M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Jotham King of Judah
27 Jotham was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he ruled in Jerusalem for sixteen years. His mother’s name was Jerushah daughter of Zadok.
2 He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord in everything, as his father Uzziah had done, but he did not go into the temple of the Lord as Uzziah had done. The people, however, still followed corrupt practices.
3 He built the upper gate of the House of the Lord. He also carried out extensive construction work on the wall of Ophel. 4 He also built cities in the hill country of Judah. On the wooded hills he built forts and towers.
5 He waged war against the king of the Ammonites and defeated them. That year the Ammonites gave him one hundred talents of silver, sixty thousand bushels[a] of wheat, and sixty thousand bushels of barley. The Ammonites paid him this amount also in the second and third years.
6 Jotham became powerful because he aligned his ways with the ways of the Lord his God.
7 You can find the rest of the acts of Jotham and all his wars and his ways written in the Book of the Kings of Israel and Judah.
8 He was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he ruled in Jerusalem for sixteen years.
9 Jotham rested with his fathers and was buried in the City of David. His son Ahaz ruled as king in his place.
Ahaz of Judah
28 Ahaz was twenty years old when he became king, and he ruled in Jerusalem for sixteen years. He did not do what was right in the eyes of the Lord as his father David had done. 2 Instead, he walked in the ways of the kings of Israel. He even made cast images for the Baals 3 and sent up sacrifices in smoke in the Valley of the Son of Hinnom. He burned his sons in the fire, in keeping with the disgusting practices of the nations whom the Lord had driven out before the people of Israel. 4 He also sacrificed and burned incense on the high places, on the hills, and under every leafy tree.
5 So the Lord his God gave him into the hand of the king of Aram. The Arameans defeated him and captured a great number of prisoners, who were taken to Damascus. Ahaz was also given into the hand of the king of Israel, who dealt him a heavy blow.
6 In one day, Pekah son of Remaliah killed one hundred twenty thousand men in Judah, all of them strong warriors, because they had forsaken the Lord, the God of their fathers. 7 Zikri, a strong warrior from Ephraim, killed the king’s son Ma’aseiah, as well as Azrikam chief officer of the palace, and Elkanah second in command to the king.
8 The men from Israel took two hundred thousand of their fellow Israelites captive, including wives, sons, and daughters. They also seized a large amount of plunder from them and took it to Samaria.
9 There was a prophet of the Lord there, whose name was Oded. He went out to meet the army that came to Samaria and said to them, “Look! Because the Lord, the God of your fathers, was angry against Judah, he gave them into your hand. You have killed them in a rage that reaches up to heaven. 10 Now you intend to subjugate the people of Judah and Jerusalem as male and female slaves for yourselves. Do you not have enough guilt of your own against the Lord your God? 11 Now hear me. Send back the captives whom you have taken from your brothers, because the fierce anger of the Lord is upon you.”
12 Some of the leaders of Ephraim, Azariah son of Johanan, Berekiah son of Meshillemoth, Jehizkiah son of Shallum, and Amasa son of Hadlai, took a stand against those returning from the battle. 13 They said to them, “You must not bring the captives here, because it would make us guilty before the Lord. You are proposing to increase our sins and our guilt, because great guilt rests upon us and fierce anger burns against Israel.”
14 So the armed men left the captives and the plunder in front of the officials and the whole assembly. 15 The men who had been designated by name got up and took custody of the captives. From the spoils they provided clothing for all those who were naked. They clothed them and provided them with sandals, with food and drink, and with salve for their wounds. They transported all those who were weak on donkeys. They brought them to Jericho, the City of Palms, to their fellow Israelites. Then they returned to Samaria.
16 At that time King Ahaz sent a request for help to the kings of Assyria. 17 Once again the Edomites came and defeated Judah and carried away captives.
18 The Philistines also made raids on the cities in the Shephelah and the Negev of Judah. They captured Beth Shemesh, Aijalon, Gederoth, Soko with its villages, Timnah with its villages, and Gimzo with its villages, and they settled there.
19 The Lord brought Judah low, because Ahaz king of Israel[b] had led Judah to throw off all restraint. He had been very unfaithful to the Lord.
20 When Tiglath Pileser[c] king of Assyria came, he marched against Ahaz and oppressed him instead of strengthening him. 21 Ahaz took some things from the House of the Lord, from the palace of the king, and from the officials, and he gave them to the king of Assyria, but it did not help him.
22 In the time of his distress King Ahaz became even more unfaithful to the Lord. That was the way he was. 23 He sacrificed to the gods of Damascus that had defeated him. He said, “Because the gods of the kings of Aram helped them, I will sacrifice to them so that they may help me.” But they were his ruin and the ruin of all Israel.
24 Ahaz gathered the articles from the House of God and cut all these things from the House of God to pieces. He shut the doors of the House of the Lord and made altars for himself in every corner of Jerusalem. 25 In each and every city throughout Judah, he made high places to burn incense to other gods. He provoked the Lord, the God of his fathers, to anger.
26 As for the rest of his acts and all his ways, from first to last, you can find them written in the Book of the Kings of Judah and Israel.
27 Ahaz rested with his fathers and was buried in the city of Jerusalem. They did not bury him in the tombs of the kings of Israel. His son Hezekiah ruled as king in his place.
The Lamb and the 144,000
14 Then I looked, and there was the Lamb standing on Mount Zion, and with him 144,000 who had his name and the name of his Father written on their foreheads. 2 And I heard a sound from heaven like the roar of many waters and like the sound of a loud thunderclap. The sound that I heard was also like the sound of harpists playing their harps. 3 They were singing[a] a new song in front of the throne and the four living creatures and the elders. No one was able to learn that song except the 144,000, who had been purchased from the earth. 4 These are the ones who were not defiled with women, because they are virgins. They continually follow the Lamb wherever he goes. They were purchased from among mankind as firstfruits for God and the Lamb. 5 And no lie was found in their mouths. They are blameless.[b]
The Three Angels
6 Then I saw another angel flying in the middle of the sky. He had the everlasting gospel to proclaim to those who live on the earth, to every nation, tribe, language, and people. 7 He said with a loud voice:
Fear God and give him glory,
because the hour of his judgment has come.
Worship him who made the sky, the earth, the sea, and the springs of water.
8 Another angel, a second,[c] followed. He said, “Fallen, fallen is Babylon the Great,[d] who made every nation drink from the wine of her adulterous desire.”
9 Another angel, a third one, followed them. He said with a loud voice, “If anyone worships the beast and his image and receives a mark on his forehead or on his hand, 10 he will also drink from the wine of God’s wrath, which has been poured undiluted[e] into the cup of his anger, and he will be tormented with burning sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and the Lamb. 11 And the smoke of their torment is going to rise forever and ever. Those who worship the beast and his image, and anyone who receives the mark of his name, are going to have no rest day and night.”
12 Here patient endurance is needed by the saints, who hold on to the commands of God and their faith in Jesus. 13 And I heard a voice from heaven say,[f] “Write: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.”
“Yes,” says the Spirit, “because they will rest from their labors, for their works follow them.”
The Harvest
14 Then I looked, and there was a white cloud, and seated on the cloud was one like a son of man. He had a gold crown on his head and a sharp sickle in his hand. 15 Another angel came out of the temple and cried with a loud voice to the one sitting on the cloud, “Swing your sickle and begin reaping, for the time to reap has come, because the harvest of the earth is very ripe.” 16 And the one sitting on the cloud swung his sickle over the earth, and the earth was harvested.
17 Another angel, who also had a sharp sickle, came out of the temple, which is in heaven. 18 And another angel, who was in charge of the fire, came from the altar and cried with a loud voice to the one who had the sharp sickle, “Swing your sharp sickle and harvest the grape clusters from the earth’s vine, because its grapes are ripe.” 19 Then the angel swung his sickle over the earth, and he harvested the earth’s vine and threw it into the great winepress of God’s wrath. 20 The winepress was trampled outside the city, and blood flowed from the winepress, as high as the horses’ bridles for a distance of 1,600 stadia.[g]
The Lord Will Provide
10 Ask the Lord, who makes storm clouds,
to give rain at the right time for the spring rains,
and he will provide showers of rain,
and there will be crops in the field for everyone.
2 But household gods speak wicked deception,
and the omen readers see illusions.
They report trivial dreams
and give false comfort.
That is why the people wander like sheep.
They are in trouble[a] because they have no shepherd.
The Lord’s Warning and Promise
3 My anger burns against the shepherds,
and I will punish the leaders of the flock,
because the Lord of Armies cares for his flock, the house of Judah,
and he will make them like his majestic horse in battle.
4 From him will come the cornerstone,
from him the tent peg,
from him the battle bow,
from him every commander.
5 Together they will be like strong warriors,
going out into battle, trampling the enemy into the mud of the streets.
They will fight, because the Lord is with them,
and those who ride horses will be put to shame.
6 I will strengthen the house of Judah
and save the house of Joseph.
I will restore them,
because I have compassion on them.
It will be as if I had not rejected them,
because I am the Lord their God, and I will answer them.
7 Then Ephraim will become like a strong warrior,
and their hearts will be glad as if from wine.
Their children will see it and be glad.
Their hearts will rejoice in the Lord.
8 I will whistle for them and gather them in,
for I have redeemed them.
They will be as numerous as they were in the past.
9 Though I scattered them among the peoples,
yet in distant places they will remember me.
They will survive and return with their children.
10 I will bring them back from the land of Egypt,
and I will gather them from Assyria.
I will bring them to the land of Gilead and Lebanon,
and there will not be enough room for them.
11 They[b] will pass through the sea of distress,
but the Lord will strike the waves in the sea.
All the depths of the Nile will become dry.
The pride of Assyria will be brought low.
The scepter of Egypt will depart.
12 I will make them strong in the Lord,
and they will walk in his name, declares the Lord.
No Greater Love—in Service
13 Before the Passover Festival, Jesus knew that the time had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved those who were his own in the world, he loved them to the end.[a]
2 By the time the supper took place, the Devil had already put the idea into the heart of Judas, son of Simon Iscariot, to betray Jesus.
3 Jesus knew that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going back to God. 4 He got up from the supper and laid aside his outer garment. He took a towel and tied it around his waist. 5 Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him.
6 He came to Simon Peter, who asked him, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?”
7 Jesus answered him, “You do not understand what I am doing now, but later you will understand.”
8 Peter told him, “You will never, ever, wash my feet!”
Jesus replied, “If I do not wash you, you have no part with me.”
9 “Lord, not just my feet,” Simon Peter replied, “but also my hands and my head!”
10 Jesus told him, “A person who has had a bath needs only to wash his feet, but his body is completely clean. And you[b] are clean, but not all of you.” 11 Indeed, he knew who was going to betray him. That is why he said, “Not all of you are clean.”
12 After Jesus had washed their feet and put on his outer garment, he reclined at the table again. “Do you understand what I have done for you?” he asked them. 13 “You call me Teacher and Lord. You are right, because I am. 14 Now if I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. 15 Yes, I have given you an example so that you also would do just as I have done for you. 16 Amen, Amen, I tell you: A servant is not greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. 17 If you know these things, you are blessed if you do them.
18 “I am not talking about all of you. I know those I have chosen. But this is so that the Scripture may be fulfilled: ‘One who eats bread with me has raised his heel against me.’[c] 19 I am telling you this right now before it happens, so that when it does happen, you may believe that I am he.
20 “Amen, Amen, I tell you: Whoever receives anyone I send, receives me. And whoever receives me, receives the one who sent me.”
Who Is the Betrayer?
21 After saying this, Jesus was troubled in his spirit and testified, “Amen, Amen, I tell you: One of you will betray me.”
22 The disciples were looking at each other, uncertain which of them he meant.
23 One of his disciples, the one Jesus loved, was reclining at Jesus’ side. 24 So Simon Peter motioned to him to find out which one he was talking about.
25 So leaning back against Jesus’ side, he asked, “Lord, who is it?”
26 Jesus replied, “It is the one to whom I will give this piece of bread, after I have dipped it in the dish.” Then he dipped the piece of bread and gave it to Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot. 27 As soon as Judas took the bread, Satan entered into him.
So Jesus told him, “What you are about to do, do more quickly.”
28 None of those reclining at the table understood why Jesus said this to him. 29 Because Judas kept the money box, some thought that Jesus was telling him, “Buy what we need for the Festival,” or to give something to the poor. 30 As soon as Judas had taken the bread, he went out. And it was night.
31 After Judas left, Jesus said, “Now the Son of Man is glorified, and God is glorified in him.[d] 32 If God is glorified in him,[e] God will also glorify the Son in himself and will glorify him at once.”
Jesus Warns Peter
33 “Dear children, I am going to be with you only a little longer. You will look for me, and just as I told the Jews, so I tell you now: Where I am going, you cannot come.
34 “A new commandment I give you: Love one another. Just as I have loved you, so also you are to love one another. 35 By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”
36 Simon Peter said to him, “Lord, where are you going?”
Jesus answered, “Where I am going you cannot follow now, but you will follow later.”
37 Peter asked, “Lord, why can’t I follow you now? I will lay down my life for you!”
38 Jesus replied, “Will you really lay down your life for me? Amen, Amen, I tell you: The rooster will not crow until you have denied me three times.”
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.