M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
King Manasseh of Judah(A)
33 Manasseh was 12 years old when he began to rule, and he ruled for 55 years in Jerusalem.
2 He did what the Lord considered evil by copying the disgusting things done by the nations that the Lord had forced out of the Israelites’ way. 3 He rebuilt the illegal places of worship that his father Hezekiah had torn down. He set up altars dedicated to other gods—the Baals—and made a pole dedicated to the goddess Asherah as King Ahab of Israel had done. Manasseh, like Ahab, worshiped and served the entire army of heaven. 4 He built altars in the Lord’s temple, where the Lord had said, “My name will be in Jerusalem forever.” 5 In the two courtyards of the Lord’s temple, he built altars for the entire army of heaven. 6 He burned his son as a sacrifice in the valley of Ben Hinnom, consulted fortunetellers, cast evil spells, practiced witchcraft, and appointed ⌞royal⌟ mediums and psychics. He did many things that made the Lord furious. 7 Manasseh had a carved idol made. Then he set it up in God’s temple, where God had said to David and his son Solomon, “I have chosen this temple and Jerusalem from all the tribes of Israel. I will put my name here forever. 8 I will never again remove Israel from the land that I set aside for their ancestors if they will obey all the commands, all the teachings, the ordinances, and the regulations ⌞I gave⌟ through Moses.” 9 Manasseh misled Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem so that they did more evil things than the nations that the Lord had destroyed when the Israelites arrived in the land.
10 When the Lord spoke to Manasseh and his people, they wouldn’t even pay attention. 11 So the Lord made the army commanders of the king of Assyria invade Judah. They took Manasseh captive, put a hook in his nose, put him in bronze shackles, and brought him to Babylon.
12 When he experienced this distress, he begged the Lord his God to be kind and humbled himself in front of the God of his ancestors. 13 He prayed to the Lord, and the Lord accepted his prayer and listened to his request. The Lord brought him back to his kingdom in Jerusalem. Then Manasseh knew that the Lord is God.
14 After this, Manasseh rebuilt the outer wall of the City of David from west of Gihon Spring in the valley to the entrance of Fish Gate. He made the wall go around the Ophel, and he built it very high. He put army commanders in every fortified city in Judah.
15 Manasseh got rid of the foreign gods and the idol in the Lord’s temple. He got rid of the altars he had built in the temple on the Lord’s mountain and in Jerusalem. 16 He built the Lord’s altar and sacrificed fellowship offerings and thank offerings on it. And he told Judah to serve the Lord God of Israel. 17 The people continued to sacrifice at the illegal places of worship, but they sacrificed only to the Lord their God.
18 Everything else about Manasseh—including his prayer to his God and the words that the seers [a] spoke to him in the name of the Lord God of Israel—are in the records of the kings of Israel. 19 His prayer and how God accepted it are written in the records of Hozai. The things he did before he humbled himself are also written there. This includes all his sins and unfaithfulness and the places where he built illegal worship sites and set up idols and poles dedicated to the goddess Asherah.
20 Manasseh lay down in death with his ancestors. They buried him in his own palace. His son Amon succeeded him as king.
King Amon of Judah(B)
21 Amon was 22 years old when he began to rule, and he ruled for 2 years in Jerusalem. 22 He did what the Lord considered evil, as his father Manasseh had done. Amon sacrificed to all the idols his father Manasseh had made, and he worshiped them. 23 He didn’t humble himself in front of the Lord as his father Manasseh had humbled himself. Instead, Amon continued to sin.
24 His officials plotted against him and killed him in his palace. 25 Then the people of the land killed everyone who had plotted against King Amon. They made his son Josiah king in his place.
The Lamb’s Wedding
19 After these things I heard what sounded like the loud noise from a large crowd in heaven, saying,
“Hallelujah!
Salvation, glory, and power belong to our God.
2 His judgments are true and fair.
He has condemned the notorious prostitute
who corrupted the world with her sexual sins.
He has taken revenge on her for the blood of his servants.”
3 A second time they said, “Hallelujah! The smoke goes up from her forever and ever.” 4 The 24 leaders and the 4 living creatures bowed and worshiped God, who was sitting on the throne. They said, “Amen! Hallelujah!” 5 A voice came from the throne. It said, “Praise our God, all who serve and fear him, no matter who you are.”
6 I heard what sounded like the noise from a large crowd, like the noise of raging waters, like the noise of loud thunder, saying,
“Hallelujah! The Lord our God, the Almighty, has become king.
7 Let us rejoice, be happy, and give him glory
because it’s time for the marriage of the lamb.
His bride has made herself ready.
8 She has been given the privilege of wearing
dazzling, pure linen.”
This fine linen represents the things that God’s holy people do that have his approval.
9 Then the angel said to me, “Write this: ‘Blessed are those who are invited to the lamb’s wedding banquet.’ ” He also told me, “These are God’s true words.” 10 I bowed at his feet to worship him. But he told me, “Don’t do that! I am your coworker and a coworker of the Christians who hold on to the testimony of Jesus. Worship God, because the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy!”
The Great Banquet of God
11 I saw heaven standing open. There was a white horse, and its rider is named Faithful and True. With integrity he judges and wages war. 12 His eyes are flames of fire. On his head are many crowns. He has a name written on him, but only he knows what it is. 13 He wears clothes dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God.
14 The armies of heaven, wearing pure, white linen, follow him on white horses. 15 A sharp sword comes out of his mouth to defeat the nations. He will rule them with an iron scepter and tread the winepress of the fierce anger of God Almighty. 16 On his clothes and his thigh he has a name written: King of Kings and Lord of Lords.
17 I saw an angel standing in the sun. He cried out in a loud voice to all the birds flying overhead, “Come! Gather for the great banquet of God. 18 Eat the flesh of kings, generals, warriors, horses and their riders, and all free people and slaves, both important or insignificant people.”
19 I saw the beast, the kings of the earth, and their armies gathered to wage war against the rider on the horse and his army. 20 The beast and the false prophet who had done miracles for the beast were captured. By these miracles the false prophet had deceived those who had the brand of the beast and worshiped its statue. Both of them were thrown alive into the fiery lake of burning sulfur. 21 The rider on the horse killed the rest with the sword that came out of his mouth. All the birds gorged themselves on the flesh of those who had been killed.
“I Loved Jacob, but Esau I Hated”
1 This is a divine revelation. The Lord spoke his word to Israel through Malachi.
2 “I loved you,” says the Lord.
“But you ask, ‘How did you love us?’
“Wasn’t Esau Jacob’s brother?” declares the Lord. “I loved Jacob, 3 but Esau I hated. I turned his mountains into a wasteland and left his inheritance to the jackals in the desert.
4 “The descendants of Esau may say, ‘We have been beaten down, but we will rebuild the ruins.’
“Yet, this is what the Lord of Armies says: They may rebuild, but I will tear it down. They will be called ‘the Wicked Land’ and ‘the people with whom the Lord is always angry.’ 5 You will see these things with your own eyes and say, ‘Even outside the borders of Israel the Lord is great.’
The Priests Offer Unacceptable Sacrifices to the Lord
6 “This is what the Lord of Armies says: A son honors his father, and a servant honors his master. So if I am a father, where is my honor? If I am a master, where is my respect? You priests despise my name.
“But you ask, ‘How have we despised your name?’
7 “You offer contaminated food on my altar.
“But you ask, ‘Then how have we contaminated you?’
“When you say that the Lord’s table may be despised. 8 When you bring a blind animal to sacrifice, isn’t that wrong? When you bring a lame or a sick animal, isn’t that wrong? Try offering it to your governor. Would he accept it from you? Would he welcome you?” asks the Lord of Armies.
9 “Now try asking God to be kind to you. This is what you are doing! Will he welcome you?” asks the Lord of Armies.
10 “I wish one of you would shut the doors ⌞to my house⌟ so that you could not light fires on my altar for no reason. I’m not pleased with you,” says the Lord of Armies, “and I won’t accept your offerings.
11 “From the nations where the sun rises to the nations where the sun sets, my name will be great. Incense and pure offerings will be offered everywhere in my name, because my name will be great among the nations,” says the Lord of Armies. 12 “But you dishonor it when you say that the Lord’s table may be contaminated and that its food may be despised.
13 “You say, ‘Oh what a nuisance it is,’ and you sniff at it in disgust,” says the Lord of Armies. “You bring stolen, lame, and sick animals. When you bring such offerings, should I accept them from you?” asks the Lord.
14 “Cheaters are under a curse. They have male animals in their flocks that they vow to give ⌞as a sacrifice⌟. But they sacrifice second-rate ones to the Lord instead. I am a great king,” says the Lord of Armies. “Among the nations my name is respected.
Jesus Is Arrested(A)
18 After Jesus finished his prayer, he went with his disciples to the other side of the Kidron Valley. They entered the garden that was there.
2 Judas, who betrayed him, knew the place because Jesus and his disciples often gathered there. 3 So Judas took a troop of soldiers and the guards from the chief priests and Pharisees and went to the garden. They were carrying lanterns, torches, and weapons.
4 Jesus knew everything that was going to happen to him. So he went to meet them and asked, “Who are you looking for?”
5 They answered him, “Jesus from Nazareth.”
Jesus told them, “I am he.”
Judas, who betrayed him, was standing with the crowd. 6 When Jesus told them, “I am he,” the crowd backed away and fell to the ground.
7 Jesus asked them again, “Who are you looking for?”
They said, “Jesus from Nazareth.”
8 Jesus replied, “I told you that I am he. So if you are looking for me, let these other men go.” 9 In this way what Jesus had said came true: “I lost none of those you gave me.”
10 Simon Peter had a sword. He drew it, attacked the chief priest’s servant, and cut off the servant’s right ear. (The servant’s name was Malchus.)
11 Jesus told Peter, “Put your sword away. Shouldn’t I drink the cup ⌞of suffering⌟ that my Father has given me?”
12 Then the army officer and the Jewish guards arrested Jesus. They tied Jesus up 13 and took him first to Annas, the father-in-law of Caiaphas. Caiaphas, the chief priest that year, 14 was the person who had advised the Jews that it was better to have one man die for the people.
Peter Denies Jesus(B)
15 Simon Peter and another disciple followed Jesus. The other disciple was well-known to the chief priest. So that disciple went with Jesus into the chief priest’s courtyard. 16 Peter, however, was standing outside the gate. The other disciple talked to the woman who was the gatekeeper and brought Peter into the courtyard.
17 The gatekeeper asked Peter, “Aren’t you one of this man’s disciples too?”
Peter answered, “No, I’m not!”
18 The servants and the guards were standing around a fire they had built and were warming themselves because it was cold. Peter was standing there, too, and warming himself with the others.
The Chief Priest Questions Jesus
19 The chief priest questioned Jesus about his disciples and his teachings.
20 Jesus answered him, “I have spoken publicly for everyone to hear. I have always taught in synagogues or in the temple courtyard, where all the Jews gather. I haven’t said anything in secret. 21 Why do you question me? Question those who heard what I said to them. They know what I’ve said.”
22 When Jesus said this, one of the guards standing near Jesus slapped his face and said, “Is that how you answer the chief priest?”
23 Jesus replied to him, “If I’ve said anything wrong, tell me what it was. But if I’ve told the truth, why do you hit me?”
24 Annas sent Jesus to Caiaphas, the chief priest. Jesus was still tied up.
Peter Denies Jesus Again(C)
25 Simon Peter continued to stand and warm himself by the fire. Some men asked him, “Aren’t you, too, one of his disciples?”
Peter denied it by saying, “No, I’m not!”
26 One of the chief priest’s servants, a relative of the man whose ear Peter had cut off, asked him, “Didn’t I see you with Jesus in the garden?”
27 Peter again denied it, and just then a rooster crowed.
Pilate Questions Jesus(D)
28 Early in the morning, Jesus was taken from Caiaphas’ house to the governor’s palace.
The Jews wouldn’t go into the palace. They didn’t want to become unclean,[a] since they wanted to eat the Passover. 29 So Pilate came out to them and asked, “What accusation are you making against this man?”
30 The Jews answered Pilate, “If he weren’t a criminal, we wouldn’t have handed him over to you.”
31 Pilate told the Jews, “Take him, and try him by your law.”
The Jews answered him, “We’re not allowed to execute anyone.” 32 In this way what Jesus had predicted about how he would die came true.
33 Pilate went back into the palace, called for Jesus, and asked him, “Are you the king of the Jews?”
34 Jesus replied, “Did you think of that yourself, or did others tell you about me?”
35 Pilate answered, “Am I a Jew? Your own people and the chief priests handed you over to me. What have you done?”
36 Jesus answered, “My kingdom doesn’t belong to this world. If my kingdom belonged to this world, my followers would fight to keep me from being handed over to the Jews. My kingdom doesn’t have its origin on earth.”
37 Pilate asked him, “So you are a king?”
Jesus replied, “You’re correct in saying that I’m a king. I have been born and have come into the world for this reason: to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to me.”
38 Pilate said to him, “What is truth?”
After Pilate said this, he went out to the Jews again and told them, “I don’t find this man guilty of anything. 39 You have a custom that I should free one person for you at Passover. Would you like me to free the king of the Jews for you?”
40 The Jews shouted again, “Don’t free this man! Free Barabbas!” (Barabbas was a political revolutionary.)
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