M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Joash Repairs the Temple
24 Joash was seven years old when he became king, and he reigned forty years in Jerusalem. And the name of his mother was Zibiah from Beersheba. 2 And Joash did what was right in the eyes of Yahweh all the days of Jehoiada the priest. 3 And Jehoiada took two wives for him, and he fathered sons and daughters.
4 And afterward it was in the heart of Joash to repair the house of Yahweh. 5 So he gathered the priests and the Levites and said to them, “Go out to the cities of Judah and gather money from all Israel to strengthen the house of your God sufficiently year by year. Now you yourselves must hasten to the matter.” But the Levites did not act with haste. 6 So the king called Jehoiada the chief, and he said to him, “Why have you not required the Levites to bring from Judah and Jerusalem the tax of Moses, the servant of Yahweh, and of the assembly of Israel for the tent of the testimony?” 7 For the sons of the wicked Athaliah had broken into the house of God and had used all the holy vessels of the house of Yahweh for the Baals.
8 Then the king commanded, and they made a chest and put it at the gate outside the house of Yahweh. 9 And they issued a proclamation[a] in Judah and in Jerusalem to bring to Yahweh the tax that Moses the servant of God had levied upon Israel in the wilderness. 10 And all the princes and all the people rejoiced, and they brought their tax and threw it into the chest until it was finished. 11 And whenever he brought the chest to the appointee of the king by the hand of the Levites, and when they saw that there was much money in it, then the secretary of the king and the officer of the chief priest came and emptied the chest, then they took it and returned it to its place. Thus they did day by day and gathered money in abundance. 12 And the king and Jehoiada gave it to those who did the work of the service of the house of Yahweh. And they hired stonemasons and skilled craftsmen to restore the house of Yahweh, and also workers in iron and bronze to repair the house of Yahweh. 13 So those doing the work labored, and the restoration for the work made progress under their hand. And they restored the house of God to its position and strengthened it. 14 And when they had finished, they brought the remainder of the money before the king and Jehoiada, and they used it for objects for the house of Yahweh, objects for the service and the burnt offerings, dishes, and objects of gold and silver. And they were offering burnt offerings in the house of Yahweh regularly, all the days of Jehoiada.
15 And Jehoiada grew old and full of days, and he died; he was one hundred and thirty years old at his death. 16 And they buried him in the city of David with the kings, for he did good in Israel and with respect to God and his house.
17 Now after the death of Jehoiada, the princes of Judah came and bowed down to the king. Then the king listened to them. 18 And they forsook the house of Yahweh, the God of their ancestors[b] and served the Asherahs and the idols. And wrath came upon Judah and Jerusalem on account of this guilt. 19 But he sent prophets among them, to bring them back to Yahweh. And they testified against them, and they did not obey.
20 Then the Spirit of God clothed Zechariah the son of Jehoiada the priest, and he stood above the people and said to them, “Thus says God: ‘Why are you transgressing the commandments of Yahweh so that you will not succeed? For you have forsaken Yahweh, so he will forsake you.’” 21 Then they conspired against him and stoned him with stones at the command of the king in the courtyard of the house of Yahweh. 22 So King Joash did not remember the loyal love that Jehoiada had shown to him, and he killed his son. And as he was dying he said, “May Yahweh see and avenge!”
The Death of Joash
23 And it happened at the turn of the year that the army of Aram[c] went up against him, and they came to Judah and Jerusalem and destroyed all the commanders of the people from among the people, and all the war booty they sent to the king of Damascus. 24 Though the army of Aram[d] came with few men, Yahweh gave a very large army into their hand, for they had forsaken Yahweh, the God of their ancestors.[e] And they inflicted punishment on Joash.
25 And when they were going away from him (for they had left him with many wounds), his servants conspired against him on account of the blood of the sons[f] of Jehoiada the priest. So they killed him on his bed and he died. And they buried him in the city of David, but they did not bury him at the burial sites of the kings. 26 Now these are the ones who conspired against him: Zabad the son of Shimeath, the Ammonite, and Jehozabad the son of Shimrith, the Moabite. 27 And as for his sons, the many oracles against him, and his repair of the foundation of the house of God, behold, they are written in the story of the scroll of the kings. And Amaziah his son reigned in his place.
The Two Witnesses
11 And a measuring rod similar in appearance to a staff was given to me, saying, “Get up and measure the temple of God and the altar and those who worship in it. 2 And leave out the courtyard outside of the temple, and do not measure it, because it has been given to the Gentiles, and they will trample the holy city for forty two months. 3 And I will grant authority[a] to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for one thousand two hundred sixty days, dressed in sackcloth.” 4 These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand before the Lord of the earth. 5 And if anyone wants to harm them, fire comes out of their mouth and consumes their enemies. And if anyone wants to harm them, in this way he must be killed. 6 These have the authority to shut the sky, so that it does not rain[b] during the days of their prophecy. And they have authority over the waters, to turn them to blood, and to strike the earth with every plague as often as they wish.
7 And when they have completed their testimony, the beast that comes up from the abyss will make war with them and will conquer them and will kill them. 8 And their dead bodies will lie in the street of the great city which is called symbolically Sodom and Egypt, where also their Lord was crucified. 9 And those from peoples and tribes and languages and nations will see their dead bodies three and a half days, and they will not allow their dead bodies to be placed in a tomb. 10 And those who live on the earth will rejoice over them, and will celebrate and will send gifts to one another, because these two prophets tormented those who live on the earth.
11 And after the three and a half days, the breath of life from God entered into them, and they stood on their feet, and great fear fell on those who saw them. 12 And they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, “Come up here,” and they went up into heaven in a cloud, and their enemies watched them. 13 And at that hour a great earthquake took place, and a tenth of the city collapsed, and seven thousand people[c] were killed by the earthquake, and the rest became terrified and gave glory to the God of heaven. 14 The second woe has passed. Behold, the third woe is coming quickly!
The Blowing of the Seventh Trumpet
15 And the seventh angel blew the trumpet, and there was a loud voice in heaven saying,
“The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord
and of his Christ,
and he will reign forever and ever[d].”
16 And the twenty-four elders who are seated on their thrones before God fell down on their faces and worshiped God, 17 saying,
“We give thanks to you, Lord God All-Powerful,
the one who is and the one who was,
because you have taken your great power
and have begun to reign.
18 And the nations were angry,
and your wrath has come,
and the time for the dead to be judged,
and to give their[e] reward to your slaves the prophets
and to the saints and to the ones who fear your name,
the small and the great,
and to destroy those who destroy the earth.”
19 And the temple of God in heaven was opened, and the ark of his covenant appeared in his temple, and there were lightnings and sounds and thunders and an earthquake and large hail.[f]
7 And then,[a] in the fourth year of King Darius, the word of Yahweh came to Zechariah on the fourth day of the ninth month, which is Kislev. 2 And the people of Bethel sent Sharezer and Regem-Melech, and their[b] men, to entreat the favor[c] of Yahweh, 3 saying to the priests of the house of Yahweh of hosts[d] and to the prophets, “Should I mourn in the fifth month and keep myself separate[e] as I have done for these many years?” 4 And the word of Yahweh of hosts came to me, saying, 5 “Say to all the people of the land and to the priests: ‘When you fasted and lamented in the fifth and seventh months for these seventy years, did you really fast for me? 6 And when you eat and drink, are you not eating and drinking for yourselves? 7 Are not these the words that Yahweh proclaimed through[f] the former prophets, when Jerusalem and its surrounding towns[g] were inhabited and at ease, and the Negev[h] and the Shephelah[i] were inhabited?’”
8 And the word of Yahweh came to Zechariah, saying, 9 “Thus says Yahweh of hosts: ‘Judge with trustworthy justice, and show[j] steadfast love and compassion to one another.[k] 10 You must not oppress the widow, the orphan, the foreigner, and the needy. You must not devise evil in your heart against one another.’[l] 11 But they refused to listen, and turned[m] a stubborn shoulder and stopped their ears from listening.[n] 12 They made their hearts adamant[o] in order not to hear the law[p] and the words that Yahweh of hosts had sent by his spirit through[q] the former prophets; therefore great wrath came from Yahweh of hosts. 13 ‘Thus, just as I[r] called and they would not hear, so they will call and I will not hear,’ says Yahweh of hosts. 14 ‘And I scattered them with a wind among all the nations that they had not known; the land was made desolate behind them— no one crossing through it or returning—and they made the desirable land[s] a desolation.’”
Jesus as the Good Shepherd
10 “Truly, truly I say to you, the one who does not enter through the door into the fold of the sheep, but climbs up at some other place—that one is a thief and a robber. 2 But the one who enters through the door is the shepherd of the sheep. 3 For this one the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4 Whenever he sends out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice. 5 And they will never follow a stranger, but will flee from him, because they do not know the voice of strangers.” 6 Jesus told them this parable, but they did not understand what it was that he was saying to them.
7 Then Jesus said to them[a] again, “Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. 8 All those who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep do not listen to them. 9 I am the door. If anyone enters through me, he will be saved, and will come in and will go out and will find pasture. 10 The thief comes only[b] so that he can steal and kill and destroy; I have come so that they may have life, and have it[c] abundantly.
11 “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. 12 The hired hand, who is not the shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, sees the wolf approaching and abandons the sheep and runs away—and the wolf seizes them and scatters them[d]— 13 because he is a hired hand and he is not concerned[e] about the sheep.
14 “I am the good shepherd, and I know my own, and my own know me, 15 just as the Father knows me and I know the Father, and I lay down my life for the sheep. 16 And I have other sheep which are not from this fold. I must bring these also, and they will hear my voice, and they will become one flock—one shepherd. 17 Because of this the Father loves me, because I lay down my life so that I may take possession of it again. 18 No one takes it from me, but I lay it down voluntarily.[f] I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take possession of it again. This commandment I received from my Father.”
19 Again there was a division among the Jews because of these words. 20 And many of them were saying, “He has a demon and is out of his mind! Why do you listen to him?” 21 Others were saying, “These are not the words of one who is possessed by a demon! A demon is not able to open the eyes of the blind, is it?”[g]
Jesus at the Feast of the Dedication
22 Then the feast of the Dedication took place in Jerusalem. It was winter, 23 and Jesus was walking in the temple in the Portico of Solomon. 24 So the Jews surrounded him and began to say[h] to him, “How long will you keep us in suspense?[i] If you are the Christ, tell us plainly!” 25 Jesus answered them, “I told you and you do not believe! The deeds that I do in the name of my Father, these testify about me. 26 But you do not believe, because you are not of my sheep! 27 My sheep listen to my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. 28 And I give them eternal life, and they will never perish forever,[j] and no one will seize them out of my hand. 29 My Father, who has given them[k] to me, is greater than all, and no one can seize them[l] from the Father’s hand. 30 The Father and I are one.”
31 Then[m] the Jews picked up stones again so that they could stone him. 32 Jesus answered them, “I have shown you many good deeds from the Father. For which one of them are you going to stone me?” 33 The Jews answered him, “We are not going to stone you concerning a good deed, but concerning blasphemy, and because you, although you[n] are a man, make yourself to be God!” 34 Jesus answered them, “Is it not written in your law, ‘I said, “You are gods”’?[o] 35 If he called them ‘gods’ to whom the word of God came—and the scripture cannot be broken— 36 do you say about he whom the Father set apart and sent into the world, ‘You are blaspheming,’ because I said, ‘I am the Son of God’? 37 If I do not do the deeds of my Father, do not believe me. 38 But if I am doing them,[p] even if you do not believe me, believe the deeds, so that you may know and understand that the Father is in me and I am in the Father.” 39 So they were seeking again to seize him, and he departed out of their hand.
40 And he went away again on the other side of the Jordan, to the place where John was baptizing at an earlier time, and he stayed there. 41 And many came to him and began to say,[q] “John performed no sign, but everything John said about this man was true!” 42 And many believed in him there.
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