M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan

Ahaziah Rules in Judah

22 The people of Jerusalem made his youngest son Ahaziah king in his place. For the army of men who came with the Arabs to the tents had killed all the older sons. So Ahaziah, the son of King Jehoram of Judah, began to rule. ² He was twenty-two years old when he became king. And he ruled for one year in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Athaliah, the grand-daughter of Omri. ³ Ahaziah walked in the ways of those of Ahab’s house. For his mother talked him into doing sinful things. ⁴ He did what was sinful in the eyes of the Lord, as those of Ahab’s house had done. For after his father’s death, they talked with him about what to do, and so caused him to be destroyed. ⁵ He did what they told him to do. He went with Jehoram the son of King Ahab of Israel to fight a war against King Hazael of Syria at Ramoth-gilead. But the Syrians hurt Jehoram. ⁶ So he returned to Jezreel to be healed of the cuts he had received at Ramah, when he fought against King Hazael of Syria. And Ahaziah the son of Jehoram, king of Judah, went down to see Jehoram the son of Ahab in Jezreel, because he was sick.

⁷ But it was planned by God that Ahaziah would be destroyed by going to Jehoram. For when he came, he went out with Jehoram against Jehu the son of Nimshi. Jehu was the one the Lord had chosen to destroy the family of Ahab. ⁸ When Jehu was punishing the family of Ahab, he found the sons of kings of Judah and the sons of Ahaziah’s brothers. They were helping Ahaziah. And Jehu killed them. ⁹ Then he looked for Ahaziah, and he was found hiding in Samaria. He was brought to Jehu, and was put to death. Then they buried him, for they said, “He is the son of Jehoshaphat, who followed the Lord with all his heart.” So there was no one left of Ahaziah’s house who was able to rule the nation.

Athaliah Rules in Judah

¹⁰ When Athaliah, the mother of Ahaziah, saw that her son was dead, she went and destroyed all the king’s children of the family of Judah. ¹¹ But Jehoshabeath, the king’s daughter, took Ahaziah’s son Joash. She stole him from among the king’s sons who were being killed. And she put him and his nurse in the bedroom. So Jehoshabeath, the daughter of King Jehoram, the wife of Jehoiada the religious leader, and sister of Ahaziah, hid Joash from Athaliah, so she could not kill him.

¹² Joash was hidden with them in the house of God for six years, while Athaliah ruled over the land.

Joash Made King of Judah

23 In the seventh year, Jehoiada made himself strong. He made an agreement with the captains of hundreds. These captains were Azariah the son of Jeroham, Ishmael the son of Johanan, Azariah the son of Obed, Maaseiah the son of Adaiah, and Elishaphat the son of Zichri. They made an agreement with Jehoiada. ² And they went through Judah and gathered the Levites from all the cities. They gathered the heads of the fathers’ houses of Israel. And they came to Jerusalem. ³ Then all the people made an agreement with the king in the house of God. Jehoiada said to them, “See, the king’s son will rule, as the Lord has spoken about the sons of David. ⁴ This is what you must do. One third of you religious leaders and Levites who come in on the Day of Rest will watch the gates. ⁵ One third will be at the king’s house, and one third at the Gate of the Foundation. And all the people will be in the open places of the house of the Lord. ⁶ But let no one come into the house of the Lord except the religious leaders and the Levite helpers. They may come in, for they are holy. But let all the other people obey the law against going into the holy place of the Lord. ⁷ The Levites will stand around the king. Each one will have his spear in his hand. And whoever goes into the house will be killed. Be with the king when he comes in and when he goes out.”

⁸ The Levites and all Judah did all that Jehoiada the religious leader told them. Each one of them took his men who were to come in on the Day of Rest, with those who were to go out on the Day of Rest. For Jehoiada the religious leader did not send away any of the groups. ⁹ Then Jehoiada the religious leader gave the captains of hundreds the spears and the large and small battle-coverings that had been King David’s, which were in the house of God. ¹⁰ And he put all the people in their places around the king. Each man had his spear in his hand. They were put in their places from the right side of the house to the left side, around the altar and the house. ¹¹ Then they brought out the king’s son and put the crown on him. They gave him the Law, and made him king. Jehoiada and his sons poured oil on him and said, “Long live the king!”

Death of Athaliah

¹² When Athaliah heard the noise of the people running and praising the king, she came into the house of the Lord to the people. ¹³ She looked and saw the king beside his pillar at the gate. The captains and those who blew the horns were beside the king. And all the people of the land were filled with joy and blew horns. The singers were playing music and leading the praise. Athaliah tore her clothes and called out, “They are turning against the queen!” ¹⁴ Then Jehoiada the religious leader brought out the captains of hundreds who were over the army, and said to them, “Bring her out from among the groups of people. And kill with the sword whoever follows her.” For the religious leader said, “Do not kill her in the house of the Lord.” ¹⁵ So they took hold of her. And when she came to the Horse Gate of the king’s house, they killed her there.

¹⁶ Then Jehoiada made an agreement between himself and all the people and the king, that they should be the Lord’s people. ¹⁷ All the people went to the house of Baal and tore it down. They broke in pieces his altars and the objects made to look like him. And they killed Mattan the religious leader of Baal in front of the altars. ¹⁸ Then Jehoiada put the duties of the Lord’s house under the care of the religious leaders and the Levites. David had chosen them to take care of the Lord’s house. They were to give the burnt gifts of the Lord, as it is written in the Law of Moses. It was to be done with joy and singing, as David had told them. ¹⁹ And Jehoiada put the gate-keepers in their places of the Lord’s house. This was so no one would go in who was in any way unclean. ²⁰ Then he took the captains of hundreds, the princes, the leaders of the people, and all the people of the land. And they brought the king down from the house of the Lord. They came through the high gate to the king’s house. And they placed the king upon the throne of the nation. ²¹ So all the people of the land were filled with joy, and the city was quiet. For they had killed Athaliah with the sword.

The Angel and the Little Book

10 Then I saw another strong angel coming down from heaven covered with a cloud. He had many colors around his head. His face was like the sun. His feet were like long flames of fire. ² He had in his hand a little book that was open. The angel put his right foot on the sea. He put his left foot on the land. ³ He cried with a loud voice like the sound of a lion. The seven thunders sounded. ⁴ I was ready to write when the seven thunders had spoken. Then I heard the voice from heaven saying, “Lock up the things which the seven thunders have spoken. Do not write them!”

⁵ Then the strong angel that I saw standing on the sea and on the land lifted his right hand to heaven. ⁶ He made a promise in the name of God Who lives forever, Who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and everything in them. He promised that there will be no more waiting. ⁷ And when the seventh angel blows his horn, God will put His secret plan into action. It will be done just as He told it to the early preachers, His servants.

⁸ Then the voice I heard from heaven spoke to me again. It said, “Go and take the little book that is open. It is in the hand of the angel who is standing on the sea and on the land.”

⁹ I went to the angel and asked him to give me the little book. He said, “Take it and eat it. It will taste like honey in your mouth. But after you have eaten it, it will make your stomach sour.” ¹⁰ Then I took it from the angel’s hand and ate it. It was sweet as honey in my mouth, but it made my stomach sour after I had eaten it.

¹¹ Then they said to me, “You must tell what will happen again in front of many people and nations and families and kings.”

Zechariah Sees Four War-Wagons

6 I looked up again and saw four war-wagons coming out from between the two mountains. The mountains were made of brass. ² The first war-wagon had red horses. The second war-wagon had black horses. ³ The third war-wagon had white horses, and the fourth war-wagon had strong horses with spots. ⁴ Then I said to the angel who was speaking with me, “What are these, my lord?” ⁵ The angel said to me, “These are the four spirits of heaven, going away from standing before the Lord of All the earth. ⁶ The war-wagon with the black horses is going toward the north country. The white ones follow them. And the horses with spots go toward the south country. ⁷ When the strong horses went out, they were in a hurry to look over all the earth.” And he said, “Go, look over all the earth.” So they went over the whole earth. ⁸ Then he called to me, “See, those who are going to the land of the north have given My Spirit rest in the north country.”

The Crown on Joshua

⁹ The Word of the Lord came to me saying, ¹⁰ “Take the gifts from Heldai, Tobijah, and Jedaiah, who have returned from Babylon. And go the same day to the house of Josiah the son of Zephaniah. ¹¹ Take the silver and gold and make a crown, and set it on the head of Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the head religious leader. ¹² Then tell him, ‘The Lord of All says, “See, the man whose name is the Branch, for He will branch out from where He is. And He will build the house of the Lord. ¹³ Yes, He is the One Who will build the house of the Lord. He will be honored as King, and sit and rule on His throne. And He will be a religious leader on His throne, and there will be peace between the two.”’ ¹⁴ The crown will be in the Lord’s house, that people may remember Helem, Tobijah, Jedaiah, and Hen the son of Zephaniah. ¹⁵ Those who are far away will come to build the house of the Lord. Then you will know that the Lord of All has sent me to you. This will happen if you are careful to obey the Lord your God.”

Jesus Heals a Man Who Was Born Blind

9 As Jesus went on His way, He saw a man who had been born blind. ² His followers asked Him, “Teacher, whose sin made this man to be born blind? Was it the sin of this man or the sin of his parents?” ³ Jesus answered, “The sin of this man or the sin of his parents did not make him to be born blind. He was born blind so the work of God would be seen in him. ⁴ We must keep on doing the work of Him Who sent Me while it is day. Night is coming when no man can work. ⁵ While I am in the world, I am the Light of the world.”

⁶ After Jesus had said this, He spit on the ground. He mixed it with dust and put that mud on the eyes of the blind man. ⁷ Then Jesus said to him, “Go and wash in the pool of Siloam.” (Siloam means Sent.) The man went away and washed. When he came back, he could see.

⁸ Neighbors and others had seen him begging. They said, “Is not this the man who sat and begged?” ⁹ Some said, “This is the one.” Others said, “No, but he looks like him.” But the man who had been blind said, “I am the man.” ¹⁰ They said to him, “How were your eyes opened?” ¹¹ He answered, “A Man called Jesus made mud and put it on my eyes. Then He said to me, ‘Go and wash in the pool of Siloam.’ I went and washed and I can see.” ¹² Then they asked him, “Where is He?” He answered, “I do not know.”

The Proud Religious Law-Keepers Are Troubled about This Healing

¹³ They took the man who had been born blind to the proud religious law-keepers. ¹⁴ It was the Day of Rest when Jesus had made mud and opened his eyes. ¹⁵ Again the proud religious law-keepers asked the man who had been born blind how he had been made to see. He answered them, “Jesus put mud on my eyes. I washed and now I see!” ¹⁶ Some of the proud religious law-keepers said, “The Man Who did this is not from God because He worked on the Day of Rest.” Others said, “How can a sinful man do powerful works?” They could not agree about Jesus. ¹⁷ They spoke again to the blind man, saying, “What do you say about Him since He opened your eyes?” He answered, “He is One Who speaks for God.”

¹⁸ The Jews did not believe this man had been blind and had been made to see. They called his parents ¹⁹ and asked them, “Is this your son? Do you say he was born blind? How does he see now?” ²⁰ They answered, “We know this is our son and we know he was born blind. ²¹ But we do not know how it is that he can see now. We do not know who opened his eyes. He is old enough, ask him. He can tell you himself.” ²² His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jews. The Jews had talked among themselves. They had agreed that the person who said that Jesus was the Christ would be put out of the Jewish place of worship. ²³ That is why his parents said, “He is old enough, ask him.”

²⁴ The proud religious law-keepers asked the man again, who had been blind, to come. They said to him, “Give thanks to God. We know this man is a sinner.” ²⁵ The man who had been blind said to them, “I do not know if He is a sinner or not. One thing I know. I was blind, but now I can see.” ²⁶ They asked him again, “What did He do to you? How did He open your eyes?” ²⁷ He answered, “I have told you already. You did not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you want to become His followers also?”

²⁸ The proud religious law-keepers became angry at him and said, “You are a follower of Jesus. We are followers of Moses. ²⁹ We know God spoke to Moses. We do not know where this Man is from.” ³⁰ The man said to them, “This is strange! You do not know where He came from and yet He opened my eyes. ³¹ We know that God does not listen to sinners. We know if anyone loves and worships God, and does what He wants, God listens to him. ³² From the beginning of the world no one has ever heard of anyone opening the eyes of a man born blind. ³³ If this Man were not from God, He would not be able to do anything like this.”

³⁴ They said to him, “You were born in sin. Are you trying to teach us?” Then they put him out of the place of worship.

Jesus Speaks Sharp Words to the Proud Religious Law-Keepers

³⁵ Jesus heard that the proud religious law-keepers had put the man who had been healed out of the place of worship. He found the man and said to him, “Do you put your trust in the Son of God?” ³⁶ He said, “Who is He, Sir? Tell me so that I can put my trust in Him.” ³⁷ Jesus said to him, “You have seen Him. He is talking with you.” ³⁸ He said, “I do put my trust in You, Lord.” Then he bowed down before Jesus and worshiped Him.

³⁹ Jesus said, “I came into this world to say what is right from wrong. I came so those who do not see might see, and those who do see might be made blind.” ⁴⁰ Some of the proud religious law-keepers who were with Him heard this. They said to Him, “Are we blind also?” ⁴¹ Jesus said to them, “If you were blind, you would not be guilty of sin. But because you say, ‘We see,’ you still are guilty of your sin.