M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Jehoshaphat’s Alliance with Ahab
18 Now Jehoshaphat had much wealth and honor, and he became son-in-law to Ahab. 2 And after some years[a] he went down to Ahab in Samaria. And Ahab slaughtered many sheep and cattle for him and for the people who were with him, and urged him to go up against Ramoth-Gilead. 3 And Ahab the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, “Will you go up with me to Ramoth-Gilead?” And he answered him, “I am as you are, and my people are as your people with you in war.”
4 Then Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, “Seek first of all[b] the word of Yahweh.” 5 Then the king of Israel gathered the prophets, four hundred men. And he said to them, “Shall we go to Ramoth-Gilead to battle, or shall we cease?” And they said, “Go up, since God will give it into the hand of the king.” 6 Then Jehoshaphat said, “Is there not here another prophet of Yahweh that we might inquire of him?” 7 Then the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “There is yet one man by whom to seek Yahweh, but I hate him, because he never prophesies good concerning me, but always[c] disaster. He is Micaiah the son of Imlah.” Then Jehoshaphat said, “Let not the king say thus.” 8 Then the king of Israel called to a eunuch and said, “Quickly bring Micaiah the son of Imlah.”
9 Now the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat the king of Judah were each sitting on his throne, clothed in robes. And they were sitting at the threshing floor at the entrance of the gate of Samaria, and all the prophets were prophesying before them. 10 And Zedekiah the son of Kenaanah made for himself horns of iron, and he said, “Thus says Yahweh: ‘With these you will gore Aram[d] to their destruction.’” 11 And all the prophets prophesied thus, saying, “Go up to Ramoth-Gilead and triumph! Yahweh will give it into the hand of the king.”
12 Then the messenger who went to call Micaiah said to him, “Behold, the words of the prophets are good with one voice to the king. Please let your word be as one with them and speak good.” 13 But Micaiah said, “As Yahweh lives, only what my God has said, that will I speak.”
14 And when he had come to the king, the king said to him, “Micaiah, shall we go to Ramoth-Gilead to war or shall I cease?” And he said, “Go up and triumph! They shall be given into your hand.” 15 But the king said to him, “How many times shall I make you swear that you speak nothing except the truth in the name of Yahweh?” 16 Then he said, “I saw all Israel scattered upon the mountains like sheep that had no shepherd. And Yahweh said, ‘These have no masters; let them return to his own house in peace.’” 17 Then the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “Did I not say to you he would not prophesy good concerning me, but only disaster?” 18 Then Micaiah said, “Therefore hear the word of Yahweh: I saw Yahweh sitting upon his throne with all the host of heaven standing on his right and on his left. 19 And Yahweh said, ‘Who will entice Ahab the king of Israel that he would go up and fall at Ramoth-Gilead?’ And one said this, and another said that. 20 Then a spirit came forth and stood before Yahweh and said, ‘I will entice him.’ Then Yahweh said to him, ‘By what means?’ 21 Then he said, ‘I will go forth and will be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets.’ And he said, ‘You will entice him and will also succeed. Go out and do so.’ 22 So now, behold, Yahweh has put a spirit of deception into the mouths of these your prophets. Yahweh has spoken disaster against you.”
23 Then Zedekiah the son of Kenaanah came near and struck Micaiah on the cheek and said, “Which way[e] did the Spirit of Yahweh come from me to speak to you?” 24 Then Micaiah said, “Behold, you will see on that day when you go into a private room to hide yourself.” 25 Then the king of Israel said, “Take Micaiah and return him to Amon the commander of the city and to Jehoash the son of the king, 26 and say, ‘Thus says the king: “Put this one into the prison house, and let him eat a meager ration of bread and water[f] until I return in peace.”’” 27 And Micaiah said, “If you surely return in peace Yahweh has not spoken with me.” Then he said, “Hear, peoples, all of them!”
The Death of Ahab
28 Then the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat king of Judah went up to Ramoth-Gilead. 29 And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “I will disguise myself and go into battle, but you, wear your garments.” So the king of Israel disguised himself, and they went to war. 30 Now the king of Aram[g] had commanded the commanders of his chariots,[h] saying, “Do not fight with the small or the great, but only with the king of Israel.” 31 And it happened that when the commanders of the chariots[i] saw Jehoshaphat, then they said, “It is the king of Israel!” And they turned against him to fight. Then Jehoshaphat cried out and Yahweh helped him. God drove them away from him. 32 And it happened that when the commanders of the chariots[j] saw that it was not the king of Israel, they turned back from following him. 33 Now a certain man drew the bow at random[k] and struck the king of Israel between the soldering of his breastplate armor. Then he said to the chariot driver, “Turn around;[l] get me away from the war camp, for I am wounded.” 34 And the battle went on that day, and the king of Israel was propped up in the chariot facing Aram[m] until the evening. And he died at the time of the going down of the sun.
The Sealing of the 144,000
7 After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds of the earth, so that no wind could blow on the earth or on the sea or on any tree. 2 And I saw another angel ascending from the east[a], holding the seal of the living God, and he cried out with a loud voice to the four angels who were given permission[b] to damage the earth and the sea, 3 saying, “Do not damage the earth or the sea or the trees until we have sealed the slaves of our God on their foreheads.” 4 And I heard the number of the ones who were sealed, one hundred forty-four thousand sealed from every tribe of the sons of Israel:
5 from the tribe of Judah, twelve thousand sealed,
from the tribe of Reuben, twelve thousand,
from the tribe of Gad, twelve thousand,
6 from the tribe of Asher, twelve thousand,
from the tribe of Naphtali, twelve thousand,
from the tribe of Manasseh, twelve thousand,
7 from the tribe of Simeon,[c] twelve thousand,
from the tribe of Levi, twelve thousand,
from the tribe of Issachar, twelve thousand,
8 from the tribe of Zebulun, twelve thousand,
from the tribe of Joseph, twelve thousand,
from the tribe of Benjamin, twelve thousand were sealed.
The Great Crowd before the Throne
9 After these things I looked, and behold, a great crowd that no one was able to number, from every nation and tribe and people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, dressed in white robes and with palm branches in their hands. 10 And they were crying out with a loud voice, saying,
“Salvation to our God
who is seated on the throne,
and to the Lamb!”
11 And all the angels stood around the throne and the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell down on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, 12 saying,
“Amen! Praise and glory,
and wisdom and thanksgiving,
and honor and power and strength
be to our God forever and ever[d]. Amen!”
13 And one of the elders answered, saying to me, “These who are dressed in the white robes—who are they, and from where have they come?” 14 And I said to him, “My lord, you know.” And he said to me,
“These are the ones who have come out of the great tribulation,
and have washed their robes
and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
15 Because of this, they are before the throne of God,
and they serve[e] him day and night in his temple,
and the one who is seated on the throne will shelter[f] them.
16 They will not be hungry any longer or be thirsty any longer,
nor will the sun ever beat down on them, nor any heat,[g]
17 because the Lamb who is in the midst of the throne will shepherd them
and will lead them to springs of living waters,
and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”[h]
Zechariah’s Fourth Vision
3 And he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before[a] the angel of Yahweh; and Satan[b] was standing on his right to accuse him. 2 But Yahweh said to Satan,[c] “Yahweh rebukes you, O Satan![d] Yahweh who has chosen Jerusalem rebukes you! Is this not a stick snatched from the fire?” 3 And Joshua was clothed in filthy garments and was standing before[e] the angel. 4 And he answered and said to the ones standing before[f] him, saying, “Remove the filthy garments from him.” And he said to him, “See, I have taken away your guilt[g] from you, and will clothe you with rich garments.” 5 And I said, “Let them put a clean headband[h] on his head.” And they put a clean headband on his head, and they clothed him with garments. And the angel of Yahweh was standing by.
6 And the angel of Yahweh assured Joshua, saying, 7 “Thus says Yahweh of hosts: ‘If you will walk in my ways, and if you will keep my requirements, then you will judge[i] my house, and you will also guard my courtyards, and I will give to you passageways[j] among these that are standing here. 8 Listen, please, O Joshua the high priest, you and your companions[k] that are sitting before[l] you. For the men are a sign that,[m] look, I am going to bring my servant the Branch.[n] 9 For consider, the stone that I set before[o] Joshua, on one stone are seven eyes.[p] Look, I am going to engrave an inscription on it,’[q] declares[r] Yahweh of hosts, ‘and I will remove the guilt of that land in a single day. 10 On that day,’ declares[s] Yahweh of hosts, ‘you will invite one another[t] under the vine and under the fig tree.’”
The Feeding of Five Thousand
6 After these things Jesus went away to the other side of the sea of Galilee (that is, Tiberias). 2 And a large crowd was following him because they were observing the signs that he was doing on those who were sick. 3 So Jesus went up on the mountain and sat down there with his disciples. 4 (Now the Passover, the feast of the Jews, was near.) 5 Then Jesus, when he looked up[a] [b] and saw that a large crowd was coming to him, said to Philip, “Where can we buy bread so that these people can eat?” 6 (Now he said this to test him, because he knew what he was going to do.) 7 Philip replied to him, “Two hundred denarii worth of bread would not be enough for them, in order that each one could receive a little.” 8 One of his disciples, Andrew the brother of Simon Peter, said to him, 9 “Here is a boy who has five barley loaves and two fish, but what are these for so many people?” 10 Jesus said, “Make the people recline.” (Now there was a lot of grass in the place.) So the men reclined, approximately five thousand in number. 11 Then Jesus took the bread, and after he[c] had given thanks, he distributed it[d] to those who were reclining—likewise also of the fish, as much as they wanted. 12 And when they were satisfied, he said to his disciples, “Gather the remaining fragments so that nothing is lost.” 13 So they gathered them,[e] and filled twelve baskets with fragments from the five barley loaves which were left over by those who had eaten.
14 Now when[f] the people saw the sign that he performed, they began to say,[g] “This one is truly the Prophet who is to come into the world!” 15 Then Jesus, because he[h] knew that they were about to come and seize him in order to make him[i] king, withdrew again up the mountain by himself alone.
Jesus Walks on the Water
16 Now when evening came, his disciples went down to the sea. 17 And getting into a boat, they began to go[j] to the other side of the sea, to Capernaum. And it had already become dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them. 18 And the sea began to be stirred up[k] because[l] a strong wind was blowing. 19 Then when they[m] had rowed about twenty-five or thirty stadia,[n] they saw Jesus walking on the sea and coming near the boat, and they were afraid. 20 But he said to them, “It is I! Do not be afraid!” 21 So they were wanting to take him into the boat, and immediately the boat came to the land to which they were going.
Discourse About the Bread of Life
22 On the next day, the crowd that was on the other side of the sea saw that other boats were not there (except one), and that Jesus had not entered with his disciples into the boat, but his disciples had departed alone. 23 Other boats from Tiberias came near the place where they had eaten the bread after[o] the Lord had given thanks. 24 So when the crowd saw that Jesus was not there, nor his disciples, they themselves got into the boats and came to Capernaum seeking Jesus.
25 And when they[p] found him on the other side of the sea, they said to him, “Rabbi, when did you get here?” 26 Jesus replied to them and said, “Truly, truly I say to you, you seek me not because you saw signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were satisfied! 27 Do not work for the food that perishes, but the food that remains to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you. For God the Father has set his seal on this one.”
28 So they said to him, “What shall we do that we can accomplish the works of God?” 29 Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God: that you believe in the one whom that one sent.” 30 So they said to him, “Then what sign will you perform, so that we can see it[q] and believe you? What will you do? 31 Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, just as it is written, ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’[r]
32 Then Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly I say to you, Moses did not give you bread from heaven, but my Father is giving you the true bread from heaven! 33 For the bread of God is the one who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” 34 So they said to him, “Sir, always give us this bread!”
35 Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. The one who comes to me will never be hungry, and the one who believes in me will never be thirsty again. 36 But I said to you that you have seen me and do not believe. 37 Everyone whom the Father gives to me will come to me, and the one who comes to me I will never throw out, 38 because I have come down from heaven not that I should do my will, but the will of the one who sent me. 39 Now this is the will of the one who sent me: that everyone whom he has given me, I would not lose any of them,[s] but raise them[t] up on the last day. 40 For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks at the Son and believes in him would have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.”
41 Now the Jews began to grumble[u] about him because he said, “I am the bread that came down from heaven,” 42 and they were saying, “Is this one not Jesus the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How does he now say, ‘I have come down from heaven’?” 43 Jesus answered and said to them, “Do not grumble among yourselves![v] 44 No one is able to come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him, and I will raise him up on the last day. 45 It is written in the prophets, ‘And they will all be taught by God.’[w] Everyone who hears from the Father and learns comes to me. 46 (Not that anyone has seen the Father except the one who is from God—this one has seen the Father.)[x] 47 Truly, truly I say to you, the one who believes has eternal life. 48 I am the bread of life. 49 Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness and they died. 50 This is the bread that comes down from heaven so that someone may eat from it and not die. 51 I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats from this bread, he will live forever.[y] And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.”
52 So the Jews began to quarrel[z] among themselves,[aa] saying, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” 53 Then Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life in yourselves! 54 The one who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. 55 For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. 56 The one who eats[ab] my flesh and drinks my blood resides in me and I in him. 57 Just as the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so also the one who eats[ac] me—that one will live because of me. 58 This is the bread that came down from heaven, not as the fathers ate and died. The one who eats[ad] this bread will live forever.”[ae]
Many of Jesus’ Disciples Offended by His Teaching
59 He said these things while[af] teaching in the synagogue in Capernaum. 60 Thus many of his disciples, when they[ag] heard it,[ah] said, “This saying is hard! Who can understand it?” 61 But Jesus, because he[ai] knew within himself that his disciples were grumbling about this, said to them, “Does this cause you to be offended? 62 Then what if you see the Son of Man ascending where he was before? 63 The Spirit is the one who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life. 64 But there are some of you who do not believe.” (For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were who did not believe, and who it was who would betray him.) 65 And he said, “Because of this I said to you that no one can come to me unless it has been granted to him by the Father.”
Peter’s Confession
66 For this reason many of his disciples drew back[aj] and were not walking with him any longer. 67 So Jesus said to the twelve, “You do not want to go away also, do you?”[ak] 68 Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom would we go? You have the words of eternal life. 69 And we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God.” 70 Jesus replied to them, “Did I not choose you, the twelve, and one of you is the devil?” 71 (Now he was speaking about Judas son of Simon Iscariot, because this one—one of the twelve—was going to betray him.)
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