Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹Now there were some present at that time who told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices.

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

³I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish.

⁴Or those eighteen who died when the tower in Siloam fell on them—do you think they were more guilty than all the others living in Jerusalem?

⁵I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish.”

⁶Then he told this parable: “A man had a fig tree growing in his vineyard, and he went to look for fruit on it but did not find any.

⁷So he said to the man who took care of the vineyard, ‘For three years now I’ve been coming to look for fruit on this fig tree and haven’t found any. Cut it down! Why should it use up the soil?’

⁸“ ‘Sir,’ the man replied, ‘leave it alone for one more year, and I’ll dig around it and fertilize it.

⁹If it bears fruit next year, fine! If not, then cut it down.’ ”

¹⁰On a Sabbath Jesus was teaching in one of the synagogues,

¹¹and a woman was there who had been crippled by a spirit for eighteen years. She was bent over and could not straighten up at all.

¹²When Jesus saw her, he called her forward and said to her, “Woman, you are set free from your infirmity.”

¹³Then he put his hands on her, and immediately she straightened up and praised God.

¹⁴Indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, the synagogue leader said to the people, “There are six days for work. So come and be healed on those days, not on the Sabbath.”

¹⁵The Lord answered him, “You hypocrites! Doesn’t each of you on the Sabbath untie your ox or donkey from the stall and lead it out to give it water?

¹⁶Then should not this woman, a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has kept bound for eighteen long years, be set free on the Sabbath day from what bound her?”

¹⁷When he said this, all his opponents were humiliated, but the people were delighted with all the wonderful things he was doing.

¹⁸Then Jesus asked, “What is the kingdom of God like? What shall I compare it to?

¹⁹It is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his garden. It grew and became a tree, and the birds perched in its branches.”

²⁰Again he asked, “What shall I compare the kingdom of God to?

²¹It is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into about sixty pounds of flour until it worked all through the dough.”

²²Then Jesus went through the towns and villages, teaching as he made his way to Jerusalem.

²³Someone asked him, “Lord, are only a few people going to be saved?” He said to them,

²⁴“Make every effort to enter through the narrow door, because many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able to.

²⁵Once the owner of the house gets up and closes the door, you will stand outside knocking and pleading, ‘Sir, open the door for us.’ “But he will answer, ‘I don’t know you or where you come from.’

²⁶“Then you will say, ‘We ate and drank with you, and you taught in our streets.’

²⁷“But he will reply, ‘I don’t know you or where you come from. Away from me, all you evildoers!’

²⁸“There will be weeping there, and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, but you yourselves thrown out.

²⁹People will come from east and west and north and south, and will take their places at the feast in the kingdom of God.

³⁰Indeed there are those who are last who will be first, and first who will be last.”

³¹At that time some Pharisees came to Jesus and said to him, “Leave this place and go somewhere else. Herod wants to kill you.”

³²He replied, “Go tell that fox, ‘I will keep on driving out demons and healing people today and tomorrow, and on the third day I will reach my goal.’

³³In any case, I must press on today and tomorrow and the next day—for surely no prophet can die outside Jerusalem!

³⁴“Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were not willing.

³⁵Look, your house is left to you desolate. I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.’”

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

²You are to say everything I command you, and your brother Aaron is to tell Pharaoh to let the Israelites go out of his country.

³But I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and though I multiply my signs and wonders in Egypt,

⁴he will not listen to you. Then I will lay my hand on Egypt and with mighty acts of judgment I will bring out my divisions, my people the Israelites.

⁵And the Egyptians will know that I am the LORD when I stretch out my hand against Egypt and bring the Israelites out of it.”

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

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

⁸The LORD said to Moses and Aaron,

⁹“When Pharaoh says to you, ‘Perform a miracle,’ then say to Aaron, ‘Take your staff and throw it down before Pharaoh,’ and it will become a snake.”

¹⁰So Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and did just as the LORD commanded. Aaron threw his staff down in front of Pharaoh and his officials, and it became a snake.

¹¹Pharaoh then summoned wise men and sorcerers, and the Egyptian magicians also did the same things by their secret arts:

¹²Each one threw down his staff and it became a snake. But Aaron’s staff swallowed up their staffs.

¹³Yet Pharaoh’s heart became hard and he would not listen to them, just as the LORD had said.

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

¹⁵Go to Pharaoh in the morning as he goes out to the river. Confront him on the bank of the Nile, and take in your hand the staff that was changed into a snake.

¹⁶Then say to him, ‘The LORD, the God of the Hebrews, has sent me to say to you: Let my people go, so that they may worship me in the wilderness. But until now you have not listened.

¹⁷This is what the LORD says: By this you will know that I am the LORD: With the staff that is in my hand I will strike the water of the Nile, and it will be changed into blood.

¹⁸The fish in the Nile will die, and the river will stink; the Egyptians will not be able to drink its water.’ ”

¹⁹The LORD said to Moses, “Tell Aaron, ‘Take your staff and stretch out your hand over the waters of Egypt—over the streams and canals, over the ponds and all the reservoirs—and they will turn to blood.’ Blood will be everywhere in Egypt, even in vessels of wood and stone.”

²⁰Moses and Aaron did just as the LORD had commanded. He raised his staff in the presence of Pharaoh and his officials and struck the water of the Nile, and all the water was changed into blood.

²¹The fish in the Nile died, and the river smelled so bad that the Egyptians could not drink its water. Blood was everywhere in Egypt.

²²But the Egyptian magicians did the same things by their secret arts, and Pharaoh’s heart became hard; he would not listen to Moses and Aaron, just as the LORD had said.

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

²⁴And all the Egyptians dug along the Nile to get drinking water, because they could not drink the water of the river.

²⁵Seven days passed after the LORD struck the Nile.

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

²“Honor your father and mother”—which is the first commandment with a promise—

³“so that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth.”

⁴Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.

⁵Slaves, obey your earthly masters with respect and fear, and with sincerity of heart, just as you would obey Christ.

⁶Obey them not only to win their favor when their eye is on you, but as slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from your heart.

⁷Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not people,

⁸because you know that the Lord will reward each one for whatever good they do, whether they are slave or free.

⁹And masters, treat your slaves in the same way. Do not threaten them, since you know that he who is both their Master and yours is in heaven, and there is no favoritism with him.

¹⁰Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.

¹¹Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.

¹²For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.

¹³Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.

¹⁴Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place,

¹⁵and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.

¹⁶In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.

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

¹⁸And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.

¹⁹Pray also for me, that whenever I speak, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel,

²⁰for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should.

²¹Tychicus, the dear brother and faithful servant in the Lord, will tell you everything, so that you also may know how I am and what I am doing.

²²I am sending him to you for this very purpose, that you may know how we are, and that he may encourage you.

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

²⁴Grace to all who love our Lord Jesus Christ with an undying love.

¹Then I looked, and there before me was the Lamb, standing on Mount Zion, and with him 144,000 who had his name and his Father’s name written on their foreheads.

²And I heard a sound from heaven like the roar of rushing waters and like a loud peal of thunder. The sound I heard was like that of harpists playing their harps.

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

⁴These are those who did not defile themselves with women, for they remained virgins. They follow the Lamb wherever he goes. They were purchased from among mankind and offered as firstfruits to God and the Lamb.

⁵No lie was found in their mouths; they are blameless.

⁶Then I saw another angel flying in midair, and he had the eternal gospel to proclaim to those who live on the earth—to every nation, tribe, language and people.

⁷He said in a loud voice, “Fear God and give him glory, because the hour of his judgment has come. Worship him who made the heavens, the earth, the sea and the springs of water.”

⁸A second angel followed and said, “ ‘Fallen! Fallen is Babylon the Great,’ which made all the nations drink the maddening wine of her adulteries.”

⁹A third angel followed them and said in a loud voice: “If anyone worships the beast and its image and receives its mark on their forehead or on their hand,

¹⁰they, too, will drink the wine of God’s fury, which has been poured full strength into the cup of his wrath. They will be tormented with burning sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and of the Lamb.

¹¹And the smoke of their torment will rise for ever and ever. There will be no rest day or night for those who worship the beast and its image, or for anyone who receives the mark of its name.”

¹²This calls for patient endurance on the part of the people of God who keep his commands and remain faithful to Jesus.

¹³Then I heard a voice from heaven say, “Write this: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.” “Yes,” says the Spirit, “they will rest from their labor, for their deeds will follow them.”

¹⁴I looked, and there before me was a white cloud, and seated on the cloud was one like a son of man with a crown of gold on his head and a sharp sickle in his hand.

¹⁵Then another angel came out of the temple and called in a loud voice to him who was sitting on the cloud, “Take your sickle and reap, because the time to reap has come, for the harvest of the earth is ripe.”

¹⁶So he who was seated on the cloud swung his sickle over the earth, and the earth was harvested.

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

¹⁸Still another angel, who had charge of the fire, came from the altar and called in a loud voice to him who had the sharp sickle, “Take your sharp sickle and gather the clusters of grapes from the earth’s vine, because its grapes are ripe.”

¹⁹The angel swung his sickle on the earth, gathered its grapes and threw them into the great winepress of God’s wrath.

²⁰They were trampled in the winepress outside the city, and blood flowed out of the press, rising as high as the horses’ bridles for a distance of 1,600 stadia.

¹All night long on my bed I looked for the one my heart loves; I looked for him but did not find him.

²I will get up now and go about the city, through its streets and squares; I will search for the one my heart loves. So I looked for him but did not find him.

³The watchmen found me as they made their rounds in the city. “Have you seen the one my heart loves?”

⁴Scarcely had I passed them when I found the one my heart loves. I held him and would not let him go till I had brought him to my mother’s house, to the room of the one who conceived me.

⁵Daughters of Jerusalem, I charge you by the gazelles and by the does of the field: Do not arouse or awaken love until it so desires.

⁶Who is this coming up from the wilderness like a column of smoke, perfumed with myrrh and incense made from all the spices of the merchant?

⁷Look! It is Solomon’s carriage, escorted by sixty warriors, the noblest of Israel,

⁸all of them wearing the sword, all experienced in battle, each with his sword at his side, prepared for the terrors of the night.

⁹King Solomon made for himself the carriage; he made it of wood from Lebanon.

¹⁰Its posts he made of silver, its base of gold. Its seat was upholstered with purple, its interior inlaid with love. Daughters of Jerusalem,

¹¹come out, and look, you daughters of Zion. Look on King Solomon wearing a crown, the crown with which his mother crowned him on the day of his wedding, the day his heart rejoiced.

¹For the director of music. To the tune of “Do Not Destroy.” Of David. A miktam. When he had fled from Saul into the cave. Have mercy on me, my God, have mercy on me, for in you I take refuge. I will take refuge in the shadow of your wings until the disaster has passed.

²I cry out to God Most High, to God, who vindicates me.

³He sends from heaven and saves me, rebuking those who hotly pursue me— God sends forth his love and his faithfulness.

⁴I am in the midst of lions; I am forced to dwell among ravenous beasts— men 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 spread a net for my feet— I was bowed down in distress. They dug a pit in my path— but they have fallen into it themselves.

⁷My heart, O God, is steadfast, my heart is steadfast; I will sing and make music.

⁸Awake, my soul! Awake, harp and lyre! I will awaken the dawn.

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

¹⁰For great is your love, reaching to the heavens; your faithfulness reaches to the skies.

¹¹Be exalted, O God, above the heavens; let your glory be over all the earth.

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

²Like a fluttering sparrow or a darting swallow, an undeserved curse does not come to rest.

³A whip for the horse, a bridle for the donkey, and a rod for the backs of fools!

⁴Do not answer a fool according to his folly, or you yourself will be just like him.

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

⁶Sending a message by the hands of a fool is like cutting off one’s feet or drinking poison.

⁷Like the useless legs of one who is lame is a proverb in the mouth of a fool.

⁸Like tying a stone in a sling is the giving of honor to a fool.

⁹Like a thornbush in a drunkard’s hand is a proverb in the mouth of a fool.

¹⁰Like an archer who wounds at random is one who hires a fool or any passer-by.

¹¹As a dog returns to its vomit, so fools repeat their folly.

¹²Do you see a person wise in their own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for them.

¹³A sluggard says, “There’s a lion in the road, a fierce lion roaming the streets!”

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

¹⁵A sluggard buries his hand in the dish; he is too lazy to bring it back to his mouth.

¹⁶A sluggard is wiser in his own eyes than seven people who answer discreetly.

¹⁷Like one who grabs a stray dog by the ears is someone who rushes into a quarrel not their own.

¹⁸Like a maniac shooting flaming arrows of death

¹⁹is one who deceives their neighbor and says, “I was only joking!”

²⁰Without wood a fire goes out; without a gossip a quarrel dies down.

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

²²The words of a gossip are like choice morsels; they go down to the inmost parts.

²³Like a coating of silver dross on earthenware are fervent lips with an evil heart.

²⁴Enemies disguise themselves with their lips, but in their hearts they harbor deceit.

²⁵Though their speech is charming, do not believe them, for seven abominations fill their hearts.

²⁶Their malice may be concealed by deception, but their wickedness will be exposed in the assembly.

²⁷Whoever digs a pit will fall into it; if someone rolls a stone, it will roll back on them.

²⁸A lying tongue hates those it hurts, and a flattering mouth works ruin.

¹When Samuel grew old, he appointed his sons as Israel’s leaders.

²The name of his firstborn was Joel and the name of his second was Abijah, and they served at Beersheba.

³But his sons did not follow his ways. They turned aside after dishonest gain and accepted bribes and perverted justice.

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

⁵They said to him, “You are old, and your sons do not follow your ways; now appoint a king to lead us, such as all the other nations have.”

⁶But when they said, “Give us a king to lead us,” this displeased Samuel; so he prayed to the LORD.

⁷And the LORD told him: “Listen to all that the people are saying to you; it is not you they have rejected, but they have rejected me as their king.

⁸As they have done from the day I brought them up out of Egypt until this day, forsaking me and serving other gods, so they are doing to you.

⁹Now listen to them; but warn them solemnly and let them know what the king who will reign over them will claim as his rights.”

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

¹¹He said, “This is what the king who will reign over you will claim as his rights: He will take your sons and make them serve with his chariots and horses, and they will run in front of his chariots.

¹²Some he will assign to be commanders of thousands and commanders of fifties, and others to plow his ground and reap his harvest, and still others to make weapons of war and equipment for 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 groves and give them to his attendants.

¹⁵He will take a tenth of your grain and of your vintage and give it to his officials and attendants.

¹⁶Your male and female servants and the best of your cattle and donkeys he will take for his own use.

¹⁷He will take a tenth of your flocks, and you yourselves will become his slaves.

¹⁸When that day comes, you will cry out for relief from the king you have chosen, but the LORD will not answer you in that day.”

¹⁹But the people refused to listen to Samuel. “No!” they said. “We want a king over us.

²⁰Then we will be like all the other nations, with a king to lead us and to go out before us and fight our battles.”

²¹When Samuel heard all that the people said, he repeated it before the LORD.

²²The LORD answered, “Listen to them and give them a king.” Then Samuel said to the Israelites, “Everyone go back to your own town.”

¹The righteous perish, and no one takes it to heart; the devout are taken away, and no one understands that the righteous are taken away to be spared from evil.

²Those who walk uprightly enter into peace; they find rest as they lie in death.

³“But you—come here, you children of a sorceress, you offspring of adulterers and prostitutes!

⁴Who are you mocking? At whom do you sneer and stick out your tongue? Are you not a brood of rebels, the offspring of liars?

⁵You burn with lust among the oaks and under every spreading tree; you sacrifice your children in the ravines and under the overhanging crags.

⁶The idols among the smooth stones of the ravines are your portion; indeed, they are your lot. Yes, to them you have poured out drink offerings and offered grain offerings. In view of all this, should I relent?

⁷You have made your bed on a high and lofty hill; there you went up to offer your sacrifices.

⁸Behind your doors and your doorposts you have put your pagan symbols. Forsaking me, you uncovered your bed, you climbed into it and opened it wide; you made a pact with those whose beds you love, and you looked with lust on their naked bodies.

⁹You went to Molek with olive oil and increased your perfumes. You sent your ambassadors far away; you descended to the very realm of the dead!

¹⁰You wearied yourself by such going about, but you would not say, ‘It is hopeless.’ You found renewal of your strength, and so you did not faint.

¹¹“Whom have you so dreaded and feared that you have not been true to me, and have neither remembered me nor taken this to heart? Is it not because I have long been silent that you do not fear me?

¹²I will expose your righteousness and your works, and they will not benefit you.

¹³When you cry out for help, let your collection of idols save you! The wind will carry all of them off, a mere breath will blow them away. But whoever takes refuge in me will inherit the land and possess my holy mountain.”

¹⁴And it will be said: “Build up, build up, prepare the road! Remove the obstacles out of the way of my people.”

¹⁵For this is what the high and exalted One says— he who lives forever, whose name is holy: “I live in a high and holy place, but also with the one who is contrite and lowly in spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly and to revive the heart of the contrite.

¹⁶I will not accuse them forever, nor will I always be angry, for then they would faint away because of me— the very people I have created.

¹⁷I was enraged by their sinful greed; I punished them, and hid my face in anger, yet they kept on in their willful ways.

¹⁸I have seen their ways, but I will heal them; I will guide them and restore comfort to Israel’s mourners,

¹⁹creating praise on their lips. Peace, peace, to those far and near,” says the LORD. “And I will heal them.”

²⁰But the wicked are like the tossing sea, which cannot rest, whose waves cast up mire and mud.

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

¹In my former book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to teach

²until the day he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles he had chosen.

³After his suffering, he presented himself to them and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God.

⁴On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about.

⁵For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”

⁶Then they gathered around him and asked him, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?”

⁷He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority.

⁸But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

⁹After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight.

¹⁰They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them.

¹¹“Men of Galilee,” they said, “why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.”

¹²Then the apostles returned to Jerusalem from the hill called the Mount of Olives, a Sabbath day’s walk from the city.

¹³When they arrived, they went upstairs to the room where they were staying. Those present were Peter, John, James and Andrew; Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew; James son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot, and Judas son of James.

¹⁴They all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers.

¹⁵In those days Peter stood up among the believers (a group numbering about a hundred and twenty)

¹⁶and said, “Brothers and sisters, the Scripture had to be fulfilled in which the Holy Spirit spoke long ago through David concerning Judas, who served as guide for those who arrested Jesus.

¹⁷He was one of our number and shared in our ministry.”

¹⁸(With the payment he received for his wickedness, Judas bought a field; there he fell headlong, his body burst open and all his intestines spilled out.

¹⁹Everyone in Jerusalem heard about this, so they called that field in their language Akeldama, that is, Field of Blood.)

²⁰“For,” said Peter, “it is written in the Book of Psalms: “ ‘May his place be deserted; let there be no one to dwell in it,’ and, “ ‘May another take his place of leadership.’

²¹Therefore it is necessary to choose one of the men who have been with us the whole time the Lord Jesus was living among us,

²²beginning from John’s baptism to the time when Jesus was taken up from us. For one of these must become a witness with us of his resurrection.”

²³So they nominated two men: Joseph called Barsabbas (also known as Justus) and Matthias.

²⁴Then they prayed, “Lord, you know everyone’s heart. Show us which of these two you have chosen

²⁵to take over this apostolic ministry, which Judas left to go where he belongs.”

²⁶Then they cast lots, and the lot fell to Matthias; so he was added to the eleven apostles.