Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹There were some present at that very time who told him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices.

²And he answered them, “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans, because they suffered in this way?

³No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.

⁴Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them: do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others who lived in Jerusalem?

⁵No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.”

⁶And he told this parable: “A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came seeking fruit on it and found none.

⁷And he said to the vinedresser, ‘Look, for three years now I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and I find none. Cut it down. Why should it use up the ground?’

⁸And he answered him, ‘Sir, let it alone this year also, until I dig around it and put on manure.

⁹Then if it should bear fruit next year, well and good; but if not, you can cut it down.’”

¹⁰Now he was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath.

¹¹And behold, there was a woman who had had a disabling spirit for eighteen years. She was bent over and could not fully straighten herself.

¹²When Jesus saw her, he called her over and said to her, “Woman, you are freed from your disability.”

¹³And he laid his hands on her, and immediately she was made straight, and she glorified God.

¹⁴But the ruler of the synagogue, indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, said to the people, “There are six days in which work ought to be done. Come on those days and be healed, and not on the Sabbath day.”

¹⁵Then the Lord answered him, “You hypocrites! Does not each of you on the Sabbath untie his ox or his donkey from the manger and lead it away to water it?

¹⁶And ought not this woman, a daughter of Abraham whom Satan bound for eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the Sabbath day?”

¹⁷As he said these things, all his adversaries were put to shame, and all the people rejoiced at all the glorious things that were done by him.

¹⁸He said therefore, “What is the kingdom of God like? And to what shall I compare it?

¹⁹It is like a grain of mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his garden, and it grew and became a tree, and the birds of the air made nests in its branches.”

²⁰And again he said, “To what shall I compare the kingdom of God?

²¹ It is like leaven that a woman took and hid in three measures of flour, until it was all leavened.”

²²He went on his way through towns and villages, teaching and journeying toward Jerusalem.

²³And someone said to him, “Lord, will those who are saved be few?” And he said to them,

²⁴ “Strive to enter through the narrow door. For many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able.

²⁵ When once the master of the house has risen and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and to knock at the door, saying, ‘Lord, open to us,’ then he will answer you, ‘I do not know where you come from.’

²⁶Then you will begin to say, ‘We ate and drank in your presence, and you taught in our streets.’

²⁷But he will say, ‘I tell you, I do not know where you come from. Depart from me, all you workers of evil!’

²⁸ In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God but you yourselves cast out.

²⁹And people will come from east and west, and from north and south, and recline at table in the kingdom of God.

³⁰And behold, some are last who will be first, and some are first who will be last.”

³¹At that very hour some Pharisees came and said to him, “Get away from here, for Herod wants to kill you.”

³²And he said to them, “Go and tell that fox, ‘Behold, I cast out demons and perform cures today and tomorrow, and the third day I finish my course.

³³Nevertheless, I must go on my way today and tomorrow and the day following, for it cannot be that a prophet should perish away from Jerusalem.’

³⁴ O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing!

³⁵Behold, your house is forsaken. And I tell you, you will not see me until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!’”

¹And the LORD said to Moses, “See, I have made you like God to Pharaoh, and your brother Aaron shall be your prophet.

²You shall speak all that I command you, and your brother Aaron shall tell Pharaoh to let the people of Israel go out of his land.

³But I will harden Pharaoh's heart, and though I multiply my signs and wonders in the land of Egypt,

⁴Pharaoh will not listen to you. Then I will lay my hand on Egypt and bring my hosts, my people the children of Israel, out of the land of Egypt by great acts of judgment.

⁵The Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD, when I stretch out my hand against Egypt and bring out the people of Israel from among them.”

⁶Moses and Aaron did so; they did just as the LORD commanded them.

⁷Now Moses was eighty years old, and Aaron eighty-three years old, when they spoke to Pharaoh.

⁸Then the LORD said to Moses and Aaron,

⁹“When Pharaoh says to you, ‘Prove yourselves by working a miracle,’ then you shall say to Aaron, ‘Take your staff and cast it down before Pharaoh, that it may become a serpent.’”

¹⁰So Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and did just as the LORD commanded. Aaron cast down his staff before Pharaoh and his servants, and it became a serpent.

¹¹Then Pharaoh summoned the wise men and the sorcerers, and they, the magicians of Egypt, also did the same by their secret arts.

¹²For each man cast down his staff, and they became serpents. But Aaron's staff swallowed up their staffs.

¹³Still Pharaoh's heart was hardened, and he would not listen to them, as the LORD had said.

¹⁴Then the LORD said to Moses, “Pharaoh's heart is hardened; he refuses to let the people go.

¹⁵Go to Pharaoh in the morning, as he is going out to the water. Stand on the bank of the Nile to meet him, and take in your hand the staff that turned into a serpent.

¹⁶And you shall say to him, ‘The LORD, the God of the Hebrews, sent me to you, saying, “Let my people go, that they may serve me in the wilderness.” But so far, you have not obeyed.

¹⁷Thus says the LORD, “By this you shall know that I am the LORD: behold, with the staff that is in my hand I will strike the water that is in the Nile, and it shall turn into blood.

¹⁸The fish in the Nile shall die, and the Nile will stink, and the Egyptians will grow weary of drinking water from the Nile.”’”

¹⁹And the LORD said to Moses, “Say to Aaron, ‘Take your staff and stretch out your hand over the waters of Egypt, over their rivers, their canals, and their ponds, and all their pools of water, so that they may become blood, and there shall be blood throughout all the land of Egypt, even in vessels of wood and in vessels of stone.’”

²⁰Moses and Aaron did as the LORD commanded. In the sight of Pharaoh and in the sight of his servants he lifted up the staff and struck the water in the Nile, and all the water in the Nile turned into blood.

²¹And the fish in the Nile died, and the Nile stank, so that the Egyptians could not drink water from the Nile. There was blood throughout all the land of Egypt.

²²But the magicians of Egypt did the same by their secret arts. So Pharaoh's heart remained hardened, and he would not listen to them, as the LORD had said.

²³Pharaoh turned and went into his house, and he did not take even this to heart.

²⁴And all the Egyptians dug along the Nile for water to drink, for they could not drink the water of the Nile.

²⁵Seven full days passed after the LORD had struck the Nile.

¹Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right.

²“Honor your father and mother” (this is the first commandment with a promise),

³“that it may go well with you and that you may live long in the land.”

⁴Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.

⁵Bondservants, obey your earthly masters with fear and trembling, with a sincere heart, as you would Christ,

⁶not by the way of eye-service, as people-pleasers, but as bondservants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart,

⁷rendering service with a good will as to the Lord and not to man,

⁸knowing that whatever good anyone does, this he will receive back from the Lord, whether he is a bondservant or is free.

⁹Masters, do the same to them, and stop your threatening, knowing that he who is both their Master and yours is in heaven, and that there is no partiality with him.

¹⁰Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might.

¹¹Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.

¹²For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.

¹³Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm.

¹⁴Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness,

¹⁵and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace.

¹⁶In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one;

¹⁷and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God,

¹⁸praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints,

¹⁹and also for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel,

²⁰for which I am an ambassador in chains, that I may declare it boldly, as I ought to speak.

²¹So that you also may know how I am and what I am doing, Tychicus the beloved brother and faithful minister in the Lord will tell you everything.

²²I have sent him to you for this very purpose, that you may know how we are, and that he may encourage your hearts.

²³Peace be to the brothers, and love with faith, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

²⁴Grace be with all who love our Lord Jesus Christ with love incorruptible.

¹Then I looked, and behold, on Mount Zion stood the Lamb, and with him 144,000 who had his name and his Father's name written on their foreheads.

²And I heard a voice from heaven like the roar of many waters and like the sound of loud thunder. The voice I heard was like the sound of harpists playing on their harps,

³and they were singing a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and before the elders. No one could learn that song except the 144,000 who had been redeemed from the earth.

⁴It is these who have not defiled themselves with women, for they are virgins. It is these who follow the Lamb wherever he goes. These have been redeemed from mankind as firstfruits for God and the Lamb,

⁵and in their mouth no lie was found, for they are blameless.

⁶Then I saw another angel flying directly overhead, with an eternal gospel to proclaim to those who dwell on earth, to every nation and tribe and language and people.

⁷And he said with a loud voice, “Fear God and give him glory, because the hour of his judgment has come, and worship him who made heaven and earth, the sea and the springs of water.”

⁸Another angel, a second, followed, saying, “Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great, she who made all nations drink the wine of the passion of her sexual immorality.”

⁹And another angel, a third, followed them, saying with a loud voice, “If anyone worships the beast and its image and receives a mark on his forehead or on his hand,

¹⁰he also will drink the wine of God's wrath, poured full strength into the cup of his anger, and he will be tormented with fire and sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb.

¹¹And the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever, and they have no rest, day or night, these worshipers of the beast and its image, and whoever receives the mark of its name.”

¹²Here is a call for the endurance of the saints, those who keep the commandments of God and their faith in Jesus.

¹³And I heard a voice from heaven saying, “Write this: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.” “Blessed indeed,” says the Spirit, “that they may rest from their labors, for their deeds follow them!”

¹⁴Then I looked, and behold, a white cloud, and seated on the cloud one like a son of man, with a golden crown on his head, and a sharp sickle in his hand.

¹⁵And another angel came out of the temple, calling with a loud voice to him who sat on the cloud, “Put in your sickle, and reap, for the hour to reap has come, for the harvest of the earth is fully ripe.”

¹⁶So he who sat on the cloud swung his sickle across the earth, and the earth was reaped.

¹⁷Then another angel came out of the temple in heaven, and he too had a sharp sickle.

¹⁸And another angel came out from the altar, the angel who has authority over the fire, and he called with a loud voice to the one who had the sharp sickle, “Put in your sickle and gather the clusters from the vine of the earth, for its grapes are ripe.”

¹⁹So the angel swung his sickle across the earth and gathered the grape harvest of the earth and threw it into the great winepress of the wrath of God.

²⁰And the winepress was trodden outside the city, and blood flowed from the winepress, as high as a horse's bridle, for 1,600 stadia.

¹On my bed by night I sought him whom my soul loves; I sought him, but found him not.

²I will rise now and go about the city, in the streets and in the squares; I will seek him whom my soul loves. I sought him, but found him not.

³The watchmen found me as they went about in the city. “Have you seen him whom my soul loves?”

⁴Scarcely had I passed them when I found him whom my soul loves. I held him, and would not let him go until I had brought him into my mother's house, and into the chamber of her who conceived me.

⁵I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem, by the gazelles or the does of the field, that you not stir up or awaken love until it pleases.

⁶What is that coming up from the wilderness like columns of smoke, perfumed with myrrh and frankincense, with all the fragrant powders of a merchant?

⁷Behold, it is the litter of Solomon! Around it are sixty mighty men, some of the mighty men of Israel,

⁸all of them wearing swords and expert in war, each with his sword at his thigh, against terror by night.

⁹King Solomon made himself a carriage from the wood of Lebanon.

¹⁰He made its posts of silver, its back of gold, its seat of purple; its interior was inlaid with love by the daughters of Jerusalem.

¹¹Go out, O daughters of Zion, and look upon King Solomon, with the crown with which his mother crowned him on the day of his wedding, on the day of the gladness of his heart.

¹Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful to me, for in you my soul takes refuge; in the shadow of your wings I will take refuge, till the storms of destruction pass by.

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

³He will send from heaven and save me; he will put to shame him who tramples on me. Selah God will send out his steadfast love and his faithfulness!

⁴My soul is in the midst of lions; I lie down amid fiery beasts — the children of man, whose teeth are spears and arrows, whose tongues are sharp swords.

⁵Be exalted, O God, above the heavens! Let your glory be over all the earth!

⁶They set a net for my steps; my soul was bowed down. They dug a pit in my way, but they have fallen into it themselves. Selah

⁷My heart is steadfast, O God, my heart is steadfast! I will sing and make melody!

⁸Awake, my glory! Awake, O harp and lyre! I will awake the dawn!

⁹I will give thanks to you, O Lord, among the peoples; I will sing praises to you among the nations.

¹⁰For your steadfast love is great to the heavens, your faithfulness to the clouds.

¹¹Be exalted, O God, above the heavens! Let your glory be over all the earth!

¹Like snow in summer or rain in harvest, so honor is not fitting for a fool.

²Like a sparrow in its flitting, like a swallow in its flying, a curse that is causeless does not alight.

³A whip for the horse, a bridle for the donkey, and a rod for the back of fools.

⁴Answer not a fool according to his folly, lest you be like him yourself.

⁵Answer a fool according to his folly, lest he be wise in his own eyes.

⁶Whoever sends a message by the hand of a fool cuts off his own feet and drinks violence.

⁷Like a lame man's legs, which hang useless, is a proverb in the mouth of fools.

⁸Like one who binds the stone in the sling is one who gives honor to a fool.

⁹Like a thorn that goes up into the hand of a drunkard is a proverb in the mouth of fools.

¹⁰Like an archer who wounds everyone is one who hires a passing fool or drunkard.

¹¹Like a dog that returns to his vomit is a fool who repeats his folly.

¹²Do you see a man who is wise in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him.

¹³The sluggard says, “There is a lion in the road! There is a lion in the streets!”

¹⁴As a door turns on its hinges, so does a sluggard on his bed.

¹⁵The sluggard buries his hand in the dish; it wears him out to bring it back to his mouth.

¹⁶The sluggard is wiser in his own eyes than seven men who can answer sensibly.

¹⁷Whoever meddles in a quarrel not his own is like one who takes a passing dog by the ears.

¹⁸Like a madman who throws firebrands, arrows, and death

¹⁹is the man who deceives his neighbor and says, “I am only joking!”

²⁰For lack of wood the fire goes out, and where there is no whisperer, quarreling ceases.

²¹As charcoal to hot embers and wood to fire, so is a quarrelsome man for kindling strife.

²²The words of a whisperer are like delicious morsels; they go down into the inner parts of the body.

²³Like the glaze covering an earthen vessel are fervent lips with an evil heart.

²⁴Whoever hates disguises himself with his lips and harbors deceit in his heart;

²⁵when he speaks graciously, believe him not, for there are seven abominations in his heart;

²⁶though his hatred be covered with deception, his wickedness will be exposed in the assembly.

²⁷Whoever digs a pit will fall into it, and a stone will come back on him who starts it rolling.

²⁸A lying tongue hates its victims, and a flattering mouth works ruin.

¹When Samuel became old, he made his sons judges over Israel.

²The name of his firstborn son was Joel, and the name of his second, Abijah; they were judges in Beersheba.

³Yet his sons did not walk in his ways but turned aside after gain. They took bribes and perverted justice.

⁴Then all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah

⁵and said to him, “Behold, you are old and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now appoint for us a king to judge us like all the nations.”

⁶But the thing displeased Samuel when they said, “Give us a king to judge us.” And Samuel prayed to the LORD.

⁷And the LORD said to Samuel, “Obey the voice of the people in all that they say to you, for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected me from being king over them.

⁸According to all the deeds that they have done, from the day I brought them up out of Egypt even to this day, forsaking me and serving other gods, so they are also doing to you.

⁹Now then, obey their voice; only you shall solemnly warn them and show them the ways of the king who shall reign over them.”

¹⁰So Samuel told all the words of the LORD to the people who were asking for a king from him.

¹¹He said, “These will be the ways of the king who will reign over you: he will take your sons and appoint them to his chariots and to be his horsemen and to run before his chariots.

¹²And he will appoint for himself commanders of thousands and commanders of fifties, and some to plow his ground and to reap his harvest, and to make his implements of war and the equipment of his chariots.

¹³He will take your daughters to be perfumers and cooks and bakers.

¹⁴He will take the best of your fields and vineyards and olive orchards and give them to his servants.

¹⁵He will take the tenth of your grain and of your vineyards and give it to his officers and to his servants.

¹⁶He will take your male servants and female servants and the best of your young men and your donkeys, and put them to his work.

¹⁷He will take the tenth of your flocks, and you shall be his slaves.

¹⁸And in that day you will cry out because of your king, whom you have chosen for yourselves, but the LORD will not answer you in that day.”

¹⁹But the people refused to obey the voice of Samuel. And they said, “No! But there shall be a king over us,

²⁰that we also may be like all the nations, and that our king may judge us and go out before us and fight our battles.”

²¹And when Samuel had heard all the words of the people, he repeated them in the ears of the LORD.

²²And the LORD said to Samuel, “Obey their voice and make them a king.” Samuel then said to the men of Israel, “Go every man to his city.”

¹The righteous man perishes, and no one lays it to heart; devout men are taken away, while no one understands. For the righteous man is taken away from calamity;

²he enters into peace; they rest in their beds who walk in their uprightness.

³But you, draw near, sons of the sorceress, offspring of the adulterer and the loose woman.

⁴Whom are you mocking? Against whom do you open your mouth wide and stick out your tongue? Are you not children of transgression, the offspring of deceit,

⁵you who burn with lust among the oaks, under every green tree, who slaughter your children in the valleys, under the clefts of the rocks?

⁶Among the smooth stones of the valley is your portion; they, they, are your lot; to them you have poured out a drink offering, you have brought a grain offering. Shall I relent for these things?

⁷On a high and lofty mountain you have set your bed, and there you went up to offer sacrifice.

⁸Behind the door and the doorpost you have set up your memorial; for, deserting me, you have uncovered your bed, you have gone up to it, you have made it wide; and you have made a covenant for yourself with them, you have loved their bed, you have looked on nakedness.

⁹You journeyed to the king with oil and multiplied your perfumes; you sent your envoys far off, and sent down even to Sheol.

¹⁰You were wearied with the length of your way, but you did not say, “It is hopeless”; you found new life for your strength, and so you were not faint.

¹¹Whom did you dread and fear, so that you lied, and did not remember me, did not lay it to heart? Have I not held my peace, even for a long time, and you do not fear me?

¹²I will declare your righteousness and your deeds, but they will not profit you.

¹³When you cry out, let your collection of idols deliver you! The wind will carry them all off, a breath will take them away. But he who takes refuge in me shall possess the land and shall inherit my holy mountain.

¹⁴And it shall be said, “Build up, build up, prepare the way, remove every obstruction from my people's way.”

¹⁵For thus says the One who is high and lifted up, who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: “I dwell in the high and holy place, and also with him who is of a contrite and lowly spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly, and to revive the heart of the contrite.

¹⁶For I will not contend forever, nor will I always be angry; for the spirit would grow faint before me, and the breath of life that I made.

¹⁷Because of the iniquity of his unjust gain I was angry, I struck him; I hid my face and was angry, but he went on backsliding in the way of his own heart.

¹⁸I have seen his ways, but I will heal him; I will lead him and restore comfort to him and his mourners,

¹⁹creating the fruit of the lips. Peace, peace, to the far and to the near,” says the LORD, “and I will heal him.

²⁰But the wicked are like the tossing sea; for it cannot be quiet, and its waters toss up mire and dirt.

²¹There is no peace,” says my God, “for the wicked.”

¹In the first book, O Theophilus, I have dealt with all that Jesus began to do and teach,

²until the day when he was taken up, after he had given commands through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen.

³He presented himself alive to them after his suffering by many proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God.

⁴And while staying with them he ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which, he said, “you heard from me;

⁵for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”

⁶So when they had come together, they asked him, “Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?”

⁷He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority.

⁸But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

⁹And when he had said these things, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight.

¹⁰And while they were gazing into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes,

¹¹and said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.”

¹²Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a Sabbath day's journey away.

¹³And when they had entered, they went up to the upper room, where they were staying, Peter and John and James and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot and Judas the son of James.

¹⁴All these with one accord were devoting themselves to prayer, together with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and his brothers.

¹⁵In those days Peter stood up among the brothers (the company of persons was in all about 120) and said,

¹⁶“Brothers, the Scripture had to be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit spoke beforehand by the mouth of David concerning Judas, who became a guide to those who arrested Jesus.

¹⁷For he was numbered among us and was allotted his share in this ministry.”

¹⁸(Now this man acquired a field with the reward of his wickedness, and falling headlong he burst open in the middle and all his bowels gushed out.

¹⁹And it became known to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that the field was called in their own language Akeldama, that is, Field of Blood.)

²⁰“For it is written in the Book of Psalms, “‘May his camp become desolate, and let there be no one to dwell in it’; and “‘Let another take his office.’

²¹So one of the men who have accompanied us during all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us,

²²beginning from the baptism of John until the day when he was taken up from us — one of these men must become with us a witness to his resurrection.”

²³And they put forward two, Joseph called Barsabbas, who was also called Justus, and Matthias.

²⁴And they prayed and said, “You, Lord, who know the hearts of all, show which one of these two you have chosen

²⁵to take the place in this ministry and apostleship from which Judas turned aside to go to his own place.”

²⁶And they cast lots for them, and the lot fell on Matthias, and he was numbered with the eleven apostles.