Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹This is a record of the ancestors of Jesus the Messiah, a descendant of David and of Abraham :

²Abraham was the father of Isaac. Isaac was the father of Jacob. Jacob was the father of Judah and his brothers.

³Judah was the father of Perez and Zerah (whose mother was Tamar). Perez was the father of Hezron. Hezron was the father of Ram.

⁴Ram was the father of Amminadab. Amminadab was the father of Nahshon. Nahshon was the father of Salmon.

⁵Salmon was the father of Boaz (whose mother was Rahab). Boaz was the father of Obed (whose mother was Ruth). Obed was the father of Jesse.

⁶Jesse was the father of King David. David was the father of Solomon (whose mother was Bathsheba, the widow of Uriah).

⁷Solomon was the father of Rehoboam. Rehoboam was the father of Abijah. Abijah was the father of Asa.

⁸Asa was the father of Jehoshaphat. Jehoshaphat was the father of Jehoram. Jehoram was the father of Uzziah.

⁹Uzziah was the father of Jotham. Jotham was the father of Ahaz. Ahaz was the father of Hezekiah.

¹⁰Hezekiah was the father of Manasseh. Manasseh was the father of Amon. Amon was the father of Josiah.

¹¹Josiah was the father of Jehoiachin and his brothers (born at the time of the exile to Babylon).

¹²After the Babylonian exile: Jehoiachin was the father of Shealtiel. Shealtiel was the father of Zerubbabel.

¹³Zerubbabel was the father of Abiud. Abiud was the father of Eliakim. Eliakim was the father of Azor.

¹⁴Azor was the father of Zadok. Zadok was the father of Akim. Akim was the father of Eliud.

¹⁵Eliud was the father of Eleazar. Eleazar was the father of Matthan. Matthan was the father of Jacob.

¹⁶Jacob was the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary. Mary gave birth to Jesus, who is called the Messiah.

¹⁷All those listed above include fourteen generations from Abraham to David, fourteen from David to the Babylonian exile, and fourteen from the Babylonian exile to the Messiah.

¹⁸This is how Jesus the Messiah was born. His mother, Mary, was engaged to be married to Joseph. But before the marriage took place, while she was still a virgin, she became pregnant through the power of the Holy Spirit.

¹⁹Joseph, to whom she was engaged, was a righteous man and did not want to disgrace her publicly, so he decided to break the engagement quietly.

²⁰As he considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream. “Joseph, son of David,” the angel said, “do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife. For the child within her was conceived by the Holy Spirit.

²¹And she will have a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”

²²All of this occurred to fulfill the Lord’s message through his prophet:

²³“Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel, which means ‘God is with us.’”

²⁴When Joseph woke up, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded and took Mary as his wife.

²⁵But he did not have sexual relations with her until her son was born. And Joseph named him Jesus.

¹Then the LORD said to Moses,

²“Set up the Tabernacle on the first day of the new year.

³Place the Ark of the Covenant inside, and install the inner curtain to enclose the Ark within the Most Holy Place.

⁴Then bring in the table, and arrange the utensils on it. And bring in the lampstand, and set up the lamps.

⁵“Place the gold incense altar in front of the Ark of the Covenant. Then hang the curtain at the entrance of the Tabernacle.

⁶Place the altar of burnt offering in front of the Tabernacle entrance.

⁷Set the washbasin between the Tabernacle and the altar, and fill it with water.

⁸Then set up the courtyard around the outside of the tent, and hang the curtain for the courtyard entrance.

⁹“Take the anointing oil and anoint the Tabernacle and all its furnishings to consecrate them and make them holy.

¹⁰Anoint the altar of burnt offering and its utensils to consecrate them. Then the altar will become absolutely holy.

¹¹Next anoint the washbasin and its stand to consecrate them.

¹²“Present Aaron and his sons at the entrance of the Tabernacle, and wash them with water.

¹³Dress Aaron with the sacred garments and anoint him, consecrating him to serve me as a priest.

¹⁴Then present his sons and dress them in their tunics.

¹⁵Anoint them as you did their father, so they may also serve me as priests. With their anointing, Aaron’s descendants are set apart for the priesthood forever, from generation to generation.”

¹⁶Moses proceeded to do everything just as the LORD had commanded him.

¹⁷So the Tabernacle was set up on the first day of the first month of the second year.

¹⁸Moses erected the Tabernacle by setting down its bases, inserting the frames, attaching the crossbars, and setting up the posts.

¹⁹Then he spread the coverings over the Tabernacle framework and put on the protective layers, just as the LORD had commanded him.

²⁰He took the stone tablets inscribed with the terms of the covenant and placed them inside the Ark. Then he attached the carrying poles to the Ark, and he set the Ark’s cover — the place of atonement — on top of it.

²¹Then he brought the Ark of the Covenant into the Tabernacle and hung the inner curtain to shield it from view, just as the LORD had commanded him.

²²Next Moses placed the table in the Tabernacle, along the north side of the Holy Place, just outside the inner curtain.

²³And he arranged the Bread of the Presence on the table before the LORD, just as the LORD had commanded him.

²⁴He set the lampstand in the Tabernacle across from the table on the south side of the Holy Place.

²⁵Then he lit the lamps in the LORD’s presence, just as the LORD had commanded him.

²⁶He also placed the gold incense altar in the Tabernacle, in the Holy Place in front of the inner curtain.

²⁷On it he burned the fragrant incense, just as the LORD had commanded him.

²⁸He hung the curtain at the entrance of the Tabernacle,

²⁹and he placed the altar of burnt offering near the Tabernacle entrance. On it he offered a burnt offering and a grain offering, just as the LORD had commanded him.

³⁰Next Moses placed the washbasin between the Tabernacle and the altar. He filled it with water so the priests could wash themselves.

³¹Moses and Aaron and Aaron’s sons used water from it to wash their hands and feet.

³²Whenever they approached the altar and entered the Tabernacle, they washed themselves, just as the LORD had commanded Moses.

³³Then he hung the curtains forming the courtyard around the Tabernacle and the altar. And he set up the curtain at the entrance of the courtyard. So at last Moses finished the work.

³⁴Then the cloud covered the Tabernacle, and the glory of the LORD filled the Tabernacle.

³⁵Moses could no longer enter the Tabernacle because the cloud had settled down over it, and the glory of the LORD filled the Tabernacle.

³⁶Now whenever the cloud lifted from the Tabernacle, the people of Israel would set out on their journey, following it.

³⁷But if the cloud did not rise, they remained where they were until it lifted.

³⁸The cloud of the LORD hovered over the Tabernacle during the day, and at night fire glowed inside the cloud so the whole family of Israel could see it. This continued throughout all their journeys.

¹And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice — the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him.

²Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.

³Because of the privilege and authority God has given me, I give each of you this warning: Don’t think you are better than you really are. Be honest in your evaluation of yourselves, measuring yourselves by the faith God has given us.

⁴Just as our bodies have many parts and each part has a special function,

⁵so it is with Christ’s body. We are many parts of one body, and we all belong to each other.

⁶In his grace, God has given us different gifts for doing certain things well. So if God has given you the ability to prophesy, speak out with as much faith as God has given you.

⁷If your gift is serving others, serve them well. If you are a teacher, teach well.

⁸If your gift is to encourage others, be encouraging. If it is giving, give generously. If God has given you leadership ability, take the responsibility seriously. And if you have a gift for showing kindness to others, do it gladly.

⁹Don’t just pretend to love others. Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Hold tightly to what is good.

¹⁰Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other.

¹¹Never be lazy, but work hard and serve the Lord enthusiastically.

¹²Rejoice in our confident hope. Be patient in trouble, and keep on praying.

¹³When God’s people are in need, be ready to help them. Always be eager to practice hospitality.

¹⁴Bless those who persecute you. Don’t curse them; pray that God will bless them.

¹⁵Be happy with those who are happy, and weep with those who weep.

¹⁶Live in harmony with each other. Don’t be too proud to enjoy the company of ordinary people. And don’t think you know it all!

¹⁷Never pay back evil with more evil. Do things in such a way that everyone can see you are honorable.

¹⁸Do all that you can to live in peace with everyone.

¹⁹Dear friends, never take revenge. Leave that to the righteous anger of God. For the Scriptures say, “I will take revenge; I will pay them back,” says the LORD.

²⁰Instead, “If your enemies are hungry, feed them. If they are thirsty, give them something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals of shame on their heads.”

²¹Don’t let evil conquer you, but conquer evil by doing good.

¹Dear brothers and sisters, not many of you should become teachers in the church, for we who teach will be judged more strictly.

²Indeed, we all make many mistakes. For if we could control our tongues, we would be perfect and could also control ourselves in every other way.

³We can make a large horse go wherever we want by means of a small bit in its mouth.

⁴And a small rudder makes a huge ship turn wherever the pilot chooses to go, even though the winds are strong.

⁵In the same way, the tongue is a small thing that makes grand speeches. But a tiny spark can set a great forest on fire.

⁶And among all the parts of the body, the tongue is a flame of fire. It is a whole world of wickedness, corrupting your entire body. It can set your whole life on fire, for it is set on fire by hell itself.

⁷People can tame all kinds of animals, birds, reptiles, and fish,

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

⁹Sometimes it praises our Lord and Father, and sometimes it curses those who have been made in the image of God.

¹⁰And so blessing and cursing come pouring out of the same mouth. Surely, my brothers and sisters, this is not right!

¹¹Does a spring of water bubble out with both fresh water and bitter water?

¹²Does a fig tree produce olives, or a grapevine produce figs? No, and you can’t draw fresh water from a salty spring.

¹³If you are wise and understand God’s ways, prove it by living an honorable life, doing good works with the humility that comes from wisdom.

¹⁴But if you are bitterly jealous and there is selfish ambition in your heart, don’t cover up the truth with boasting and lying.

¹⁵For jealousy and selfishness are not God’s kind of wisdom. Such things are earthly, unspiritual, and demonic.

¹⁶For wherever there is jealousy and selfish ambition, there you will find disorder and evil of every kind.

¹⁷But the wisdom from above is first of all pure. It is also peace loving, gentle at all times, and willing to yield to others. It is full of mercy and the fruit of good deeds. It shows no favoritism and is always sincere.

¹⁸And those who are peacemakers will plant seeds of peace and reap a harvest of righteousness.

¹“People know where to mine silver and how to refine gold.

²They know where to dig iron from the earth and how to smelt copper from rock.

³They know how to shine light in the darkness and explore the farthest regions of the earth as they search in the dark for ore.

⁴They sink a mine shaft into the earth far from where anyone lives. They descend on ropes, swinging back and forth.

⁵Food is grown on the earth above, but down below, the earth is melted as by fire.

⁶Here the rocks contain precious lapis lazuli, and the dust contains gold.

⁷These are treasures no bird of prey can see, no falcon’s eye observe.

⁸No wild animal has walked upon these treasures; no lion has ever set his paw there.

⁹People know how to tear apart flinty rocks and overturn the roots of mountains.

¹⁰They cut tunnels in the rocks and uncover precious stones.

¹¹They dam up the trickling streams and bring to light the hidden treasures.

¹²“But do people know where to find wisdom? Where can they find understanding?

¹³No one knows where to find it, for it is not found among the living.

¹⁴‘It is not here,’ says the ocean. ‘Nor is it here,’ says the sea.

¹⁵It cannot be bought with gold. It cannot be purchased with silver.

¹⁶It’s worth more than all the gold of Ophir, greater than precious onyx or lapis lazuli.

¹⁷Wisdom is more valuable than gold and crystal. It cannot be purchased with jewels mounted in fine gold.

¹⁸Coral and jasper are worthless in trying to get it. The price of wisdom is far above rubies.

¹⁹Precious peridot from Ethiopia cannot be exchanged for it. It’s worth more than the purest gold.

²⁰“But do people know where to find wisdom? Where can they find understanding?

²¹It is hidden from the eyes of all humanity. Even the sharp-eyed birds in the sky cannot discover it.

²²Destruction and Death say, ‘We’ve heard only rumors of where wisdom can be found.’

²³“God alone understands the way to wisdom; he knows where it can be found,

²⁴for he looks throughout the whole earth and sees everything under the heavens.

²⁵He decided how hard the winds should blow and how much rain should fall.

²⁶He made the laws for the rain and laid out a path for the lightning.

²⁷Then he saw wisdom and evaluated it. He set it in place and examined it thoroughly.

²⁸And this is what he says to all humanity: ‘The fear of the Lord is true wisdom; to forsake evil is real understanding.’”

¹Lord, through all the generations you have been our home!

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

³You turn people back to dust, saying, “Return to dust, you mortals!”

⁴For you, a thousand years are as a passing day, as brief as a few night hours.

⁵You sweep people away like dreams that disappear. They are like grass that springs up in the morning.

⁶In the morning it blooms and flourishes, but by evening it is dry and withered.

⁷We wither beneath your anger; we are overwhelmed by your fury.

⁸You spread out our sins before you — our secret sins — and you see them all.

⁹We live our lives beneath your wrath, ending our years with a groan.

¹⁰Seventy years are given to us! Some even live to eighty. But even the best years are filled with pain and trouble; soon they disappear, and we fly away.

¹¹Who can comprehend the power of your anger? Your wrath is as awesome as the fear you deserve.

¹²Teach us to realize the brevity of life, so that we may grow in wisdom.

¹³O LORD, come back to us! How long will you delay? Take pity on your servants!

¹⁴Satisfy us each morning with your unfailing love, so we may sing for joy to the end of our lives.

¹⁵Give us gladness in proportion to our former misery! Replace the evil years with good.

¹⁶Let us, your servants, see you work again; let our children see your glory.

¹⁷And may the Lord our God show us his approval and make our efforts successful. Yes, make our efforts successful!

¹The wicked run away when no one is chasing them, but the godly are as bold as lions.

²When there is moral rot within a nation, its government topples easily. But wise and knowledgeable leaders bring stability.

³A poor person who oppresses the poor is like a pounding rain that destroys the crops.

⁴To reject the law is to praise the wicked; to obey the law is to fight them.

⁵Evil people don’t understand justice, but those who follow the LORD understand completely.

⁶Better to be poor and honest than to be dishonest and rich.

⁷Young people who obey the law are wise; those with wild friends bring shame to their parents.

⁸Income from charging high interest rates will end up in the pocket of someone who is kind to the poor.

⁹God detests the prayers of a person who ignores the law.

¹⁰Those who lead good people along an evil path will fall into their own trap, but the honest will inherit good things.

¹¹Rich people may think they are wise, but a poor person with discernment can see right through them.

¹²When the godly succeed, everyone is glad. When the wicked take charge, people go into hiding.

¹³People who conceal their sins will not prosper, but if they confess and turn from them, they will receive mercy.

¹⁴Blessed are those who fear to do wrong, but the stubborn are headed for serious trouble.

¹⁵A wicked ruler is as dangerous to the poor as a roaring lion or an attacking bear.

¹⁶A ruler with no understanding will oppress his people, but one who hates corruption will have a long life.

¹⁷A murderer’s tormented conscience will drive him into the grave. Don’t protect him!

¹⁸The blameless will be rescued from harm, but the crooked will be suddenly destroyed.

¹⁹A hard worker has plenty of food, but a person who chases fantasies ends up in poverty.

²⁰The trustworthy person will get a rich reward, but a person who wants quick riches will get into trouble.

²¹Showing partiality is never good, yet some will do wrong for a mere piece of bread.

²²Greedy people try to get rich quick but don’t realize they’re headed for poverty.

²³In the end, people appreciate honest criticism far more than flattery.

²⁴Anyone who steals from his father and mother and says, “What’s wrong with that?” is no better than a murderer.

²⁵Greed causes fighting; trusting the LORD leads to prosperity.

²⁶Those who trust their own insight are foolish, but anyone who walks in wisdom is safe.

²⁷Whoever gives to the poor will lack nothing, but those who close their eyes to poverty will be cursed.

²⁸When the wicked take charge, people go into hiding. When the wicked meet disaster, the godly flourish.

¹Some time after this, King Nahash of the Ammonites died, and his son Hanun became king.

²David said, “I am going to show loyalty to Hanun just as his father, Nahash, was always loyal to me.” So David sent ambassadors to express sympathy to Hanun about his father’s death. But when David’s ambassadors arrived in the land of Ammon,

³the Ammonite commanders said to Hanun, their master, “Do you really think these men are coming here to honor your father? No! David has sent them to spy out the city so they can come in and conquer it!”

⁴So Hanun seized David’s ambassadors and shaved off half of each man’s beard, cut off their robes at the buttocks, and sent them back to David in shame.

⁵When David heard what had happened, he sent messengers to tell the men, “Stay at Jericho until your beards grow out, and then come back.” For they felt deep shame because of their appearance.

⁶When the people of Ammon realized how seriously they had angered David, they sent and hired 20,000 Aramean foot soldiers from the lands of Beth-rehob and Zobah, 1,000 from the king of Maacah, and 12,000 from the land of Tob.

⁷When David heard about this, he sent Joab and all his warriors to fight them.

⁸The Ammonite troops came out and drew up their battle lines at the entrance of the city gate, while the Arameans from Zobah and Rehob and the men from Tob and Maacah positioned themselves to fight in the open fields.

⁹When Joab saw that he would have to fight on both the front and the rear, he chose some of Israel’s elite troops and placed them under his personal command to fight the Arameans in the fields.

¹⁰He left the rest of the army under the command of his brother Abishai, who was to attack the Ammonites.

¹¹“If the Arameans are too strong for me, then come over and help me,” Joab told his brother. “And if the Ammonites are too strong for you, I will come and help you.

¹²Be courageous! Let us fight bravely for our people and the cities of our God. May the LORD’s will be done.”

¹³When Joab and his troops attacked, the Arameans began to run away.

¹⁴And when the Ammonites saw the Arameans running, they ran from Abishai and retreated into the city. After the battle was over, Joab returned to Jerusalem.

¹⁵The Arameans now realized that they were no match for Israel. So when they regrouped,

¹⁶they were joined by additional Aramean troops summoned by Hadadezer from the other side of the Euphrates River. These troops arrived at Helam under the command of Shobach, the commander of Hadadezer’s forces.

¹⁷When David heard what was happening, he mobilized all Israel, crossed the Jordan River, and led the army to Helam. The Arameans positioned themselves in battle formation and fought against David.

¹⁸But again the Arameans fled from the Israelites. This time David’s forces killed 700 charioteers and 40,000 foot soldiers, including Shobach, the commander of their army.

¹⁹When all the kings allied with Hadadezer saw that they had been defeated by Israel, they surrendered to Israel and became their subjects. After that, the Arameans were afraid to help the Ammonites.

¹After King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon exiled Jehoiachin son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, to Babylon along with the officials of Judah and all the craftsmen and artisans, the LORD gave me this vision. I saw two baskets of figs placed in front of the LORD’s Temple in Jerusalem.

²One basket was filled with fresh, ripe figs, while the other was filled with bad figs that were too rotten to eat.

³Then the LORD said to me, “What do you see, Jeremiah?” I replied, “Figs, some very good and some very bad, too rotten to eat.”

⁴Then the LORD gave me this message:

⁵“This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: The good figs represent the exiles I sent from Judah to the land of the Babylonians.

⁶I will watch over and care for them, and I will bring them back here again. I will build them up and not tear them down. I will plant them and not uproot them.

⁷I will give them hearts that recognize me as the LORD. They will be my people, and I will be their God, for they will return to me wholeheartedly.

⁸“But the bad figs,” the LORD said, “represent King Zedekiah of Judah, his officials, all the people left in Jerusalem, and those who live in Egypt. I will treat them like bad figs, too rotten to eat.

⁹I will make them an object of horror and a symbol of evil to every nation on earth. They will be disgraced and mocked, taunted and cursed, wherever I scatter them.

¹⁰And I will send war, famine, and disease until they have vanished from the land of Israel, which I gave to them and their ancestors.”

¹But as the believers rapidly multiplied, there were rumblings of discontent. The Greek-speaking believers complained about the Hebrew-speaking believers, saying that their widows were being discriminated against in the daily distribution of food.

²So the Twelve called a meeting of all the believers. They said, “We apostles should spend our time teaching the word of God, not running a food program.

³And so, brothers, select seven men who are well respected and are full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will give them this responsibility.

⁴Then we apostles can spend our time in prayer and teaching the word.”

⁵Everyone liked this idea, and they chose the following: Stephen (a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit), Philip, Procorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas of Antioch (an earlier convert to the Jewish faith).

⁶These seven were presented to the apostles, who prayed for them as they laid their hands on them.

⁷So God’s message continued to spread. The number of believers greatly increased in Jerusalem, and many of the Jewish priests were converted, too.

⁸Stephen, a man full of God’s grace and power, performed amazing miracles and signs among the people.

⁹But one day some men from the Synagogue of Freed Slaves, as it was called, started to debate with him. They were Jews from Cyrene, Alexandria, Cilicia, and the province of Asia.

¹⁰None of them could stand against the wisdom and the Spirit with which Stephen spoke.

¹¹So they persuaded some men to lie about Stephen, saying, “We heard him blaspheme Moses, and even God.”

¹²This roused the people, the elders, and the teachers of religious law. So they arrested Stephen and brought him before the high council.

¹³The lying witnesses said, “This man is always speaking against the holy Temple and against the law of Moses.

¹⁴We have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy the Temple and change the customs Moses handed down to us.”

¹⁵At this point everyone in the high council stared at Stephen, because his face became as bright as an angel’s.