M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Amaziah King of Judah
25 Amaziah was 25 years old when he became king. He ruled in Jerusalem for 29 years. His mother’s name was Jehoaddan. She was from Jerusalem. 2 Amaziah did what was right in the eyes of the Lord. But he didn’t do it with all his heart. 3 The kingdom was firmly under his control. So he put to death the officials who had murdered his father, the king. 4 But he didn’t put their children to death. He obeyed what is written in the Law, the Book of Moses. There the Lord commanded, “Parents must not be put to death because of what their children do. And children must not be put to death because of what their parents do. People must die because of their own sins.” (Deuteronomy 24:16)
5 Amaziah called the people of Judah together. He arranged them by families under commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds. He did it for all the people of Judah and Benjamin. Then he brought together the men who were 20 years old or more. He found out there were 300,000 men who were able to serve in the army. They could handle spears and shields. 6 He also hired 100,000 fighting men from Israel. He had to pay them almost four tons of silver.
7 But a man of God came to him. He said, “Your Majesty, these troops from Israel must not march out with you. The Lord is not with Israel. He isn’t with any of the people of Ephraim. 8 Go and fight bravely in battle if you want to. But God will destroy you right in front of your enemies. God has the power to help you or destroy you.”
9 Amaziah asked the man of God, “But what about all that silver I paid for these Israelite troops?”
The man of God replied, “The Lord can give you much more than that.”
10 So Amaziah let the troops go who had come to him from Ephraim. He sent them home. They were very angry with Judah. They were still very angry when they went home.
11 Then Amaziah showed how strong he was. He led his army to the Valley of Salt. There he killed 10,000 men of Seir. 12 The army of Judah also captured 10,000 men alive. The army of Judah took them to the top of a cliff. Then they threw them down. All of them were smashed to pieces.
13 The troops Amaziah had sent back attacked some towns that belonged to Judah. Amaziah hadn’t allowed the troops to take part in the war. They attacked towns from Samaria to Beth Horon. They killed 3,000 people. They carried off huge amounts of goods.
14 Amaziah returned from killing the men of Edom. He brought back the statues of the gods of Seir. He set them up as his own gods. He bowed down to them. He burned sacrifices to them. 15 The Lord was very angry with Amaziah. He sent a prophet to him. The prophet said, “Why do you ask the gods of those people for advice? They couldn’t even save their own people from your power!”
16 While the prophet was still speaking, the king spoke to him. He said, “Did I ask you for advice? Stop! If you don’t, you will be struck down.”
So the prophet stopped. But then he said, “I know that God has decided to destroy you. That’s because you have worshiped other gods. You haven’t listened to my advice.”
17 Amaziah, the king of Judah, spoke to his advisers. Then he sent a message to Jehoash, the king of Israel. Jehoash was the son of Jehoahaz. Jehoahaz was the son of Jehu. Amaziah dared Jehoash, “Come on! Let us face each other in battle!”
18 But Jehoash, the king of Israel, answered Amaziah, the king of Judah. Jehoash said, “A thorn bush in Lebanon sent a message to a cedar tree there. The thorn bush said, ‘Give your daughter to be married to my son.’ Then a wild animal in Lebanon came along. It crushed the thorn bush by walking on it. 19 You brag that you have won the battle over Edom. You are very proud. But stay home! Why ask for trouble? Why bring yourself crashing down? Why bring Judah down with you?”
20 But Amaziah wouldn’t listen. That’s because God had planned to hand Judah over to Jehoash. After all, they had asked the gods of Edom for advice. 21 So Jehoash, the king of Israel, attacked. He and Amaziah, the king of Judah, faced each other in battle. The battle took place at Beth Shemesh in Judah. 22 Israel drove Judah away. Every man ran home. 23 Jehoash king of Israel captured Amaziah king of Judah at Beth Shemesh. Amaziah was the son of Joash. Joash was the son of Ahaziah. Jehoash brought Amaziah to Jerusalem. Jehoash broke down part of its wall. It’s the part that went from the Ephraim Gate to the Corner Gate. That part of the wall was 600 feet long. 24 Jehoash took all the gold and silver. He took all the objects he found in God’s temple. Obed-Edom had been in charge of them. Jehoash also took the palace treasures and the prisoners. Then he returned to Samaria.
25 Amaziah king of Judah lived for 15 years after Jehoash king of Israel died. Amaziah was the son of Joash. Jehoash was the son of Jehoahaz. 26 The other events of Amaziah’s rule from beginning to end are written down. They are written in the records of the kings of Judah and Israel. 27 Amaziah turned away from obeying the Lord. From that time on, some people made evil plans against him in Jerusalem. So he ran away to Lachish. But they sent men after him to Lachish. There they killed him. 28 His body was brought back on a horse to Jerusalem, the City of Judah. There he was buried in the family tomb.
The Woman and the Dragon
12 A great sign appeared in heaven. It was a woman wearing the sun like clothes. The moon was under her feet. On her head she wore a crown of 12 stars. 2 She was pregnant. She cried out in pain because she was about to have a baby. 3 Then another sign appeared in heaven. It was a huge red dragon. It had seven heads and ten horns. On its seven heads it wore seven crowns. 4 The dragon’s tail swept a third of the stars out of the sky. It threw the stars down to earth. The dragon stood in front of the woman who was about to have a baby. The dragon wanted to eat her child the moment he was born. 5 She gave birth to a son. He “will rule all the nations with an iron scepter.” (Psalm 2:9) And her child was taken up to God and to his throne. 6 The woman escaped into the desert where God had a place prepared for her. There she would be taken care of for 1,260 days.
7 Then a war began in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon. And the dragon and his angels fought back. 8 But the dragon wasn’t strong enough. Both he and his angels lost their place in heaven. 9 The great dragon was thrown down to the earth, and his angels with him. The dragon is that old serpent called the devil, or Satan. He leads the whole world astray.
10 Then I heard a loud voice in heaven. It said,
“Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God have come.
The authority of his Messiah has come.
Satan, who brings charges against our brothers and sisters,
has been thrown down.
He brings charges against them in front of our God day and night.
11 They had victory over him
by the blood the Lamb spilled for them.
They had victory over him
by speaking the truth about Jesus to others.
They were willing to risk their lives,
even if it led to death.
12 So be joyful, you heavens!
Be glad, all you who live there!
But how terrible it will be for the earth and the sea!
The devil has come down to you.
He is very angry.
He knows his time is short.”
13 The dragon saw that he had been thrown down to the earth. So he chased the woman who had given birth to the boy. 14 The woman was given the two wings of a great eagle. She was given these wings so that she could fly away. She could fly to the place prepared for her in the desert. There she would be taken care of for three and a half years. She would be out of the serpent’s reach. 15 Then out of his mouth the serpent spit water like a river. He wanted to catch the woman and sweep her away in the flood. 16 But the earth helped the woman. It opened its mouth and swallowed the river that the dragon had spit out. 17 The dragon was very angry with the woman. He went off to make war against the rest of her children. They obey God’s commands. And they hold firmly to the truth they have said about Jesus.
The Lord Promises to Bless Jerusalem
8 A message came to me from the Lord who rules over all.
He said, 2 “I am very jealous for my people in Zion. In fact, I am burning with jealousy for them.”
3 He continued, “I will return to Zion. I will live among my people in Jerusalem. Then Jerusalem will be called the Faithful City. And my mountain will be called the Holy Mountain.”
4 He continued, “Once again old men and women will sit in the streets of Jerusalem. All of them will be using canes because they are old. 5 The city streets will be filled with boys and girls. They will be playing there.”
6 He continued, “All of that might seem hard to believe to the people living then. But it will not be too hard for me.”
7 He continued, “I will save my people. I will gather them from the countries of the east and the west. 8 I will bring them back to live in Jerusalem. They will be my people. I will be their faithful God. I will keep my promises to them.”
9 The Lord who rules over all says to his people, “Now listen to these words, ‘Let your hands be strong so that you can rebuild the temple.’ This also was said by the prophets Haggai and Zechariah. They spoke to you when the work on my temple began again. 10 Before the work was started again, there was no pay for the people. And there was no money to rent animals. People could not go about their business safely because of their enemies. I had turned all of them against one another. 11 But now I will not punish you who are living at this time. I will not treat you as I treated your people before you,” announces the Lord who rules over all.
12 “Your seeds will grow well. Your vines will bear fruit. The ground will produce crops for you. And the heavens will drop their dew on your land. I will give all these things to those who are still left alive here. 13 Judah and Israel, in the past you have been a curse among the nations. But now I will save you. You will be a blessing to others. Do not be afraid. Let your hands be strong so that you can do my work.”
14 The Lord who rules over all says, “Your people of long ago made me angry. So I decided to bring trouble on them. I did not show them any pity. 15 But now I plan to do good things to Jerusalem and Judah again. So do not be afraid. 16 Here is what you must do. Speak the truth to one another. Make true and wise decisions in your courts. 17 Do not make evil plans against one another. When you promise to tell the truth, do not lie. Many people love to do that. But I hate all these things,” announces the Lord.
18 Another message came to me from the Lord who rules over all.
He said, 19 “You have established special times to go without eating. They are your fasts in the fourth, fifth, seventh and tenth months. They will become days of joy. They will be happy times for Judah. It will happen if you take delight in telling the truth and bringing about peace.”
20 He continued, “Many nations will still come to you. And those who live in many cities will also come. 21 The people who live in one city will go to another city. They will say, ‘Let’s go right away to ask the Lord for his blessing. Let’s look to him as our God. We ourselves are going.’ 22 Large numbers of people and nations will come to Jerusalem. They will look to me. They will ask me to bless them.”
23 He continued, “At that time many people of all nations and languages will take hold of one Jew. They will grab hold of the hem of his robe. And they will say, ‘We want to go to Jerusalem with you. We’ve heard that God is with you.’ ”
Lazarus Dies
11 A man named Lazarus was sick. He was from Bethany, the village where Mary and her sister Martha lived. 2 Mary would later pour perfume on the Lord. She would also wipe Jesus’ feet with her hair. It was her brother Lazarus who was sick in bed. 3 So the sisters sent a message to Jesus. “Lord,” they told him, “the one you love is sick.”
4 When Jesus heard this, he said, “This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God’s glory. God’s Son will receive glory because of it.” 5 Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. 6 So after he heard Lazarus was sick, he stayed where he was for two more days. 7 And then he said to his disciples, “Let us go back to Judea.”
8 “But Rabbi,” they said, “a short time ago the Jews there tried to kill you with stones. Are you still going back?”
9 Jesus answered, “Aren’t there 12 hours of daylight? Anyone who walks during the day won’t trip and fall. They can see because of this world’s light. 10 But when they walk at night, they’ll trip and fall. They have no light.”
11 After he said this, Jesus went on speaking to them. “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep,” he said. “But I am going there to wake him up.”
12 His disciples replied, “Lord, if he’s sleeping, he will get better.” 13 Jesus had been speaking about the death of Lazarus. But his disciples thought he meant natural sleep.
14 So then he told them plainly, “Lazarus is dead. 15 For your benefit, I am glad I was not there. Now you will believe. But let us go to him.”
16 Then Thomas, who was also called Didymus, spoke to the rest of the disciples. “Let us go also,” he said. “Then we can die with Jesus.”
Jesus Comforts the Sisters of Lazarus
17 When Jesus arrived, he found out that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days. 18 Bethany was less than two miles from Jerusalem. 19 Many Jews had come to Martha and Mary. They had come to comfort them because their brother was dead. 20 When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went out to meet him. But Mary stayed at home.
21 “Lord,” Martha said to Jesus, “I wish you had been here! Then my brother would not have died. 22 But I know that even now God will give you anything you ask for.”
23 Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.”
24 Martha answered, “I know he will rise again. This will happen when people are raised from the dead on the last day.”
25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Anyone who believes in me will live, even if they die. 26 And whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?”
27 “Yes, Lord,” she replied. “I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God. I believe that you are the one who is supposed to come into the world.”
28 After she said this, she went back home. She called her sister Mary to one side to talk to her. “The Teacher is here,” Martha said. “He is asking for you.” 29 When Mary heard this, she got up quickly and went to him. 30 Jesus had not yet entered the village. He was still at the place where Martha had met him. 31 Some Jews had been comforting Mary in the house. They noticed how quickly she got up and went out. So they followed her. They thought she was going to the tomb to mourn there.
32 Mary reached the place where Jesus was. When she saw him, she fell at his feet. She said, “Lord, I wish you had been here! Then my brother would not have died.”
33 Jesus saw her crying. He saw that the Jews who had come along with her were crying also. His spirit became very sad, and he was troubled. 34 “Where have you put him?” he asked.
“Come and see, Lord,” they replied.
35 Jesus wept.
36 Then the Jews said, “See how much he loved him!”
37 But some of them said, “He opened the eyes of the blind man. Couldn’t he have kept this man from dying?”
Jesus Raises Lazarus From the Dead
38 Once more Jesus felt very sad. He came to the tomb. It was a cave with a stone in front of the entrance. 39 “Take away the stone,” he said.
“But, Lord,” said Martha, the sister of the dead man, “by this time there is a bad smell. Lazarus has been in the tomb for four days.”
40 Then Jesus said, “Didn’t I tell you that if you believe, you will see God’s glory?”
41 So they took away the stone. Then Jesus looked up. He said, “Father, I thank you for hearing me. 42 I know that you always hear me. But I said this for the benefit of the people standing here. I said it so they will believe that you sent me.”
43 Then Jesus called in a loud voice. He said, “Lazarus, come out!” 44 The dead man came out. His hands and feet were wrapped with strips of linen. A cloth was around his face.
Jesus said to them, “Take off the clothes he was buried in and let him go.”
The Plan to Kill Jesus
45 Many of the Jews who had come to visit Mary saw what Jesus did. So they believed in him. 46 But some of them went to the Pharisees. They told the Pharisees what Jesus had done. 47 Then the chief priests and the Pharisees called a meeting of the Sanhedrin.
“What can we do?” they asked. “This man is performing many signs. 48 If we let him keep on doing this, everyone will believe in him. Then the Romans will come. They will take away our temple and our nation.”
49 One of the Jewish leaders spoke up. His name was Caiaphas. He was high priest at that time. He said, “You don’t know anything at all! 50 You don’t realize what is good for you. It is better if one man dies for the people than if the whole nation is destroyed.”
51 He did not say this on his own because he was high priest at that time. He prophesied that Jesus would die for the Jewish nation. 52 He also prophesied that Jesus would die for God’s children scattered everywhere. He would die to bring them together and make them one. 53 So from that day on, the Jewish rulers planned to kill Jesus.
54 Jesus no longer moved around openly among the people of Judea. Instead, he went away to an area near the desert. He went to a village called Ephraim. There he stayed with his disciples.
55 It was almost time for the Jewish Passover Feast. Many people went up from the country to Jerusalem. They went there for the special washing that would make them pure before the Passover Feast. 56 They kept looking for Jesus as they stood in the temple courtyard. They asked one another, “What do you think? Isn’t he coming to the feast at all?” 57 But the chief priests and the Pharisees had given orders. They had commanded anyone who found out where Jesus was staying to report it. Then they could arrest him.
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