M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan

Jehoshaphat, King of Judah

17 Then Jehoshaphat his son reigned in his place, and he grew strong against Israel. ² He put an army in all the fortified cities of Judah and set military garrisons in the land of Judah, even in the cities of Ephraim that Asa his father had captured.

³ Now the Lord was with Jehoshaphat, for he walked in the previous ways of David his father, and he did not seek out the Baal cult. ⁴ For he sought out the God of his fathers and walked in his commandments, rather than the deeds of Israel. ⁵ So the Lord made firm the kingdom in his hand, and all Judah gave a tribute to Jehoshaphat. So he had an abundance of riches and honor. ⁶ His heart was raised up for the ways of the Lord. He even removed the high places and Asherah poles from Judah.

⁷ In the third year of his reign he sent officials, Ben-Hail, Obadiah, Zechariah, Nethanel, and Micaiah, to teach in the cities of Jerusalem, ⁸ and with them were also the Levites: Shemaiah, Nethaniah, Zebadiah, Asahel, Shemiramoth, Jehonathan, Adonijah, Tobijah, and Tob-Adonijah, who were Levites. And with these were also Elishama and Jehoram, who were priests. ⁹ They taught the people in Judah, and they used the Book of the Law of the Lord and they traveled about all the cities of Judah and taught the people.

¹⁰ The terror of the Lord came on all the kingdoms of the land that surrounded Judah, and they did not bring war against Jehoshaphat. ¹¹ Some from the Philistine peoples brought gifts to Jehoshaphat such as silver for tribute. The Arabians even brought seven thousand seven hundred rams and seven thousand seven hundred goats to him.

¹² Jehoshaphat continued to increase in greatness, and he built citadels and storehouses in Judah. ¹³ And he had much property in the cities of Judah, and the men of war, mighty men of valor, were in Jerusalem. ¹⁴ This was their divisions by the houses of their father:

¹⁹ These were serving the king in addition to those the king placed in the fortified cities throughout Judah.

The Seals

6 I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals. Then I heard one of the four living creatures saying, with voice like thunder, “Come and see.” ² And I looked, and there before me was a white horse. He who sat on it had a bow. And a crown was given to him, and he went forth conquering that he might overcome.

³ When He opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature say, “Come and see.” ⁴ Then another horse that was red went forth. Power was given to him who sat on it to take peace from the earth, causing people to kill one another. Then a great sword was given to him.

⁵ When He opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, “Come!” I looked, and there was a black horse, and he who sat on it had a pair of scales in his hand. ⁶ Then I heard a voice in the midst of the four living creatures saying, “A quart^[a] of wheat for a day’s wages, and three quarts of barley for a day’s wages,^[b] and do not harm the oil and the wine.”

⁷ When He opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature say, “Come!” ⁸ So I looked, and there was a pale horse, and the name of him who sat on it was Death, and Hades followed him. Power over a fourth of the earth was given to them, to kill with sword, with hunger, with death, and by the beasts of the earth.

⁹ When He opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the testimony they had held. ¹⁰ They cried out with a loud voice, “How long, O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, until You judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?” ¹¹ Then a white robe was given to each of them, and they were told to rest a little longer, until the number of their fellow servants and brothers should be completed, who would be killed as they were.

¹² I watched as He opened the sixth seal. And suddenly there was a great earthquake. The sun became black, like sackcloth made from goat hair, and the moon became like blood. ¹³ And the stars of heaven fell to the earth, as a fig tree drops its unripe figs when it is shaken by a strong wind. ¹⁴ Then the heavens receded like a scroll when it is rolled up, and every mountain and island was removed from its place.

¹⁵ Then the kings of the earth and the great men and the rich men and the commanding officers and the strong and everyone, slave and free, hid themselves in the caves and in the rocks of the mountains. ¹⁶ They said to the mountains and rocks, “Fall on us, and hide us from the face of Him who sits on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb, ¹⁷ for the great day of His wrath has come. Who is able to withstand it?”^[c]

The Vision of the Man With the Measuring Line

2 And I lifted up my eyes, and I saw a man with a measuring cord in his hand. ² And I said, “Where are you going?”

And he responded, “To measure Jerusalem and to note what is its width and length.”

³ Then the angel who was speaking with me went out, and then another angel came out to meet him, ⁴ and said to him, “Run, say to this young man: Jerusalem will be inhabited as villages without walls, because of the multitude of men and animals in her. ⁵ And I will be like a wall of fire all around her, says the Lord, and I will be as glory in her midst.”

Interlude: An Appeal to the Exiles

⁶ Up, up, flee from the northern land, says the Lord, for I have spread you abroad like the four winds of heaven, says the Lord.

⁷ Deliver yourself, O Zion, you who live with the daughter of Babylon. ⁸ For thus says the Lord of Hosts: He has sent Me after glory to the nations which plunder you, for he who touches you touches the apple of His eye. ⁹ For I will swing My hand against them, and they will become plunder for their servants. Then you will know well that the Lord of Hosts has sent Me.

¹⁰ Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion, for I am coming and will dwell in your midst, says the Lord. ¹¹ And many nations will join themselves with the Lord in that day, and they will be My people. And I will reside in your midst, and you will know that the Lord of Hosts has sent Me to you. ¹² And the Lord will possess Judah as His portion in the holy land, and He will again choose Jerusalem. ¹³ Be still, all flesh before the Lord, for He is stirred from His holy habitation.

The Healing at the Pool

5 After this there was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. ² Now in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate there is a pool, which in Hebrew is called Bethesda, having five porches. ³ In these lay a great crowd of invalids, blind, lame, and paralyzed, waiting for the moving of the water. ⁴ For an angel went down at a certain time into the pool and stirred up the water. After the stirring of the water, whoever stepped in first was healed of whatever disease he had. ⁵ A certain man was there who had an illness for thirty-eight years. ⁶ When Jesus saw him lying there, and knew that he had been in that condition now a long time, He said to him, “Do you want to be healed?”

⁷ The sick man answered Him, “Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred. But while I am coming, another steps down before me.”

⁸ Jesus said to him, “Rise, take up your bed and walk.” ⁹ Immediately the man was healed, took up his bed, and walked.

That day was the Sabbath. ¹⁰ The Jews therefore said to him who was cured, “It is the Sabbath day. It is not lawful for you to carry your bed.”

¹¹ He answered them, “He who healed me said to me, ‘Take up your bed and walk.’ ”

¹² So they asked him, “Who is the Man who said to you, ‘Take up your bed and walk’?”

¹³ Now the man who was healed did not know who it was, for Jesus had withdrawn, as there was a crowd in that place.

¹⁴ Afterward Jesus found him in the temple, and said to him, “See, you have become whole. Sin no more lest something worse happens to you.” ¹⁵ The man departed and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had healed him.

¹⁶ So the Jews persecuted Jesus and sought to kill Him, because He had done these things on the Sabbath day. ¹⁷ Jesus answered them, “My Father is working still, and I am working.” ¹⁸ So the Jews sought even more to kill Him, because He not only had broken the Sabbath, but also said that God was His Father, making Himself equal with God.

The Authority of the Son

¹⁹ Then Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do. For whatever He does, likewise the Son does. ²⁰ For the Father loves the Son and shows Him all things that He Himself does. And He will show Him greater works than these so that you may marvel. ²¹ For as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the Son gives life to whom He will. ²² The Father judges no one, but has committed all judgment to the Son, ²³ that all men should honor the Son, just as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him.

²⁴ “Truly, truly I say to you, whoever hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has eternal life and shall not come into condemnation, but has passed from death into life. ²⁵ Truly, truly I say to you, the hour is coming, and is now here, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live. ²⁶ For as the Father has life in Himself, so He has given to the Son to have life in Himself, ²⁷ and has given Him authority to execute judgment also, because He is the Son of Man.

²⁸ “Do not marvel at this. For the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear His voice ²⁹ and come out—those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment. ³⁰ I can do nothing of Myself. As I hear, I judge. My judgment is just, because I seek not My own will, but the will of the Father who sent Me.

Witnesses to Jesus

³¹ “If I bear witness of Myself, My testimony is not true. ³² There is another who bears witness of Me, and I know that the testimony which He bears of Me is true.

³³ “You sent to John, and he bore witness of the truth. ³⁴ I do not receive testimony from man, but I say these things that you may be saved. ³⁵ He was a burning and a shining lamp, and you were willing for a season to rejoice in his light.

³⁶ “I have greater testimony than that of John. The works which the Father has given Me to finish, the very works that I do, bear witness of Me, that the Father has sent Me. ³⁷ The Father Himself, who has sent Me, has borne witness of Me. You have neither heard His voice at any time, nor seen His form. ³⁸ You do not have His word abiding in you, for you do not believe the One He has sent. ³⁹ You search the Scriptures, because you think in them you have eternal life. These are they who bear witness of Me. ⁴⁰ Yet you are not willing to come to Me that you may have life.

⁴¹ “I do not receive honor from men. ⁴² But I know you, that you do not have the love of God in you. ⁴³ I have come in My Father’s name, but you do not receive Me. If another comes in his own name, you will receive him. ⁴⁴ How can you believe, who receive glory from one another and do not seek the glory that comes from the only God?

⁴⁵ “Do not think that I shall accuse you to the Father. There is one who accuses you—Moses, in whom you trust. ⁴⁶ For if you believed Moses, you would believe Me, for he wrote of Me. ⁴⁷ But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe My words?”