M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
23 ¶ And the king sent, and they gathered unto him all the elders of Judah and of Jerusalem.
2 And the king went up into the house of the LORD, and all the men of Judah and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem with him, and the priests and the prophets and all the people, from the smallest to the greatest; and he read in their ears all the words of the book of the covenant which had been found in the house of the LORD.
3 And the king stood by the pillar and made a covenant before the LORD, that they would walk after the LORD and keep his commandments and his testimonies and his statutes with all their heart and all their soul, to perform the words of this covenant that were written in that book. And all the people confirmed the covenant.
4 ¶ And the king commanded Hilkiah, the high priest, and the priests of the second order and the keepers of the door, to bring forth out of the temple of the LORD all the vessels that had been made for Baal and for the grove and for all the host of heaven; and he burned them outside Jerusalem in the fields of Kidron and caused their dust to be carried unto Bethel.
5 And he put down the religious persons whom the kings of Judah had ordained to burn incense in the high places in the cities of Judah and in the places round about Jerusalem; likewise, those that burned incense unto Baal, to the sun and to the moon, and to the planets, and to all the host of heaven.
6 And he brought out the graven image of the grove from the house of the LORD outside Jerusalem unto the brook Kidron, and burned it at the brook Kidron and stamped it small to powder and cast the powder of it upon the graves of the sons of the people.
7 He likewise broke down the houses of the male cult prostitutes that were by the house of the LORD where the women wove hangings for the grove.
8 And he brought all the priests out of the cities of Judah and defiled the high places where the priests had burned incense, from Geba to Beersheba, and broke down the high places of the gates that were in the entering in of the gate of Joshua, the governor of the city, which were on a man’s left hand at the gate of the city.
9 Nevertheless, the priests of the high places did not come up to the altar of the LORD in Jerusalem, but they did eat of the unleavened bread among their brethren.
10 And he defiled Tophet, which is in the valley of the sons of Hinnom, that no man might make his son or his daughter to pass through the fire to Molech.
11 And he took away the horses that the kings of Judah had dedicated to the sun, at the entrance of the house of the LORD, by the chamber of Nathanmelech, the chamberlain who was in charge of the Parbar, and burned the chariots of the sun with fire.
12 And the king cast down the altars that were on the top of the upper chamber of Ahaz, which the kings of Judah had made, and the altars which Manasseh had made in the two courts of the house of the LORD and made haste and cast the dust of them into the brook Kidron.
13 Likewise, the king defiled the high places that were before Jerusalem, which were on the right hand of the mount of corruption, which Solomon, the king of Israel, had built unto Ashtoreth, the abomination of the Zidonians, and unto Chemosh, the abomination of the Moabites, and unto Milcom, the abomination of the sons of Ammon.
14 And he broke the images in pieces and cut down the groves and filled their places with the bones of men.
15 Likewise, the altar that was at Bethel and the high place which Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, who caused Israel to sin, had made: both that altar and the high place he broke down and burned the high place and stamped it small to powder and burned the grove.
16 And as Josiah turned himself, he spied the sepulchres that were there in the mount and sent and took the bones out of the sepulchres and burned them upon the altar and polluted it, according to the word of the LORD which the man of God proclaimed, who had proclaimed these words.
17 Then he said, What title is this that I see? And the men of the city told him, It is the sepulchre of the man of God, who came from Judah and proclaimed these things that thou hast done against the altar of Bethel.
18 And he said, Let him alone; let no one move his bones. So his bones were saved along with the bones of the prophet that had come out of Samaria.
19 And all the houses also of the high places that were in the cities of Samaria, which the kings of Israel had made to provoke the LORD to anger, Josiah took away and did to them according to all the acts that he had done in Bethel.
20 And he slew all the priests of the high places that were there upon the altars and burned men’s bones upon them and returned to Jerusalem.
21 Then the king commanded all the people, saying, Make the passover unto the LORD your God, as it is written in the book of this covenant.
22 Such a passover had not been made since the days of the judges that judged Israel, nor in all the days of the kings of Israel, nor of the kings of Judah.
23 In the year eighteen of King Josiah, this passover was made unto the LORD in Jerusalem.
24 In the same manner Josiah burned the spiritists, the diviners, the teraphim, the idols, and all the abominations that were spied in the land of Judah and in Jerusalem, that he might confirm the words of the law which were written in the book that Hilkiah the priest had found in the house of the LORD.
25 ¶ There was no king before him that converted like this to the LORD with all his heart and all his soul and all his might, according to all the law of Moses; neither did any like him arise after him.
26 Even with all this the LORD did not turn from the fierceness of his great wrath, with which his anger was kindled against Judah, because of all the provocations with which Manasseh had provoked him to wrath.
27 And the LORD said, I must also remove Judah out of my sight as I have removed Israel, and I must reject this city Jerusalem which I had chosen and the house of which I said, My name shall be there.
28 Now the rest of the acts of Josiah and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?
29 In his days Pharaohnechoh, king of Egypt, went up against the king of Assyria to the river Euphrates; and King Josiah went against him; but as soon as he saw him, he slew him at Megiddo.
30 And his slaves carried him in a chariot dead from Megiddo and brought him to Jerusalem and buried him in his own sepulchre. Then the people of the land took Jehoahaz, the son of Josiah, and anointed him and made him king in his father’s stead.
31 ¶ Jehoahaz was twenty-three years old when he began to reign, and he reigned three months in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Hamutal, the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah.
32 And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, according to all that his fathers had done.
33 And Pharaohnechoh put him in bonds at Riblah in the land of Hamath, as he was reigning in Jerusalem; and put the land to a tribute of one hundred talents of silver and a talent of gold.
34 Then Pharaohnechoh made Eliakim, the son of Josiah, king in the place of Josiah his father and changed his name to Jehoiakim and took Jehoahaz and carried him to Egypt, and he died there.
35 And Jehoiakim gave the silver and the gold to Pharaoh, but he caused the land to be valued to give this money according to the commandment of Pharaoh; he exacted the silver and the gold of the people of the land, of each one according to the estimation of his worth, to give it unto Pharaohnechoh.
36 Jehoiakim was twenty-five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Zebudah, the daughter of Pedaiah of Rumah.
37 And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, according to all that his fathers had done.
5 ¶ For every high priest is taken from among men, constituted on behalf of men in things relating to God, that he may offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins,
2 who can have compassion on the ignorant and on those that are in error; for he himself is also compassed with weakness.
3 And by reason of this he ought, as for the people so also for himself, to offer for sins.
4 And no one takes this honour unto himself, but he that is called of God, as was Aaron.
5 So also the Christ did not glorify himself to make himself high priest; but he that said unto him, Thou art my Son; today have I begotten thee.
6 As he said also in another place, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec.
7 Who in the days of his flesh, when he had offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto him that was able to save him from death, was heard because of his reverent fear;
8 although he was the Son of God, yet he learned obedience by the things which he suffered;
9 and being made perfect, he became the author of eternal saving health unto all those that hearken unto him,
10 ¶ named by God high priest after the order of Melchisedec.
11 Of whom we have many things to say and difficult to declare, seeing ye are hard of hearing.
12 For you should now be teaching others, if we look at the time, yet you need to be taught again which are the first elements of the oracles of God and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong food.
13 For any one that uses milk is not qualified in the word of righteousness, for he is a babe.
14 But strong food belongs to those that are perfect, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.
2 ¶ Blow the shofar in Zion, and sound an alarm in my holy mountain; let all the inhabitants of the earth tremble for the day of the LORD comes, for it is near at hand;
2 a day of darkness and of gloominess, a day of clouds and of shadow that spreads itself upon the mountains as the dawn: a people great and strong; there has not ever been the like, neither shall there be any more after him, even to the years of many generations.
3 A fire devours before him and behind him a flame burns: the earth is as the garden of Eden before him, and behind him a desolate wilderness; neither shall anyone escape him.
4 His appearance is as the appearance of horses; and as horsemen, so shall they run.
5 Like the thunder of chariots they shall leap over the tops of mountains, like the noise of a flame of fire that devours the stubble, as a strong people set in battle array.
6 Before him the peoples shall fear: all faces shall go pale.
7 They shall run like mighty men; they shall climb the wall like men of war, and they shall march each one in his ways, and they shall not break his ranks.
8 No one shall crowd his companion; they shall walk each one in his path: and even falling upon the sword, they shall not be wounded.
9 They shall go through the city; they shall run upon the wall; they shall climb up upon the houses; they shall enter in at the windows like a thief.
10 The earth shall quake before him; the heavens shall tremble: the sun and the moon shall go dark; and the stars shall withdraw their shining:
11 and the LORD shall utter his voice before his army: for many are his camps and strong, that execute his word; for the day of the LORD is great, and very terrible; and who can abide it?
12 ¶ Therefore also now, saith the LORD, turn unto me with all your heart and with fasting and with weeping, and with mourning:
13 and rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn unto the LORD your God for he is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and great in mercy, and he does repent of chastisement.
14 Who knows if he will return and repent and leave a blessing behind him even a present and a drink offering unto the LORD your God?
15 Blow the shofar in Zion, sanctify a fast, call a solemn assembly:
16 gather the people, sanctify the meeting, assemble the elders, gather the children and those that suck the breasts; let the bridegroom go forth of his chamber and the bride out of her closet.
17 Let the priests, the ministers of the LORD, weep between the porch and the altar, and let them say, Forgive thy people, O LORD, and do not give thine heritage to reproach that the Gentiles should rule over her: why should they say among the peoples, Where is their God?
18 ¶ Then the LORD will be jealous for his earth and forgive his people.
19 Yea, the LORD will answer and say unto his people, Behold, I will send you bread and new wine and oil, and ye shall be satisfied therewith: and I will no longer make you a reproach among the Gentiles:
20 But I will remove far off from you he of the north wind and will drive him into a land barren and desolate; his face shall be toward the east sea, and his end unto the western sea, and he shall exhale his foul odour, and he shall decompose, because he has lifted himself up.
21 Fear not, O land; be glad and rejoice: for the LORD has done great things.
22 Be not afraid, ye animals of the field; for the pastures of the wilderness shall become green again, for the trees shall bear their fruit, the fig tree and the vine shall give their fruits.
23 Ye also, sons of Zion, be glad and rejoice in the LORD your God for he has given you the former rain according to righteousness, and he will cause to come down for you the rain, the former rain, and the latter rain as in the beginning.
24 And the floors shall be full of wheat, and the vats shall overflow with wine and oil.
25 And I will restore to you the years that the caterpillar has eaten, the locust, and the cankerworm, and the palmerworm, my great army which I sent among you.
26 And ye shall eat in plenty and be satisfied, and praise the name of the LORD your God that has dealt wondrously with you; and my people shall never again be ashamed.
27 And ye shall know that I am in the midst of Israel and that I am the LORD your God, and there is none other; and my people shall never be ashamed.
28 ¶ And it shall come to pass after this that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions:
29 and even upon the slaves and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out my spirit.
30 And I will show wonders in the heaven and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke.
31 The sun shall be turned into darkness and the moon into blood before the great and the terrible day of the LORD comes.
32 And it shall come to pass that whoever shall call on the name of the LORD shall escape: for in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be salvation, as the LORD has said, and in those who are left, to whom the LORD shall have called.
Maschil of David; A Prayer when he was in the cave.
1 ¶ I shall cry unto the LORD with my voice; with my voice shall I ask the LORD for mercy.
2 I shall pour out my complaint before him; before him I shall tell of my trouble.
3 When my spirit was overwhelmed within me, then thou didst know my path. In the way in which I walked have they secretly laid a snare for me.
4 ¶ I looked on my right hand, and beheld, but there was no one that would know me; I had no refuge; no one cared for my soul.
5 I cried unto thee, O LORD; I said, Thou art my hope and my portion in the land of the living.
6 Attend unto my cry, for I am brought very low; deliver me from my persecutors; for they are stronger than I.
7 Bring my soul out of prison, that I may praise thy name; the righteous shall feast with me; when thou shalt have weaned me.
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