M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
9 The names of all the Israelites were listed in their family histories. Those family histories were put in the book, The History of the Kings of Israel.
The People in Jerusalem
The people of Judah were made prisoners and forced to go to Babylon. They were taken there because they were not faithful to God. 2 The first people to come back and live in their own lands and towns were some Israelites, priests, Levites, and servants who work in the Temple.
3 These are the people from the tribes of Judah, Benjamin, Ephraim, and Manasseh who lived in Jerusalem:
4 Uthai was Ammihud’s son. Ammihud was Omri’s son. Omri was Imri’s son. Imri was Bani’s son. Bani was a descendant of Perez. Perez was Judah’s son.
5 The Shilonites who lived in Jerusalem were Asaiah the oldest son and his sons.
6 The Zerahites who lived in Jerusalem were Jeuel and their relatives. There were 690 of them in all.
7 These are the people from the tribe of Benjamin who lived in Jerusalem: Sallu was Meshullam’s son. Meshullam was Hodaviah’s son. Hodaviah was Hassenuah’s son. 8 Ibneiah was Jeroham’s son. Elah was Uzzi’s son. Uzzi was Micri’s son. And Meshullam was Shephatiah’s son. Shephatiah was Reuel’s son. Reuel was Ibnijah’s son. 9 The family history of Benjamin shows there were 956 of them living in Jerusalem. All these men were leaders in their families.
10 These are the priests who lived in Jerusalem: Jedaiah, Jehoiarib, Jakin, and 11 Azariah. Azariah was Hilkiah’s son. Hilkiah was Meshullam’s son. Meshullam was Zadok’s son. Zadok was Meraioth’s son. Meraioth was Ahitub’s son. Ahitub was the important official responsible for God’s Temple. 12 Also there was Jeroham’s son, Adaiah. Jeroham was Pashhur’s son. Pashhur was Malkijah’s son. And there was Adiel’s son, Maasai. Adiel was Jahzerah’s son. Jahzerah was Meshullam’s son. Meshullam was Meshillemith’s son. Meshillemith was Immer’s son.
13 There were 1760 priests. They were leaders of their families. They were responsible for the work of serving in God’s Temple.
14 These are the people from the tribe of Levi who lived in Jerusalem: Hasshub’s son, Shemaiah. Hasshub was Azrikam’s son. Azrikam was Hashabiah’s son. Hashabiah was a descendant of Merari. 15 Also living in Jerusalem were Bakbakkar, Heresh, Galal, and Mattaniah. Mattaniah was Mica’s son. Mica was Zicri’s son. Zicri was Asaph’s son. 16 Obadiah was Shemaiah’s son. Shemaiah was Galal’s son. Galal was Jeduthun’s son. Berekiah was Asa’s son. Asa was Elkanah’s son. Berekiah lived in the small towns near the people of Netophah.
17 These are the gatekeepers who lived in Jerusalem: Shallum, Akkub, Talmon, Ahiman, and their relatives. Shallum was their leader. 18 Now these men stand next to the King’s Gate on the east side. They were the gatekeepers from the tribe of Levi. 19 Shallum was Kore’s son. Kore was Ebiasaph’s son. Ebiasaph was Korah’s son. Shallum and his brothers were gatekeepers. They were from the family of Korah. They had the job of guarding the entrance to the Holy Tent. They did this just as their ancestors had done before them. Their ancestors had the job of guarding the entrance to the area where the Lord lived among the people. 20 In the past, Phinehas was in charge of the gatekeepers. Phinehas was Eleazar’s son. The Lord was with Phinehas. 21 Zechariah son of Meshelemiah was the gatekeeper at the entrance to the Holy Tent.
22 In all there were 212 men who were chosen to guard the gates of the Holy Tent. Their names were written in their family histories in their small towns. David and Samuel the seer chose these men because they could be trusted. 23 The gatekeepers and their descendants had the responsibility of guarding the gates of the Lord’s house, the Holy Tent. 24 There were gates on the four sides: east, west, north, and south. 25 The gatekeepers’ relatives who lived in the small towns had to come and help them at certain times. They came and helped the gatekeepers for seven days each time.
26 There were four gatekeepers who were the leaders of all the gatekeepers. They were Levites. They had the job of caring for the rooms and treasures in God’s Temple. 27 They stayed up all night guarding God’s Temple, and they had the job of opening God’s Temple every morning.
28 Some of the gatekeepers had the job of caring for the dishes used in the Temple services. They counted them when they were brought in. They also counted these dishes when they were taken out. 29 Other gatekeepers were chosen to care for the furniture and the special dishes. They also took care of the flour, wine, oil, incense, and special oil.[a] 30 But it was the priests who had the job of mixing the special oil.
31 There was a Levite named Mattithiah who had the job of baking the bread used for the offerings. Mattithiah was Shallum’s oldest son. Shallum was from the Korah family. 32 Some of the gatekeepers who were in the Korah family had the job of preparing the bread put on the table every Sabbath.
33 The Levites who were singers and leaders of their families stayed in the rooms at the Temple. They did not have to do other work because they were responsible for the work in the Temple day and night.
34 All these Levites were leaders of their families. They were listed as leaders in their family histories. They lived in Jerusalem.
The Family History of King Saul
35 Jeiel was Gibeon’s father. Jeiel lived in the town of Gibeon. His wife was named Maacah. 36 Jeiel’s oldest son was Abdon. Other sons were Zur, Kish, Baal, Ner, Nadab, 37 Gedor, Ahio, Zechariah, and Mikloth. 38 Mikloth was Shimeam’s father. Jeiel’s family lived near their relatives in Jerusalem.
39 Ner was Kish’s father. Kish was Saul’s father. And Saul was the father of Jonathan, Malki Shua, Abinadab, and Esh Baal.
40 Jonathan’s son was Merib Baal. Merib Baal was Micah’s father.
41 Micah’s sons were Pithon, Melech, Tahrea, and Ahaz. 42 Ahaz was the father of Jadah.[b] Jadah was the father of Alemeth, Azmaveth, and Zimri. Zimri was Moza’s father. 43 Moza was the father of Binea. Rephaiah was Binea’s son. Eleasah was Rephaiah’s son. And Azel was Eleasah’s son.
44 Azel had six sons. Their names were Azrikam, Bokeru, Ishmael, Sheariah, Obadiah, and Hanan. They were Azel’s children.
The Death of King Saul
10 The Philistines fought against the Israelites. The Israelites ran away from the Philistines. Many Israelites were killed on Mount Gilboa. 2 The Philistines continued chasing Saul and his sons. They caught them and killed them. The Philistines killed Saul’s sons Jonathan, Abinadab, and Malki Shua. 3 The fighting was heavy around Saul. The archers shot Saul with their arrows and wounded him.
4 Then Saul said to the helper who carried his armor, “Pull out your sword and use it to kill me. Then these foreigners[c] will not hurt me and make fun of me when they come.”
But the helper was afraid. He refused to kill Saul. So Saul used his own sword to kill himself by falling on it. 5 When the helper saw that Saul was dead, he also fell on his own sword and died. 6 So Saul and three of his sons died. All of Saul’s family died together.
7 When all the Israelites living in the valley saw that their own army had run away and that Saul and his sons were dead, they left their towns and ran away. Then the Philistines came into the towns and lived in them.
8 The next day, the Philistines came to take valuable things from the dead bodies. They found Saul’s body and the bodies of his sons on Mount Gilboa. 9 The Philistines took things from Saul’s body. They took Saul’s head and armor. They sent messengers through all their country to tell the news to their false gods and to their people. 10 The Philistines put Saul’s armor in the temple of their false gods. They hung Saul’s head in the temple of Dagon.
11 All the people living in the town of Jabesh Gilead heard everything that the Philistines had done to Saul. 12 All the brave men from Jabesh Gilead went to get the bodies of Saul and his sons. They brought them back to Jabesh Gilead. They buried the bones of Saul and his sons under the large tree in Jabesh. Then they showed their sadness and fasted for seven days.
13 Saul died because he was not faithful to the Lord. He did not obey the Lord’s word. Saul also went to a medium and asked her for advice 14 instead of asking the Lord. That is why the Lord killed Saul and gave the kingdom to Jesse’s son David.
We Also Should Follow Jesus’ Example
12 We have all these great people around us as examples. Their lives tell us what faith means. So we, too, should run the race that is before us and never quit. We should remove from our lives anything that would slow us down and the sin that so often makes us fall. 2 We must never stop looking to Jesus. He is the leader of our faith, and he is the one who makes our faith complete. He suffered death on a cross. But he accepted the shame of the cross as if it were nothing because of the joy he could see waiting for him. And now he is sitting at the right side of God’s throne. 3 Think about Jesus. He patiently endured the angry insults that sinful people were shouting at him. Think about him so that you won’t get discouraged and stop trying.
God Is Like a Father
4 You are struggling against sin, but you have not had to give up your life for the cause. 5 You are children of God, and he speaks words of comfort to you. You have forgotten these words:
“My child, don’t think the Lord’s discipline is worth nothing,
and don’t stop trying when he corrects you.
6 The Lord disciplines everyone he loves;
he punishes everyone he accepts as a child.” (A)
7 So accept sufferings like a father’s discipline. God does these things to you like a father correcting his children. You know that all children are disciplined by their fathers. 8 So, if you never receive the discipline that every child must have, you are not true children and don’t really belong to God. 9 We have all had fathers here on earth who corrected us with discipline. And we respected them. So it is even more important that we accept discipline from the Father of our spirits. If we do this, we will have life. 10 Our fathers on earth disciplined us for a short time in the way they thought was best. But God disciplines us to help us so that we can be holy like him. 11 We don’t enjoy discipline when we get it. It is painful. But later, after we have learned our lesson from it, we will enjoy the peace that comes from doing what is right.
Be Careful How You Live
12 You have become weak, so make yourselves strong again. 13 Live in the right way so that you will be saved and your weakness will not cause you to be lost.
14 Try to live in peace with everyone. And try to keep your lives free from sin. Anyone whose life is not holy will never see the Lord. 15 Be careful that no one fails to get God’s grace. Be careful that no one loses their faith and becomes like a bitter weed growing among you. Someone like that can ruin your whole group. 16 Be careful that no one commits sexual sin. And be careful that no one is like Esau and never thinks about God. As the oldest son, Esau would have inherited everything from his father. But he sold all that for a single meal. 17 You remember that after Esau did this, he wanted to get his father’s blessing. He wanted that blessing so much that he cried. But his father refused to give him the blessing, because Esau could find no way to change what he had done.
18 You have not come to a place that can be seen and touched, like the mountain the people of Israel saw, which was burning with fire and covered with darkness, gloom, and storms. 19 There is no sound of a trumpet or a voice speaking words like those they heard. When they heard the voice, they begged never to hear another word. 20 They did not want to hear the command: “If anything, even an animal, touches the mountain, it must be killed with stones.”[a] 21 What they saw was so terrible that Moses said, “I am shaking with fear.”[b][c]
22 But you have come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem.[d] You have come to a place where thousands of angels have gathered to celebrate. 23 You have come to the meeting of God’s firstborn[e] children. Their names are written in heaven. You have come to God, the judge of all people. And you have come to the spirits of good people who have been made perfect. 24 You have come to Jesus—the one who brought the new agreement from God to his people. You have come to the sprinkled blood[f] that tells us about better things than the blood of Abel.
25 Be careful and don’t refuse to listen when God speaks. Those people refused to listen to him when he warned them on earth. And they did not escape. Now God is speaking from heaven. So now it will be worse for those who refuse to listen to him. 26 When he spoke before, his voice shook the earth. But now he has promised, “Once again I will shake the earth, but I will also shake heaven.”[g] 27 The words “once again” clearly show us that everything that was created will be destroyed—that is, the things that can be shaken. And only what cannot be shaken will remain.
28 So we should be thankful because we have a kingdom that cannot be shaken. And because we are thankful, we should worship God in a way that will please him. We should do this with respect and fear, 29 because our God is like a fire that can destroy us.
Israel’s Good Times Will Be Taken Away
6 Oh, look at the people enjoying life in Zion,
and those on Mount Samaria who feel so safe.
They are such important leaders of a most important nation.
The “House of Israel” comes to you for advice.
2 Go look at Calneh.
From there, go to the large city Hamath.
Go to the Philistine city of Gath.[a]
Are you better than these kingdoms?
Their countries are larger than yours.
3 You people are rushing toward the day of punishment.
You bring near the rule of violence.
4 But now you lie on ivory beds
and stretch out on your couches.
You eat tender young lambs from the flock
and young calves from the stable.
5 You play your harps,
and like David, you practice on[b] your musical instruments.
6 You drink wine in fancy cups.[c]
You use the best perfumes.
And it doesn’t even bother you
that Joseph’s family is being destroyed.
7 You people are stretched out on your couches now, but your good times will end. You will be taken away as prisoners to a foreign country, and you will be some of the first people taken. 8 The Lord God used his own name and made an oath. The Lord God All-Powerful said,
“I hate what Jacob is proud of.
I hate his strong towers.
So I will let an enemy take the city
and everything in it.”
There Will Be Few Israelites Left Alive
9 At that time ten people in one house might survive, but they too will die. 10 And when someone dies, a relative will come to get the body so that it can be taken out and burned.[d] Relatives will come to take away the bones. They will call to anyone who might be hiding back in the house, “Are there any other dead bodies in there with you?”
That person will answer, “No, ….”[e]
But the relative will interrupt and say, “Hush! We must not mention the name of the Lord.”
11 Look, the Lord will give the command,
and the large houses will be broken to pieces,
and the small houses will be broken to small pieces.
12 Do horses run over loose rocks?
No, and people don’t use cows for plowing.
But you turned everything upside down.
You changed justice and goodness to bitter poison.
13 You are so excited about defeating Lo Debar.[f]
And you boast, “We have taken Karnaim[g] by our own strength.”
14 “But Israel, I will bring a nation against you that will bring troubles to your whole country from Lebo Hamath to Arabah Brook.” This is what the Lord God All-Powerful said.
Mary Visits Zechariah and Elizabeth
39 Mary got up and went quickly to a town in the hill country of Judea. 40 She went into Zechariah’s house and greeted Elizabeth. 41 When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the unborn baby inside her jumped, and she was filled with the Holy Spirit.
42 In a loud voice she said to Mary, “God has blessed you more than any other woman. And God has blessed the baby you will have. 43 You are the mother of my Lord, and you have come to me! Why has something so good happened to me? 44 When I heard your voice, the baby inside me jumped with joy. 45 Great blessings are yours because you believed what the Lord said to you! You believed this would happen.”
Mary Praises God
46 Then Mary said,
“I praise the Lord with all my heart.
47 I am very happy because God is my Savior.
48 I am not important,
but he has shown his care for me, his lowly servant.
From now until the end of time,
people will remember how much God blessed me.
49 Yes, the Powerful One has done great things for me.
His name is very holy.
50 He always gives mercy
to those who worship him.
51 He reached out his arm and showed his power.
He scattered those who are proud and think great things about themselves.
52 He brought down rulers from their thrones
and raised up the humble people.
53 He filled the hungry with good things,
but he sent the rich away with nothing.
54 God has helped Israel—the people he chose to serve him.
He did not forget his promise to give us his mercy.
55 He has done what he promised to our ancestors,
to Abraham and his children forever.”
56 Mary stayed with Elizabeth for about three months and then went home.
The Birth of John
57 When it was time for Elizabeth to give birth, she had a boy. 58 Her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord was very good to her, and they were happy for her.
59 When the baby was eight days old, they came to circumcise him. They wanted to name him Zechariah because this was his father’s name. 60 But his mother said, “No, he will be named John.”
61 The people said to Elizabeth, “But no one in your family has that name.” 62 Then they made signs to his father, “What would you like to name him?”
63 Zechariah asked for something to write on. Then he wrote, “His name is John.” Everyone was surprised. 64 Then Zechariah could talk again, and he began praising God. 65 And all their neighbors were afraid. In all the hill country of Judea, people continued talking about these things. 66 Everyone who heard about these things wondered about them. They thought, “What will this child be?” They could see that the Lord was with him.
Zechariah Praises God
67 Then Zechariah, John’s father, was filled with the Holy Spirit and told the people a message from God:
68 “Praise to the Lord God of Israel.
He has come to help his people
and has given them freedom.
69 He has given us a powerful Savior
from the family of his servant David.
70 This is what he promised
through his holy prophets long ago.
71 He will save us from our enemies
and from the power of all those who hate us.
72 God said he would show mercy to our fathers,
and he remembered his holy agreement.
73 This was the promise he made to our father Abraham,
74 a promise to free us from the power of our enemies,
so that we could serve him without fear
75 in a way that is holy and right for as long as we live.
76 “Now you, little boy, will be called a prophet of the Most High God.
You will go first before the Lord to prepare the way for him.
77 You will make his people understand that they will be saved
by having their sins forgiven.
78 “With the loving mercy of our God,
a new day[a] from heaven will shine on us.
79 It will bring light to those who live in darkness, in the fear of death.
It will guide us into the way that brings peace.”
80 And so the little boy John grew up and became stronger in spirit. Then he lived in areas away from other people until the time when he came out to tell God’s message to the people of Israel.
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International