M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Azariah’s Rule Over Judah
15 King Azariah son of Amaziah of Judah became king in the 27th year that Jeroboam was king of Israel. 2 Azariah was 16 years old when he began to rule. He ruled 52 years in Jerusalem. His mother was named Jecoliah of Jerusalem. 3 Azariah did what the Lord said was right, just as his father Amaziah had done. 4 But he did not destroy the high places. People still made sacrifices and burned incense in these places of worship.
5 The Lord caused King Azariah to become sick with leprosy. He was a leper until the day he died. Azariah lived in a separate house. His son Jotham was in charge of the king’s palace, and he judged the people.
6 All the great things that Azariah did are written in the book, The History of the Kings of Judah. 7 Azariah died and was buried with his ancestors in the City of David. Azariah’s son Jotham became the new king after him.
Zechariah’s Short Rule Over Israel
8 Zechariah son of Jeroboam ruled over Samaria in Israel for six months. This was during the 38th year that Azariah was king of Judah. 9 Zechariah did what the Lord said was wrong. He did the same things his ancestors did. He did not stop committing the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat who caused Israel to sin.
10 Shallum son of Jabesh made plans against Zechariah. Shallum killed Zechariah in Ibleam.[a] Shallum became the new king. 11 All the other things that Zechariah did are written in the book, The History of the Kings of Israel. 12 In this way the Lord’s word came true. He had told Jehu that four generations of his descendants would be kings of Israel.
Shallum’s Short Rule Over Israel
13 Shallum son of Jabesh became king of Israel during the 39th year that Uzziah was king of Judah. Shallum ruled for one month in Samaria.
14 Menahem son of Gadi came up from Tirzah to Samaria and killed Shallum son of Jabesh. Then Menahem became the new king after him.
15 All the things Shallum did, including his plans against Zechariah, are written in the book, The History of the Kings of Israel.
Menahem’s Rule Over Israel
16 Menahem defeated Tiphsah and the area around it. The people refused to open the city gate for him. So Menahem defeated them and ripped open all the pregnant women in that city.
17 Menahem son of Gadi became king over Israel during the 39th year that Azariah was king of Judah. Menahem ruled ten years in Samaria. 18 Menahem did what the Lord said was wrong. He did not stop committing the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat who caused Israel to sin.
19 King Pul of Assyria came to fight against Israel. Menahem gave Pul 75,000 pounds[b] of silver so that Pul would support him and help him gain complete control of the kingdom. 20 Menahem raised the money by making all the rich and powerful men pay taxes. He taxed each man 20 ounces[c] of silver and gave the money to the king of Assyria. So the king of Assyria left and did not stay there in Israel.
21 All the great things that Menahem did are written in the book, The History of the Kings of Israel. 22 Menahem died and was buried with his ancestors. His son Pekahiah became the new king after him.
Pekahiah’s Rule Over Israel
23 Pekahiah son of Menahem became king over Israel in Samaria during the 50th year that Azariah was king of Judah. Pekahiah ruled two years. 24 He did what the Lord said was wrong. He did not stop committing the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat that caused Israel to sin.
25 The commander of Pekahiah’s army was Pekah son of Remaliah. Pekah killed Pekahiah in Samaria at the king’s palace. Pekah had 50 men from Gilead with him when he killed Pekahiah. Then Pekah became the new king after him.
26 All the great things Pekahiah did are written in the book, The History of the Kings of Israel.
Pekah’s Rule Over Israel
27 Pekah son of Remaliah began to rule over Israel in Samaria during the 52nd year that Azariah was king of Judah. Pekah ruled 20 years. 28 Pekah did what the Lord said was wrong. He did not stop committing the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat who caused Israel to sin.
29 King Tiglath Pileser of Assyria came to fight against Israel while Pekah was king of Israel. Tiglath Pileser captured Ijon, Abel Bethmaacah, Janoah, Kedesh, Hazor, Gilead, Galilee, and all the area of Naphtali. He took the people from these places as prisoners to Assyria.
30 Hoshea son of Elah made plans against Pekah son of Remaliah and killed him. Then Hoshea became the new king. This was during the 20th year that Jotham son of Uzziah was king of Judah.
31 All the great things that Pekah did are written in the book, The History of the Kings of Israel.
Jotham’s Rule Over Judah
32 Jotham son of Uzziah became king of Judah. This was during the second year that Pekah son of Remaliah was king of Israel. 33 Jotham was 25 years old when he became king. He ruled 16 years in Jerusalem. His mother was named Jerusha, the daughter of Zadok. 34 Jotham did what the Lord said was right, just as his father Uzziah had done. 35 But he did not destroy the high places. The people still made sacrifices and burned incense at those places of worship. Jotham built the upper gate of the Lord’s Temple. 36 All the great things that Jotham did are written in the book, The History of the Kings of Judah.
37 At that time the Lord sent King Rezin of Aram and Pekah son of Remaliah to fight against Judah.
38 Jotham died and was buried with his ancestors in the City of David, his ancestor. Jotham’s son Ahaz became the new king after him.
1 Greetings from Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ. I was sent to help God’s chosen people have faith and understand the truth that produces a life of devotion to God. 2 This faith and knowledge make us sure that we have eternal life. God promised that life to us before time began—and God does not lie. 3 At the right time, God let the world know about that life. He did this through the telling of the Good News message, and he trusted me with that work. I told people that message because God our Savior commanded me to.
4 To Titus, a true son to me in the faith we share together.
Grace and peace to you from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior.
Titus’ Work in Crete
5 I left you in Crete so that you could finish doing what still needed to be done. And I also left you there so that you could choose men to be elders in every town. 6 To be an elder, a man must not be guilty of living in a wrong way. He must be faithful to his wife,[a] and his children must be faithful to God.[b] They must not be known as children who are wild or don’t obey. 7 An elder[c] has the job of taking care of God’s work. So people should not be able to say that he lives in a wrong way. He must not be someone who is proud and selfish or who gets angry quickly. He must not drink too much, and he must not be someone who likes to fight. He must not be a man who will do almost anything for money. 8 An elder must be ready to help people by welcoming them into his home. He must love what is good. He must be wise. He must live right. He must be devoted to God and pleasing to him. And he must be able to control himself. 9 An elder must be faithful to the same true message we teach. Then he will be able to encourage others with teaching that is true and right. And he will be able to show those who are against this teaching that they are wrong.
10 This is important, because there are many people who refuse to obey—people who talk about worthless things and mislead others. I am talking especially about those who say that men who are not Jews must be circumcised to please God. 11 These people must be stopped, because they are destroying whole families by teaching what they should not teach. They teach only to cheat people and make money. 12 Even one of their own prophets said, “Cretans are always liars. They are evil animals and lazy people who do nothing but eat.” 13 The words that prophet said are true. So tell those people that they are wrong. You must be strict with them. Then they will become strong in the faith, 14 and they will stop paying attention to the stories told by those Jews. They will stop following the commands of those who have turned away from the truth.
15 To people who are pure, everything is pure. But to those who are full of sin and don’t believe, nothing is pure. Really, their thinking has become evil and their consciences have been ruined. 16 They say they know God, but the evil things they do show that they don’t accept him. They are disgusting. They refuse to obey God and are not capable of doing anything good.
Idol Worship Leads to Destruction
8 “Put the trumpet to your lips and give the warning. Be like an eagle over the Lord’s house.[a] The Israelites have broken my agreement. They have not obeyed my law. 2 They yell out at me, ‘My God, we in Israel know you!’ 3 But Israel refused the good things, so the enemy chases him. 4 The Israelites chose their kings, but they didn’t come to me for advice. They chose leaders, but they didn’t choose men I knew. The Israelites used their silver and gold to make idols for themselves, so they will be destroyed. 5-6 He has refused your calf, Samaria.[b] God says, ‘I am very angry with the Israelites.’ The people of Israel will be punished for their sin. Some worker made those statues. They are not God. Samaria’s calf will be broken into pieces. 7 The Israelites did a foolish thing—it was like trying to plant the wind. But they will get only troubles—they will harvest a whirlwind. The grain in the fields will grow, but it will give no food. Even if it grew something, strangers would eat it.
8 “Israel was destroyed;
its people are scattered among the nations,
like some dish that was thrown away because no one wanted it.
9 Ephraim went to his ‘lovers.’[c]
Like a stubborn donkey, they led him off to Assyria.
10 Yes, Israel was taken to the nations,
but I will bring them back.
But first, they must suffer a little
by carrying the burden of that mighty king.
Israel Forgets God and Worships Idols
11 “Ephraim built more and more altars,
and that was a sin.
They have been altars of sin for Ephraim.
12 Even if I wrote 10,000 laws for Ephraim,
he would treat them as if they were for some stranger.
13 The Israelites love sacrifices.[d]
They offer the meat and eat it.
The Lord does not accept their sacrifices.
He remembers their sins,
and he will punish them.
They will be carried away as prisoners to Egypt.
14 Israel has built palaces for their kings,
and now Judah builds fortresses.
But they have forgotten their Maker!
So I will send a fire to destroy their cities and fortresses!”
A song for going up to the Temple.
123 Lord, I look up and pray to you.
You sit as King in heaven.
2 A slave looks to his master to provide what he needs,
and a servant girl depends on the woman she serves.
So we depend on the Lord our God,
waiting for him to have mercy on us.
3 Lord, be merciful to us,
because we have been insulted much too long.
4 We have had enough of the hateful words of those proud people
who make fun of us and show us no respect.
A song of David for going up to the Temple.
124 What would have happened to us if the Lord had not been on our side?
Tell us about it, Israel.
2 What would have happened to us if the Lord had not been on our side
when people attacked us?
3 They would have swallowed us alive
when they became angry with us.
4 Their armies would have been
like a flood washing over us,
like a river drowning us.
5 Those proud people would have been
like water rising up to our mouth and drowning us.
6 Praise the Lord!
He did not let our enemies tear us apart.
7 We escaped like a bird from the net of a hunter.
The net broke, and we escaped!
8 Our help came from the Lord,
the one who made heaven and earth!
A song for going up to the Temple.
125 Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion.
They will never be shaken.
They will continue forever.
2 Like the mountains that surround Jerusalem,
the Lord surrounds and protects his people now and forever.
3 The wicked will not always control the land of those who do right.
If they did, even those who do right might start doing wrong.
4 Lord, be good to those who are good,
to those who have pure hearts.
5 But, Lord, when you punish those who do evil,
also punish those who have stopped following your way.
Let Israel always enjoy peace!
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International