Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹Then the entire assembly of them set out and brought Him before Pilate.

²And they began to bring charges against Him, saying, “We found this man misleading our nation and forbidding us to pay taxes to Caesar, and saying that He Himself is Christ, a King.”

³Now Pilate asked Him, saying, “So You are the King of the Jews?” And He answered him and said, “It is as you say.”

⁴But Pilate said to the chief priests and the crowds, “I find no grounds for charges in the case of this man.”

⁵But they kept on insisting, saying, “He is stirring up the people, teaching all over Judea, starting from Galilee, as far as this place!”

⁶Now when Pilate heard this, he asked whether the man was a Galilean.

⁷And when he learned that He belonged to Herod’s jurisdiction, he sent Him to Herod, since he also was in Jerusalem at this time.

⁸Now Herod was overjoyed when he saw Jesus; for he had wanted to see Him for a long time, because he had been hearing about Him and was hoping to see some sign performed by Him.

⁹And he questioned Him at some length; but He offered him no answer at all.

¹⁰Now the chief priests and the scribes stood there, vehemently charging Him.

¹¹And Herod, together with his soldiers, treated Him with contempt and mocked Him, dressing Him in a brightly shining robe, and sent Him back to Pilate.

¹²And so Herod and Pilate became friends with one another that very day; for previously, they had been enemies toward each other.

¹³Now Pilate summoned to himself the chief priests, the rulers, and the people,

¹⁴and he said to them, “You brought this man to me on the ground that he is inciting the people to revolt; and behold, after examining Him before you, I have found no basis at all in the case of this man for the charges which you are bringing against Him.

¹⁵No, nor has Herod, for he sent Him back to us; and behold, nothing deserving death has been done by Him.

¹⁶Therefore I will punish Him and release Him.”

¹⁷[Now he was obligated to release to them at the feast one prisoner.]

¹⁸But they cried out all together, saying, “Away with this man, and release to us Barabbas!”

¹⁹(He was one who had been thrown into prison for a revolt that took place in the city, and for murder.)

²⁰But Pilate, wanting to release Jesus, addressed them again,

²¹but they kept on crying out, saying, “Crucify, crucify Him!”

²²And he said to them a third time, “Why, what has this man done wrong? I have found in His case no grounds for a sentence of death; therefore I will punish Him and release Him.”

²³But they were insistent, with loud voices, demanding that He be crucified. And their voices began to prevail.

²⁴And so Pilate decided to have their demand carried out.

²⁵And he released the man for whom they were asking, who had been thrown into prison for a revolt and murder; but he handed Jesus over to their will.

²⁶And when they led Him away, they seized a man, Simon of Cyrene, as he was coming in from the country, and placed on him the cross to carry behind Jesus.

²⁷Now following Him was a large crowd of the people, and of women who were mourning and grieving for Him.

²⁸But Jesus turned to them and said, “Daughters of Jerusalem, stop weeping for Me, but weep for yourselves and for your children.

²⁹For behold, days are coming when they will say, ‘Blessed are those who cannot bear, and the wombs that have not given birth, and the breasts that have not nursed.’

³⁰Then they will begin TO SAY TO THE MOUNTAINS, ‘FALL ON US,’ AND TO THE HILLS, ‘COVER US.’

³¹For if they do these thingswhen the tree is green, what will happenwhen it is dry?”

³²Now two others, who were criminals, were also being led away to be put to death with Him.

³³And when they came to the place called The Skull, there they crucified Him and the criminals, one on the right and the other on the left.

³⁴[But Jesus was saying, “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.”] And they cast lots, dividing His garments among themselves.

³⁵And the people stood by, watching. And even the rulers were sneering at Him, saying, “He saved others; let Him save Himself if this is the Christ of God, His Chosen One.”

³⁶The soldiers also ridiculed Him, coming up to Him, offering Him sour wine,

³⁷and saying, “If You are the King of the Jews, save Yourself!”

³⁸Now there was also an inscription above Him, “THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS.”

³⁹One of the criminals who were hanged there was hurling abuse at Him, saying, “Are You not the Christ? Save Yourself and us!”

⁴⁰But the other responded, and rebuking him, said, “Do you not even fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation?

⁴¹And we indeed are suffering justly, for we are receiving what we deserve for our crimes; but this man has done nothing wrong.”

⁴²And he was saying, “Jesus, remember me when You come into Your kingdom!”

⁴³And He said to him, “Truly I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise.”

⁴⁴It was now about the sixth hour, and darkness came over the entire land until the ninth hour,

⁴⁵because the sun stopped shining; and the veil of the temple was torn in two.

⁴⁶And Jesus, crying out with a loud voice, said, “Father, INTO YOUR HANDS I ENTRUST MY SPIRIT.” And having said this, He died.

⁴⁷Now when the centurion saw what had happened, he began praising God, saying, “This man was in fact innocent.”

⁴⁸And all the crowds who came together for this spectacle, after watching what had happened, began to return home, beating their chests.

⁴⁹And all His acquaintances and the women who accompanied Him from Galilee were standing at a distance, seeing these things.

⁵⁰And a man named Joseph, who was a member of the Council, a good and righteous man

⁵¹(he had not consented to their plan and action), a man from Arimathea, a city of the Jews, who was waiting for the kingdom of God—

⁵²this man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus.

⁵³And he took it down and wrapped it in a linen cloth, and laid Him in a tomb cut into the rock, where no one had ever lain.

⁵⁴It was a preparation day, and a Sabbath was about to begin.

⁵⁵Now the women who had come with Him from Galilee followed, and they saw the tomb and how His body was laid.

⁵⁶And then they returned and prepared spices and perfumes. And on the Sabbath they rested according to the commandment.

¹Then all the congregation of the sons of Israel journeyed by stages from the wilderness of Sin, according to the command of the LORD, and camped at Rephidim, and there was no water for the people to drink.

²So the people quarreled with Moses and said, “Give us water so that we may drink!” And Moses said to them, “Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you test the LORD?”

³But the people were thirsty for water there; and they grumbled against Moses and said, “Why is it that you have you brought us up from Egypt, to kill us and our children and our livestock with thirst?”

⁴So Moses cried out to the LORD, saying, “What am I to do with this people? A little more and they will stone me!”

⁵Then the LORD said to Moses, “Pass before the people and take with you some of the elders of Israel; and take in your hand your staff with which you struck the Nile, and go.

⁶Behold, I will stand before you there on the rock at Horeb; and you shall strike the rock, and water will come out of it, so that the people may drink.” And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel.

⁷Then he named the place Massah and Meribah because of the quarrel of the sons of Israel, and because they tested the LORD, saying, “Is the LORD among us, or not?”

⁸Then Amalek came and fought against Israel at Rephidim.

⁹So Moses said to Joshua, “Choose men for us and go out, fight against Amalek. Tomorrow I will station myself on the top of the hill with the staff of God in my hand.”

¹⁰Joshua did just as Moses told him, and fought against Amalek; and Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill.

¹¹So it came about, when Moses held his hand up, that Israel prevailed; but when he let his hand down, Amalek prevailed.

¹²And Moses’ hands were heavy. So they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it; and Aaron and Hur supported his hands, one on one side and one on the other. So his hands were steady until the sun set.

¹³And Joshua defeated Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword.

¹⁴Then the LORD said to Moses, “Write this in a book as a memorial and recite it to Joshua, that I will utterly wipe out the memory of Amalek from under heaven.”

¹⁵And Moses built an altar and named it The LORD is My Banner;

¹⁶and he said, “Because the LORD has sworn, the LORD will have war against Amalek from generation to generation.”

¹For this reason we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away from it.

²For if the word spoken through angels proved unalterable, and every violation and act of disobedience received a just punishment,

³how will we escape if we neglect so great a salvation? After it was at first spoken through the Lord, it was confirmed to us by those who heard,

⁴God also testifying with them, both by signs and wonders, and by various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit according to His own will.

⁵For He did not subject to angels the world to come, about which we are speaking.

⁶But someone has testified somewhere, saying, “WHAT IS MAN, THAT YOU THINK OF HIM? OR A SON OF MAN, THAT YOU ARE CONCERNED ABOUT HIM?

⁷YOU HAVE MADE HIM FOR A LITTLE WHILE LOWER THAN ANGELS; YOU HAVE CROWNED HIM WITH GLORY AND HONOR;

⁸YOU HAVE PUT EVERYTHING IN SUBJECTION UNDER HIS FEET.” For in subjecting all things to him, He left nothing that is not subject to him. But now we do not yet see all things subjected to him.

⁹But we do see Him who was made for a little while lower than the angels, namely, Jesus, because of His suffering death crowned with glory and honor, so that by the grace of God He might taste death for everyone.

¹⁰For it was fitting for Him, for whom are all things, and through whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to perfect the originator of their salvation through sufferings.

¹¹For both He who sanctifies and those who are sanctified are all from one Father; for this reason He is not ashamed to call them brothers and sisters,

¹²saying, “I WILL PROCLAIM YOUR NAME TO MY BROTHERS, IN THE MIDST OF THE ASSEMBLY I WILL SING YOUR PRAISE.”

¹³And again, “I WILL PUT MY TRUST IN HIM.” And again, “BEHOLD, I AND THE CHILDREN WHOM GOD HAS GIVEN ME.”

¹⁴Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise also partook of the same, so that through death He might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil,

¹⁵and free those who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives.

¹⁶For clearly He does not give help to angels, but He gives help to the descendants of Abraham.

¹⁷Therefore, in all things He had to be made like His brothers so that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people.

¹⁸For since He Himself was tempted in that which He has suffered, He is able to come to the aid of those who are tempted.

¹“Call now, is there anyone who will answer you? And to which of the holy ones will you turn?

²For irritation kills the fool, And jealousy brings death to the simple.

³I have seen the fool taking root, And I cursed his home immediately.

⁴His sons are far from safety, They are also oppressed at the gate, And there is no one to save them.

⁵The hungry devour his harvest And take it to a place of thorns, And the schemer is eager for their wealth.

⁶For disaster does not come from the dust, Nor does trouble sprout from the ground,

⁷For man is born for trouble, As sparks fly upward.

⁸“But as for me, I would seek God, And I would make my plea before God,

⁹Who does great and unsearchable things, Wonders without number.

¹⁰He gives rain on the earth, And sends water on the fields,

¹¹So that He sets on high those who are lowly, And those who mourn are lifted to safety.

¹²He frustrates the schemes of the shrewd, So that their hands cannot attain success.

¹³He captures the wise by their own cleverness, And the advice of the cunning is quickly thwarted.

¹⁴By day they meet with darkness, And grope at noon as in the night.

¹⁵But He saves from the sword of their mouth, And the poor from the hand of the strong.

¹⁶So the helpless has hope, And injustice has shut its mouth.

¹⁷“Behold, happy is the person whom God disciplines, So do not reject the discipline of the Almighty.

¹⁸For He inflicts pain, and gives relief; He wounds, but His hands also heal.

¹⁹In six troubles He will save you; Even in seven, evil will not touch you.

²⁰In famine He will redeem you from death, And in war, from the power of the sword.

²¹You will be hidden from the scourge of the tongue, And you will not be afraid of violence when it comes.

²²You will laugh at violence and hunger, And you will not be afraid of wild animals.

²³For you will be in league with the stones of the field, And the animals of the field will be at peace with you.

²⁴You will know that your tent is secure, For you will visit your home and have nothing missing.

²⁵You will also know that your descendants will be many, And your offspring as the grass of the earth.

²⁶You will come to the grave at a ripe age, Like the stacking of grain in its season.

²⁷Behold this; we have investigated it, and so it is. Hear it, and know for yourself.”

¹God be gracious to us and bless us, And cause His face to shine upon us— Selah

²That Your way may be known on the earth, Your salvation among all nations.

³May the peoples praise You, God; May all the peoples praise You.

⁴May the nations be glad and sing for joy; For You will judge the peoples with fairness And guide the nations on the earth. Selah

⁵May the peoples praise You, God; May all the peoples praise You.

⁶The earth has yielded its produce; God, our God, blesses us.

⁷God blesses us, So that all the ends of the earth may fear Him.

¹My son, pay attention to my wisdom, Incline your ear to my understanding,

²So that you may maintain discretion And your lips may comply with knowledge.

³For the lips of an adulteress drip honey, And her speech is smoother than oil;

⁴But in the end she is bitter as wormwood, Sharp as a two-edged sword.

⁵Her feet go down to death, Her steps take hold of Sheol.

⁶She does not ponder the path of life; Her ways are unstable, she does not know it.

⁷Now then, my sons, listen to me And do not turn away from the words of my mouth.

⁸Keep your way far from her, And do not go near the door of her house,

⁹Otherwise you will give your vigor to others, And your years to the cruel one;

¹⁰And strangers will be filled with your strength, And your hard-earned possessions will go to the house of a foreigner;

¹¹And you will groan in the end, When your flesh and your body are consumed;

¹²And you say, “How I hated instruction! And my heart disdainfully rejected rebuke!

¹³I did not listen to the voice of my teachers, Nor incline my ear to my instructors!

¹⁴I was almost in total ruin In the midst of the assembly and congregation.”

¹⁵Drink water from your own cistern, And fresh water from your own well.

¹⁶Should your springs overflow into the street, Streams of water in the public squares?

¹⁷Let them be yours alone, And not for strangers with you.

¹⁸Let your fountain be blessed, And rejoice in the wife of your youth.

¹⁹Like a loving doe and a graceful mountain goat, Let her breasts satisfy you at all times; Be exhilarated always with her love.

²⁰For why should you, my son, be exhilarated with an adulteress, And embrace the breasts of a foreigner?

²¹For the ways of everyone are before the eyes of the LORD, And He observes all his paths.

²²His own wrongdoings will trap the wicked, And he will be held by the ropes of his sin.

²³He will die for lack of instruction, And in the greatness of his foolishness he will go astray.

¹Now it came about, when he had finished speaking to Saul, that Jonathan committed himself to David, and Jonathan loved him as himself.

²And Saul took him that day and did not let him return to his father’s house.

³Then Jonathan made a covenant with David because he loved him as himself.

⁴Jonathan stripped himself of the robe that was on him and gave it to David, with his military gear, including his sword, his bow, and his belt.

⁵And David went into battle wherever Saul sent him, and always achieved success; so Saul put him in charge of the men of war. And it was pleasing in the sight of all the people, and also in the sight of Saul’s servants.

⁶Now it happened as they were coming, when David returned from killing the Philistine, that the women came out of all the cities of Israel, singing and dancing, to meet King Saul, with tambourines, with joy and with other musical instruments.

⁷The women sang as they played, and said, “Saul has slain his thousands, And David his ten thousands.”

⁸Then Saul became very angry, for this lyric displeased him; and he said, “They have given David credit for ten thousands, but to me they have given credit for only thousands! Now what more can he have but the kingdom?”

⁹And Saul eyed David with suspicion from that day on.

¹⁰Now it came about on the next day that an evil spirit from God rushed upon Saul, and he raved in the midst of the house while David was playing the harp with his hand, as usual; and a spear was in Saul’s hand.

¹¹Then Saul hurled the spear, for he thought, “I will pin David to the wall.” But David escaped from his presence, twice.

¹²Now Saul was afraid of David, because the LORD was with him but had left Saul.

¹³So Saul removed him from his presence and appointed him as his commander of a thousand; and he went out and came in before the people.

¹⁴David was successful in all his ways, for the LORD was with him.

¹⁵When Saul saw that he was very successful, he was afraid of him.

¹⁶But all Israel and Judah loved David, for he would go out to battle and return before them.

¹⁷Then Saul said to David, “Here is my older daughter Merab; I will give her to you as a wife, only be a valiant man for me and fight the LORD’S battles.” For Saul thought, “My hand shall not be against him, but let the hand of the Philistines be against him.”

¹⁸But David said to Saul, “Who am I, and who is my family, or my father’s family in Israel, that I should be the king’s son-in-law?”

¹⁹So it came about at the time that Merab, Saul’s daughter, was to be given to David, that she was given instead to Adriel the Meholathite as a wife.

²⁰Now Michal, Saul’s daughter, loved David. When they informed Saul, the thing was pleasing to him.

²¹For Saul thought, “I will give her to him so that she may become a trap for him, and that the hand of the Philistines may be against him.” Therefore Saul said to David, “For a second time you may become my son-in-law, today.”

²²Then Saul commanded his servants, “Speak to David in secret, saying, ‘Behold, the king delights in you, and all his servants love you; now then, become the king’s son-in-law.’ ”

²³So Saul’s servants spoke these words to David. But David said, “Is it trivial in your sight to become the king’s son-in-law, since I am only a poor man and insignificant?”

²⁴Then Saul’s servants reported to him, saying, “These are the words David spoke.”

²⁵Saul then said, “This is what you shall say to David: ‘The king does not desire any dowry except a hundred foreskins of the Philistines, to take vengeance on the king’s enemies.’ ” But Saul plotted to have David fall by the hand of the Philistines.

²⁶When his servants told David these words, it pleased David to become the king’s son-in-law. So before the time had expired,

²⁷David set out and went, he and his men, and fatally struck two hundred men among the Philistines. Then David brought their foreskins, and they presented all two hundred of them to the king, so that he might become the king’s son-in-law. And Saul gave him his daughter Michal as a wife.

²⁸When Saul saw and realized that the LORD was with David, and that Michal, Saul’s daughter, loved him,

²⁹then Saul was even more afraid of David. So Saul was David’s enemy continually.

³⁰Then the commanders of the Philistines went to battle, and it happened as often as they went out, that David was more successful than all the servants of Saul. So his name was held in high esteem.

¹The words of Jeremiah the son of Hilkiah, of the priests who were in Anathoth in the land of Benjamin,

²to whom the word of the LORD came in the days of Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah, in the thirteenth year of his reign.

³It came also in the days of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, until the end of the eleventh year of Zedekiah the son of Josiah, king of Judah, until the exile of Jerusalem in the fifth month.

⁴Now the word of the LORD came to me, saying,

⁵“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, And before you were born I consecrated you; I have appointed you as a prophet to the nations.”

⁶Then I said, “Oh, Lord GOD! Behold, I do not know how to speak, Because I am a youth.”

⁷But the LORD said to me, “Do not say, ‘I am a youth,’ Because everywhere I send you, you shall go, And all that I command you, you shall speak.

⁸Do not be afraid of them, For I am with you to save you,” declares the LORD.

⁹Then the LORD stretched out His hand and touched my mouth, and the LORD said to me, “Behold, I have put My words in your mouth.

¹⁰See, I have appointed you this day over the nations and over the kingdoms, To root out and to tear down, To destroy and to overthrow, To build and to plant.”

¹¹And the word of the LORD came to me, saying, “What do you see, Jeremiah?” And I said, “I see a branch of an almond tree.”

¹²Then the LORD said to me, “You have seen well, for I am watching over My word to perform it.”

¹³And the word of the LORD came to me a second time, saying, “What do you see?” And I said, “I see a boiling pot, facing away from the north.”

¹⁴Then the LORD said to me, “Out of the north the evil will be unleashed on all the inhabitants of the land.

¹⁵For, behold, I am calling all the families of the kingdoms of the north,” declares the LORD; “and they will come and place, each one of them, his throne at the entrance of the gates of Jerusalem, and against all its walls around, and against all the cities of Judah.

¹⁶And I will pronounce My judgments against them concerning all their wickedness, since they have abandoned Me and have offered sacrifices to other gods, and worshiped the works of their own hands.

¹⁷Now, belt your garment around your waist and arise, and speak to them all that I command you. Do not be dismayed before them, or I will make you dismayed before them.

¹⁸Now behold, I have made you today like a fortified city and like a pillar of iron and walls of bronze against the whole land, to the kings of Judah, to its leaders, to its priests, and to the people of the land.

¹⁹And they will fight against you but they will not overcome you, for I am with you to save you,” declares the LORD.

¹Now the apostles and the brothers and sisters who were throughout Judea heard that the Gentiles also had received the word of God.

²And when Peter came up to Jerusalem, the Jewish believers took issue with him,

³saying, “You went to uncircumcised men and ate with them.”

⁴But Peter began and explained at length to them in an orderly sequence, saying,

⁵“I was in the city of Joppa praying; and in a trance I saw a vision, an object coming down like a great sheet lowered by four corners from the sky; and it came to where I was,

⁶and I stared at it and was thinking about it, and I saw the four-footed animals of the earth, the wild animals, the crawling creatures, and the birds of the sky.

⁷I also heard a voice saying to me, ‘Get up, Peter; kill and eat.’

⁸But I said, ‘By no means, Lord, for nothing unholy or unclean has ever entered my mouth.’

⁹But a voice from heaven answered a second time, ‘What God has cleansed, no longer consider unholy.’

¹⁰This happened three times, and everything was drawn back up into the sky.

¹¹And behold, at that moment three men who had been sent to me from Caesarea came up to the house where we were staying.

¹²And the Spirit told me to go with them without misgivings. These six brothers also went with me, and we entered the man’s house.

¹³And he reported to us how he had seen the angel standing in his house, and saying, ‘Send some men to Joppa and have Simon, who is also called Peter, brought here;

¹⁴and he will speak words to you by which you will be saved, you and all your household.’

¹⁵And as I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell upon them just as He did upon us at the beginning.

¹⁶And I remembered the word of the Lord, how He used to say, ‘John baptized with water, but you will be baptizedwith the Holy Spirit.’

¹⁷Therefore, if God gave them the same gift as He also gave to us after believing in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could stand in God’s way?”

¹⁸When they heard this, they quieted down and glorified God, saying, “Well then, God has also granted to the Gentiles the repentance that leads to life.”

¹⁹So then those who were scattered because of the persecution that occurred in connection with Stephen made their way to Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch, speaking the word to no one except to Jews alone.

²⁰But there were some of them, men of Cyprus and Cyrene, who came to Antioch and began speaking to the Greeks as well, preaching the good news of the Lord Jesus.

²¹And the hand of the Lord was with them, and a large number who believed turned to the Lord.

²²The news about them reached the ears of the church in Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas off to Antioch.

²³Then when he arrived and witnessed the grace of God, he rejoiced and began to encourage them all with resolute heart to remain true to the Lord;

²⁴for he was a good man, and full of the Holy Spirit and faith. And considerable numbers were added to the Lord.

²⁵And he left for Tarsus to look for Saul;

²⁶and when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. And for an entire year they met with the church and taught considerable numbers of people; and the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch.

²⁷Now at this time some prophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch.

²⁸One of them, named Agabus, stood up and indicated by the Spirit that there would definitely be a severe famine all over the world. And this took place in the reign of Claudius.

²⁹And to the extent that any of the disciples had means, each of them determined to send a contribution for the relief of the brothers and sisters living in Judea.

³⁰And they did this, sending it with Barnabas and Saul to the elders.