Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹Then He spoke a parable to them, that men always ought to pray and not lose heart,

²saying: “There was in a certain city a judge who did not fear God nor regard man.

³Now there was a widow in that city; and she came to him, saying, ‘Get justice for me from my adversary.’

⁴And he would not for a while; but afterward he said within himself, ‘Though I do not fear God nor regard man,

⁵yet because this widow troubles me I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me.’ ”

⁶Then the Lord said, “Hear what the unjust judge said.

⁷And shall God not avenge His own elect who cry out day and night to Him, though He bears long with them?

⁸I tell you that He will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?”

⁹Also He spoke this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others:

¹⁰“Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.

¹¹The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, ‘God, I thank You that I am not like other men—extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector.

¹²I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I possess.’

¹³And the tax collector, standing afar off, would not so much as raise his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me a sinner!’

¹⁴I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”

¹⁵Then they also brought infants to Him that He might touch them; but when the disciples saw it, they rebuked them.

¹⁶But Jesus called them to Him and said, “Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of God.

¹⁷Assuredly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will by no means enter it.”

¹⁸Now a certain ruler asked Him, saying, “Good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?”

¹⁹So Jesus said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God.

²⁰You know the commandments: ‘Do not commit adultery,’ ‘Do not murder,’ ‘Do not steal,’ ‘Do not bear false witness,’ ‘Honor your father and your mother.’ ”

²¹And he said, “All these things I have kept from my youth.”

²²So when Jesus heard these things, He said to him, “You still lack one thing. Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.”

²³But when he heard this, he became very sorrowful, for he was very rich.

²⁴And when Jesus saw that he became very sorrowful, He said, “How hard it is for those who have riches to enter the kingdom of God!

²⁵For it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”

²⁶And those who heard it said, “Who then can be saved?”

²⁷But He said, “The things which are impossible with men are possible with God.”

²⁸Then Peter said, “See, we have left all and followed You.”

²⁹So He said to them, “Assuredly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or parents or brothers or wife or children, for the sake of the kingdom of God,

³⁰who shall not receive many times more in this present time, and in the age to come eternal life.”

³¹Then He took the twelve aside and said to them, “Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and all things that are written by the prophets concerning the Son of Man will be accomplished.

³²For He will be delivered to the Gentiles and will be mocked and insulted and spit upon.

³³They will scourge Him and kill Him. And the third day He will rise again.”

³⁴But they understood none of these things; this saying was hidden from them, and they did not know the things which were spoken.

³⁵Then it happened, as He was coming near Jericho, that a certain blind man sat by the road begging.

³⁶And hearing a multitude passing by, he asked what it meant.

³⁷So they told him that Jesus of Nazareth was passing by.

³⁸And he cried out, saying, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”

³⁹Then those who went before warned him that he should be quiet; but he cried out all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”

⁴⁰So Jesus stood still and commanded him to be brought to Him. And when he had come near, He asked him,

⁴¹saying, “What do you want Me to do for you?” He said, “Lord, that I may receive my sight.”

⁴²Then Jesus said to him, “Receive your sight; your faith has made you well.”

⁴³And immediately he received his sight, and followed Him, glorifying God. And all the people, when they saw it, gave praise to God.

¹Now Israel remained in Acacia Grove, and the people began to commit harlotry with the women of Moab.

²They invited the people to the sacrifices of their gods, and the people ate and bowed down to their gods.

³So Israel was joined to Baal of Peor, and the anger of the LORD was aroused against Israel.

⁴Then the LORD said to Moses, “Take all the leaders of the people and hang the offenders before the LORD, out in the sun, that the fierce anger of the LORD may turn away from Israel.”

⁵So Moses said to the judges of Israel, “Every one of you kill his men who were joined to Baal of Peor.”

⁶And indeed, one of the children of Israel came and presented to his brethren a Midianite woman in the sight of Moses and in the sight of all the congregation of the children of Israel, who were weeping at the door of the tabernacle of meeting.

⁷Now when Phinehas the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, saw it, he rose from among the congregation and took a javelin in his hand;

⁸and he went after the man of Israel into the tent and thrust both of them through, the man of Israel, and the woman through her body. So the plague was stopped among the children of Israel.

⁹And those who died in the plague were twenty-four thousand.

¹⁰Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying:

¹¹“Phinehas the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, has turned back My wrath from the children of Israel, because he was zealous with My zeal among them, so that I did not consume the children of Israel in My zeal.

¹²Therefore say, ‘Behold, I give to him My covenant of peace;

¹³and it shall be to him and his descendants after him a covenant of an everlasting priesthood, because he was zealous for his God, and made atonement for the children of Israel.’ ”

¹⁴Now the name of the Israelite who was killed, who was killed with the Midianite woman, was Zimri the son of Salu, a leader of a father’s house among the Simeonites.

¹⁵And the name of the Midianite woman who was killed was Cozbi the daughter of Zur; he was head of the people of a father’s house in Midian.

¹⁶Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying:

¹⁷“Harass the Midianites, and attack them;

¹⁸for they harassed you with their schemes by which they seduced you in the matter of Peor and in the matter of Cozbi, the daughter of a leader of Midian, their sister, who was killed in the day of the plague because of Peor.”

¹Paul, called to be an apostle of Jesus Christ through the will of God, and Sosthenes our brother,

²To the church of God which is at Corinth, to those who are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all who in every place call on the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours:

³Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

⁴I thank my God always concerning you for the grace of God which was given to you by Christ Jesus,

⁵that you were enriched in everything by Him in all utterance and all knowledge,

⁶even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you,

⁷so that you come short in no gift, eagerly waiting for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ,

⁸who will also confirm you to the end, that you may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.

⁹God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

¹⁰Now I plead with you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.

¹¹For it has been declared to me concerning you, my brethren, by those of Chloe’s household, that there are contentions among you.

¹²Now I say this, that each of you says, “I am of Paul,” or “I am of Apollos,” or “I am of Cephas,” or “I am of Christ.”

¹³Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?

¹⁴I thank God that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius,

¹⁵lest anyone should say that I had baptized in my own name.

¹⁶Yes, I also baptized the household of Stephanas. Besides, I do not know whether I baptized any other.

¹⁷For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of no effect.

¹⁸For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.

¹⁹For it is written: “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, And bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent.”

²⁰Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the disputer of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of this world?

²¹For since, in the wisdom of God, the world through wisdom did not know God, it pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe.

²²For Jews request a sign, and Greeks seek after wisdom;

²³but we preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling block and to the Greeks foolishness,

²⁴but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.

²⁵Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.

²⁶For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called.

²⁷But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty;

²⁸and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are,

²⁹that no flesh should glory in His presence.

³⁰But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God—and righteousness and sanctification and redemption—

³¹that, as it is written, “He who glories, let him glory in the LORD.”

¹Then Job answered and said:

²“How long will you torment my soul, And break me in pieces with words?

³These ten times you have reproached me; You are not ashamed that you have wronged me.

⁴And if indeed I have erred, My error remains with me.

⁵If indeed you exalt yourselves against me, And plead my disgrace against me,

⁶Know then that God has wronged me, And has surrounded me with His net.

⁷“If I cry out concerning wrong, I am not heard. If I cry aloud, there is no justice.

⁸He has fenced up my way, so that I cannot pass; And He has set darkness in my paths.

⁹He has stripped me of my glory, And taken the crown from my head.

¹⁰He breaks me down on every side, And I am gone; My hope He has uprooted like a tree.

¹¹He has also kindled His wrath against me, And He counts me as one of His enemies.

¹²His troops come together And build up their road against me; They encamp all around my tent.

¹³“He has removed my brothers far from me, And my acquaintances are completely estranged from me.

¹⁴My relatives have failed, And my close friends have forgotten me.

¹⁵Those who dwell in my house, and my maidservants, Count me as a stranger; I am an alien in their sight.

¹⁶I call my servant, but he gives no answer; I beg him with my mouth.

¹⁷My breath is offensive to my wife, And I am repulsive to the children of my own body.

¹⁸Even young children despise me; I arise, and they speak against me.

¹⁹All my close friends abhor me, And those whom I love have turned against me.

²⁰My bone clings to my skin and to my flesh, And I have escaped by the skin of my teeth.

²¹“Have pity on me, have pity on me, O you my friends, For the hand of God has struck me!

²²Why do you persecute me as God does, And are not satisfied with my flesh?

²³“Oh, that my words were written! Oh, that they were inscribed in a book!

²⁴That they were engraved on a rock With an iron pen and lead, forever!

²⁵For I know that my Redeemer lives, And He shall stand at last on the earth;

²⁶And after my skin is destroyed, this I know, That in my flesh I shall see God,

²⁷Whom I shall see for myself, And my eyes shall behold, and not another. How my heart yearns within me!

²⁸If you should say, ‘How shall we persecute him?’— Since the root of the matter is found in me,

²⁹Be afraid of the sword for yourselves; For wrath brings the punishment of the sword, That you may know there is a judgment.”

¹A Psalm of David. [1] Give unto the LORD, O you mighty ones, Give unto the LORD glory and strength.

²Give unto the LORD the glory due to His name; Worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness.

³The voice of the LORD is over the waters; The God of glory thunders; The LORD is over many waters.

⁴The voice of the LORD is powerful; The voice of the LORD is full of majesty.

⁵The voice of the LORD breaks the cedars, Yes, the LORD splinters the cedars of Lebanon.

⁶He makes them also skip like a calf, Lebanon and Sirion like a young wild ox.

⁷The voice of the LORD divides the flames of fire.

⁸The voice of the LORD shakes the wilderness; The LORD shakes the Wilderness of Kadesh.

⁹The voice of the LORD makes the deer give birth, And strips the forests bare; And in His temple everyone says, “Glory!”

¹⁰The LORD sat enthroned at the Flood, And the LORD sits as King forever.

¹¹The LORD will give strength to His people; The LORD will bless His people with peace.

¹Better is the poor who walks in his integrity Than one who is perverse in his lips, and is a fool.

²Also it is not good for a soul to be without knowledge, And he sins who hastens with his feet.

³The foolishness of a man twists his way, And his heart frets against the LORD.

⁴Wealth makes many friends, But the poor is separated from his friend.

⁵A false witness will not go unpunished, And he who speaks lies will not escape.

⁶Many entreat the favor of the nobility, And every man is a friend to one who gives gifts.

⁷All the brothers of the poor hate him; How much more do his friends go far from him! He may pursue them with words, yet they abandon him.

⁸He who gets wisdom loves his own soul; He who keeps understanding will find good.

⁹A false witness will not go unpunished, And he who speaks lies shall perish.

¹⁰Luxury is not fitting for a fool, Much less for a servant to rule over princes.

¹¹The discretion of a man makes him slow to anger, And his glory is to overlook a transgression.

¹²The king’s wrath is like the roaring of a lion, But his favor is like dew on the grass.

¹³A foolish son is the ruin of his father, And the contentions of a wife are a continual dripping.

¹⁴Houses and riches are an inheritance from fathers, But a prudent wife is from the LORD.

¹⁵Laziness casts one into a deep sleep, And an idle person will suffer hunger.

¹⁶He who keeps the commandment keeps his soul, But he who is careless of his ways will die.

¹⁷He who has pity on the poor lends to the LORD, And He will pay back what he has given.

¹⁸Chasten your son while there is hope, And do not set your heart on his destruction.

¹⁹A man of great wrath will suffer punishment; For if you rescue him, you will have to do it again.

²⁰Listen to counsel and receive instruction, That you may be wise in your latter days.

²¹There are many plans in a man’s heart, Nevertheless the LORD’s counsel—that will stand.

²²What is desired in a man is kindness, And a poor man is better than a liar.

²³The fear of the LORD leads to life, And he who has it will abide in satisfaction; He will not be visited with evil.

²⁴A lazy man buries his hand in the bowl, And will not so much as bring it to his mouth again.

²⁵Strike a scoffer, and the simple will become wary; Rebuke one who has understanding, and he will discern knowledge.

²⁶He who mistreats his father and chases away his mother Is a son who causes shame and brings reproach.

²⁷Cease listening to instruction, my son, And you will stray from the words of knowledge.

²⁸A disreputable witness scorns justice, And the mouth of the wicked devours iniquity.

²⁹Judgments are prepared for scoffers, And beatings for the backs of fools.

¹Now the Philistines fought against Israel; and the men of Israel fled from before the Philistines, and fell slain on Mount Gilboa.

²Then the Philistines followed hard after Saul and his sons. And the Philistines killed Jonathan, Abinadab, and Malchishua, Saul’s sons.

³The battle became fierce against Saul. The archers hit him, and he was severely wounded by the archers.

⁴Then Saul said to his armorbearer, “Draw your sword, and thrust me through with it, lest these uncircumcised men come and thrust me through and abuse me.” But his armorbearer would not, for he was greatly afraid. Therefore Saul took a sword and fell on it.

⁵And when his armorbearer saw that Saul was dead, he also fell on his sword, and died with him.

⁶So Saul, his three sons, his armorbearer, and all his men died together that same day.

⁷And when the men of Israel who were on the other side of the valley, and those who were on the other side of the Jordan, saw that the men of Israel had fled and that Saul and his sons were dead, they forsook the cities and fled; and the Philistines came and dwelt in them.

⁸So it happened the next day, when the Philistines came to strip the slain, that they found Saul and his three sons fallen on Mount Gilboa.

⁹And they cut off his head and stripped off his armor, and sent word throughout the land of the Philistines, to proclaim it in the temple of their idols and among the people.

¹⁰Then they put his armor in the temple of the Ashtoreths, and they fastened his body to the wall of Beth Shan.

¹¹Now when the inhabitants of Jabesh Gilead heard what the Philistines had done to Saul,

¹²all the valiant men arose and traveled all night, and took the body of Saul and the bodies of his sons from the wall of Beth Shan; and they came to Jabesh and burned them there.

¹³Then they took their bones and buried them under the tamarisk tree at Jabesh, and fasted seven days.

¹Thus the LORD said to me: “Go and get yourself a linen sash, and put it around your waist, but do not put it in water.”

²So I got a sash according to the word of the LORD, and put it around my waist.

³And the word of the LORD came to me the second time, saying,

⁴“Take the sash that you acquired, which is around your waist, and arise, go to the Euphrates, and hide it there in a hole in the rock.”

⁵So I went and hid it by the Euphrates, as the LORD commanded me.

⁶Now it came to pass after many days that the LORD said to me, “Arise, go to the Euphrates, and take from there the sash which I commanded you to hide there.”

⁷Then I went to the Euphrates and dug, and I took the sash from the place where I had hidden it; and there was the sash, ruined. It was profitable for nothing.

⁸Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying,

⁹“Thus says the LORD: ‘In this manner I will ruin the pride of Judah and the great pride of Jerusalem.

¹⁰This evil people, who refuse to hear My words, who follow the dictates of their hearts, and walk after other gods to serve them and worship them, shall be just like this sash which is profitable for nothing.

¹¹For as the sash clings to the waist of a man, so I have caused the whole house of Israel and the whole house of Judah to cling to Me,’ says the LORD, ‘that they may become My people, for renown, for praise, and for glory; but they would not hear.’

¹²“Therefore you shall speak to them this word: ‘Thus says the LORD God of Israel: “Every bottle shall be filled with wine.” ’ And they will say to you, ‘Do we not certainly know that every bottle will be filled with wine?’

¹³“Then you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the LORD: “Behold, I will fill all the inhabitants of this land—even the kings who sit on David’s throne, the priests, the prophets, and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem— with drunkenness!

¹⁴And I will dash them one against another, even the fathers and the sons together,” says the LORD. “I will not pity nor spare nor have mercy, but will destroy them.” ’ ”

¹⁵Hear and give ear: Do not be proud, For the LORD has spoken.

¹⁶Give glory to the LORD your God Before He causes darkness, And before your feet stumble On the dark mountains, And while you are looking for light, He turns it into the shadow of death And makes it dense darkness.

¹⁷But if you will not hear it, My soul will weep in secret for your pride; My eyes will weep bitterly And run down with tears, Because the LORD’s flock has been taken captive.

¹⁸Say to the king and to the queen mother, “Humble yourselves; Sit down, For your rule shall collapse, the crown of your glory.”

¹⁹The cities of the South shall be shut up, And no one shall open them; Judah shall be carried away captive, all of it; It shall be wholly carried away captive.

²⁰Lift up your eyes and see Those who come from the north. Where is the flock that was given to you, Your beautiful sheep?

²¹What will you say when He punishes you? For you have taught them To be chieftains, to be head over you. Will not pangs seize you, Like a woman in labor?

²²And if you say in your heart, “Why have these things come upon me?” For the greatness of your iniquity Your skirts have been uncovered, Your heels made bare.

²³Can the Ethiopian change his skin or the leopard its spots? Then may you also do good who are accustomed to do evil.

²⁴“Therefore I will scatter them like stubble That passes away by the wind of the wilderness.

²⁵This is your lot, The portion of your measures from Me,” says the LORD, “Because you have forgotten Me And trusted in falsehood.

²⁶Therefore I will uncover your skirts over your face, That your shame may appear.

²⁷I have seen your adulteries And your lustful neighings, The lewdness of your harlotry, Your abominations on the hills in the fields. Woe to you, O Jerusalem! Will you still not be made clean?”

¹Now it came to pass, that when we had departed from them and set sail, running a straight course we came to Cos, the following day to Rhodes, and from there to Patara.

²And finding a ship sailing over to Phoenicia, we went aboard and set sail.

³When we had sighted Cyprus, we passed it on the left, sailed to Syria, and landed at Tyre; for there the ship was to unload her cargo.

⁴And finding disciples, we stayed there seven days. They told Paul through the Spirit not to go up to Jerusalem.

⁵When we had come to the end of those days, we departed and went on our way; and they all accompanied us, with wives and children, till we were out of the city. And we knelt down on the shore and prayed.

⁶When we had taken our leave of one another, we boarded the ship, and they returned home.

⁷And when we had finished our voyage from Tyre, we came to Ptolemais, greeted the brethren, and stayed with them one day.

⁸On the next day we who were Paul’s companions departed and came to Caesarea, and entered the house of Philip the evangelist, who was one of the seven, and stayed with him.

⁹Now this man had four virgin daughters who prophesied.

¹⁰And as we stayed many days, a certain prophet named Agabus came down from Judea.

¹¹When he had come to us, he took Paul’s belt, bound his own hands and feet, and said, “Thus says the Holy Spirit, ‘So shall the Jews at Jerusalem bind the man who owns this belt, and deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles.’ ”

¹²Now when we heard these things, both we and those from that place pleaded with him not to go up to Jerusalem.

¹³Then Paul answered, “What do you mean by weeping and breaking my heart? For I am ready not only to be bound, but also to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.”

¹⁴So when he would not be persuaded, we ceased, saying, “The will of the Lord be done.”

¹⁵And after those days we packed and went up to Jerusalem.

¹⁶Also some of the disciples from Caesarea went with us and brought with them a certain Mnason of Cyprus, an early disciple, with whom we were to lodge.

¹⁷And when we had come to Jerusalem, the brethren received us gladly.

¹⁸On the following day Paul went in with us to James, and all the elders were present.

¹⁹When he had greeted them, he told in detail those things which God had done among the Gentiles through his ministry.

²⁰And when they heard it, they glorified the Lord. And they said to him, “You see, brother, how many myriads of Jews there are who have believed, and they are all zealous for the law;

²¹but they have been informed about you that you teach all the Jews who are among the Gentiles to forsake Moses, saying that they ought not to circumcise their children nor to walk according to the customs.

²²What then? The assembly must certainly meet, for they will hear that you have come.

²³Therefore do what we tell you: We have four men who have taken a vow.

²⁴Take them and be purified with them, and pay their expenses so that they may shave their heads, and that all may know that those things of which they were informed concerning you are nothing, but that you yourself also walk orderly and keep the law.

²⁵But concerning the Gentiles who believe, we have written and decided that they should observe no such thing, except that they should keep themselves from things offered to idols, from blood, from things strangled, and from sexual immorality.”

²⁶Then Paul took the men, and the next day, having been purified with them, entered the temple to announce the expiration of the days of purification, at which time an offering should be made for each one of them.

²⁷Now when the seven days were almost ended, the Jews from Asia, seeing him in the temple, stirred up the whole crowd and laid hands on him,

²⁸crying out, “Men of Israel, help! This is the man who teaches all men everywhere against the people, the law, and this place; and furthermore he also brought Greeks into the temple and has defiled this holy place.”

²⁹(For they had previously seen Trophimus the Ephesian with him in the city, whom they supposed that Paul had brought into the temple.)

³⁰And all the city was disturbed; and the people ran together, seized Paul, and dragged him out of the temple; and immediately the doors were shut.

³¹Now as they were seeking to kill him, news came to the commander of the garrison that all Jerusalem was in an uproar.

³²He immediately took soldiers and centurions, and ran down to them. And when they saw the commander and the soldiers, they stopped beating Paul.

³³Then the commander came near and took him, and commanded him to be bound with two chains; and he asked who he was and what he had done.

³⁴And some among the multitude cried one thing and some another. So when he could not ascertain the truth because of the tumult, he commanded him to be taken into the barracks.

³⁵When he reached the stairs, he had to be carried by the soldiers because of the violence of the mob.

³⁶For the multitude of the people followed after, crying out, “Away with him!”

³⁷Then as Paul was about to be led into the barracks, he said to the commander, “May I speak to you?” He replied, “Can you speak Greek?

³⁸Are you not the Egyptian who some time ago stirred up a rebellion and led the four thousand assassins out into the wilderness?”

³⁹But Paul said, “I am a Jew from Tarsus, in Cilicia, a citizen of no mean city; and I implore you, permit me to speak to the people.”

⁴⁰So when he had given him permission, Paul stood on the stairs and motioned with his hand to the people. And when there was a great silence, he spoke to them in the Hebrew language, saying,