M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Josiah Celebrates the Passover(A)
35 Josiah kept a Passover for the Lord in Jerusalem; they slaughtered the Passover lamb on the fourteenth day of the first month. 2 He appointed priests for their duties and encouraged them in their service to the house of the Lord. 3 And he said to the Levites who gave insight to all Israel and were consecrated to the Lord, “Set the holy ark in the house that Solomon, the son of David and king of Israel, built. You should not carry it on your shoulders. Now serve the Lord your God and His people Israel. 4 Prepare yourselves according to your fathers’ houses by your divisions, as instructed in the writing of David, king of Israel, and the document of Solomon his son.
5 “And stand in the Holy Place according to the divisions of the fathers’ households of your brothers, the laypeople, and according to the Levites, by division of a father’s household. 6 Then slaughter the Passover lamb and consecrate yourselves and prepare for your brothers to do according to the word of the Lord by the hand of Moses.”
7 Josiah contributed to the laypeople, as Passover offerings for all who were present, lambs and young goats from the flock to the number of thirty thousand, and three thousand bulls; these were from the king’s possession.
8 His officials contributed willingly to the people, to the priests, and to the Levites. Hilkiah, Zechariah, and Jehiel, the chief officers of the house of God, gave to the priests for the Passover offerings two thousand six hundred lambs and three hundred bulls. 9 Konaniah, his brothers Shemaiah and Nethanel, and Hashabiah, Jeiel, and Jozabad, officers of the Levites, gave to the Levites for the Passover offerings five thousand lambs and five hundred bulls.
10 When the service was prepared, the priests stood in their places and the Levites in their divisions, according to the king’s command. 11 And they slaughtered the Passover offerings, and the priests sprinkled the blood given to them while the Levites skinned animals. 12 And they set aside the burnt offering to distribute according to each house of the fathers for the people to bring near to the Lord, as written in the Book of Moses. And they did the same with the bulls. 13 And they cooked the Passover lamb with fire according to the rule, and they cooked the holy offerings in pots, jars, bowls, and quickly brought them to all the people. 14 Afterward they prepared the offerings for them and the priests because the priests, the sons of Aaron, offered the burnt offering and fat portions until night. So the Levites prepared for themselves and for the priests, the sons of Aaron.
15 The singers, the sons of Asaph, were in their places according to the command of David, Asaph, Heman, and Jeduthun the king’s seer. The gatekeepers were at each of the gates; they did not need to leave their service, for their brothers the Levites made preparations for them.
16 So all the service of the Lord was carried out that day to have the Passover, and to offer the burnt offerings on the altar of the Lord according to the command of King Josiah. 17 And the sons of Israel who were present had the Passover at that time and the Feast of Unleavened Bread for seven days. 18 And no Passover had been made like this in Israel since the days of Samuel the prophet. And none of the kings of Israel had performed a Passover like Josiah had done. And the priests and Levites and all Judah and Israel were present along with those living in Jerusalem. 19 In the eighteenth year of the reign of Josiah this Passover was performed.
The Death of Josiah(B)
20 After all this when Josiah had prepared the temple, Necho king of Egypt went up to war in Carchemish on the Euphrates, and Josiah went out to meet him. 21 And Necho sent messengers to him saying, “What is there between you and me, king of Judah? I am not against you this day, but against the house with which I am at war. And God has commanded that I hurry. Refrain from being against God who is with me so that He does not destroy you.”
22 But Josiah did not turn away from him for he went to battle against him disguised. He did not listen to the words of Necho that came from the mouth of God, but he came to battle in the plain of Megiddo.
23 So the archers shot King Josiah, and the king said to his servants, “Take me away for I am severely wounded.” 24 Then his servants took him from the chariot, and they set him in a second chariot, and they brought him to Jerusalem. He died and was buried in the tombs of his fathers. And all Judah and Jerusalem mourned for Josiah.
25 And Jeremiah composed a dirge for Josiah, and all the male and female singers speak of Josiah in their laments to this day. They set them as a statute over Israel. They are written in the Laments.
26 And the remainder of the acts of Josiah, his deeds and covenant faithfulness, according to what is written in the Law of the Lord, 27 and his acts from beginning to end are written in the book of the kings of Israel and Judah.
The New Heaven and the New Earth
21 Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth.”[a] For the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no more sea. 2 I, John, saw the Holy City, the New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from heaven, saying, “Look! The tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them. They shall be His people, and God Himself will be with them and be their God. 4 ‘God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes. There shall be no more death.’[b] Neither shall there be any more sorrow nor crying nor pain, for the former things have passed away.”
5 He who was seated on the throne said, “Look! I am making all things new.” Then He said to me, “Write, for these words are faithful and true.”
6 He said to me, “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. I will give of the spring of the water of life to him who thirsts. 7 He who overcomes shall inherit all things, and I will be his God and he shall be My son.[c] 8 But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the abominable, the murderers, the sexually immoral, the sorcerers, the idolaters, and all liars shall have their portion in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone. This is the second death.”
The New Jerusalem
9 One of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues came to me and said to me, “Come, I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb.” 10 And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me the Holy City, Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God, 11 having the glory of God, her light like a most precious jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal. 12 It had a great, high wall, with twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and on the gates the names of the twelve tribes of the sons of Israel were written: 13 three gates on the east, three gates on the north, three gates on the south, and three gates on the west. 14 The wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.
15 He who talked with me had a golden rod to measure the city and its gates and wall. 16 The city lies as a square, its length as long as its width. He measured the city with the rod: one thousand four hundred miles.[d] Its length and breadth and height are equal. 17 He then measured its wall: two hundred feet[e] by the measurement of a man, that is, of an angel. 18 The wall was built of jasper and the city was pure gold, as clear as glass. 19 The foundations of the wall of the city were garnished with all kinds of precious jewels. The first foundation was jasper; the second, sapphire; the third, chalcedony; the fourth, emerald; 20 the fifth, sardonyx; the sixth, sardius; the seventh, chrysolite; the eighth, beryl; the ninth, topaz; the tenth, chrysoprase; the eleventh, jacinth; and the twelfth, amethyst. 21 The twelve gates were twelve pearls, each of the gates made of a single pearl, and the street of the city was pure gold, transparent as glass.
22 I saw no temple in the city, for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. 23 The city has no need of sun or moon to shine in it, for the glory of God is its light, and its lamp is the Lamb. 24 And the nations of those who are saved shall walk in its light, and the kings of the earth shall bring their glory and honor into it. 25 Its gates shall never be shut by day, for there shall be no night there. 26 They shall bring into it the glory and the honor of the nations. 27 No unclean thing shall ever enter it, nor shall anyone who commits abomination or falsehood, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life.
The Coming Messenger
3 I will send My messenger, and he will prepare the way before Me. And the Lord, whom you seek, will suddenly come to His temple, even the messenger of the covenant, in whom you delight. He is coming, says the Lord of Hosts.
2 But who can endure the day of his coming, and who can stand when he appears? For he is like a refiner’s fire and like fullers’ soap. 3 He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver; he will purify the sons of Levi, and refine them like gold and silver, and they will present to the Lord offerings in righteousness. 4 Then the offering of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasant to the Lord as in the days of old and as in former years.
5 Then I will draw near to you for judgment. I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, against the adulterers, against the perjurers, against those who oppress the hired worker in his wages, the widow and the fatherless, against those who turn aside the stranger, and do not fear Me, says the Lord of Hosts.
Withholding Tithes
6 For I am the Lord, I do not change; therefore you, O sons of Jacob, are not consumed. 7 From the days of your fathers you have gone away from My ordinances and have not kept them. Return to Me, and I will return to you, says the Lord of Hosts.
But you say, “How shall we return?”
8 Will a man rob God? Yet you have robbed Me.
But you say, “How have we robbed You?”
In tithes and offerings. 9 You are cursed with a curse, your whole nation, for you are robbing Me. 10 Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be food in My house, and test Me now in this, says the Lord of Hosts, if I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you a blessing, that there will not be room enough to receive it. 11 I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, so that it will not destroy the fruit of your ground, and the vines in your field will not fail to bear fruit, says the Lord of Hosts. 12 Then all the nations will call you blessed, for you will be a delightful land, says the Lord of Hosts.
13 Your words have been hard against Me, says the Lord.
Yet you say, “What have we spoken against You?”
14 You said, “It is vain to serve God. What profit is it that we have kept His ordinance, and that we have walked as mourners before the Lord of Hosts? 15 And now we call the proud blessed, for those who do wickedness are built up; they even test God and escape.”
The Reward of the Faithful
16 Then those who feared the Lord spoke to one another. The Lord listened and heard them, and a book of remembrance was written before Him for those who fear the Lord and who esteem His name.
17 They shall be Mine, says the Lord of Hosts, on the day when I make up My jewels. And I will spare them as a man spares his son who serves him. 18 Then you will again discern between the righteous and the wicked, between one who serves God and one who does not serve Him.
The Resurrection of Jesus(A)
20 Early on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb while it was still dark and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb. 2 So she came running to Simon Peter and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved, and said to them, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have put Him.”
3 So Peter came out with the other disciple and they went toward the tomb. 4 They both ran together, and the other disciple outran Peter and came to the tomb first. 5 Stooping down and looking in, he saw the linen cloths lying. Yet he did not enter. 6 Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went inside the tomb. He saw the linen cloths lying there, 7 and the cloth that was around His head, not lying with the linen cloths, but wrapped in a place by itself. 8 Then the other disciple, who came first to the tomb, went in also. He saw and believed. 9 For as yet they did not know the Scripture, that He must rise from the dead. 10 Then the disciples went away again to their own homes.
The Appearance of Jesus to Mary Magdalene(B)
11 But Mary stood outside at the tomb weeping. As she wept, she stooped down and looked into the tomb, 12 and she saw two angels in white sitting where the body of Jesus had lain, one at the head and one at the feet.
13 They said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?”
She said to them, “Because they have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have put Him.” 14 When she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing, but she did not know that it was Jesus.
15 Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?”
Supposing Him to be the gardener, she said to Him, “Sir, if You have carried Him away, tell me where You have put Him, and I will take Him away.”
16 Jesus said to her, “Mary.”
She turned and said to Him, “Rabboni!” (which means Teacher).
17 Jesus said to her, “Stop holding on to Me, for I have not yet ascended to My Father. But go to My brothers and tell them, ‘I am ascending to My Father and your Father, to My God and your God.’ ”
18 Mary Magdalene came and told the disciples that she had seen the Lord and that He had said these things to her.
The Appearance of Jesus to His Disciples(C)
19 On the evening of that first day of the week, the doors being locked where the disciples were assembled, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in their midst, and said to them, “Peace be with you.” 20 When He had said this, He showed them His hands and His side. The disciples were then glad when they saw the Lord.
21 So Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As My Father has sent Me, even so I send you.” 22 When He had said this, He breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive the sins of anyone, they are forgiven them. If you retain the sins of anyone, they are retained.”
Jesus and Thomas
24 But Thomas, one of the twelve, called The Twin, was not with them when Jesus came. 25 So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord!”
But he said to them, “Unless I see the nail prints in His hands, and put my finger in the nail prints, and put my hand in His side, I will not believe.”
26 After eight days His disciples were again inside with the doors shut, and Thomas was with them. Jesus came and stood among them, and said, “Peace be with you.” 27 Then He said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and look at My hands. Put your hand here and place it in My side. Do not be faithless, but believing.”
28 Thomas answered Him, “My Lord and my God!”
29 Jesus said to him, “Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen, and have yet believed.”
The Purpose of the Book
30 Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book. 31 But these are written that you might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name.
The Holy Bible, Modern English Version. Copyright © 2014 by Military Bible Association. Published and distributed by Charisma House.