M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan

The Reign of Manasseh

33 Manasseh was twelve years old when he began to reign, and he reigned fifty-five years in Jerusalem. ² And he did evil in the eyes of Yahweh according to the detestable things of the nations whom Yahweh drove out before the Israelites.^{[a] 3} And he rebuilt^[b] the high places that Hezekiah his father broke down, and he set up altars for the Baals, made Asherahs, and bowed down to the host of heaven and served them. ⁴ And he built altars in the house of Yahweh, of which Yahweh had said, “In Jerusalem my name shall be forever.” ⁵ And he built altars to all the host of heaven in the two courtyards of the house of Yahweh. ⁶ And he himself burned his sons in the fire in the Valley of Ben-Hinnom. And he practiced sorcery and divination, and he engaged in witchcraft and dealt with mediums and spiritists. And he did much evil in the eyes of Yahweh, to provoke him to anger. ⁷ And he placed the carved image of the idol that he had made in the house of God, of which God had said to David and to Solomon his son, “In this house and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen from all the tribes of Israel, I will put my name forever. ⁸ And I will never^[c] remove the foot of Israel from upon the land that I appointed to your ancestors,^[d] if only you will take care to do all that I have commanded them, all the law, the regulations, and the judgments by the hand of Moses.” ⁹ And Manasseh seduced Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to do evil more than the nations that Yahweh destroyed before the Israelites.^[e]

Manasseh’s Repentance

¹⁰ And Yahweh spoke to Manasseh and to his people, but they would not listen. ¹¹ So Yahweh brought the commanders of the army of the king of Assyria upon them, and they took Manasseh captive with hooks, and they bound him with bronze fetters and brought him to Babylon. ¹² And when he was in distress he entreated Yahweh his God and greatly humbled himself before the God of his ancestors^{[f] 13} and prayed to him. And God responded to him and heard his plea and let him return to Jerusalem to his kingdom. And Manasseh knew that Yahweh was God.

¹⁴ Then afterward he built an outer wall for the city of David west of the Gihon in the valley, and for the entrance into the Gate of the Fishes. And it encircled the Ophel and raised it very high. Then he placed strong commanders in all the fortified cities of Judah. ¹⁵ And he removed the foreign gods and the carved image from the house of Yahweh and all the altars which he built on the mountain of the house of Yahweh and in Jerusalem, and he threw them outside the city. ¹⁶ And he restored the altar of Yahweh and offered sacrifices of peace offerings and thank offerings upon it. And he commanded Judah to serve Yahweh, the God of Israel. ¹⁷ Nevertheless, the people offered at the high places, but only to Yahweh their God.

¹⁸ Now the remainder of the words of Manasseh and his prayer to his God and the words of the seers who spoke to him in the name of Yahweh, the God of Israel, behold, they are in the words of the kings of Israel. ¹⁹ And his prayer, and how he^[g] responded to him, all his sin and his unfaithful acts, and the places where he built the high places and set up Asherahs and idols before he humbled himself, behold, they are written in the words of the seers.

Amon’s Reign

²⁰ And Manasseh slept with his ancestors,^[h] and they buried him in his house. And Amon his son became king in his place. ²¹ Amon was twenty-two years old when he began to reign, and he reigned two years in Jerusalem. ²² And he did what was evil in the eyes of Yahweh as Manasseh his father had done. And Amon sacrificed to all the idols that Manasseh his father had made, and he served them. ²³ And he did not humble himself before Yahweh, as Manasseh his father humbled himself, but Amon himself multiplied his guilt. ²⁴ And his servants conspired against him and killed him in his house. ²⁵ But the people of the land struck down all who conspired against King Amon. And the people of the land made his son Josiah king in his place.

Rejoicing in Heaven

19 After these things I heard something like the loud sound of a great crowd in heaven saying,

³ And a second time they said,

And her smoke goes up forever and ever^[b]. ⁴ And the twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God who is seated on the throne, saying,

⁵ And a voice came out from the throne, saying,

The Wedding Celebration of the Lamb

⁶ And I heard something like the sound of a great crowd and something like the sound of many waters and something like the sound of powerful thunder, saying,

⁹ And he said to me, “Write: Blessed are those who are invited to the banquet of the wedding celebration of the Lamb!” And he said to me, “These are the true words of God.” ¹⁰ And I fell down before his feet to worship him, and he said to me, “Do not do that!^[d] I am a fellow slave of you and of your brothers who hold to the testimony of Jesus. Worship God! For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.”

The Warrior on the White Horse

¹¹ And I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse, and the one seated on it was called “Faithful” and “True,” and with justice^[e] he judges and makes war. ¹² Now his eyes were a flame of fire, and on his head were many royal headbands having a name written that no one except he himself knows. ¹³ And he was dressed in an outer garment dipped in blood, and his name is called the Word of God. ¹⁴ And the armies that are in heaven, dressed in clean, white fine linen, were following him on white horses. ¹⁵ And out of his mouth came a sharp sword, so that with it he could strike the nations. And he will shepherd them with an iron rod,^[f] and he stomps the winepress of the wine of the furious wrath of God, the All-Powerful. ¹⁶ And he has a name written on his outer garment and on his thigh: “King of kings and Lord of lords.”

¹⁷ And I saw one angel standing in the sun, and he cried out with a loud voice, saying to all the birds that fly directly overhead^[g],

¹⁹ And I saw the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies assembled to make war with the one who is seated on the horse and with his army. ²⁰ And the beast was seized, and with him the false prophet who performed the signs before him, by which he deceived those who received the mark of the beast and those who had worshiped his image. The two were thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns with sulphur. ²¹ And the rest were killed by the sword of the one who is seated on the horse—the sword that comes out of his mouth—and all the birds gorged themselves on their flesh.

1 An oracle.^[a] The word of Yahweh to Israel through^[b] Malachi.^[c]

An Oracle Against Edom

² “I have loved you,” says Yahweh, but you say, “How have you loved us?” “Is Esau not Jacob’s brother?” declares^[d] Yahweh. “I have loved Jacob, ³ but Esau I have hated. I have made his^[e] mountain ranges a desolation, and given his inheritance to the jackals of the desert.” ⁴ If Edom says, “We are shattered, but we will return and rebuild the ruins,” Yahweh of hosts says this: “They may build, but I will tear down; and they will be called a territory of wickedness, and the people with whom Yahweh is angry forever.” ⁵ Your eyes will see this, and you will say, “Yahweh is great beyond the borders^[f] of Israel.”

An Oracle Against the Temple Priesthood

⁶ “A son honors his father, and a slave his master;^[g] but if I am a father, where is my honor, and if I am a master,^[h] where is my reverence?” says Yahweh of hosts to you, O priests, who despise^[i] my name. “But you say, ‘How have we despised your name?’ ⁷ You are presenting defiled food on my altar! But you ask, ‘How have we defiled you?’ By saying that the table of Yahweh is despised! ⁸ When you offer a blind animal for sacrifice, is that not wrong?^[j] And when you offer the lame and the one who is ill, is that not wrong?^[k] Present it, please, to your governor! Will he be pleased with you? Will he show you favor?”^[l] says Yahweh of hosts. ⁹ So then, implore the favor of God^[m] so that he will be gracious to us. “This is what you have done.^[n] Will he show favor to any of you?”^[o] says Yahweh of hosts. ¹⁰ “Who also among you will shut the temple doors so that you will not kindle fire in vain on my altar? I take no pleasure in you,” says Yahweh of hosts, “and I will not accept^[p] an offering from your hand. ¹¹ From the rising of the sun to its setting, my name is great among the nations, and in every place incense is being presented to my name, and a pure offering. For my name is great among the nations,” says Yahweh of hosts. ¹² “But you are profaning it by saying the table of the Lord is defiled, and its fruit—its food^[q]—is despised! ¹³ And you say, ‘Look! This is a weariness,’ and you sniff with disdain at it,” says Yahweh of hosts. “And you bring the stolen, the lame, and the one that is sick—this you bring as the offering! Should I accept it^[r] from your hand?” says Yahweh. ¹⁴ “Cursed is the one who cheats, who has in his flock a male and vows it, but instead sacrifices a blemished one to the Lord! For I am a great king,” says Yahweh of hosts, “and my name is awesome among the nations.”

Jesus Is Betrayed and Arrested

18 When^[a] Jesus had said these things, he went out with his disciples to the other side of the ravine of the Kidron, where there was a garden into which he and his disciples entered. ² (Now Judas, the one who betrayed him, also knew about the place, because Jesus often gathered there with his disciples.) ³ So Judas, taking the cohort and officers from the chief priests and from the Pharisees, came there with lanterns and torches and weapons. ⁴ Then Jesus, because he^[b] knew all the things that were coming upon him, went out and said to them, “Who are you looking for?” ⁵ They replied to him, “Jesus the Nazarene.” He said to them, “I am he.”^[c] (Now Judas, the one who betrayed him, was also standing with them.) ⁶ So when he said to them, “I am he,”^[d] they drew back^[e] and fell to the ground. ⁷ Then he asked them again, “Who are you looking for?” And they said, “Jesus the Nazarene.” ⁸ Jesus replied, “I said to you that I am he!^[f] So if you are looking for me, let these men go,” ⁹ in order that the word that he had spoken would be fulfilled: “Those whom you have given to me—I have not lost anyone of them.”^[g]

¹⁰ Then Simon Peter, who had a sword, drew it and struck the slave of the high priest and cut off his right ear. (Now the name of the slave was Malchus.) ¹¹ So Jesus said to Peter, “Put the sword into its^[h] sheath! The cup that the Father has given me—shall I not drink it?”

Jesus Taken to Annas

¹² Then the cohort and the military tribune and the officers of the Jews seized Jesus and tied him up, ¹³ and brought him^[i] to Annas first, for he was the father-in-law of Caiaphas, who was high priest that year. ¹⁴ (Now it was Caiaphas who had advised the Jews that it was better that one man die for the people.)

Peter Denies Jesus the First Time

¹⁵ So Simon Peter and another disciple followed Jesus. (Now that disciple was known to the high priest, and entered with Jesus into the courtyard of the high priest.) ¹⁶ But Peter was standing by the door outside. So the other disciple who was known to the high priest went out and spoke to the doorkeeper and brought Peter in. ¹⁷ Then the female slave who was the doorkeeper said to Peter, “You are not also one of the disciples of this man, are you?”^[j] He said, “I am not!” ¹⁸ (Now the slaves and the officers were standing there, having made a charcoal fire because it was cold, and they were warming themselves. And Peter was also standing there with them and warming himself.)

Jesus Before Annas

¹⁹ So the high priest questioned Jesus about his disciples and about his teaching. ²⁰ Jesus replied to him, “I have spoken openly to the world. I always taught in the synagogue and in the temple courts^[k] where all the Jews assemble, and I have said nothing in secret. ²¹ Why are you asking me? Ask those who heard what I have said to them! Behold, these people know what I said.” ²² Now when^[l] he had said these things, one of the officers who was standing by gave a slap in the face to Jesus, saying, “Do you reply to the high priest in this way?” ²³ Jesus replied to him, “If I have spoken wrongly, testify about what is wrong! But if I have spoken^[m] correctly, why do you strike me?” ²⁴ Then Annas sent him, tied up, to Caiaphas the high priest.

Peter Denies Jesus the Second and Third Times

²⁵ Now Simon Peter was standing there and warming himself. So they said to him, “You are not also one of his disciples, are you?”^[n] He denied it^[o] and said, “I am not!” ²⁶ One of the slaves of the high priest, who was related to the one whose ear Peter had cut off, said, “Did I not see you in the garden with him?” ²⁷ So Peter denied it^[p] again, and immediately a rooster crowed.

Jesus Brought Before Pilate

²⁸ Then they brought Jesus from Caiaphas to the governor’s residence. Now it was early, and they did not enter into the governor’s residence so that they would not be defiled, but could eat the Passover. ²⁹ So Pilate came outside to them and said, “What accusation do you bring against this man?” ³⁰ They answered and said to him, “If this man were not doing evil, we would not have handed him over to you!” ³¹ So Pilate said to them, “You take him and judge him according to your law!” The Jews said to him, “It is not permitted for us to kill anyone,” ³² in order that the word of Jesus would be fulfilled that he had spoken, indicating by what sort of death he was going to die.

Pilate Questions Jesus

³³ Then Pilate entered again into the governor’s residence and summoned Jesus and said to him, “Are you the king of the Jews?” ³⁴ Jesus replied, “Do you say this from yourself, or have others said this^[q] to you about me?” ³⁵ Pilate replied, “I am not a Jew, am I?^[r] Your people and the chief priests handed you over to me! What have you done?” ³⁶ Jesus replied, “My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would be fighting so that I would not be handed over to the Jews. But now my kingdom is not from here.” ³⁷ Then Pilate said to him, “So then you are a king!” Jesus replied, “You say that I am a king. For this reason I was born, and for this reason I have come into the world: in order that I can testify to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears my voice.” ³⁸ Pilate said to him, “What is truth?”

And when he^[s] had said this, he went out again to the Jews and said to them, “I find no basis for an accusation against him. ³⁹ But it is your custom that I release for you one prisoner^[t] at the Passover. So do you want me^[u] to release for you the king of the Jews?” ⁴⁰ Then they shouted again, saying, “Not this man, but Barabbas!” (Now Barabbas was a revolutionary.)^[v]