M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Jehoshaphat Succeeds Asa
17 Asa’s son Jehoshaphat succeeded him as king, and he consolidated his authority over Israel 2 by placing troops in all of the fortified citadels through Judah and by establishing garrisons throughout the land of Judah and in the cities that his father Asa had captured.
3 The Lord was with Jehoshaphat because he followed the example set during his ancestor David’s preliminary years by not pursuing the Baals.[a] 4 Instead, Jehoshaphat[b] sought the God of his ancestors and obeyed his commands, unlike Israel. 5 Therefore the Lord secured Jehoshaphat’s[c] kingdom under his control, with all of Judah paying him tribute, and Jehoshaphat became very wealthy and greatly respected. 6 He remained committed to following the Lord, and he removed the high places and Asherah poles from Judah.
Jehoshaphat Institutes Teaching Programs
7 During the third year of his reign, Jehoshaphat sent his officials Ben-hail, Obadiah, Zechariah, Nethanel, and Micaiah to teach throughout the cities of Judah. 8 They were accompanied by the descendants of Levi, including[d] Shemaiah, Nethaniah, Zebadiah, Asahel, Shemiramoth, Jehonathan, Adonijah, Tobijah, and Tobadonijah. These descendants of Levi were accompanied by the priests Elishama and Jehoram. 9 They taught throughout Judah from a copy of the Book of the Law of the Lord that they took with them as they passed through all the cities of Judah, teaching among all the people.
Jehoshaphat’s Military and Economic Stability
10 Because they were afraid of the Lord, none of the kingdoms of the lands that surrounded Judah dared go to war against Jehoshaphat. 11 Some of the Philistines brought gifts and silver as tribute to Jehoshaphat, and Arabians brought him flocks of 7,700 rams and 7,700 male goats. 12 As a result, Jehoshaphat grew more and more powerful, and built up fortresses and storage centers throughout Judah. 13 He placed a large amount of supplies into storage throughout the cities of Judah and stationed soldiers—all of them valiant men—in Jerusalem. 14 Here’s how they were mustered, listed according to their ancestral houses and listed by commanders of thousands: Adnah commanded 300,000 elite forces. 15 Near him was Johanan, commander of 280,000 16 and next to him was Zichri’s son Amasiah, who had volunteered to serve the Lord. He commanded 200,000 elite forces. 17 There was also Eliada from Benjamin, himself a valiant soldier. He was accompanied by 200,000 expert archers bearing shields. 18 Near him was Jehozabad, who was accompanied by 180,000 soldiers equipped for warfare. 19 These men served the king, and there were others whom the king garrisoned inside fortified cities throughout all of Judah.
The Vision of the First Seal Opened
6 Then I saw the lamb open the first of the seven seals. I heard one of the four living creatures say with a voice like thunder, “Go!” 2 Then I looked, and there was a white horse! Its rider had a bow, and a victor’s crown had been given to him. He went out as a conqueror to conquer.
The Vision of the Second Seal Opened
3 When the lamb[a] opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature say, “Go!” 4 A second horse went out. It was fiery red, and its rider was given permission to take peace away from the earth and to make people slaughter one another. So he was given a large sword.
The Vision of the Third Seal Opened
5 When the lamb[b] opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, “Go!” I looked, and there was a black horse! Its rider held a scale in his hand. 6 I heard what sounded like a voice from among the four living creatures, saying, “One day’s ration of wheat for a day’s wage, or three day’s ration of barley for a day’s wage![c] But don’t damage the olive oil or the wine!”
The Vision of the Fourth Seal Opened
7 When the lamb[d] opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature say, “Go!” 8 I looked, and there was a pale green horse! Its rider’s name was Death, and Hades[e] followed him. They were given authority over one-fourth of the earth to kill people using wars, famines, plagues, and the wild animals of the earth.
The Vision of the Fifth Seal Opened
9 When the lamb[f] opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slaughtered because of the word of God and the testimony they had given. 10 They cried out in a loud voice,
“Holy and true Sovereign,
how long will it be before you judge
and take revenge on those living on the earth
who shed our blood?”
11 Each of them was given a white robe. They were told to rest a little longer until the number of[g] their fellow servants and their brothers was completed, who would be killed as they themselves had been.
The Vision of the Sixth Seal Opened
12 Then I saw the lamb[h] open the sixth seal. There was a powerful earthquake. The sun turned as black as sackcloth made of hair, and the full moon turned as red as blood.[i] 13 The stars in the sky fell to the earth like a fig tree drops its fruit when it is shaken by a strong wind. 14 The sky vanished like a scroll being rolled up, and every mountain and island was moved from its place. 15 Then the kings of the earth, the important people, the generals, the rich, the powerful, and all the slaves and free people concealed themselves in caves and among the rocks in the mountains. 16 They told the mountains and rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of the one who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the lamb. 17 For the great day of their wrath has come, and who is able to endure it?”
The Vision of the Measuring Line
2 [a]Then I looked up and saw a man with a measuring line in his hand. 2 I asked, “Where are you going?”
He responded, “To measure Jerusalem in order to determine its width and length.”
3 Look! That angel who was talking to me left, and another angel came forward to meet him. 4 That other angel told him, “Run and tell that young man: ‘Jerusalem will be an inhabited city without walls due to the number of people and livestock within it. 5 I myself will be an encircling rampart of fire,’ declares the Lord, ‘and I will be the glory in her midst.’
6 “‘Come now! Come now! Flee from the land of the north,’ declares the Lord, ‘for I have dispersed you like the four winds of heaven,’ declares the Lord.
7 “‘Come now, Zion! Escape, you who are living with the residents of Babylon. 8 For this is what the Lord of the Heavenly Armies says: “In pursuit of glory I was sent to the nations who plundered you, because whoever injures you injures the pupil of my eye. 9 And look, I will shake my fist over them, and they will become plunder for their former[b] slaves. And you will know that the Lord of the Heavenly Armies sent me.”’”
The Lord will Live in Zion
10 “Sing and rejoice, daughter of Zion! Take note! I am coming to live in your midst,” declares the Lord. 11 “Many nations will cling to the Lord at that time[c] and will become my people. I will live in your midst, and you will know that the Lord of the Heavenly Armies has sent me to you. 12 The Lord will take possession of Judah as his own property in the Holy Land—and he will choose Jerusalem again. 13 Be silent, every living thing, in the presence of the Lord, because he is emerging[d] from his Holy Place.”
The Healing at the Pool
5 Later on, there was another[a] festival of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. 2 Near the Sheep Gate in Jerusalem is a pool called Bethesda[b] in Hebrew. It has five colonnades, 3 and under these a large number of sick people were lying—blind, lame, or paralyzed—waiting for the movement of the water.[c] 4 At certain times an angel of the Lord would go down into the pool and stir up the water, and whoever stepped in first after the stirring of the water was healed of whatever disease he had.[d]
5 One particular man was there who had been ill for 38 years. 6 When Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had already been there a long time, he asked him, “Do you want to get well?”
7 The sick man answered him, “Sir, I don’t have anyone to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up. While I’m trying to get there, someone else steps down ahead of me.”
8 Jesus told him, “Stand up, pick up your mat, and walk!” 9 The man immediately became well, and he picked up his mat and started walking. Now that day was a Sabbath.
10 So the Jewish leaders[e] told the man who had been healed, “It is the Sabbath, and it is not lawful for you to carry your mat.
11 But he answered them, “The man who made me well told me, ‘Pick up your mat and walk.’”
12 They asked him, “Who is the man who told you, ‘Pick it up and walk’?”
13 But the one who had been healed did not know who it was, because Jesus had slipped away from the crowd in that place. 14 Later on, Jesus found him in the Temple and told him, “Look! You have become well. Stop sinning or something worse may happen to you.” 15 The man went off and told the Jewish leaders[f] that it was Jesus who had made him well. 16 So the Jewish leaders[g] began persecuting Jesus,[h] because he kept doing such things on the Sabbath.
17 But Jesus[i] answered them, “My Father has been working until now, and I, too, am working.” 18 So the Jewish leaders[j] were trying all the harder to kill him, because he was not only breaking the Sabbath but was also calling God his own Father, thereby making himself equal to God.
The Authority of the Son
19 Jesus told them, “Truly, I tell all of you[k] emphatically, the Son can do nothing on his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing, What the Father does, the Son does likewise. 20 The Father loves the Son and shows him everything he is doing, and he will show him even greater actions than these, so that you may be amazed. 21 Just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the Son gives life to those he chooses. 22 The Father judges no one, but has given all authority to judge to the Son, 23 so that everyone may honor the Son as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him.
24 “Truly, I tell all of you[l] emphatically, whoever hears what I say and believes in the one who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged, but has passed from death to life. 25 Truly, I tell all of you[m] emphatically, the time approaches, and is now here, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear it will live. 26 Just as the Father has life in himself, so also he has granted the Son to have life in himself, 27 and he has given him authority to judge, because he is the Son of Man. 28 Don’t be amazed at this, because the time is approaching when everyone in their graves will hear the Son of Man’s[n] voice 29 and will come out—those who have done what is good to the resurrection that leads to[o] life, and those who have practiced what is evil to the resurrection that ends in[p] condemnation.[q] 30 I can do nothing on my own accord. I judge according to what I hear, and my judgment is just, because I do not seek my own will but the will of the one who sent me.”
Jesus’ Greater Testimony
31 “If I testify on my own behalf, my testimony is not trustworthy. 32 There is another who testifies about me, and I know[r] that the testimony he gives about me is true. 33 You have sent messengers[s] to John, and he has testified to the truth. 34 I myself do not accept human testimony, but I am saying these things so that you may be saved. 35 That man John[t] was a lamp that burns and brightly shines, and for a while you were willing to rejoice in his light.
36 “But I have a greater testimony than John’s, because the actions that the Father has given me to complete—the very actions that I am doing—testify on my behalf that the Father has sent me. 37 Moreover, the Father who sent me has himself testified on my behalf. You have never heard his voice or seen what he looks like, 38 nor do you have his word at work[u] in you, because you do not believe in the one whom he sent. 39 You examine the Scriptures carefully because you suppose that in them you have eternal life. Yet they testify about me. 40 But you are not willing to come to me to have life.
41 “I do not accept human praise. 42 I know that you do not have the love of God in you. 43 I have come in my Father’s name, and you do not accept me. Yet if another man comes in his own name, you will accept him. 44 How can you believe when you accept each other’s praise and do not look for the praise that comes from the only God?[v] 45 Do not suppose that I will be the one to accuse you before the Father. Your accuser is Moses, on whom you have set your hope, 46 because if you believed Moses, you would believe me, since he wrote about me. 47 But if you do not believe what he wrote, how will you believe my words?”
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