Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹An account of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham:

²Abraham fathered Isaac, Isaac fathered Jacob, Jacob fathered Judah and his brothers,

³Judah fathered Perez and Zerah by Tamar, Perez fathered Hezron, Hezron fathered Aram,

⁴Aram fathered Amminadab, Amminadab fathered Nahshon, Nahshon fathered Salmon,

⁵Salmon fathered Boaz by Rahab, Boaz fathered Obed by Ruth, Obed fathered Jesse,

⁶and Jesse fathered King David. David fathered Solomon by Uriah’s wife,

⁷Solomon fathered Rehoboam, Rehoboam fathered Abijah, Abijah fathered Asa,

⁸Asa fathered Jehoshaphat, Jehoshaphat fathered Joram, Joram fathered Uzziah,

⁹Uzziah fathered Jotham, Jotham fathered Ahaz, Ahaz fathered Hezekiah,

¹⁰Hezekiah fathered Manasseh, Manasseh fathered Amon, Amon fathered Josiah,

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

¹²After the exile to Babylon Jeconiah fathered Shealtiel, Shealtiel fathered Zerubbabel,

¹³Zerubbabel fathered Abiud, Abiud fathered Eliakim, Eliakim fathered Azor,

¹⁴Azor fathered Zadok, Zadok fathered Achim, Achim fathered Eliud,

¹⁵Eliud fathered Eleazar, Eleazar fathered Matthan, Matthan fathered Jacob,

¹⁶and Jacob fathered Joseph the husband of Mary, who gave birth to Jesus who is called the Christ.

¹⁷So all the generations from Abraham to David were fourteen generations; and from David until the exile to Babylon, fourteen generations; and from the exile to Babylon until the Christ, fourteen generations.

¹⁸The birth of Jesus Christ came about this way: After his mother Mary had been engaged to Joseph, it was discovered before they came together that she was pregnant from the Holy Spirit.

¹⁹So her husband Joseph, being a righteous man, and not wanting to disgrace her publicly, decided to divorce her secretly.

²⁰But after he had considered these things, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, don’t be afraid to take Mary as your wife, because what has been conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.

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

²²Now all this took place to fulfill what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet:

²³See, the virgin will become pregnant and give birth to a son, and they will name him Immanuel, which is translated “God is with us.”

²⁴When Joseph woke up, he did as the Lord’s angel had commanded him. He married her

²⁵but did not have sexual relations with her until she gave birth to a son. And he named him Jesus.

¹“Do not sacrifice to the LORD your God an ox or sheep with a defect or any serious flaw, for that is detestable to the LORD your God.

²“If a man or woman among you in one of your towns that the LORD your God will give you is discovered doing evil in the sight of the LORD your God and violating his covenant

³and has gone to serve other gods by bowing in worship to the sun, moon, or all the stars in the sky  — which I have forbidden  —

⁴and if you are told or hear about it, then investigate it thoroughly. If the report turns out to be true that this detestable act has been done in Israel,

⁵you are to bring out to your city gates that man or woman who has done this evil thing and stone them to death.

⁶The one condemned to die is to be executed on the testimony of two or three witnesses. No one is to be executed on the testimony of a single witness.

⁷The witnesses’ hands are to be the first in putting him to death, and after that, the hands of all the people. You must purge the evil from you.

⁸“If a case is too difficult for you — concerning bloodshed, lawsuits, or assaults  — cases disputed at your city gates, then go up to the place the LORD your God chooses.

⁹You are to go to the Levitical priests and to the judge who presides at that time. Ask, and they will give you a verdict in the case.

¹⁰You must abide by the verdict they give you at the place the LORD chooses. Be careful to do exactly as they instruct you.

¹¹You must abide by the instruction they give you and the verdict they announce to you. Do not turn to the right or the left from the decision they declare to you.

¹²The person who acts arrogantly, refusing to listen either to the priest who stands there serving the LORD your God or to the judge, must die. You must purge the evil from Israel.

¹³Then all the people will hear about it, be afraid, and no longer behave arrogantly.

¹⁴“When you enter the land the LORD your God is giving you, take possession of it, live in it, and say, ‘I will set a king over me like all the nations around me,’

¹⁵you are to appoint over you the king the LORD your God chooses. Appoint a king from your brothers. You are not to set a foreigner over you, or one who is not of your people.

¹⁶However, he must not acquire many horses for himself or send the people back to Egypt to acquire many horses, for the LORD has told you, ‘You are never to go back that way again.’

¹⁷He must not acquire many wives for himself so that his heart won’t go astray. He must not acquire very large amounts of silver and gold for himself.

¹⁸When he is seated on his royal throne, he is to write a copy of this instruction for himself on a scroll in the presence of the Levitical priests.

¹⁹It is to remain with him, and he is to read from it all the days of his life, so that he may learn to fear the LORD his God, to observe all the words of this instruction, and to do these statutes.

²⁰Then his heart will not be exalted above his countrymen, he will not turn from this command to the right or the left, and he and his sons will continue reigning many years in Israel.

¹This is the third time I am coming to you. Every matter must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.

²I gave a warning when I was present the second time, and now I give a warning while I am absent to those who sinned before and to all the rest: If I come again, I will not be lenient,

³since you seek proof of Christ speaking in me. He is not weak in dealing with you, but powerful among you.

⁴For he was crucified in weakness, but he lives by the power of God. For we also are weak in him, but in dealing with you we will live with him by God’s power.

⁵Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith. Examine yourselves. Or do you yourselves not recognize that Jesus Christ is in you? — unless you fail the test.

⁶And I hope you will recognize that we ourselves do not fail the test.

⁷But we pray to God that you do nothing wrong — not that we may appear to pass the test, but that you may do what is right, even though we may appear to fail.

⁸For we can’t do anything against the truth, but only for the truth.

⁹We rejoice when we are weak and you are strong. We also pray that you become fully mature.

¹⁰This is why I am writing these things while absent, so that when I am there I may not have to deal harshly with you, in keeping with the authority the Lord gave me for building up and not for tearing down.

¹¹Finally, brothers and sisters, rejoice. Become mature, be encouraged, be of the same mind, be at peace, and the God of love and peace will be with you.

¹²Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the saints send you greetings.

¹³The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.

¹I exhort the elders among you as a fellow elder and witness to the sufferings of Christ, as well as one who shares in the glory about to be revealed:

²Shepherd God’s flock among you, not overseeing out of compulsion but willingly, as God would have you; not out of greed for money but eagerly;

³not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock.

⁴And when the chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory.

⁵In the same way, you who are younger, be subject to the elders. All of you clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble.

⁶Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God, so that he may exalt you at the proper time,

⁷casting all your cares on him, because he cares about you.

⁸Be sober-minded, be alert. Your adversary the devil is prowling around like a roaring lion, looking for anyone he can devour.

⁹Resist him, firm in the faith, knowing that the same kind of sufferings are being experienced by your fellow believers throughout the world.

¹⁰The God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, establish, strengthen, and support you after you have suffered a little while.

¹¹To him be dominion forever. Amen.

¹²Through Silvanus, a faithful brother (as I consider him), I have written to you briefly in order to encourage you and to testify that this is the true grace of God. Stand firm in it!

¹³She who is in Babylon, chosen together with you, sends you greetings, as does Mark, my son.

¹⁴Greet one another with a kiss of love. Peace to all of you who are in Christ.

¹Guard your steps when you go to the house of God. Better to approach in obedience than to offer the sacrifice as fools do, for they ignorantly do wrong.

²Do not be hasty to speak, and do not be impulsive to make a speech before God. God is in heaven and you are on earth, so let your words be few.

³Just as dreams accompany much labor, so also a fool’s voice comes with many words.

⁴When you make a vow to God, don’t delay fulfilling it, because he does not delight in fools. Fulfill what you vow.

⁵Better that you do not vow than that you vow and not fulfill it.

⁶Do not let your mouth bring guilt on you, and do not say in the presence of the messenger that it was a mistake. Why should God be angry with your words and destroy the work of your hands?

⁷For many dreams bring futility, so do many words. Therefore, fear God.

⁸If you see oppression of the poor and perversion of justice and righteousness in the province, don’t be astonished at the situation, because one official protects another official, and higher officials protect them.

⁹The profit from the land is taken by all; the king is served by the field.

¹⁰The one who loves silver is never satisfied with silver, and whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with income. This too is futile.

¹¹When good things increase, the ones who consume them multiply; what, then, is the profit to the owner, except to gaze at them with his eyes?

¹²The sleep of the worker is sweet, whether he eats little or much, but the abundance of the rich permits him no sleep.

¹³There is a sickening tragedy I have seen under the sun: wealth kept by its owner to his harm.

¹⁴That wealth was lost in a bad venture, so when he fathered a son, he was empty-handed.

¹⁵As he came from his mother’s womb, so he will go again, naked as he came; he will take nothing for his efforts that he can carry in his hands.

¹⁶This too is a sickening tragedy: exactly as he comes, so he will go. What does the one gain who struggles for the wind?

¹⁷What is more, he eats in darkness all his days, with much frustration, sickness, and anger.

¹⁸Here is what I have seen to be good: It is appropriate to eat, drink, and experience good in all the labor one does under the sun during the few days of his life God has given him, because that is his reward.

¹⁹Furthermore, everyone to whom God has given riches and wealth, he has also allowed him to enjoy them, take his reward, and rejoice in his labor. This is a gift of God,

²⁰for he does not often consider the days of his life because God keeps him occupied with the joy of his heart.

¹For the choir director: “Do Not Destroy.” A of David. When he fled before Saul into the cave. [1] Be gracious to me, God, be gracious to me, for I take refuge in you. I will seek refuge in the shadow of your wings until danger passes.

²I call to God Most High, to God who fulfills his purpose for me.

³He reaches down from heaven and saves me, challenging the one who tramples me. Selah God sends his faithful love and truth.

⁴I am surrounded by lions; I lie down among devouring lions — people whose teeth are spears and arrows, whose tongues are sharp swords.

⁵God, be exalted above the heavens; let your glory be over the whole earth.

⁶They prepared a net for my steps; I was despondent. They dug a pit ahead of me, but they fell into it! Selah

⁷My heart is confident, God, my heart is confident. I will sing; I will sing praises.

⁸Wake up, my soul! Wake up, harp and lyre! I will wake up the dawn.

⁹I will praise you, Lord, among the peoples; I will sing praises to you among the nations.

¹⁰For your faithful love is as high as the heavens; your faithfulness reaches the clouds.

¹¹God, be exalted above the heavens; let your glory be over the whole earth.

¹The reflections of the heart belong to mankind, but the answer of the tongue is from the LORD.

²All a person’s ways seem right to him, but the LORD weighs motives.

³Commit your activities to the LORD, and your plans will be established.

⁴The LORD has prepared everything for his purpose — even the wicked for the day of disaster.

⁵Everyone with a proud heart is detestable to the LORD; be assured, he will not go unpunished.

⁶Iniquity is atoned for by loyalty and faithfulness, and one turns from evil by the fear of the LORD.

⁷When a person’s ways please the LORD, he makes even his enemies to be at peace with him.

⁸Better a little with righteousness than great income with injustice.

⁹A person’s heart plans his way, but the LORD determines his steps.

¹⁰God’s verdict is on the lips of a king; his mouth should not give an unfair judgment.

¹¹Honest balances and scales are the LORD’s; all the weights in the bag are his concern.

¹²Wicked behavior is detestable to kings, since a throne is established through righteousness.

¹³Righteous lips are a king’s delight, and he loves one who speaks honestly.

¹⁴A king’s fury is a messenger of death, but a wise person appeases it.

¹⁵When a king’s face lights up, there is life; his favor is like a cloud with spring rain.

¹⁶Get wisdom — how much better it is than gold! And get understanding — it is preferable to silver.

¹⁷The highway of the upright avoids evil; the one who guards his way protects his life.

¹⁸Pride comes before destruction, and an arrogant spirit before a fall.

¹⁹Better to be lowly of spirit with the humble than to divide plunder with the proud.

²⁰The one who understands a matter finds success, and the one who trusts in the LORD will be happy.

²¹Anyone with a wise heart is called discerning, and pleasant speech increases learning.

²²Insight is a fountain of life for its possessor, but the discipline of fools is folly.

²³The heart of a wise person instructs his mouth; it adds learning to his speech.

²⁴Pleasant words are a honeycomb: sweet to the taste and health to the body.

²⁵There is a way that seems right to a person, but its end is the way to death.

²⁶A worker’s appetite works for him because his hunger urges him on.

²⁷A worthless person digs up evil, and his speech is like a scorching fire.

²⁸A contrary person spreads conflict, and a gossip separates close friends.

²⁹A violent person lures his neighbor, leading him on a path that is not good.

³⁰The one who narrows his eyes is planning deceptions; the one who compresses his lips brings about evil.

³¹Gray hair is a glorious crown; it is found in the ways of righteousness.

³²Patience is better than power, and controlling one’s emotions, than capturing a city.

³³The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the LORD.

¹King Solomon reigned over all Israel,

²and these were his officials: Azariah son of Zadok, priest;

³Elihoreph and Ahijah the sons of Shisha, secretaries; Jehoshaphat son of Ahilud, court historian;

⁴Benaiah son of Jehoiada, in charge of the army; Zadok and Abiathar, priests;

⁵Azariah son of Nathan, in charge of the deputies; Zabud son of Nathan, a priest and adviser to the king;

⁶Ahishar, in charge of the palace; and Adoniram son of Abda, in charge of forced labor.

⁷Solomon had twelve deputies for all Israel. They provided food for the king and his household; each one made provision for one month out of the year.

⁸These were their names: Ben-hur, in the hill country of Ephraim;

⁹Ben-deker, in Makaz, Shaalbim, Beth-shemesh, and Elon-beth-hanan;

¹⁰Ben-hesed, in Arubboth (he had Socoh and the whole land of Hepher);

¹¹Ben-abinadab, in all Naphath-dor (Taphath daughter of Solomon was his wife);

¹²Baana son of Ahilud, in Taanach, Megiddo, and all Beth-shean which is beside Zarethan below Jezreel, from Beth-shean to Abel-meholah, as far as the other side of Jokmeam;

¹³Ben-geber, in Ramoth-gilead (he had the villages of Jair son of Manasseh, which are in Gilead, and he had the region of Argob, which is in Bashan, sixty great cities with walls and bronze bars);

¹⁴Ahinadab son of Iddo, in Mahanaim;

¹⁵Ahimaaz, in Naphtali (he also had married a daughter of Solomon — Basemath);

¹⁶Baana son of Hushai, in Asher and Bealoth;

¹⁷Jehoshaphat son of Paruah, in Issachar;

¹⁸Shimei son of Ela, in Benjamin;

¹⁹Geber son of Uri, in the land of Gilead, the country of King Sihon of the Amorites and of King Og of Bashan. There was one deputy in the land of Judah.

²⁰Judah and Israel were as numerous as the sand by the sea; they were eating, drinking, and rejoicing.

²¹Solomon ruled all the kingdoms from the Euphrates River to the land of the Philistines and as far as the border of Egypt. They offered tribute and served Solomon all the days of his life.

²²Solomon’s provisions for one day were 150 bushels of fine flour and 300 bushels of meal,

²³ten fattened cattle, twenty range cattle, and a hundred sheep and goats, besides deer, gazelles, roebucks, and pen-fed poultry,

²⁴for he had dominion over everything west of the Euphrates from Tiphsah to Gaza and over all the kings west of the Euphrates. He had peace on all his surrounding borders.

²⁵Throughout Solomon’s reign, Judah and Israel lived in safety from Dan to Beer-sheba, each person under his own vine and his own fig tree.

²⁶Solomon had forty thousand stalls of horses for his chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen.

²⁷Each of those deputies for a month in turn provided food for King Solomon and for everyone who came to King Solomon’s table. They neglected nothing.

²⁸Each man brought the barley and the straw for the chariot teams and the other horses to the required place according to his assignment.

²⁹God gave Solomon wisdom, very great insight, and understanding as vast as the sand on the seashore.

³⁰Solomon’s wisdom was greater than the wisdom of all the people of the East, greater than all the wisdom of Egypt.

³¹He was wiser than anyone  — wiser than Ethan the Ezrahite, and Heman, Calcol, and Darda, sons of Mahol. His reputation extended to all the surrounding nations.

³²Solomon spoke 3,000 proverbs, and his songs numbered 1,005.

³³He spoke about trees, from the cedar in Lebanon to the hyssop growing out of the wall. He also spoke about animals, birds, reptiles, and fish.

³⁴Emissaries of all peoples, sent by every king on earth who had heard of his wisdom, came to listen to Solomon’s wisdom.

¹In the seventh month, Ishmael son of Nethaniah, son of Elishama, of the royal family and one of the king’s chief officers, came with ten men to Gedaliah son of Ahikam at Mizpah. They ate a meal together there in Mizpah,

²but then Ishmael son of Nethaniah and the ten men who were with him got up and struck down Gedaliah son of Ahikam, son of Shaphan, with the sword; he killed the one the king of Babylon had appointed in the land.

³Ishmael also struck down all the Judeans who were with Gedaliah at Mizpah, as well as the Chaldean soldiers who were there.

⁴On the day after he had killed Gedaliah, when no one knew yet,

⁵eighty men came from Shechem, Shiloh, and Samaria who had shaved their beards, torn their clothes, and gashed themselves, and who were carrying grain and incense offerings to bring to the temple of the LORD.

⁶Ishmael son of Nethaniah came out of Mizpah to meet them, weeping as he came. When he encountered them, he said, “Come to Gedaliah son of Ahikam!”

⁷But when they came into the city, Ishmael son of Nethaniah and the men with him slaughtered them and threw them into a cistern.

⁸However, there were ten men among them who said to Ishmael, “Don’t kill us, for we have hidden treasure in the field — wheat, barley, oil, and honey!” So he stopped and did not kill them along with their companions.

⁹Now the cistern where Ishmael had thrown all the corpses of the men he had struck down was a large one that King Asa had made in the encounter with King Baasha of Israel. Ishmael son of Nethaniah filled it with the slain.

¹⁰Then Ishmael took captive all the rest of the people of Mizpah including the daughters of the king — all those who remained in Mizpah over whom Nebuzaradan, captain of the guards, had appointed Gedaliah son of Ahikam. Ishmael son of Nethaniah took them captive and set off to cross over to the Ammonites.

¹¹When Johanan son of Kareah and all the commanders of the armies with him heard of all the evil that Ishmael son of Nethaniah had done,

¹²they took all their men and went to fight with Ishmael son of Nethaniah. They found him by the great pool in Gibeon.

¹³When all the people held by Ishmael saw Johanan son of Kareah and all the commanders of the army with him, they rejoiced.

¹⁴All the people whom Ishmael had taken captive from Mizpah turned around and rejoined Johanan son of Kareah.

¹⁵But Ishmael son of Nethaniah escaped from Johanan with eight men and went to the Ammonites.

¹⁶Johanan son of Kareah and all the commanders of the armies with him then took from Mizpah all the remnant of the people whom he had recovered from Ishmael son of Nethaniah after Ishmael had killed Gedaliah son of Ahikam — men, soldiers, women, children, and court officials whom he brought back from Gibeon.

¹⁷They left, stopping in Geruth Chimham, which is near Bethlehem, in order to make their way into Egypt,

¹⁸away from the Chaldeans. For they feared them because Ishmael son of Nethaniah had struck down Gedaliah son of Ahikam, whom the king of Babylon had appointed over the land.

¹After we tore ourselves away from them, we set sail straight for Cos, the next day to Rhodes, and from there to Patara.

²Finding a ship crossing over to Phoenicia, we boarded and set sail.

³After we sighted Cyprus, passing to the south of it, we sailed on to Syria and arrived at Tyre, since the ship was to unload its cargo there.

⁴We sought out the disciples and stayed there seven days. Through the Spirit they told Paul not to go to Jerusalem.

⁵When our time had come to an end, we left to continue our journey, while all of them, with their wives and children, accompanied us out of the city. After kneeling down on the beach to pray,

⁶we said farewell to one another and boarded the ship, and they returned home.

⁷When we completed our voyage from Tyre, we reached Ptolemais, where we greeted the brothers and sisters and stayed with them for a day.

⁸The next day we left and came to Caesarea, where we entered the house of Philip the evangelist, who was one of the Seven, and stayed with him.

⁹This man had four virgin daughters who prophesied.

¹⁰After we had been there for several days, a prophet named Agabus came down from Judea.

¹¹He came to us, took Paul’s belt, tied his own feet and hands, and said, “This is what the Holy Spirit says: ‘In this way the Jews in Jerusalem will bind the man who owns this belt and deliver him over to the Gentiles.’”

¹²When we heard this, both we and the local people pleaded with him not to go up to Jerusalem.

¹³Then Paul replied, “What are you doing, weeping and breaking my heart? For I am ready not only to be bound but also to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.”

¹⁴Since he would not be persuaded, we said no more except, “The Lord’s will be done.”

¹⁵After this we got ready and went up to Jerusalem.

¹⁶Some of the disciples from Caesarea also went with us and brought us to Mnason of Cyprus, an early disciple, with whom we were to stay.

¹⁷When we reached Jerusalem, the brothers and sisters welcomed us warmly.

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

¹⁹After greeting them, he reported in detail what God had done among the Gentiles through his ministry.

²⁰When they heard it, they glorified God and said, “You see, brother, how many thousands of Jews there are who have believed, and they are all zealous for the law.

²¹But they have been informed about you — that you are teaching all the Jews who are among the Gentiles to abandon Moses, telling them not to circumcise their children or to live according to our customs.

²²So what is to be done? They will certainly hear that you’ve come.

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

²⁴Take these men, purify yourself along with them, and pay for them to get their heads shaved. Then everyone will know that what they were told about you amounts to nothing, but that you yourself are also careful about observing the law.

²⁵With regard to the Gentiles who have believed, we have written a letter containing our decision that they should keep themselves from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from what is strangled, and from sexual immorality.”

²⁶So the next day, Paul took the men, having purified himself along with them, and entered the temple, announcing the completion of the purification days when the offering would be made for each of them.

²⁷When the seven days were nearly over, some Jews from the province of Asia saw him in the temple, stirred up the whole crowd, and seized him,

²⁸shouting, “Fellow Israelites, help! This is the man who teaches everyone everywhere against our people, our law, and this place. What’s more, he also brought Greeks into the temple and has defiled this holy place.”

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

³⁰The whole city was stirred up, and the people rushed together. They seized Paul, dragged him out of the temple, and at once the gates were shut.

³¹As they were trying to kill him, word went up to the commander of the regiment that all Jerusalem was in chaos.

³²Taking along soldiers and centurions, he immediately ran down to them. Seeing the commander and the soldiers, they stopped beating Paul.

³³Then the commander approached, took him into custody, and ordered him to be bound with two chains. He asked who he was and what he had done.

³⁴Some in the crowd were shouting one thing and some another. Since he was not able to get reliable information because of the uproar, he ordered him to be taken into the barracks.

³⁵When Paul got to the steps, he had to be carried by the soldiers because of the violence of the crowd,

³⁶for the mass of people followed, yelling, “Get rid of him!”

³⁷As he was about to be brought into the barracks, Paul said to the commander, “Am I allowed to say something to you?” He replied, “You know how to speak Greek?

³⁸Aren’t you the Egyptian who started a revolt some time ago and led four thousand men of the Assassins into the wilderness?”

³⁹Paul said, “I am a Jewish man from Tarsus of Cilicia, a citizen of an important city. Now I ask you, let me speak to the people.”

⁴⁰After he had given permission, Paul stood on the steps and motioned with his hand to the people. When there was a great hush, he addressed them in Aramaic: