M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
9 So the names of all Israel were written down by families. See, they are written in the Book of the Kings of Israel. And Judah was carried away to Babylon because they were not faithful.
Those Who Returned to Their Land
2 The first ones to live again in their land and in their cities were Israel, the religious leaders, the Levites and the servants of the Lord’s house. 3 Some of the people of Judah, Benjamin, Ephraim and Manasseh lived in Jerusalem. 4 They were Uthai the son of Ammihud, the son of Omri, the son of Imri, the son of Bani, from the sons of Perez the son of Judah. 5 From the Shilonites were Asaiah the first-born and his sons. 6 From the sons of Zerah were Jeuel and their brothers, 690 of them. 7 From the sons of Benjamin were Sallu the son of Meshullam, the son of Hodaviah, the son of Hassenuah. 8 And there were Ibneiah the son of Jeroham, Elah the son of Uzzi, son of Michri, and Meshullam the son of Shephatiah, son of Reuel, son of Ibnijah. 9 And there were their brothers by their families, 956 of them. All these were heads of fathers’ houses by their fathers’ houses.
The Religious Leaders for Jerusalem
10 From the religious leaders were Jedaiah, Jehoiarib, Jachin. 11 And there was Azariah the son of Hilkiah, son of Meshullam, son of Zadok, son of Meraioth, son of Ahitub. He was the head leader of the house of God. 12 And there was Adaiah the son of Jeroham, son of Pashhur, son of Malchijah. There was Maasai the son of Adiel, son of Jahzerah, son of Meshullam, son of Meshillemith, son of Immer. 13 And there were 1,760 of their brothers, who were heads of their fathers’ houses. They were very able men for the work of the house of God.
The Levites in Jerusalem
14 From the Levites were Shemaiah the son of Hasshub, son of Azrikam, son of Hashabiah, of the sons of Merari. 15 There were Bakbakkar, Heresh, Galal, and Mattaniah the son of Mica, son of Zichri, son of Asaph. 16 There was Obadiah the son of Shemaiah, son of Galal, son of Jeduthun. And there was Berechiah the son of Asa, son of Elkanah, who lived in the towns of the Netophathites.
The Gate-Keepers in Jerusalem
17 The gate-keepers were Shallum, Akkub, Talmon, Ahiman and their brothers. (Shallum was the leader 18 who was at the king’s gate on the east side.) These were the gate-keepers for the family group of the Levites. 19 Shallum the son of Kore, son of Ebiasaph, son of Korah, and his brothers of his father’s house, were the Korahites. They led the work, and they watched the doors of the meeting tent. Their fathers had taken care of the tents of the Lord, and had watched the doors. 20 Phinehas the son of Eleazar had ruled over them before. And the Lord was with him. 21 Zechariah the son of Meshelemiah watched the gate of the meeting tent. 22 There were 212 of those who were chosen to watch the gates. Their names were written down by families in their towns. David and Samuel the man of God chose them for places of trust. 23 So they and their sons were gate-keepers of the Lord’s house, the holy tent. 24 The gate-keepers were on the four sides, to the east, west, north and south. 25 Those of their family in other towns were to come in every seven days from time to time to be with them. 26 For the four head men who were gate-keepers were Levites and were in a place of trust. They watched over the rooms and the riches in the house of God. 27 They stayed during the night around the house of God. For their duty was to watch. And they were to open the house every morning.
The Other Levites
28 Some of them took care of the things used for worship. They numbered them when they were brought in and taken out. 29 Some of them were chosen to take care of the objects of the holy place, the fine flour, the wine, the oil, the special perfume, and the spices. 30 And some of the sons of the religious leaders did the work of mixing the spices. 31 Mattithiah was one of the Levites, the first-born of Shallum the Korahite. He took care of the making of bread. 32 And some of their brothers of the Kohathites took care of the making of the holy bread every Day of Rest.
33 These are the singers. They were heads of fathers’ houses of the Levites, who lived in the rooms of the Lord’s house. They were free from other kinds of worship, for they were on duty day and night. 34 These were heads of fathers’ houses of the Levites by their families. They were leaders who lived in Jerusalem.
The Family of King Saul
35 Gibeon’s father Jeiel lived in Gibeon. The name of Jeiel’s wife was Maacah. 36 His sons were Abdon the first-born, then Zur, Kish, Baal, Ner, Nadab, 37 Gedor, Ahio, Zechariah and Mikloth. 38 Mikloth was the father of Shimeam. They lived with their brothers in Jerusalem beside their other brothers. 39 Ner was the father of Kish. Kish was the father of Saul. Saul was the father of Jonathan, Malchi-shua, Abinadab and Eshbaal. 40 The son of Jonathan was Merib-baal. Merib-baal was the father of Micah. 41 The sons of Micah were Pithon, Melech, Tahrea and Ahaz. 42 Ahaz was the father of Jarah. Jarah was the father of Alemeth, Azmaveth and Zimri. Zimri was the father of Moza. 43 Moza was the father of Binea and Rephaiah his son, Eleasah his son, Azel his son. 44 Azel had six sons whose names were Azrikam, Bocheru, Ishmael, Sheariah, Obadiah and Hanan. These were the sons of Azel.
The Death of King Saul and His Sons
10 Now the many Philistines fought against Israel. The men of Israel ran away from the Philistines, and were killed on Mount Gilboa. 2 The Philistines went after Saul and his sons. And they killed Jonathan, Abinadab and Malchi-shua, Saul’s sons. 3 The battle was hard for Saul. Those who fought with the bow found him, and hurt him with an arrow. 4 Then Saul said to the one who carried his battle-clothes, “Take your sword and kill me with it. Or these men who have not gone through our religious act will come and make fun of me.” But the one who carried his battle-clothes would not do it. For he was very afraid. So Saul took his sword and fell on it. 5 When the one who carried his battle-clothes saw that Saul was dead, he fell on his sword and died also. 6 So Saul died with his three sons. All those of his house died together.
7 All the men of Israel who were in the valley saw that the army had run away and that Saul and his sons were dead. So they left their cities and ran away. Then the Philistines came and lived in their cities. 8 When the Philistines came the next day to take what had belonged to the dead, they found Saul and his sons dead on Mount Gilboa. 9 So they took his clothes, his head, and his battle-clothes. And they sent men around the land of the Philistines to take the good news to their false gods and to the people. 10 They put Saul’s battle-clothes in the house of their gods. And they put his head in the house of Dagon. 11 All the people of Jabesh-gilead heard what the Philistines had done to Saul. 12 So all the powerful soldiers went and took the bodies of Saul and his sons. They brought them to Jabesh and buried their bones under the oak tree there. Then they went without food for seven days.
13 So Saul died for his sin against the Lord, because he did not keep the Word of the Lord. He had asked a woman who spoke with spirits what he should do. 14 He did not ask the Lord. So the Lord killed him, and gave the nation to David the son of Jesse.
Christ the Perfect One
12 All these many people who have had faith in God are around us like a cloud. Let us put every thing out of our lives that keeps us from doing what we should. Let us keep running in the race that God has planned for us. 2 Let us keep looking to Jesus. Our faith comes from Him and He is the One Who makes it perfect. He did not give up when He had to suffer shame and die on a cross. He knew of the joy that would be His later. Now He is sitting at the right side of God.
3 Sinful men spoke words of hate against Christ. He was willing to take such shame from sinners. Think of this so you will not get tired and give up. 4 In your fight against sin, you have not yet had to stand against sin with your blood. 5 Do you remember what God said to you when He called you His sons? “My son, listen when the Lord punishes you. Do not give up when He tells you what you must do. 6 The Lord punishes everyone He loves. He whips every son He receives.” (A) 7 Do not give up when you are punished by God. Be willing to take it, knowing that God is teaching you as a son. Is there a father who does not punish his son sometimes? 8 If you are not punished as all sons are, it means that you are not a true son of God. You are not a part of His family and He is not your Father. 9 Remember that our fathers on earth punished us. We had respect for them. How much more should we obey our Father in heaven and live? 10 For a little while our fathers on earth punished us when they thought they should. But God punishes us for our good so we will be holy as He is holy. 11 There is no joy while we are being punished. It is hard to take, but later we can see that good came from it. And it gives us the peace of being right with God.
12 So lift up your hands that have been weak. Stand up on your weak legs. 13 Walk straight ahead so the weak leg will not be turned aside, but will be healed.
14 Be at peace with all men. Live a holy life. No one will see the Lord without having that kind of life. 15 See that no one misses God’s loving-favor. Do not let wrong thoughts about others get started among you. If you do, many people will be turned to a life of sin. 16 None of you should fall into sex sins or forget God like Esau did. He had a right to get all Isaac had because he was the oldest son. But for one plate of food he sold this right to his brother. 17 You know that later he would have received everything. But he did not get it even when he asked for it with tears. It was too late to make right the wrong he had done.
18 For you have not come close to a mountain that you can touch. You have not come to worship where there is burning fire and darkness and storm and wind. 19 The sound of a horn was heard and God’s voice spoke. The people cried out to Moses to have God stop speaking to them. 20 They could not stand to listen to His strong words, “Even if an animal comes to the mountain, it must be killed.” (B) 21 What Moses saw was so hard to look at that he said, “I am full of fear and am shaking.” (C)
22 But instead, you have come to the mountain of Jerusalem. It is the city of the living God. It is the Jerusalem of heaven with its thousands of angels. 23 You have gathered there with God’s children who were born long ago. They are citizens of heaven. God is there. He will judge all men. The spirits of all those right with God are there. They have been made perfect. 24 Jesus is there. He has made a way for man to go to God. He gave His blood that men might worship God the New Way. The blood of Jesus tells of better things than that which Abel used.
25 Be sure you listen to the One Who is speaking to you. The Jews did not obey when God’s Law was given to them on earth. They did not go free. They were punished. We will be punished more if we do not listen to God as He speaks from heaven. 26 On Mount Sinai, God’s voice shook the earth. But now He has promised, saying, “Once more I will shake the earth and the heavens.” (D)
27 When God says, “Once more,” He means He will take away everything of this world that can be shaken so the things that cannot be shaken will be left.
28 Since we have received a holy nation that cannot be moved, let us be thankful. Let us please God and worship Him with honor and fear. 29 For our God is a fire that destroys everything.
Israel to Be Destroyed
6 It is bad for those who are taking it easy in Zion, and for those who feel safe on the mountain of Samaria, you great men of the most important nation, to whom the people of Israel come! 2 Go over to Calneh and look. And go from there to great Hamath. Then go down to Gath of the Philistines. Are they better than these nations? Is their land better than yours? 3 You put off the day of trouble, and bring near the seat of anger.
4 How bad it will be for you who lie on beds of ivory and spread out upon your long seats! You eat lambs from the flock and calves from the cattle-house. 5 You sing songs to the sound of the harp. Like David you write songs for yourselves. 6 You drink wine from the holy dishes, and pour the best oil on yourselves. Yet you are not filled with sorrow because Joseph has been destroyed! 7 You will be among the first to be taken away as prisoners to a strange land, and your happy times of rest will pass away.
8 The Lord God has promised by Himself. The Lord God of All has said, “I hate the pride of Jacob, and I hate his strong-places, so I will give up the city and everything in it.” 9 If ten men are left in one house, they will die. 10 The dead man’s brother, who is to take care of the body, will lift him up to carry his bones from the house. And he will say to the one inside the house, “Is anyone else with you?” That one will say, “No.” Then he will say, “Keep quiet! For the name of the Lord must not be spoken.” 11 For the Lord is going to say that the great house must be broken apart and the small house into pieces.
12 Do horses run on rocks? Does one plow them with oxen? Yet you have turned what is fair into poison. You have turned what is right and good into something bitter. 13 You who have joy in Lo-debar, and say, “Did we not take Karnaim by our own strength?” 14 The Lord God of All says, “I am going to raise up a nation against you, O people of Israel. And they will bring much suffering upon you from the gate of Hamath to the river of the Arabah.”
Mary Visits Elizabeth
39 At once Mary went from there to a town in the hill country of Judea. 40 She went to the house of Zacharias to see Elizabeth. 41 When Elizabeth heard Mary speak, the baby moved in her body. At the same time Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.
42 Elizabeth spoke in a loud voice, “You are honored among women! Your Child is honored! 43 Why has this happened to me? Why has the mother of my Lord come to me? 44 As soon as I heard your voice, the baby in my body moved for joy. 45 You are happy because you believed. Everything will happen as the Lord told you it would happen.”
Mary’s Song of Thanks
46 Then Mary said, “My heart sings with thanks for my Lord. 47 And my spirit is happy in God, the One Who saves from the punishment of sin. 48 The Lord has looked on me, His servant-girl and one who is not important. But from now on all people will honor me. 49 He Who is powerful has done great things for me. His name is holy. 50 The loving-kindness of the Lord is given to the people of all times who honor Him. 51 He has done powerful works with His arm. He has divided from each other those who have pride in their hearts. 52 He has taken rulers down from their thrones. He has put those who are in a place that is not important to a place that is important. 53 He has filled those who are hungry with good things. He has sent the rich people away with nothing. 54 He has helped Israel His servant. This was done to remember His loving-kindness. 55 He promised He would do this to our early fathers and to Abraham and to his family forever.” 56 Mary stayed with Elizabeth about three months. Then she went to her own home.
The Birth of John the Baptist
57 When the time came, Elizabeth gave birth to a son. 58 Her neighbors and family heard how the Lord had shown loving-kindness to her. They were happy for her. 59 On the eighth day they did the religious act of the Jews on the child. They named him Zacharias, after his father. 60 But his mother said, “No! His name is John.” 61 They said to her, “No one in your family has that name.”
62 Then they talked to his father with their hands to find out what he would name the child. 63 He asked for something to write on. He wrote, “His name is John.” They were all surprised and wondered about it. 64 Zacharias was able to talk from that time on and he gave thanks to God.
65 All those who lived near them were afraid. The news of what had happened was told through all the hill country of Judea. 66 And all who heard those words remembered them and said, “What is this child going to be?” For the hand of the Lord was on him.
Zacharias’ Song of Thanks to God
67 Zacharias, the father of John, was filled with the Holy Spirit. He told what was going to happen, saying, 68 “Let us thank the Lord God of Israel. He has bought His people and made them free. 69 He has raised up from the family of David One Who saves people from the punishment of their sins. 70 His holy early preachers told us this long ago. 71 God told us that we should be saved from those who hate us and from all those who work against us. 72 He would show loving-kindness to our early fathers. He would remember His holy promise. 73 God promised this to our early father Abraham. 74 He promised that we would be saved from those who hate us and that we might worship Him without being afraid. 75 We can be holy and right with God all the days of our life.
76 “And you, my son, will be the one who speaks for the Most High. For you will go before the Lord to make the way ready for Him. 77 You will tell His people how to be saved from the punishment of sin by being forgiven of their sins. 78 Because the heart of our God is full of loving-kindness for us, a light from heaven will shine on us. 79 It will give light to those who live in darkness and are under the shadow of death. It will lead our feet in the way of peace.”
80 The child grew and became strong in spirit. He lived in a desert until the day he started to preach to the Jews.
Copyright © 1969, 2003 by Barbour Publishing, Inc.