¹²Some will be generals and captains in his army, some will be forced to plow in his fields and harvest his crops, and some will make his weapons and chariot equipment.

¹³The king will take your daughters from you and force them to cook and bake and make perfumes for him.

¹⁴He will take away the best of your fields and vineyards and olive groves and give them to his own officials.

¹⁵He will take a tenth of your grain and your grape harvest and distribute it among his officers and attendants.

¹⁶He will take your male and female slaves and demand the finest of your cattle and donkeys for his own use.

¹⁷He will demand a tenth of your flocks, and you will be his slaves.

¹⁸When that day comes, you will beg for relief from this king you are demanding, but then the LORD will not help you.”

¹⁹But the people refused to listen to Samuel’s warning. “Even so, we still want a king,” they said.

²⁰“We want to be like the nations around us. Our king will judge us and lead us into battle.”

²¹So Samuel repeated to the LORD what the people had said,

²²and the LORD replied, “Do as they say, and give them a king.” Then Samuel agreed and sent the people home.

¹This is what the LORD says: “Be just and fair to all. Do what is right and good, for I am coming soon to rescue you and to display my righteousness among you.

²Blessed are all those who are careful to do this. Blessed are those who honor my Sabbath days of rest and keep themselves from doing wrong.

³“Don’t let foreigners who commit themselves to the LORD say, ‘The LORD will never let me be part of his people.’ And don’t let the eunuchs say, ‘I’m a dried-up tree with no children and no future.’

⁴For this is what the LORD says: I will bless those eunuchs who keep my Sabbath days holy and who choose to do what pleases me and commit their lives to me.

⁵I will give them — within the walls of my house — a memorial and a name far greater than sons and daughters could give. For the name I give them is an everlasting one. It will never disappear!

⁶“I will also bless the foreigners who commit themselves to the LORD, who serve him and love his name, who worship him and do not desecrate the Sabbath day of rest, and who hold fast to my covenant.

⁷I will bring them to my holy mountain of Jerusalem and will fill them with joy in my house of prayer. I will accept their burnt offerings and sacrifices, because my Temple will be called a house of prayer for all nations.

⁸For the Sovereign LORD, who brings back the outcasts of Israel, says: I will bring others, too, besides my people Israel.”

⁹Come, wild animals of the field! Come, wild animals of the forest! Come and devour my people!

¹⁰For the leaders of my people — the LORD’s watchmen, his shepherds — are blind and ignorant. They are like silent watchdogs that give no warning when danger comes. They love to lie around, sleeping and dreaming.

¹¹Like greedy dogs, they are never satisfied. They are ignorant shepherds, all following their own path and intent on personal gain.

¹²“Come,” they say, “let’s get some wine and have a party. Let’s all get drunk. Then tomorrow we’ll do it again and have an even bigger party!”

¹Then Agrippa said to Paul, “You may speak in your defense.” So Paul, gesturing with his hand, started his defense:

²“I am fortunate, King Agrippa, that you are the one hearing my defense today against all these accusations made by the Jewish leaders,

³for I know you are an expert on all Jewish customs and controversies. Now please listen to me patiently!

⁴“As the Jewish leaders are well aware, I was given a thorough Jewish training from my earliest childhood among my own people and in Jerusalem.

⁵If they would admit it, they know that I have been a member of the Pharisees, the strictest sect of our religion.

⁶Now I am on trial because of my hope in the fulfillment of God’s promise made to our ancestors.

⁷In fact, that is why the twelve tribes of Israel zealously worship God night and day, and they share the same hope I have. Yet, Your Majesty, they accuse me for having this hope!

⁸Why does it seem incredible to any of you that God can raise the dead?

⁹“I used to believe that I ought to do everything I could to oppose the very name of Jesus the Nazarene.

¹⁰Indeed, I did just that in Jerusalem. Authorized by the leading priests, I caused many believers there to be sent to prison. And I cast my vote against them when they were condemned to death.

¹¹Many times I had them punished in the synagogues to get them to curse Jesus. I was so violently opposed to them that I even chased them down in foreign cities.

¹²“One day I was on such a mission to Damascus, armed with the authority and commission of the leading priests.

¹³About noon, Your Majesty, as I was on the road, a light from heaven brighter than the sun shone down on me and my companions.

¹⁴We all fell down, and I heard a voice saying to me in Aramaic, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? It is useless for you to fight against my will. ’

¹⁵“‘Who are you, lord?’ I asked. “And the Lord replied, ‘I am Jesus, the one you are persecuting.

¹⁶Now get to your feet! For I have appeared to you to appoint you as my servant and witness. Tell people that you have seen me, and tell them what I will show you in the future.

¹⁷And I will rescue you from both your own people and the Gentiles. Yes, I am sending you to the Gentiles

¹⁸to open their eyes, so they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God. Then they will receive forgiveness for their sins and be given a place among God’s people, who are set apart by faith in me.’

¹⁹“And so, King Agrippa, I obeyed that vision from heaven.

²⁰I preached first to those in Damascus, then in Jerusalem and throughout all Judea, and also to the Gentiles, that all must repent of their sins and turn to God — and prove they have changed by the good things they do.

²¹Some Jews arrested me in the Temple for preaching this, and they tried to kill me.

²²But God has protected me right up to this present time so I can testify to everyone, from the least to the greatest. I teach nothing except what the prophets and Moses said would happen —

²³that the Messiah would suffer and be the first to rise from the dead, and in this way announce God’s light to Jews and Gentiles alike.”

²⁴Suddenly, Festus shouted, “Paul, you are insane. Too much study has made you crazy!”

²⁵But Paul replied, “I am not insane, Most Excellent Festus. What I am saying is the sober truth.

²⁶And King Agrippa knows about these things. I speak boldly, for I am sure these events are all familiar to him, for they were not done in a corner!

²⁷King Agrippa, do you believe the prophets? I know you do — ”

²⁸Agrippa interrupted him. “Do you think you can persuade me to become a Christian so quickly?”

²⁹Paul replied, “Whether quickly or not, I pray to God that both you and everyone here in this audience might become the same as I am, except for these chains.”

³⁰Then the king, the governor, Bernice, and all the others stood and left.

³¹As they went out, they talked it over and agreed, “This man hasn’t done anything to deserve death or imprisonment.”

³²And Agrippa said to Festus, “He could have been set free if he hadn’t appealed to Caesar.”