M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Hezekiah’s Illness and Recovery
20 In those days(A) Hezekiah became terminally ill.(B) The prophet Isaiah(C) son of Amoz came and said to him, “This is what the Lord says: ‘Put your affairs in order,[a] for you are about to die; you will not recover.’”(D)
2 Then Hezekiah turned his face to the wall(E) and prayed to the Lord, 3 “Please Lord, remember(F) how I have walked before You faithfully and wholeheartedly and have done what pleases You.”[b](G) And Hezekiah wept bitterly.(H)
4 Isaiah had not yet gone out of the inner courtyard when the word of the Lord came to him: 5 “Go back and tell Hezekiah, the leader(I) of My people, ‘This is what the Lord God of your ancestor David says: I have heard your prayer;(J) I have seen your tears. Look, I will heal you. On the third day from now you will go up to the Lord’s temple. 6 I will add 15 years to your life. I will deliver you and this city from the hand of the king of Assyria. I will defend this city for My sake and for the sake of My servant David.’”(K)
7 Then Isaiah said, “Bring a lump of pressed figs.” So they brought it and applied it to his infected skin, and he recovered.(L)
8 Hezekiah had asked Isaiah, “What is the sign(M) that the Lord will heal me and that I will go up to the Lord’s temple on the third day?”
9 Isaiah said, “This is the sign(N) to you from the Lord that He will do what He has promised: Should the shadow go ahead 10 steps or go back 10 steps?”
10 Then Hezekiah answered, “It’s easy for the shadow to lengthen 10 steps. No, let the shadow go back 10 steps.” 11 So Isaiah the prophet called out to the Lord, and He brought the shadow[c] back the 10 steps it had descended on Ahaz’s stairway.[d](O)
Hezekiah’s Folly
12 At that time(P) Merodach-baladan[e] son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent letters and a gift to Hezekiah since he heard that he had been sick. 13 Hezekiah gave them a hearing and showed them his whole treasure house—the silver, the gold, the spices, and the precious oil—and his armory, and everything that was found in his treasuries. There was nothing in his palace and in all his realm that Hezekiah did not show them.(Q)
14 Then the prophet Isaiah came to King Hezekiah and asked him, “Where did these men come from and what did they say to you?”
Hezekiah replied, “They came from a distant country, from Babylon.”
15 Isaiah asked, “What have they seen in your palace?”
Hezekiah answered, “They have seen everything in my palace. There isn’t anything in my treasuries that I didn’t show them.”
16 Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, “Hear the word of the Lord: 17 ‘The time will certainly come when everything in your palace and all that your fathers have stored up until this day will be carried off to Babylon; nothing will be left,’(R) says the Lord. 18 ‘Some of your descendants who come from you will be taken away,(S) and they will become eunuchs[f] in the palace of the king of Babylon.’”(T)
19 Then Hezekiah said to Isaiah, “The word of the Lord that you have spoken is good,”(U) for he thought: Why not, if there will be peace and security during my lifetime?
Hezekiah’s Death
20 The rest of the events of Hezekiah’s reign, along with all his might and how he made the pool(V) and the tunnel and brought water into the city,(W) are written in the Historical Record of Judah’s Kings.(X) 21 Hezekiah rested with his fathers, and his son Manasseh became king in his place.(Y)
Warning against Neglect
2 We must, therefore, pay even more attention to what we have heard, so that we will not drift away. 2 For if the message spoken through angels was legally binding[a](A) and every transgression and disobedience received a just punishment,(B) 3 how will we escape if we neglect such a great salvation? It was first spoken by the Lord and was confirmed to us by those who heard Him.(C) 4 At the same time, God also testified by signs and wonders, various miracles, and distributions of gifts from the Holy Spirit according to His will.(D)
Jesus and Humanity
5 For He has not subjected to angels the world to come that we are talking about. 6 But one has somewhere testified:
What is man that You remember him,
or the son of man that You care for him?
7 You made him lower than the angels
for a short time;
You crowned him with glory and honor[b]
8 and subjected everything under his feet.[c]
For in subjecting everything to him, He left nothing that is not subject to him. As it is, we do not yet see everything subjected to him.(E) 9 But we do see Jesus—made lower than the angels for a short time so that by God’s grace He might taste death for everyone—crowned with glory and honor(F) because of His suffering in death.(G)
10 For in bringing many sons to glory, it was entirely appropriate that God—all things exist for Him and through Him—should make the source[d] of their salvation perfect through sufferings.(H) 11 For the One who sanctifies and those who are sanctified all have one Father.[e] That is why Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers,(I) 12 saying:
13 Again, I will trust in Him.[g] And again, Here I am with the children God gave Me.(K)[h]
14 Now since the children have flesh and blood in common, Jesus also shared in these, so that through His death He might destroy the one holding the power of death—that is, the Devil(L)— 15 and free those who were held in slavery all their lives by the fear of death.(M) 16 For it is clear that He does not reach out to help angels, but to help Abraham’s offspring. 17 Therefore, He had to be like His brothers in every way, so that He could become a merciful and faithful high priest in service[i] to God, to make propitiation(N) for the sins of the people.(O) 18 For since He Himself was tested and has suffered, He is able to help those who are tested.
13 When Ephraim spoke,(A) there was trembling;
he was exalted in Israel.(B)
But he incurred guilt through Baal(C) and died.
2 Now they continue to sin
and make themselves a cast image,(D)
idols skillfully made from their silver,(E)
all of them the work of craftsmen.(F)
People say about them,
“Let the men who sacrifice[a] kiss the calves.”(G)
3 Therefore, they will be like the morning mist,(H)
like the early dew that vanishes,
like chaff blown from a threshing floor,(I)
or like smoke from a window.(J)
Death and Resurrection
4 I have been Yahweh your God(K)
ever since[b] the land of Egypt;
you know no God but Me,(L)
and no Savior exists besides Me.(M)
5 I knew[c] you in the wilderness,(N)
in the land of drought.
6 When they had pasture,
they became satisfied;(O)
they were satisfied,
and their hearts became proud.(P)
Therefore they forgot Me.(Q)
7 So I will be like a lion(R) to them;
I will lurk like a leopard(S) on the path.
8 I will attack them
like a bear robbed of her cubs
and tear open the rib cage over their hearts.
I will devour them there like a lioness,(T)
like a wild beast that would rip them open.
9 I will destroy you, Israel;
you have no help but Me.[d](U)
10 Where now is your king,[e](V)
that he may save you in all your cities,
and the[f] rulers[g](W) you demanded, saying,
“Give me a king and leaders”?
11 I give you a king in My anger(X)
and take away a king in My wrath.(Y)
12 Ephraim’s guilt is preserved;
his sin is stored up.(Z)
13 Labor pains come on him.(AA)
He is not a wise son;(AB)
when the time comes,
he will not be born.[h](AC)
14 I will ransom them from the power of Sheol.
I will redeem[i] them from death.(AD)
Death, where are your barbs?
Sheol, where is your sting?(AE)
Compassion is hidden from My eyes.(AF)
The Coming Judgment
Psalm 137
Lament of the Exiles
1 By the rivers of Babylon—
there we sat down and wept
when we remembered Zion.(A)
2 There we hung up our lyres
on the poplar trees,(B)
3 for our captors there asked us for songs,
and our tormentors, for rejoicing:
“Sing us one of the songs of Zion.”(C)
4 How can we sing the Lord’s song
on foreign soil?(D)
5 If I forget you, Jerusalem,
may my right hand forget its skill.(E)
6 May my tongue stick to the roof of my mouth
if I do not remember you,
if I do not exalt Jerusalem as my greatest joy!(F)
7 Remember, Lord, what the Edomites said
that day[a] at Jerusalem:
“Destroy it! Destroy it
down to its foundations!”(G)
8 Daughter Babylon, doomed to destruction,
happy is the one who pays you back
what you have done to us.(H)
9 Happy is he who takes your little ones
and dashes them against the rocks.(I)
Psalm 138
A Thankful Heart
Davidic.
1 I will give You thanks with all my heart;(J)
I will sing Your praise before the heavenly beings.[b](K)
2 I will bow down toward Your holy temple
and give thanks to Your name
for Your constant love and truth.
You have exalted Your name
and Your promise above everything else.(L)
3 On the day I called, You answered me;
You increased strength within me.[c](M)
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