M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
The King of Assyria Threatens Jerusalem
32 After these events and this faithfulness, Sennacherib king of Assyria came into Judah and laid siege to the fortified cities. He intended to capture them for himself.
2 When Hezekiah saw that Sennacherib had come and was ready to wage war against Jerusalem, 3 he made plans with his officials and soldiers to block the water supply from the springs outside the city. They helped him 4 by gathering a large group of people, who stopped all the springs and the water channel that flowed through the middle of the land.[a] They said, “Why should the kings of Assyria come and find abundant water?”
5 Hezekiah strengthened his position. He rebuilt the whole part of the wall that had been broken down. He made the towers taller. He made a second wall outside the first wall. He strengthened the Millo[b] of the City of David. He made many weapons and shields. 6 He set military officers over the people. He brought them together with him in the square at the city gate. He spoke to encourage them: 7 “Be strong. Be courageous. Do not be afraid. Do not be terrified because of the presence of the king of Assyria and the horde that is with him, because the one with us is greater than all those who are with him. 8 With him is only an arm of flesh. With us is the Lord our God to help us and to fight our battles.” The people were encouraged by the words of Hezekiah king of Judah.
9 After this, while Sennacherib king of Assyria was attacking Lachish with his powerful forces, he sent his officials to Jerusalem, to Hezekiah king of Judah and to all the people of Judah who were in Jerusalem.
10 Sennacherib’s officials proclaimed:
This is what Sennacherib king of Assyria says. What are you relying on as you sit there under siege in Jerusalem? 11 Isn’t Hezekiah misleading you? He is handing you over to die by famine and by thirst, when he says, “The Lord our God will deliver us from the hand of the king of Assyria.”
12 Hasn’t this same Hezekiah taken away the Lord’s high places and altars and commanded Judah and Jerusalem: “You are to worship in front of one altar, and you are to send up sacrifices only from it”?
13 Don’t you know what I and my fathers have done to all the people of the other lands? Were the gods of those foreign nations ever able to deliver their land from my hand? 14 Who among all the gods of those nations that my fathers devoted to destruction was able to deliver his people from my hand? So, will your God be able to deliver you from my hand?
15 Now don’t let Hezekiah deceive you and mislead you like this. Do not believe him, for no god of any nation or kingdom has been able to deliver his people from my hand or from the hand of my father. How much less will your God! He will not deliver you from my hand.
16 These officials had even more to say against the Lord God and against his servant Hezekiah. 17 The king of Assyria wrote letters to heap scorn on the Lord, the God of Israel, and to speak against him by saying, “Like the gods of those foreign nations, which have not delivered their people from my hands, the god of Hezekiah will not deliver his people from my hand.”
18 They shouted loudly in the language of Judah to the people of Jerusalem who were on the wall, in order to frighten them and terrify them so that they could take the city. 19 They spoke about the God of Jerusalem in the same way that they spoke about the gods of the peoples of the earth, the work of human hands.
The Lord Saves Jerusalem
20 Hezekiah the king and Isaiah son of Amoz, the prophet, prayed about this, crying out to heaven.
21 So the Lord sent an angel, who wiped out all the powerful warriors, the commanders, and the officers in the camp of the king of Assyria, and he returned to his land in disgrace. There he went into the house of his god, and some of his offspring from his own body struck him down with the sword.
22 So the Lord saved Hezekiah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem from the hand of Sennacherib king of Assyria and from the hand of everyone else. He gave them rest on all sides.
23 Many people kept bringing gifts for the Lord to Jerusalem and precious things to Hezekiah king of Judah. He was exalted in the eyes of all the nations after this.
The Lord Humbles Hezekiah
24 In those days Hezekiah became sick and was dying. He prayed to the Lord, and the Lord answered him and gave him a sign. 25 But Hezekiah did not respond to the benefit granted to him, because his heart was proud. So there was wrath against him and against Judah and Jerusalem.
26 But Hezekiah humbled himself for the pride of his heart, both he and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. So the wrath of the Lord did not come upon them during the days of Hezekiah.
Hezekiah’s Wealth
27 Hezekiah had very great wealth and honor. He made treasuries for his silver, gold, precious stones, spices and incense, shields, and all kinds of expensive items.
28 He made storehouses for the harvest of grain, new wine, and olive oil, as well as stalls for all kinds of cattle and pens for flocks of sheep and goats. 29 He built cities for himself and amassed flocks of sheep and very many cattle, for God had given him very much property and many possessions.
30 This Hezekiah was the one who closed the upper outlet of the Gihon Spring. He directed the water down to the west side of the City of David. Hezekiah was successful in everything he did.
31 When the envoys from the officials of Babylon were sent to him to inquire about the sign that had occurred in the land, God left him to test him and to know everything that was in his heart.
Hezekiah’s Death
32 You can find the rest of the acts of Hezekiah and his faithfulness written in the vision of Isaiah son of Amoz, the prophet, in the Book of the Kings of Judah and Israel.
33 Hezekiah rested with his fathers and was buried in the upper part of[c] the tombs of the sons of David. All Judah and the residents of Jerusalem honored him at his death. Then his son Manasseh became king in his place.
Babylon Has Fallen
18 After these things I saw another angel coming down out of heaven. He had great authority, and the earth was given light by his glory. 2 He called out with a loud voice, saying:
Fallen, fallen, is Babylon the Great.
She has become a dwelling place for demons,
and a prison for every unclean spirit,
and a prison for every unclean bird,[a]
and a prison for every unclean and hated beast.
3 For all the nations have drunk from[b] the wine of her adulterous desire,
and the kings of the earth committed adultery with her,
and the merchants of the earth became rich from the abundance of her luxury.
4 And I heard another voice from heaven say:
Come out of her, my people,
so that you will not share in her sins,
and so that you will not receive any of her plagues,
5 because her sins have reached heaven
and God has remembered her crimes.
6 Pay her back even as she has paid.
Pay her back double for what she has done.
In the cup that she mixed, mix her a double portion.
7 As much glory and luxury as she gave herself,
give that much torture and grief to her,
because in her heart she says:
I sit as a queen,
I am not a widow, and
I will never mourn.
8 For this reason her plagues will come on a single day:
death, mourning, and famine,
and she will be burned in fire,
because the Lord God, who judges her, is powerful.
Some Mourn Babylon’s Destruction
9 “The kings of the earth who committed adultery and lived in luxury with her will weep and mourn for her when they see the smoke from her burning. 10 They will stand far away because of terror at her torment and say:
Woe, woe, the great city,
Babylon, the strong city!
For your judgment came in a single hour.
11 “The merchants of the earth also weep and mourn over her, because no one buys their cargo anymore, 12 a cargo of gold, silver, precious stones, pearls, fine linen, purple cloth, silk, scarlet fabric, every kind of aromatic wood and ivory article, and every article made of precious wood, brass, iron, and marble; 13 also cinnamon, spice, incense, myrrh, frankincense, wine, olive oil, high quality flour, grain, cattle, sheep, horses, and carriages, as well as bodies and souls of people.
14 “The fruit your soul desired has left you. All your costly and splendid things have passed away from you. No one will ever find them again.
15 “The merchants who sold those things and were made rich by Babylon will stand far away out of terror at her torment. They are going to weep and mourn, 16 saying:
Woe, woe to the great city that was clothed in fine linen
and purple and scarlet,
adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls,
17 because such great wealth was made a wasteland in a single hour.
“Every ship captain and all the ocean travelers and the sailors and those who make their living on the sea stood far away 18 and cried out when they saw the smoke rise from her burning. They said, ‘Who is like the great city?’ 19 They threw dust on their heads and cried out as they wept and mourned, saying:
Woe, woe to the great city
by whom all who have ships on the sea were made rich from her treasures,
because she was made a wasteland in a single hour.
20 Rejoice over her, heaven,
also you saints, apostles, and prophets,
because God has judged her for the judgment you received from her.”
21 A mighty angel picked up a stone like a large millstone and, as he threw it into the sea, he said:
This is the way Babylon, the great city,
will be overthrown with violence and
will never again be found.
22 The sound of harpists and musicians, flutists and trumpeters,
will never be heard in you again.
No craftsman of any trade
will ever be found in you again.
The sound of a millstone
will never be heard in you again.
23 The light of a lamp
will never shine in you again.
The voice of bridegroom and bride
will never be heard in you again,
because your merchants were the great ones of the earth,
because your witchcraft led all the nations astray,
24 and the blood of prophets and saints was found in this city,[c]
along with the blood of all those who were slain on the earth.
Jerusalem Will Be Plundered
14 Listen! A day is coming for the Lord, when the plunder taken from you will be divided in your presence.
2 I will gather all the nations to battle against Jerusalem, and the city will be taken, the houses plundered, and the women raped. Half of the city will go into exile, but the rest of the people will not be cut off from the city.
The Lord Will Be King Over All the Earth
3 Then the Lord will go out and fight against those nations, as he fights on a day of battle. 4 On that day his feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, which faces Jerusalem on the east. The Mount of Olives will be split in two, from east to west, making a very large valley. Half of the mountain will move toward the north, and the other half toward the south. 5 You will flee through my mountain valley, because the mountain valley will reach to Azal. Yes, you will flee, just as you fled from the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah. Then the Lord my God will come, and all the holy ones will come with him.[a]
6 On that day there will be no light. The light sources will freeze over.[b] 7 It will be a unique day—known to the Lord—neither day nor night. But at evening time there will be light.
8 On that day living water will flow out from Jerusalem, half of it toward the eastern sea[c] and half of it toward the western sea.[d] It will continue to flow in summer and in winter.
9 The Lord will be King over all the earth. On that day the Lord will be the one, and his name will be the one.
10 The whole land will be changed into a plain, from Geba to Rimmon, south of Jerusalem. Jerusalem will be elevated and remain in her place, from the Benjamin Gate to the place of the First Gate, to the Corner Gate, and from the Tower of Hananel to the royal winepresses. 11 It will be inhabited, and it will no longer be devoted to destruction. Jerusalem will dwell in security.
12 This will be the plague with which the Lord will strike all the peoples who have waged war against Jerusalem: Their flesh will rot while they are standing on their feet, and their eyes will rot in their sockets, and their tongues will rot in their mouths. 13 On that day there will be a great panic from the Lord among them. They will seize each other by the hand, and the hand of each one will be raised up against his neighbor. 14 Even Judah will fight against[e] Jerusalem, and the wealth of all the surrounding nations will be collected: gold, silver, and clothing in great abundance. 15 In the same way a plague will afflict the horses, the mules, the camels, the donkeys, and all the animals that will be in those camps.
16 Then every survivor who is left from all the nations that went up against Jerusalem will go up year after year to worship the King, the Lord of Armies, and to celebrate the Festival of Shelters. 17 But if any of the families of the earth do not go up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the Lord of Armies, no rain will fall on them. 18 If the family of clans from Egypt will not go up and enter in, they will be struck by the plague that the Lord used to strike the nations who do not go up to celebrate the Festival of Shelters. 19 This will be the punishment for Egypt as well as the punishment for all the nations that will not go up to celebrate the Festival of Shelters.
20 In that day this will be inscribed on the bells of the horses: “Holy to the Lord.” The cooking pots in the Lord’s house will be like the sprinkling bowls in front of the altar. 21 Every pot in Jerusalem and in Judah will be holy to the Lord of Armies, and all who sacrifice will come and take some of them and cook in them. In that day there will no longer be a Canaanite[f] in the house of the Lord of Armies.
Jesus’ High Priestly Prayer
17 After Jesus had spoken these things, he looked up to heaven and said, “Father, the time has come. Glorify your Son so that your Son may glorify you. 2 For you gave him authority over all flesh, so that he may give eternal life to all those you have given him. 3 This is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you sent. 4 I have glorified you on earth by finishing the work you gave me to do. 5 Now, Father, glorify me at your own side with the glory I had at your side before the world existed.
Jesus’ High Priestly Prayer
6 “I revealed your name to the men you gave me out of the world. They were yours; you gave them to me, and they have held on to your word. 7 Now they know that everything you have given me comes from you. 8 For I gave them the words you gave me, and they received them. They learned the truth that I came from you. They believed that you sent me.
9 “I pray for them. I am not praying for the world, but for those you have given me, because they are yours. 10 All that is mine is yours, and what is yours is mine. And I am glorified in them. 11 I am no longer going to be in the world, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them by your name, which you gave me, so that they may be one as we are one. 12 While I was with them, I kept those you gave me safe in your name.[a] I protected them and not one of them was destroyed, except the son of destruction, so that the Scripture might be fulfilled.
13 “But now I am coming to you, and I am saying these things in the world, so that they may be filled with my joy. 14 I have given them your word. The world hated them, because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. 15 I am not asking that you take them out of the world, but that you protect them from the Evil One. 16 They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.
17 “Sanctify them by the truth. Your word is truth. 18 As you sent me into the world, I also sent them into the world. 19 I sanctify myself for them, so they also may be sanctified by the truth.
Jesus’ High Priestly Prayer
20 “I am praying not only for them, but also for those who believe in me through their message. 21 May they all be one, as you, Father, are in me and I am in you. May they also be one[b] in us, so that the world may believe that you sent me. 22 I have given them the glory you gave me, so that they may be one, as we are one: 23 I in them, and you in me. May they become completely one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me.
24 “Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am so that they may see my glory—the glory you gave me because you loved me before the world’s foundation. 25 Righteous Father, the world did not know you, but I knew you, and these men knew that you sent me. 26 I made your name known to them and will continue to make it known, so that the love you have for me may be in them and that I may be in them.”
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.