M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan

Amaziah Rules Judah

25 Amaziah was twenty-five years old when he became king. And he ruled for twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Jehoaddan of Jerusalem. ² Amaziah did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, but not with a whole heart. ³ As soon as the nation was under his rule, he killed his servants who had killed his father the king. ⁴ But he did not kill their children. He did what is written in the Law in the book of Moses. The Lord had said in this Law, “Fathers must not be put to death for the children. And children must not be put to death for the fathers. Each must be put to death for his own sin.” ^(A)

The War against Edom

⁵ Then Amaziah gathered the men of Judah together. He put them, by their fathers’ houses, under the rule of captains of thousands and of hundreds for all Judah and Benjamin. He numbered those who were twenty years old and older. And he found that they were 300,000 chosen men, able to go to war and fight with spear and battle-covering. ⁶ He also asked for the help of 100,000 powerful soldiers from Israel and paid them with silver weighing as much as 100 men. ⁷ But a man of God came to him and said, “O king, do not let the army of Israel go with you. For the Lord is not with Israel. He is not with all these sons of Ephraim. ⁸ But if you think that in this way you will be strong in war, God will destroy you in front of those who fight you. For God has power to help and to destroy.” ⁹ Amaziah said to the man of God, “But what should I do about the silver weighing as much as 100 men, which I have given to the army of Israel?” The man of God answered, “The Lord has much more to give you than this.” ¹⁰ Then Amaziah sent the army home which had come to him from Ephraim. These hired soldiers were angry at the people of Judah. As they returned home they were very angry.

¹¹ Now Amaziah made himself strong of heart, and he led his people to the Valley of Salt and killed 10,000 men of Seir. ¹² The men of Judah also took 10,000 men alive. They brought them to the top of a high rock and threw them down from it, so they were all crushed to pieces. ¹³ But the soldiers from Israel whom Amaziah had sent back from going with him to battle came and fought against the cities of Judah. They fought cities from Samaria to Beth-horon, and killed 3,000 people living in them. And they took many things which had belonged to the people in these cities.

¹⁴ After Amaziah came from killing the Edomites, he brought the gods of the men of Seir. He set them up as his gods. He bowed down in front of them, and burned special perfume to them. ¹⁵ Then the Lord was angry with Amaziah and sent a man who speaks for God to him, saying, “Why have you worshiped the gods of the people? These gods have not saved their own people from your hand.” ¹⁶ But as he was speaking the king said to him, “Have we chosen you to give words of wisdom to the king? Stop! Or I will have you put to death.” So the man who spoke for God stopped, but said, “I know that God has planned to destroy you because you have done this. And you have not listened to what I have said.”

Israel Wins over Judah

¹⁷ Then King Amaziah of Judah spoke with his wise men, and sent word to Joash the son of Jehoahaz the son of Jehu, the king of Israel, saying, “Come, let us face each other.” ¹⁸ King Joash of Israel sent an answer to King Amaziah of Judah, saying, “The thorn bush in Lebanon sent word to the cedar in Lebanon, saying, ‘Give your daughter to my son for a wife.’ But a wild animal of Lebanon passed by and crushed the thorn bush under its feet. ¹⁹ You say, ‘See, I have destroyed Edom.’ And your heart has become proud by what you say. Now stay at home. Why should you bring trouble so you will fall, and Judah with you?” ²⁰ But Amaziah would not listen. God had planned that He would give Judah into the hand of Joash because Judah had worshiped the gods of Edom. ²¹ So King Joash of Israel met King Amaziah of Judah in battle at Beth-shemesh of Judah. ²² And Judah lost the battle to Israel. Each man ran away to his home. ²³ King Joash of Israel took King Amaziah of Judah, the son of Joash, son of Jehoahaz, at Beth-shemesh, and brought him to Jerusalem. He tore down the wall of Jerusalem from the Gate of Ephraim to the Corner Gate, as much wall as 200 long steps. ²⁴ And he took all the gold and silver, and all the objects found in the house of God with Obed-edom. He took the riches of the king’s house, and people also, and returned to Samaria.

The Death of Amaziah

²⁵ Amaziah, the son of King Joash of Judah, lived fifteen years after the death of Joash, the son of King Jehoahaz of Israel. ²⁶ Now the rest of the acts of Amaziah, from first to last, are written in the Book of the Kings of Judah and Israel. ²⁷ After Amaziah turned away from the Lord, they made plans against him in Jerusalem, and he ran away to Lachish. But they sent men after him to Lachish, and killed him there. ²⁸ Then they brought him on horses and buried him with his fathers in the city of Judah.

The Woman and the Dragon

12 Something very special was seen in heaven. A woman was there dressed with the sun. The moon was under her feet. A crown with twelve stars in it was on her head. ² She was about to become a mother. She cried out with pain waiting for the child to be born. ³ Something else special was seen in heaven. A large dragon was there. It was red and had seven heads and ten horns. There was a crown on each head. ⁴ With his tail he pulled one-third part of the stars out of heaven. He threw them down to the earth. This dragon stood in front of the woman as she was about to give birth to her child. He was waiting to eat her child as soon as it was born. ⁵ Then the woman gave birth to a son. He is to be the leader of the world using a piece of iron. But this child was taken away to God and His throne. ⁶ The woman ran away into the desert. God had made the place ready for her. He will care for her there 1,260 days.

War in Heaven

⁷ Then there was war in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against this dragon. This animal and his angels fought back. ⁸ But the dragon was not strong enough to win. There was no more room in heaven for them. ⁹ The dragon was thrown down to earth from heaven. This animal is the old snake. He is also called the Devil or Satan. He is the one who has fooled the whole world. He was thrown down to earth and his angels were thrown down with him.

¹⁰ Then I heard a loud voice in heaven saying, “Now God has saved from the punishment of sin! God’s power as King has come! God’s holy nation has come! God’s Christ is here with power! The one who spoke against our Christian brothers has been thrown down to earth. He stood before God speaking against them day and night. ¹¹ They had power over him and won because of the blood of the Lamb and by telling what He had done for them. They did not love their lives but were willing to die. ¹² For this reason, O heavens and you who are there, be full of joy. It is bad for you, O earth and sea. For the devil has come down to you. He is very angry because he knows he has only a short time.”

War on Earth

¹³ When the dragon which is the devil saw that he had been thrown down to the earth, he began to hunt for the woman who had given birth to the boy baby. ¹⁴ The woman was given two wings like the wings of a very large bird so she could fly to her place in the desert. She was to be cared for there and kept safe from the snake, which is the devil, for three-and one-half years. ¹⁵ Then the snake spit water from his mouth so the woman might be carried away with a flood. ¹⁶ The earth helped the woman by opening its mouth. It drank in the flood of water that this dragon spit from his mouth. ¹⁷ This dragon was very angry with the woman. He went off to fight with the rest of her children. They are the ones who obey the Laws of God and are faithful to the teachings of Jesus.

The Lord Promises to Build Jerusalem Again

8 Then the Word of the Lord came to me saying, ² “The Lord of All says, ‘I am very jealous for Zion. I am jealous for her with much anger.’ ³ The Lord says, ‘I will return to Zion and live in Jerusalem. Then Jerusalem will be called the City of Truth, and the mountain of the Lord of All will be called the Holy Mountain.’ ⁴ The Lord of All says, ‘Old men and old women will sit in the streets of Jerusalem again. Each man will have a walking stick in his hand because he will be old. ⁵ And the city will be filled with boys and girls playing in the streets.’ ⁶ The Lord of All says, ‘It may be wonderful to the few people here in those days, but will it be wonderful to Me also?’ says the Lord of All. ⁷ The Lord of All says, ‘I am going to save My people from the land of the east and from the land of the west. ⁸ I will bring them back and they will live in Jerusalem. They will be My people and I will be their God. I will be faithful and do what is right and good for them.’

⁹ “The Lord of All says, ‘You who are now listening to these words spoken through the men of God who were there when the Lord’s house was started, let your hands be strong for building the Lord’s house. ¹⁰ Before that time there was no pay for man or animal. No one could come in or go out in peace because of those who hated him. I turned people against one another. ¹¹ But now I will not do to the rest of these people as I did in the past,’ says the Lord of All. ¹² ‘The seed will grow in peace. The vine will give its fruit. The land will give its food. The heavens will give water on the grass in the early morning. And I will let the rest of this people have all these things. ¹³ O people of Judah and Israel, just as you were a curse among the nations, I will save you and make you something good. Do not be afraid. Let your hands be strong.’

¹⁴ “The Lord of All says, ‘I wanted to hurt you because your fathers made Me angry. ¹⁵ But now I want to do good to Jerusalem and to the people of Judah. Do not be afraid. ¹⁶ These are the things you are to do: Speak the truth to one another. Judge with truth so there will be peace within your gates. ¹⁷ Do not make sinful plans against one another in your hearts. And do not love to make false promises. For I hate all these things,’ says the Lord.”

¹⁸ Then the Word of the Lord came to me saying, ¹⁹ “The Lord of All says, ‘The times when you do not eat in the fourth, fifth, seventh and tenth months will become glad times of joy. They will become happy, special suppers for the people of Judah. So love truth and peace.’ ²⁰ The Lord of All says, ‘Many people will yet come from many cities. ²¹ The people of one city will say to another, “Let us go at once and pray to the Lord and ask for His favor. I will go also.” ²² ‘So many people and powerful nations will come to look for the Lord of All in Jerusalem and to ask for the Lord’s favor.’ ²³ The Lord of All says, ‘In those days ten men from the nations of every language will take hold of the coat of a Jew, saying, “Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you.”’”

Jesus Hears about Lazarus

11 A man named Lazarus was sick. He lived in the town of Bethany with his sisters, Mary and Martha. ² This was the Mary who put perfume on the Lord and dried His feet with her hair. It was her brother Lazarus who was sick. ³ The sisters sent word to Jesus, saying, “Lord, your friend is sick!” ⁴ When Jesus heard this, He said, “This sickness will not end in death. It has happened so that it will bring honor to God. And the Son of God will be honored by it also.”

Jesus Tells of the Death of Lazarus

⁵ Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. ⁶ But when He heard that Lazarus was sick, He stayed where He was two more days. ⁷ Then He said to His followers, “Let us go into the country of Judea again.” ⁸ The followers said to Him, “Teacher, the Jews tried to throw stones at You to kill You not long ago. Are You going there again?” ⁹ Jesus said, “Are there not twelve hours in the day? If a man walks during the day, he will not fall. He sees the light of this world. ¹⁰ If a man walks during the night, he will fall. The light is not in him.”

¹¹ After Jesus had said this, He spoke again and said, “Our friend Lazarus is sleeping. I will go and wake him up.” ¹² The followers said to Him, “If he is sleeping, he will get well.” ¹³ But Jesus meant Lazarus was dead. They thought He meant Lazarus was resting in sleep. ¹⁴ Then Jesus said to them, “Lazarus is dead. ¹⁵ Because of you I am glad I was not there so that you may believe. Come, let us go to him.”

¹⁶ Thomas, who was called the Twin, said to the other followers, “Let us go also so we may die with Jesus.”

Jesus Tells That the Grave Will Not Hold the Dead

¹⁷ When Jesus got there, He heard that Lazarus had been in the grave four days. ¹⁸ Bethany was about one-half hour walk from Jerusalem. ¹⁹ Many Jews had come to Martha and Mary to give words of comfort about their brother.

²⁰ Martha heard that Jesus was coming and went to meet Him. Mary stayed in the house. ²¹ Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died. ²² I know even now God will give You whatever You ask.” ²³ Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” ²⁴ Martha said to Him, “I know that he will rise again when the dead are raised from the grave on the last day.”

²⁵ Jesus said to her, “I am the One Who raises the dead and gives them life. Anyone who puts his trust in Me will live again, even if he dies. ²⁶ Anyone who lives and has put his trust in Me will never die. Do you believe this?” ²⁷ She answered, “Yes, Lord, I believe that You are the Christ, the Son of God. You are the One Who was to come into the world.”

Lazarus Is Raised from the Dead

²⁸ After Martha said this, she went and called her sister Mary. She said without anyone else hearing, “The Teacher is here and has sent for you.” ²⁹ When Mary heard this, she got up and went to Him. ³⁰ Jesus had not yet come into their town. He was still where Martha had met Him.

³¹ The Jews had been in the house comforting Mary. They saw her get up and hurry out. They followed her and said, “She is going to the grave to cry there.” ³² Mary went to the place where Jesus was. When she saw Him, she got down at His feet. She said to Him, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.” ³³ Jesus saw her crying. The Jews who came with her were crying also. His heart was very sad and He was troubled. ³⁴ He said, “Where did you lay Lazarus?” They said, “Lord, come and see.” ³⁵ Then Jesus cried. ³⁶ The Jews said, “See how much He loved Lazarus.” ³⁷ Some of them said, “This Man opened the eyes of the blind man. Could He not have kept this man from dying?”

³⁸ Jesus went to the grave with a sad heart. The grave was a hole in the side of a hill. A stone covered the door. ³⁹ Jesus said, “Take the stone away.” The dead man’s sister, Martha, said to Him, “Lord, by now his body has a bad smell. He has been dead four days.” ⁴⁰ Jesus said to her, “Did I not say that if you would believe, you would see the shining-greatness of God?”

⁴¹ They took the stone away. Jesus looked up and said, “Father, I thank You for hearing Me. ⁴² I know You always hear Me. But I have said this for the people standing here, so they may believe You have sent Me.”

⁴³ When He had said this, He called with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” ⁴⁴ The man who had been dead came out. His hands and feet were tied in grave clothes. A white cloth was tied around his face. Jesus said to the people, “Take off the grave clothes and let him go!”

The Proud Religious Law-Keepers Try to Think of a Way to Kill Jesus

⁴⁵ Many of the Jews who had come to visit Mary and had seen what Jesus had done put their trust in Him. ⁴⁶ Some of them went to the proud religious law-keepers and told them what Jesus had done. ⁴⁷ The religious leaders of the Jews and the proud religious law-keepers gathered a court together. They said, “What will we do? This Man is doing many powerful works. ⁴⁸ If we let Him keep doing these things, all men will put their trust in Him. The Romans will come and take away the house of God and our nation.” ⁴⁹ Caiaphas was the head religious leader that year. He said to them, “You know nothing about this. ⁵⁰ Do you not see it is better for one man to die for the people than for the whole nation to be destroyed?”

⁵¹ Caiaphas did not think of these words himself. He spoke what God had said would happen. He was telling before it happened that Jesus must die for the nation. ⁵² He must die not only for the nation, but also to bring together into one group the children of God who were living in many places.

⁵³ From that day on they talked together about how they might kill Jesus. ⁵⁴ For this reason Jesus did not walk out in the open among the Jews. He went to a town called Ephraim. It was near a desert. He stayed there with His followers.

The Proud Religious Law-Keepers Look for Jesus

⁵⁵ The special religious gathering to remember how the Jews left Egypt was soon. Many people from around the country came up to Jerusalem to go through the religious washing before the special supper. ⁵⁶ They looked for Jesus. They stood together in the house of God and asked each other, “What do you think? Will He come to the special supper?” ⁵⁷ The religious leaders of the Jews and the proud religious law-keepers had said that if any man knew where Jesus was, he should tell them. They wanted to take Him.