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.

¹The LORD spoke to Moses:

²“You are to set up the tabernacle, the tent of meeting, on the first day of the first month.

³Put the ark of the testimony there and screen off the ark with the curtain.

⁴Then bring in the table and lay out its arrangement; also bring in the lampstand and set up its lamps.

⁵Place the gold altar for incense in front of the ark of the testimony. Put up the screen for the entrance to the tabernacle.

⁶Position the altar of burnt offering in front of the entrance to the tabernacle, the tent of meeting.

⁷Place the basin between the tent of meeting and the altar, and put water in it.

⁸Assemble the surrounding courtyard and hang the screen for the gate of the courtyard.

⁹“Take the anointing oil and anoint the tabernacle and everything in it; consecrate it along with all its furnishings so that it will be holy.

¹⁰Anoint the altar of burnt offering and all its utensils; consecrate the altar so that it will be especially holy.

¹¹Anoint the basin and its stand and consecrate it.

¹²“Then bring Aaron and his sons to the entrance to the tent of meeting and wash them with water.

¹³Clothe Aaron with the holy garments, anoint him, and consecrate him, so that he can serve me as a priest.

¹⁴Have his sons come forward and clothe them in tunics.

¹⁵Anoint them just as you anointed their father, so that they may also serve me as priests. Their anointing will serve to inaugurate a permanent priesthood for them throughout their generations.”

¹⁶Moses did everything just as the LORD had commanded him.

¹⁷The tabernacle was set up in the first month of the second year, on the first day of the month.

¹⁸Moses set up the tabernacle: He laid its bases, positioned its supports, inserted its crossbars, and set up its pillars.

¹⁹Then he spread the tent over the tabernacle and put the covering of the tent on top of it, just as the LORD had commanded Moses.

²⁰Moses took the testimony and placed it in the ark, and attached the poles to the ark. He set the mercy seat on top of the ark.

²¹He brought the ark into the tabernacle, put up the curtain for the screen, and screened off the ark of the testimony, just as the LORD had commanded him.

²²Moses placed the table in the tent of meeting on the north side of the tabernacle, outside the curtain.

²³He arranged the bread on it before the LORD, just as the LORD had commanded him.

²⁴He put the lampstand in the tent of meeting opposite the table on the south side of the tabernacle

²⁵and set up the lamps before the LORD, just as the LORD had commanded him.

²⁶Moses installed the gold altar in the tent of meeting, in front of the curtain,

²⁷and burned fragrant incense on it, just as the LORD had commanded him.

²⁸He put up the screen at the entrance to the tabernacle.

²⁹He placed the altar of burnt offering at the entrance to the tabernacle, the tent of meeting, and offered the burnt offering and the grain offering on it, just as the LORD had commanded him.

³⁰He set the basin between the tent of meeting and the altar and put water in it for washing.

³¹Moses, Aaron, and his sons washed their hands and feet from it.

³²They washed whenever they came to the tent of meeting and approached the altar, just as the LORD had commanded Moses.

³³Next Moses set up the surrounding courtyard for the tabernacle and the altar and hung a screen for the gate of the courtyard. So Moses finished the work.

³⁴The cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle.

³⁵Moses was unable to enter the tent of meeting because the cloud rested on it, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle.

³⁶The Israelites set out whenever the cloud was taken up from the tabernacle throughout all the stages of their journey.

³⁷If the cloud was not taken up, they did not set out until the day it was taken up.

³⁸For the cloud of the LORD was over the tabernacle by day, and there was a fire inside the cloud by night, visible to the entire house of Israel throughout all the stages of their journey.

¹Therefore, brothers and sisters, in view of the mercies of God, I urge you to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God; this is your true worship.

²Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may discern what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God.

³For by the grace given to me, I tell everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he should think. Instead, think sensibly, as God has distributed a measure of faith to each one.

⁴Now as we have many parts in one body, and all the parts do not have the same function,

⁵in the same way we who are many are one body in Christ and individually members of one another.

⁶According to the grace given to us, we have different gifts: If prophecy, use it according to the proportion of one’s faith;

⁷if service, use it in service; if teaching, in teaching;

⁸if exhorting, in exhortation; giving, with generosity; leading, with diligence; showing mercy, with cheerfulness.

⁹Let love be without hypocrisy. Detest evil; cling to what is good.

¹⁰Love one another deeply as brothers and sisters. Outdo one another in showing honor.

¹¹Do not lack diligence in zeal; be fervent in the Spirit; serve the Lord.

¹²Rejoice in hope; be patient in affliction; be persistent in prayer.

¹³Share with the saints in their needs; pursue hospitality.

¹⁴Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse.

¹⁵Rejoice with those who rejoice; weep with those who weep.

¹⁶Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud; instead, associate with the humble. Do not be wise in your own estimation.

¹⁷Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Give careful thought to do what is honorable in everyone’s eyes.

¹⁸If possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.

¹⁹Friends, do not avenge yourselves; instead, leave room for God’s wrath, because it is written, Vengeance belongs to me; I will repay, says the Lord.

²⁰But If your enemy is hungry, feed him. If he is thirsty, give him something to drink. For in so doing you will be heaping fiery coals on his head.

²¹Do not be conquered by evil, but conquer evil with good.

¹Not many should become teachers, my brothers, because you know that we will receive a stricter judgment.

²For we all stumble in many ways. If anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is mature, able also to control the whole body.

³Now if we put bits into the mouths of horses so that they obey us, we direct their whole bodies.

⁴And consider ships: Though very large and driven by fierce winds, they are guided by a very small rudder wherever the will of the pilot directs.

⁵So too, though the tongue is a small part of the body, it boasts great things. Consider how a small fire sets ablaze a large forest.

⁶And the tongue is a fire. The tongue, a world of unrighteousness, is placed among our members. It stains the whole body, sets the course of life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.

⁷Every kind of animal, bird, reptile, and fish is tamed and has been tamed by humankind,

⁸but no one can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.

⁹With the tongue we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in God’s likeness.

¹⁰Blessing and cursing come out of the same mouth. My brothers and sisters, these things should not be this way.

¹¹Does a spring pour out sweet and bitter water from the same opening?

¹²Can a fig tree produce olives, my brothers and sisters, or a grapevine produce figs? Neither can a saltwater spring yield fresh water.

¹³Who among you is wise and understanding? By his good conduct he should show that his works are done in the gentleness that comes from wisdom.

¹⁴But if you have bitter envy and selfish ambition in your heart, don’t boast and deny the truth.

¹⁵Such wisdom does not come down from above but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic.

¹⁶For where there is envy and selfish ambition, there is disorder and every evil practice.

¹⁷But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peace-loving, gentle, compliant, full of mercy and good fruits, unwavering, without pretense.

¹⁸And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who cultivate peace.

¹Surely there is a mine for silver and a place where gold is refined.

²Iron is taken from the ground, and copper is smelted from ore.

³A miner puts an end to the darkness; he probes the deepest recesses for ore in the gloomy darkness.

⁴He cuts a shaft far from human habitation, in places unknown to those who walk above ground. Suspended far away from people, the miners swing back and forth.

⁵Food may come from the earth, but below the surface the earth is transformed as by fire.

⁶Its rocks are a source of lapis lazuli, containing flecks of gold.

⁷No bird of prey knows that path; no falcon’s eye has seen it.

⁸Proud beasts have never walked on it; no lion has ever prowled over it.

⁹The miner uses a flint tool and turns up ore from the root of the mountains.

¹⁰He cuts out channels in the rocks, and his eyes spot every treasure.

¹¹He dams up the streams from flowing so that he may bring to light what is hidden.

¹²But where can wisdom be found, and where is understanding located?

¹³No one can know its value, since it cannot be found in the land of the living.

¹⁴The ocean depths say, “It’s not in me,” while the sea declares, “I don’t have it.”

¹⁵Gold cannot be exchanged for it, and silver cannot be weighed out for its price.

¹⁶Wisdom cannot be valued in the gold of Ophir, in precious onyx or lapis lazuli.

¹⁷Gold and glass do not compare with it, and articles of fine gold cannot be exchanged for it.

¹⁸Coral and quartz are not worth mentioning. The price of wisdom is beyond pearls.

¹⁹Topaz from Cush cannot compare with it, and it cannot be valued in pure gold.

²⁰Where then does wisdom come from, and where is understanding located?

²¹It is hidden from the eyes of every living thing and concealed from the birds of the sky.

²²Abaddon and Death say, “We have heard news of it with our ears.”

²³But God understands the way to wisdom, and he knows its location.

²⁴For he looks to the ends of the earth and sees everything under the heavens.

²⁵When God fixed the weight of the wind and distributed the water by measure,

²⁶when he established a limit for the rain and a path for the lightning,

²⁷he considered wisdom and evaluated it; he established it and examined it.

²⁸He said to mankind, “The fear of the LORD—that is wisdom. And to turn from evil is understanding.”

¹A prayer of Moses, the man of God. [1] Lord, you have been our refuge in every generation.

²Before the mountains were born, before you gave birth to the earth and the world, from eternity to eternity, you are God.

³You return mankind to the dust, saying, “Return, descendants of Adam.”

⁴For in your sight a thousand years are like yesterday that passes by, like a few hours of the night.

⁵You end their lives; they sleep. They are like grass that grows in the morning —

⁶in the morning it sprouts and grows; by evening it withers and dries up.

⁷For we are consumed by your anger; we are terrified by your wrath.

⁸You have set our iniquities before you, our secret sins in the light of your presence.

⁹For all our days ebb away under your wrath; we end our years like a sigh.

¹⁰Our lives last seventy years or, if we are strong, eighty years. Even the best of them are struggle and sorrow; indeed, they pass quickly and we fly away.

¹¹Who understands the power of your anger? Your wrath matches the fear that is due you.

¹²Teach us to number our days carefully so that we may develop wisdom in our hearts.

¹³LORD  — how long? Turn and have compassion on your servants.

¹⁴Satisfy us in the morning with your faithful love so that we may shout with joy and be glad all our days.

¹⁵Make us rejoice for as many days as you have humbled us, for as many years as we have seen adversity.

¹⁶Let your work be seen by your servants, and your splendor by their children.

¹⁷Let the favor of the Lord our God be on us; establish for us the work of our hands — establish the work of our hands!

¹The wicked flee when no one is pursuing them, but the righteous are as bold as a lion.

²When a land is in rebellion, it has many rulers, but with a discerning and knowledgeable person, it endures.

³A destitute leader who oppresses the poor is like a driving rain that leaves no food.

⁴Those who reject the law praise the wicked, but those who keep the law pit themselves against them.

⁵The evil do not understand justice, but those who seek the LORD understand everything.

⁶Better the poor person who lives with integrity than the rich one who distorts right and wrong.

⁷A discerning son keeps the law, but a companion of gluttons humiliates his father.

⁸Whoever increases his wealth through excessive interest collects it for one who is kind to the poor.

⁹Anyone who turns his ear away from hearing the law — even his prayer is detestable.

¹⁰The one who leads the upright into an evil way will fall into his own pit, but the blameless will inherit what is good.

¹¹A rich person is wise in his own eyes, but a poor one who has discernment sees through him.

¹²When the righteous triumph, there is great rejoicing, but when the wicked come to power, people hide.

¹³The one who conceals his sins will not prosper, but whoever confesses and renounces them will find mercy.

¹⁴Happy is the one who is always reverent, but one who hardens his heart falls into trouble.

¹⁵A wicked ruler over a helpless people is like a roaring lion or a charging bear.

¹⁶A leader who lacks understanding is very oppressive, but one who hates dishonest profit prolongs his life.

¹⁷Someone burdened by bloodguilt will be a fugitive until death. Let no one help him.

¹⁸The one who lives with integrity will be helped, but one who distorts right and wrong will suddenly fall.

¹⁹The one who works his land will have plenty of food, but whoever chases fantasies will have his fill of poverty.

²⁰A faithful person will have many blessings, but one in a hurry to get rich will not go unpunished.

²¹It is not good to show partiality  — yet even a courageous person may sin for a piece of bread.

²²A greedy one is in a hurry for wealth; he doesn’t know that poverty will come to him.

²³One who rebukes a person will later find more favor than one who flatters with his tongue.

²⁴The one who robs his father or mother and says, “That’s no sin,” is a companion to a person who destroys.

²⁵A greedy person stirs up conflict, but whoever trusts in the LORD will prosper.

²⁶The one who trusts in himself is a fool, but one who walks in wisdom will be safe.

²⁷The one who gives to the poor will not be in need, but one who turns his eyes away will receive many curses.

²⁸When the wicked come to power, people hide, but when they are destroyed, the righteous flourish.

¹Some time later, the king of the Ammonites died, and his son Hanun became king in his place.

²Then David said, “I’ll show kindness to Hanun son of Nahash, just as his father showed kindness to me.” So David sent his emissaries to console Hanun concerning his father. However, when they arrived in the land of the Ammonites,

³the Ammonite leaders said to Hanun their lord, “Just because David has sent men with condolences for you, do you really believe he’s showing respect for your father? Instead, hasn’t David sent his emissaries in order to scout out the city, spy on it, and demolish it?”

⁴So Hanun took David’s emissaries, shaved off half their beards, cut their clothes in half at the hips, and sent them away.

⁵When this was reported to David, he sent someone to meet them, since they were deeply humiliated. The king said, “Stay in Jericho until your beards grow back; then return.”

⁶When the Ammonites realized they had become repulsive to David, they hired twenty thousand foot soldiers from the Arameans of Beth-rehob and Zobah, one thousand men from the king of Maacah, and twelve thousand men from Tob.

⁷David heard about it and sent Joab and all the elite troops.

⁸The Ammonites marched out and lined up in battle formation at the entrance to the city gate while the Arameans of Zobah and Rehob and the men of Tob and Maacah were in the field by themselves.

⁹When Joab saw that there was a battle line in front of him and another behind him, he chose some of Israel’s finest young men and lined up in formation to engage the Arameans.

¹⁰He placed the rest of the forces under the command of his brother Abishai. They lined up in formation to engage the Ammonites.

¹¹“If the Arameans are too strong for me,” Joab said, “then you will be my help. However, if the Ammonites are too strong for you, I’ll come to help you.

¹²Be strong! Let’s prove ourselves strong for our people and for the cities of our God. May the LORD’s will be done.”

¹³Joab and his troops advanced to fight against the Arameans, and they fled before him.

¹⁴When the Ammonites saw that the Arameans had fled, they too fled before Abishai and entered the city. So Joab withdrew from the attack against the Ammonites and went to Jerusalem.

¹⁵When the Arameans saw that they had been defeated by Israel, they regrouped.

¹⁶Hadadezer sent messengers to bring the Arameans who were beyond the Euphrates River, and they came to Helam with Shobach, commander of Hadadezer’s army, leading them.

¹⁷When this was reported to David, he gathered all Israel, crossed the Jordan, and went to Helam. Then the Arameans lined up to engage David in battle and fought against him.

¹⁸But the Arameans fled before Israel, and David killed seven hundred of their charioteers and forty thousand foot soldiers. He also struck down Shobach commander of their army, who died there.

¹⁹When all the kings who were Hadadezer’s subjects saw that they had been defeated by Israel, they made peace with Israel and became their subjects. After this, the Arameans were afraid to ever help the Ammonites again.

¹After King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon had deported Jeconiah son of Jehoiakim king of Judah, the officials of Judah, and the craftsmen and metalsmiths from Jerusalem and had brought them to Babylon, the LORD showed me two baskets of figs placed in front of the temple of the LORD.

²One basket contained very good figs, like early figs, but the other basket contained very bad figs, so bad they were inedible.

³The LORD said to me, “What do you see, Jeremiah?” I said, “Figs! The good figs are very good, but the bad figs are extremely bad, so bad they are inedible.”

⁴The word of the LORD came to me:

⁵“This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: Like these good figs, so I regard as good the exiles from Judah I sent away from this place to the land of the Chaldeans.

⁶I will keep my eyes on them for their good and will return them to this land. I will build them up and not demolish them; I will plant them and not uproot them.

⁷I will give them a heart to know me, that I am the LORD. They will be my people, and I will be their God because they will return to me with all their heart.

⁸“But as for the bad figs, so bad they are inedible, this is what the LORD says: In this way I will deal with King Zedekiah of Judah, his officials, and the remnant of Jerusalem — those remaining in this land or living in the land of Egypt.

⁹I will make them an object of horror and a disaster to all the kingdoms of the earth, an example for disgrace, scorn, ridicule, and cursing, wherever I have banished them.

¹⁰I will send the sword, famine, and plague against them until they have perished from the land I gave to them and their ancestors.”

¹In those days, as the disciples were increasing in number, there arose a complaint by the Hellenistic Jews against the Hebraic Jews that their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution.

²The Twelve summoned the whole company of the disciples and said, “It would not be right for us to give up preaching the word of God to wait on tables.

³Brothers and sisters, select from among you seven men of good reputation, full of the Spirit and wisdom, whom we can appoint to this duty.

⁴But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.”

⁵This proposal pleased the whole company. So they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit, and Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolaus, a convert from Antioch.

⁶They had them stand before the apostles, who prayed and laid their hands on them.

⁷So the word of God spread, the disciples in Jerusalem increased greatly in number, and a large group of priests became obedient to the faith.

⁸Now Stephen, full of grace and power, was performing great wonders and signs among the people.

⁹Opposition arose, however, from some members of the Freedmen’s Synagogue, composed of both Cyrenians and Alexandrians, and some from Cilicia and Asia, and they began to argue with Stephen.

¹⁰But they were unable to stand up against his wisdom and the Spirit by whom he was speaking.

¹¹Then they secretly persuaded some men to say, “We heard him speaking blasphemous words against Moses and God.”

¹²They stirred up the people, the elders, and the scribes; so they came, seized him, and took him to the Sanhedrin.

¹³They also presented false witnesses who said, “This man never stops speaking against this holy place and the law.

¹⁴For we heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and change the customs that Moses handed down to us.”

¹⁵And all who were sitting in the Sanhedrin looked intently at him and saw that his face was like the face of an angel.