M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Hezekiah’s Illness(A)
20 In those days Hezekiah became sick and was about to die. The prophet Isaiah, son of Amoz, came to him and said, “This is what Yahweh says: Give final instructions to your household, because you’re about to die. You won’t get well.”
2 Hezekiah turned to the wall and prayed to Yahweh, 3 “Please, Yahweh, remember how I’ve lived faithfully and sincerely in your presence. I’ve done what you consider right.” And he cried bitterly.
4 Isaiah hadn’t gone as far as the middle courtyard when Yahweh spoke his word to him: 5 “Go back and say to Hezekiah, leader of my people, ‘This is what Yahweh Elohim of your ancestor David says: I’ve heard your prayer. I’ve seen your tears. Now I’m going to heal you. The day after tomorrow you will go to Yahweh’s temple. 6 I’ll give you 15 more years to live. I’ll rescue you and defend this city from the control of the king of Assyria for my sake and for the sake of my servant David.’”
7 Then Isaiah said, “Get a fig cake, and put it on the boil so that the king will get well.”
8 Hezekiah asked Isaiah, “What is the sign that Yahweh will heal me and that I’ll go to Yahweh’s temple the day after tomorrow?”
9 Isaiah said, “This is your sign from Yahweh that Yahweh will do what he promises. Do you want the shadow to go forward ten steps or come back ten steps?”
10 Hezekiah replied, “It’s easy for the shadow to extend ten more steps forward. No, let it come back ten steps.”
11 Then the prophet Isaiah called on Yahweh, and Yahweh made the shadow that had gone down on Ahaz’s stairway go back up ten steps.
Hezekiah Shows the Babylonians His Treasures(B)
12 At that time Baladan’s son, King Merodach Baladan of Babylon, sent letters and a present to Hezekiah because he heard that Hezekiah had been sick. 13 Hezekiah was so happy with them that he showed the messengers his warehouse: the silver, gold, balsam, fine olive oil, his entire armory, and everything in his treasury. Hezekiah showed them everything in his palace and every corner of his kingdom.
14 Then the prophet Isaiah came to King Hezekiah and asked, “What did these men say? And where did they come from?”
Hezekiah answered, “They came to me from the distant country of Babylon.”
15 Isaiah asked, “What did they see in your palace?”
Hezekiah answered, “They saw everything in my palace, and I showed them everything in my treasury.”
16 Isaiah said to Hezekiah, “Hear the word of Yahweh! 17 Yahweh says, ‘The days are going to come when everything in your palace, everything your ancestors have stored up to this day, will be taken away to Babylon. Nothing will be left. 18 Some of your own descendants will be taken away. They will become officials in the palace of the king of Babylon.’”
19 Hezekiah said to Isaiah, “Yahweh’s word that you have spoken is good.” He added, “Isn’t it enough if there is peace and security as long as I live?”
20 Isn’t everything else about Hezekiah, all his heroic acts and how he made the pool and tunnel to bring water into the city, written in the official records of the kings of Judah? 21 Hezekiah lay down in death with his ancestors. His son Manasseh succeeded him as king.
Everything Is Under Jesus’ Control
2 For this reason we must pay closer attention to what we have heard. Then we won’t drift away from the truth. 2 After all, the message that the angels brought was reliable, and every violation and act of disobedience was properly punished. 3 So how will we escape punishment if we reject the important message, the message that God saved us? First, the Lord told this saving message. Then those who heard him confirmed that message. 4 God verified what they said through miraculous signs, amazing things, other powerful acts, and with other gifts from the Holy Spirit as he wanted.
5 He didn’t put the world that will come (about which we are talking) under the angels’ control. 6 Instead, someone has declared this somewhere in Scripture:
“What is a mortal that you should remember him,
or the Son of Man[a] that you take care of him?
7 You made him a little lower than the angels.
You crowned him with glory and honor.
8 You put everything under his control.”
When God put everything under his Son’s control, nothing was left out.
However, at the present time we still don’t see everything under his Son’s control. 9 Yeshua was made a little lower than the angels, but we see him crowned with glory and honor because he suffered death. Through God’s kindness[b] he died on behalf of everyone. 10 God is the one for whom and through whom everything exists. Therefore, while God was bringing many sons and daughters to glory, it was the right time to bring Yeshua, the source of their salvation, to the end of his work through suffering.
Jesus Became One of Us to Help Us
11 Yeshua, who makes people holy, and all those who are made holy have the same Father. That is why Yeshua isn’t ashamed to call them brothers and sisters. 12 He says,
“I will tell my people about your name.
I will praise you within the congregation.”
13 In addition, Yeshua says,
“I will trust him.”
And Yeshua says,
“I am here with the sons and daughters God has given me.”
14 Since all of these sons and daughters have flesh and blood, Yeshua took on flesh and blood to be like them. He did this so that by dying he would destroy the one who had power over death (that is, the devil). 15 In this way he would free those who were slaves all their lives because they were afraid of dying. 16 So Yeshua helps Abraham’s descendants rather than helping angels. 17 Therefore, he had to become like his brothers and sisters so that he could be merciful. He became like them so that he could serve as a faithful chief priest in God’s presence and make peace with God for their sins. 18 Because Yeshua experienced temptation when he suffered, he is able to help others when they are tempted.
The People of Israel Will Be Punished for Their Idolatry
13 When the tribe of Ephraim spoke, people trembled.
The people of Ephraim were important in Israel.
Then they became guilty of worshiping Baal,
so they must die.
2 They keep on sinning more and more.
They make idols from silver for themselves.
These idols are skillfully made.
All of them are the work of craftsmen.
People say this about the Israelites: “They offer human sacrifices
and kiss calf-shaped idols.”
3 That is why they will be like fog in the morning
and like morning dew that disappears quickly.
They will be like straw blown away from threshing floors.[a]
They will be like smoke rising from chimneys.
4 “I am Yahweh your Elohim. I brought you out of Egypt.
You have known no god besides me.
There is no savior except me.
5 I took care of you[b] in the desert, in a dry land.
6 When I fed you, you were full.
When you were full, you became arrogant.
That is why you forgot me.
7 So I will be like a lion.
Like a leopard I will wait by the road to ambush you.
8 Like a bear that has lost her cubs, I will attack you.
I will rip you open.
Like a lion I will devour you.
Like a wild animal I will tear you apart.
9 You are destroying yourself, Israel.
You are against me, your helper.
10 “Where, now, is your king, the one who is supposed to save you?
Where in all your cities are your judges?
You said, ‘Give us kings and officials!’
11 I gave you a king when I was angry,
and I took him away when I was furious.
12 “Ephraim’s wickedness is on record.
The record of the people’s sins is safely stored away.
13 They have the opportunity to live again,
but they are not smart enough to take it.
They are like a baby who is about to be born
but won’t come out of its mother’s womb.
14 “I want to free them from the power of the grave.
I want to reclaim them from death.
Death, I want to be a plague to you.
Grave, I want to destroy you.[c]
I won’t even think of changing my plans.”
15 The people of Ephraim have become important among their relatives.
However, Yahweh’s scorching wind will come from the east.
It will blow out of the desert.
Then their springs will run dry,
and their wells will dry up.
The wind will destroy every precious thing in their storehouses.[d]
16 The people of Samaria are guilty as charged
because they rebelled against their Elohim.
They will be killed in war,
their children will be smashed to death,
and their pregnant women will be ripped open.
Psalm 137
1 By the rivers of Babylon, we sat down and cried
as we remembered Zion.
2 We hung our lyres on willow trees.
3 It was there that those who had captured us demanded that we sing.
Those who guarded us wanted us to entertain them.
They said, “Sing a song from Zion for us!”
4 How could we sing Yahweh’s song in a foreign land?
5 If I forget you, Jerusalem,
let my right hand forget how to play the lyre.
6 Let my tongue stick to the roof of my mouth
if I don’t remember you,
if I don’t consider Jerusalem my highest joy.
7 O Yahweh, remember the people of Edom.
Remember what they did the day Jerusalem was captured.
They said, “Tear it down! Tear it down to its foundation.”
8 You destructive people of Babylon,
blessed is the one who pays you back
with the same treatment you gave us.
9 Blessed is the one who grabs your little children
and smashes them against a rock.
Psalm 138
By David.
1 I will give thanks to you with all my heart.
I will make music to praise you in front of the false gods.
2 I will bow toward your holy temple.
I will give thanks to your name because of your mercy and truth.
You have made your name and your promise greater than everything.
3 When I called, you answered me.
You made me bold by strengthening my soul.[a]
4 All the kings of the earth will give thanks to you, O Yahweh,
because they have heard the promises you spoke.
5 They will sing this about the ways of Yahweh:
“Yahweh’s honor is great!”
6 Even though Yahweh is high above, he sees humble people close up,
and he recognizes arrogant people from a distance.
7 Even though I walk into the middle of trouble,
you guard my life against the anger of my enemies.
You stretch out your hand,
and your right hand saves me.
8 Yahweh will do everything for me.
O Yahweh, your mercy endures forever.
Do not let go of what your hands have made.
The Names of God Bible (without notes) © 2011 by Baker Publishing Group.