Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹When they approached Jerusalem, at Bethphage and Bethany near the Mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples

²and told them, “Go into the village ahead of you. As soon as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, on which no one has ever sat. Untie it and bring it.

³If anyone says to you, ‘Why are you doing this? ’ say, ‘The Lord needs it and will send it back here right away.’”

⁴So they went and found a colt outside in the street, tied by a door. They untied it,

⁵and some of those standing there said to them, “What are you doing, untying the colt?”

⁶They answered them just as Jesus had said; so they let them go.

⁷They brought the donkey to Jesus and threw their clothes on it, and he sat on it.

⁸Many people spread their clothes on the road, and others spread leafy branches cut from the fields.

⁹Those who went ahead and those who followed shouted: Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!

¹⁰Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David! Hosanna in the highest heaven!

¹¹He went into Jerusalem and into the temple. After looking around at everything, since it was already late, he went out to Bethany with the Twelve.

¹²The next day when they went out from Bethany, he was hungry.

¹³Seeing in the distance a fig tree with leaves, he went to find out if there was anything on it. When he came to it, he found nothing but leaves; for it was not the season for figs.

¹⁴He said to it, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again!” And his disciples heard it.

¹⁵They came to Jerusalem, and he went into the temple and began to throw out those buying and selling. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the chairs of those selling doves,

¹⁶and would not permit anyone to carry goods through the temple.

¹⁷He was teaching them: “Is it not written, My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations? But you have made it a den of thieves!”

¹⁸The chief priests and the scribes heard it and started looking for a way to kill him. For they were afraid of him, because the whole crowd was astonished by his teaching.

¹⁹Whenever evening came, they would go out of the city.

²⁰Early in the morning, as they were passing by, they saw the fig tree withered from the roots up.

²¹Then Peter remembered and said to him, “Rabbi, look! The fig tree that you cursed has withered.”

²²Jesus replied to them, “Have faith in God.

²³Truly I tell you, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him.

²⁴Therefore I tell you, everything you pray and ask for  —  believe that you have received it and it will be yours.

²⁵And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven will also forgive you your wrongdoing.”

²⁶

²⁷They came again to Jerusalem. As he was walking in the temple, the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders came

²⁸and asked him, “By what authority are you doing these things? Who gave you this authority to do these things?”

²⁹Jesus said to them, “I will ask you one question; then answer me, and I will tell you by what authority I do these things.

³⁰Was John’s baptism from heaven or of human origin? Answer me.”

³¹They discussed it among themselves: “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say, ‘Then why didn’t you believe him?’

³²But if we say, ‘Of human origin’” — they were afraid of the crowd, because everyone thought that John was truly a prophet.

³³So they answered Jesus, “We don’t know.” And Jesus said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.”

¹The LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron:

²“The Israelites are to camp under their respective banners beside the flags of their ancestral families. They are to camp around the tent of meeting at a distance from it:

³Judah’s military divisions will camp on the east side toward the sunrise under their banner. The leader of the descendants of Judah is Nahshon son of Amminadab.

⁴His military division numbers 74,600.

⁵The tribe of Issachar will camp next to it. The leader of the Issacharites is Nethanel son of Zuar.

⁶His military division numbers 54,400.

⁷The tribe of Zebulun will be next. The leader of the Zebulunites is Eliab son of Helon.

⁸His military division numbers 57,400.

⁹The total number in their military divisions who belong to Judah’s encampment is 186,400; they will move out first.

¹⁰Reuben’s military divisions will camp on the south side under their banner. The leader of the Reubenites is Elizur son of Shedeur.

¹¹His military division numbers 46,500.

¹²The tribe of Simeon will camp next to it. The leader of the Simeonites is Shelumiel son of Zurishaddai.

¹³His military division numbers 59,300.

¹⁴The tribe of Gad will be next. The leader of the Gadites is Eliasaph son of Deuel.

¹⁵His military division numbers 45,650.

¹⁶The total number in their military divisions who belong to Reuben’s encampment is 151,450; they will move out second.

¹⁷The tent of meeting is to move out with the Levites’ camp, which is in the middle of the camps. They are to move out just as they camp, each in his place, with their banners.

¹⁸Ephraim’s military divisions will camp on the west side under their banner. The leader of the Ephraimites is Elishama son of Ammihud.

¹⁹His military division numbers 40,500.

²⁰The tribe of Manasseh will be next to it. The leader of the Manassites is Gamaliel son of Pedahzur.

²¹His military division numbers 32,200.

²²The tribe of Benjamin will be next. The leader of the Benjaminites is Abidan son of Gideoni.

²³His military division numbers 35,400.

²⁴The total in their military divisions who belong to Ephraim’s encampment number 108,100; they will move out third.

²⁵Dan’s military divisions will camp on the north side under their banner. The leader of the Danites is Ahiezer son of Ammishaddai.

²⁶His military division numbers 62,700.

²⁷The tribe of Asher will camp next to it. The leader of the Asherites is Pagiel son of Ochran.

²⁸His military division numbers 41,500.

²⁹The tribe of Naphtali will be next. The leader of the Naphtalites is Ahira son of Enan.

³⁰His military division numbers 53,400.

³¹The total number who belong to Dan’s encampment is 157,600; they are to move out last, with their banners.”

³²These are the Israelites registered by their ancestral families. The total number in the camps by their military divisions is 603,550.

³³But the Levites were not registered among the Israelites, just as the LORD had commanded Moses.

³⁴The Israelites did everything the LORD commanded Moses; they camped by their banners in this way and moved out the same way, each man by his clan and by his ancestral family.

¹For this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of God Most High, met Abraham and blessed him as he returned from defeating the kings,

²and Abraham gave him a tenth of everything. First, his name means king of righteousness, then also, king of Salem, meaning king of peace.

³Without father, mother, or genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but resembling the Son of God, he remains a priest forever.

⁴Now consider how great this man was: even Abraham the patriarch gave a tenth of the plunder to him.

⁵The sons of Levi who receive the priestly office have a command according to the law to collect a tenth from the people  — that is, from their brothers and sisters — though they have also descended from Abraham.

⁶But one without this lineage collected a tenth from Abraham and blessed the one who had the promises.

⁷Without a doubt, the inferior is blessed by the superior.

⁸In the one case, men who will die receive a tenth, but in the other case, Scripture testifies that he lives.

⁹And in a sense Levi himself, who receives a tenth, has paid a tenth through Abraham,

¹⁰for he was still within his ancestor when Melchizedek met him.

¹¹Now if perfection came through the Levitical priesthood (for on the basis of it the people received the law ), what further need was there for another priest to appear, said to be according to the order of Melchizedek and not according to the order of Aaron?

¹²For when there is a change of the priesthood, there must be a change of law as well.

¹³For the one these things are spoken about belonged to a different tribe. No one from it has served at the altar.

¹⁴Now it is evident that our Lord came from Judah, and Moses said nothing about that tribe concerning priests.

¹⁵And this becomes clearer if another priest like Melchizedek appears,

¹⁶who did not become a priest based on a legal regulation about physical descent but based on the power of an indestructible life.

¹⁷For it has been testified: You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.

¹⁸So the previous command is annulled because it was weak and unprofitable

¹⁹(for the law perfected nothing), but a better hope is introduced, through which we draw near to God.

²⁰None of this happened without an oath. For others became priests without an oath,

²¹but he became a priest with an oath made by the one who said to him: The Lord has sworn and will not change his mind, “You are a priest forever.”

²²Because of this oath, Jesus has also become the guarantee of a better covenant.

²³Now many have become Levitical priests, since they are prevented by death from remaining in office.

²⁴But because he remains forever, he holds his priesthood permanently.

²⁵Therefore, he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, since he always lives to intercede for them.

²⁶For this is the kind of high priest we need: holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners, and exalted above the heavens.

²⁷He doesn’t need to offer sacrifices every day, as high priests do — first for their own sins, then for those of the people. He did this once for all time when he offered himself.

²⁸For the law appoints as high priests men who are weak, but the promise of the oath, which came after the law, appoints a Son, who has been perfected forever.

¹“Write to the angel of the church in Sardis: Thus says the one who has the seven spirits of God and the seven stars: I know your works; you have a reputation for being alive, but you are dead.

²Be alert and strengthen what remains, which is about to die, for I have not found your works complete before my God.

³Remember, then, what you have received and heard; keep it, and repent. If you are not alert, I will come like a thief, and you have no idea at what hour I will come upon you.

⁴But you have a few people in Sardis who have not defiled their clothes, and they will walk with me in white, because they are worthy.

⁵“In the same way, the one who conquers will be dressed in white clothes, and I will never erase his name from the book of life but will acknowledge his name before my Father and before his angels.

⁶“Let anyone who has ears to hear listen to what the Spirit says to the churches.

⁷“Write to the angel of the church in Philadelphia: Thus says the Holy One, the true one, the one who has the key of David, who opens and no one will close, and who closes and no one opens:

⁸I know your works. Look, I have placed before you an open door that no one can close because you have but little power; yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name.

⁹Note this: I will make those from the synagogue of Satan, who claim to be Jews and are not, but are lying — I will make them come and bow down at your feet, and they will know that I have loved you.

¹⁰Because you have kept my command to endure, I will also keep you from the hour of testing that is going to come on the whole world to test those who live on the earth.

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

¹²“The one who conquers I will make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he will never go out again. I will write on him the name of my God and the name of the city of my God — the new Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from my God — and my new name.

¹³“Let anyone who has ears to hear listen to what the Spirit says to the churches.

¹⁴“Write to the angel of the church in Laodicea: Thus says the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the originator of God’s creation:

¹⁵I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish that you were cold or hot.

¹⁶So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I am going to vomit you out of my mouth.

¹⁷For you say, ‘I’m rich; I have become wealthy and need nothing,’ and you don’t realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind, and naked.

¹⁸I advise you to buy from me gold refined in the fire so that you may be rich, white clothes so that you may be dressed and your shameful nakedness not be exposed, and ointment to spread on your eyes so that you may see.

¹⁹As many as I love, I rebuke and discipline. So be zealous and repent.

²⁰See! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.

²¹“To the one who conquers I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I also conquered and sat down with my Father on his throne.

²²“Let anyone who has ears to hear listen to what the Spirit says to the churches.”

¹How beautiful you are, my darling. How very beautiful! Behind your veil, your eyes are doves. Your hair is like a flock of goats streaming down Mount Gilead.

²Your teeth are like a flock of newly shorn sheep coming up from washing, each one bearing twins, and none has lost its young.

³Your lips are like a scarlet cord, and your mouth is lovely. Behind your veil, your brow is like a slice of pomegranate.

⁴Your neck is like the tower of David, constructed in layers. A thousand shields are hung on it — all of them shields of warriors.

⁵Your breasts are like two fawns, twins of a gazelle, that feed among the lilies.

⁶Until the day breaks and the shadows flee, I will make my way to the mountain of myrrh and the hill of frankincense.

⁷You are absolutely beautiful, my darling; there is no imperfection in you.

⁸Come with me from Lebanon, my bride; come with me from Lebanon! Descend from the peak of Amana, from the summit of Senir and Hermon, from the dens of the lions, from the mountains of the leopards.

⁹You have captured my heart, my sister, my bride. You have captured my heart with one glance of your eyes, with one jewel of your necklace.

¹⁰How delightful your caresses are, my sister, my bride. Your caresses are much better than wine, and the fragrance of your perfume than any balsam.

¹¹Your lips drip sweetness like the honeycomb, my bride. Honey and milk are under your tongue. The fragrance of your garments is like the fragrance of Lebanon.

¹²My sister, my bride, you are a locked garden — a locked garden and a sealed spring.

¹³Your branches are a paradise of pomegranates with choicest fruits; henna with nard,

¹⁴nard and saffron, calamus and cinnamon, with all the trees of frankincense, myrrh and aloes, with all the best spices.

¹⁵You are a garden spring, a well of flowing water streaming from Lebanon.

¹⁶Awaken, north wind; come, south wind. Blow on my garden, and spread the fragrance of its spices. Let my love come to his garden and eat its choicest fruits.

¹For the choir director: with stringed instruments, according to . A psalm of David. [1] LORD, do not rebuke me in your anger; do not discipline me in your wrath.

²Be gracious to me, LORD, for I am weak; heal me, LORD, for my bones are shaking;

³my whole being is shaken with terror. And you, LORD  — how long?

⁴Turn, LORD! Rescue me; save me because of your faithful love.

⁵For there is no remembrance of you in death; who can thank you in Sheol?

⁶I am weary from my groaning; with my tears I dampen my bed and drench my couch every night.

⁷My eyes are swollen from grief; they grow old because of all my enemies.

⁸Depart from me, all evildoers, for the LORD has heard the sound of my weeping.

⁹The LORD has heard my plea for help; the LORD accepts my prayer.

¹⁰All my enemies will be ashamed and shake with terror; they will turn back and suddenly be disgraced.

¹Don’t boast about tomorrow, for you don’t know what a day might bring.

²Let another praise you, and not your own mouth — a stranger, and not your own lips.

³A stone is heavy and sand, a burden, but aggravation from a fool outweighs them both.

⁴Fury is cruel, and anger a flood, but who can withstand jealousy?

⁵Better an open reprimand than concealed love.

⁶The wounds of a friend are trustworthy, but the kisses of an enemy are excessive.

⁷A person who is full tramples on a honeycomb, but to a hungry person, any bitter thing is sweet.

⁸Anyone wandering from his home is like a bird wandering from its nest.

⁹Oil and incense bring joy to the heart, and the sweetness of a friend is better than self-counsel.

¹⁰Don’t abandon your friend or your father’s friend, and don’t go to your brother’s house in your time of calamity; better a neighbor nearby than a brother far away.

¹¹Be wise, my son, and bring my heart joy, so that I can answer anyone who taunts me.

¹²A sensible person sees danger and takes cover; the inexperienced keep going and are punished.

¹³Take his garment, for he has put up security for a stranger; get collateral if it is for foreigners.

¹⁴If one blesses his neighbor with a loud voice early in the morning, it will be counted as a curse to him.

¹⁵An endless dripping on a rainy day and a nagging wife are alike;

¹⁶the one who controls her controls the wind and grasps oil with his right hand.

¹⁷Iron sharpens iron, and one person sharpens another.

¹⁸Whoever tends a fig tree will eat its fruit, and whoever looks after his master will be honored.

¹⁹As water reflects the face, so the heart reflects the person.

²⁰Sheol and Abaddon are never satisfied, and people’s eyes are never satisfied.

²¹A crucible refines silver, a smelter refines gold, and a person refines his praise.

²²Though you grind a fool in a mortar with a pestle along with grain, you will not separate his foolishness from him.

²³Know well the condition of your flock, and pay attention to your herds,

²⁴for wealth is not forever; not even a crown lasts for all time.

²⁵When hay is removed and new growth appears and the grain from the hills is gathered in,

²⁶lambs will provide your clothing, and goats, the price of a field;

²⁷there will be enough goat’s milk for your food — food for your household and nourishment for your female servants.

¹When Samuel grew old, he appointed his sons as judges over Israel.

²His firstborn son’s name was Joel and his second was Abijah. They were judges in Beer-sheba.

³However, his sons did not walk in his ways — they turned toward dishonest profit, took bribes, and perverted justice.

⁴So all the elders of Israel gathered together and went to Samuel at Ramah.

⁵They said to him, “Look, you are old, and your sons do not walk in your ways. Therefore, appoint a king to judge us the same as all the other nations have.”

⁶When they said, “Give us a king to judge us,” Samuel considered their demand wrong, so he prayed to the LORD.

⁷But the LORD told him, “Listen to the people and everything they say to you. They have not rejected you; they have rejected me as their king.

⁸They are doing the same thing to you that they have done to me, since the day I brought them out of Egypt until this day, abandoning me and worshiping other gods.

⁹Listen to them, but solemnly warn them and tell them about the customary rights of the king who will reign over them.”

¹⁰Samuel told all the LORD’s words to the people who were asking him for a king.

¹¹He said, “These are the rights of the king who will reign over you: He will take your sons and put them to his use in his chariots, on his horses, or running in front of his chariots.

¹²He can appoint them for his use as commanders of thousands or commanders of fifties, to plow his ground and reap his harvest, or to make his weapons of war and the equipment for his chariots.

¹³He can take your daughters to become perfumers, cooks, and bakers.

¹⁴He can take your best fields, vineyards, and olive orchards and give them to his servants.

¹⁵He can take a tenth of your grain and your vineyards and give them to his officials and servants.

¹⁶He can take your male servants, your female servants, your best young men, and your donkeys and use them for his work.

¹⁷He can take a tenth of your flocks, and you yourselves can become his servants.

¹⁸When that day comes, you will cry out because of the king you’ve chosen for yourselves, but the LORD won’t answer you on that day.”

¹⁹The people refused to listen to Samuel. “No!” they said. “We must have a king over us.

²⁰Then we’ll be like all the other nations: our king will judge us, go out before us, and fight our battles.”

²¹Samuel listened to all the people’s words and then repeated them to the LORD.

²²“Listen to them,” the LORD told Samuel. “Appoint a king for them.” Then Samuel told the men of Israel, “Each of you, go back to your city.”

¹This is what the LORD says: Preserve justice and do what is right, for my salvation is coming soon, and my righteousness will be revealed.

²Happy is the person who does this, the son of man who holds it fast, who keeps the Sabbath without desecrating it, and keeps his hand from doing any evil.

³No foreigner who has joined himself to the LORD should say, “The LORD will exclude me from his people,” and the eunuch should not say, “Look, I am a dried-up tree.”

⁴For the LORD says this: “For the eunuchs who keep my Sabbaths, and choose what pleases me, and hold firmly to my covenant,

⁵I will give them, in my house and within my walls, a memorial and a name better than sons and daughters. I will give each of them an everlasting name that will never be cut off.

⁶As for the foreigners who join themselves to the LORD to minister to him, to love the name of the LORD, and to become his servants — all who keep the Sabbath without desecrating it and who hold firmly to my covenant —

⁷I will bring them to my holy mountain and let them rejoice in my house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and sacrifices will be acceptable on my altar, for my house will be called a house of prayer for all nations.”

⁸This is the declaration of the Lord GOD, who gathers the dispersed of Israel: “I will gather to them still others besides those already gathered.”

⁹All you animals of the field and forest, come and eat!

¹⁰Israel’s watchmen are blind, all of them, they know nothing; all of them are mute dogs, they cannot bark; they dream, lie down, and love to sleep.

¹¹These dogs have fierce appetites; they never have enough. And they are shepherds who have no discernment; all of them turn to their own way, every last one for his own profit.

¹²“Come, let me get some wine, let’s guzzle some beer; and tomorrow will be like today, only far better!”

¹Agrippa said to Paul, “You have permission to speak for yourself.” Then Paul stretched out his hand and began his defense:

²“I consider myself fortunate, that it is before you, King Agrippa, I am to make my defense today against all the accusations of the Jews,

³especially since you are very knowledgeable about all the Jewish customs and controversies. Therefore I beg you to listen to me patiently.

⁴“All the Jews know my way of life from my youth, which was spent from the beginning among my own people and in Jerusalem.

⁵They have known me for a long time, if they are willing to testify, that according to the strictest sect of our religion I lived as a Pharisee.

⁶And now I stand on trial because of the hope in what God promised to our ancestors,

⁷the promise our twelve tribes hope to reach as they earnestly serve him night and day. King Agrippa, I am being accused by the Jews because of this hope.

⁸Why do any of you consider it incredible that God raises the dead?

⁹In fact, I myself was convinced that it was necessary to do many things in opposition to the name of Jesus of Nazareth.

¹⁰I actually did this in Jerusalem, and I locked up many of the saints in prison, since I had received authority for that from the chief priests. When they were put to death, I was in agreement against them.

¹¹In all the synagogues I often punished them and tried to make them blaspheme. Since I was terribly enraged at them, I pursued them even to foreign cities.

¹²“I was traveling to Damascus under these circumstances with authority and a commission from the chief priests.

¹³King Agrippa, while on the road at midday, I saw a light from heaven brighter than the sun, shining around me and those traveling with me.

¹⁴We all fell to the ground, and I heard a voice speaking to me in Aramaic, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’

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

¹⁶But get up and stand on your feet. For I have appeared to you for this purpose, to appoint you as a servant and a witness of what you have seen and will see of me.

¹⁷I will rescue you from your people and from the Gentiles. I am sending you to them

¹⁸to open their eyes so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a share among those who are sanctified by faith in me.’

¹⁹“So then, King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision.

²⁰Instead, I preached to those in Damascus first, and to those in Jerusalem and in all the region of Judea, and to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, and do works worthy of repentance.

²¹For this reason the Jews seized me in the temple and were trying to kill me.

²²To this very day, I have had help from God, and I stand and testify to both small and great, saying nothing other than what the prophets and Moses said would take place  —

²³that the Messiah must suffer, and that, as the first to rise from the dead, he would proclaim light to our people and to the Gentiles.”

²⁴As he was saying these things in his defense, Festus exclaimed in a loud voice, “You’re out of your mind, Paul! Too much study is driving you mad.”

²⁵But Paul replied, “I’m not out of my mind, most excellent Festus. On the contrary, I’m speaking words of truth and good judgment.

²⁶For the king knows about these matters, and I can speak boldly to him. For I am convinced that none of these things has escaped his notice, since this was not done in a corner.

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

²⁸Agrippa said to Paul, “Are you going to persuade me to become a Christian so easily?”

²⁹“I wish before God,” replied Paul, “that whether easily or with difficulty, not only you but all who listen to me today might become as I am — except for these chains.”

³⁰The king, the governor, Bernice, and those sitting with them got up,

³¹and when they had left they talked with each other and said, “This man is not doing anything to deserve death or imprisonment.”

³²Agrippa said to Festus, “This man could have been released if he had not appealed to Caesar.”