M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Israel’s Priests Come to Judah(A)
11 When Rehoboam came to Jerusalem, he gathered the people of Judah and Benjamin, 180,000 of the best soldiers, to fight against Israel and return the kingdom to Rehoboam.
2 But Yahweh spoke his word to Shemaiah, the man of Elohim. He said, 3 “Speak to Judah’s King Rehoboam, son of Solomon, and all Israel in Judah and Benjamin. 4 This is what Yahweh says: Don’t wage war against your relatives. Everyone, go home. What has happened is my doing.” So they obeyed the word of Yahweh. They turned back from their attack on Jeroboam.
5 Rehoboam lived in Jerusalem and built fortified cities in Judah. 6 He rebuilt Bethlehem, Etam, Tekoa, 7 Beth Zur, Soco, Adullam, 8 Gath, Mareshah, Ziph, 9 Adoraim, Lachish, Azekah, 10 Zorah, Aijalon, and Hebron. These were fortified cities in Judah and Benjamin. 11 He strengthened them and put army officers with reserves of food, olive oil, and wine in them. 12 In each city he stored shields and spears. He made the cities very secure. So Rehoboam held on to Judah and Benjamin.
13 The priests and Levites in every region of Israel sided with Rehoboam. 14 The priests abandoned their land and property and went to Judah and Jerusalem because Jeroboam and his descendants rejected them as Yahweh’s priests. 15 Instead, Jeroboam appointed his own priests for the illegal worship sites and the goat and calf statues he had made as idols. 16 People from every tribe of Israel who were determined to seek Yahweh Elohim of Israel followed the Levitical priests to Jerusalem to sacrifice to Yahweh Elohim of their ancestors.
17 So they strengthened the kingdom of Judah by supporting Rehoboam, son of Solomon, for three years. During those three years they lived the way David and Solomon had lived.
Rehoboam’s Family
18 Rehoboam married Mahalath, daughter of Jerimoth. (Jerimoth was the son of David and Abihail. Abihail was the daughter of Eliab, son of Jesse.) 19 Mahalath gave birth to the following sons: Jeush, Shemariah, and Zaham.
20 After marrying Mahalath, he married Maacah, Absalom’s granddaughter. She gave birth to Abijah, Attai, Ziza, and Shelomith. 21 Rehoboam loved Maacah, Absalom’s granddaughter, more than all his other wives and concubines.[a] (He had 18 wives and 60 concubines. He fathered 28 sons and 60 daughters.)
22 Rehoboam appointed Abijah, son of Maacah, as family head and prince among his brothers. By doing this, Rehoboam could make him king. 23 He wisely placed his sons in every region of Judah and Benjamin, in every fortified city. He gave them allowances and obtained many wives for them.
King Shishak Takes the Temple Treasures(B)
12 When Rehoboam had established his kingdom and made himself strong, he and all Israel abandoned Yahweh’s teachings. 2 In the fifth year of Rehoboam’s reign, King Shishak of Egypt attacked Jerusalem. This happened because all Israel was not loyal to Yahweh. 3 Shishak had 1,200 chariots, 60,000 horses, and an army of countless Libyans, Sukkites, and Sudanese from Egypt.
4 He captured the fortified cities in Judah and then came to Jerusalem.
5 The prophet Shemaiah came to Rehoboam and the leaders of Judah who had gathered in Jerusalem because of Shishak. Shemaiah said to them, “This is what Yahweh says: You have abandoned me, so I will abandon you. I will hand you over to Shishak.” 6 Then the commanders of Israel and the king humbled themselves. “Yahweh is right!” they said.
7 When Yahweh saw that they had humbled themselves, Yahweh spoke his word to Shemaiah: “They have humbled themselves. I will not destroy them. In a little while I will give them an escape. I will not use Shishak to pour my anger on Jerusalem. 8 But they will become his servants so that they can learn the difference between serving me and serving foreign kings.”
9 King Shishak of Egypt attacked Jerusalem and took the treasures from Yahweh’s temple and the royal palace. He took them all. He took the gold shields Solomon had made. 10 So King Rehoboam made bronze shields to replace them and put them by the entrance to the royal palace, where the captains of the guards were stationed. 11 Whenever the king went into Yahweh’s temple, guards carried the shields and then returned them to the guardroom.
12 After Rehoboam humbled himself, Yahweh was no longer angry with him and didn’t completely destroy him. So things went well in Judah.
13 King Rehoboam strengthened his position in Jerusalem and ruled. He was 41 years old when he began to rule. He ruled for 17 years in Jerusalem, the city that Yahweh chose from all the tribes of Israel, the city where Yahweh put his name. (Rehoboam’s mother was an Ammonite woman named Naamah.) 14 He did evil things because he was not serious about dedicating himself to serving Yahweh.
15 Aren’t the events concerning Rehoboam from first to last written in the records of the prophet Shemaiah and the records of the seer[b] Iddo in the genealogies? There was war between Rehoboam and Jeroboam as long as they lived. 16 Rehoboam lay down in death with his ancestors and was buried in the City of David. His son Abijah succeeded him as king.
A Letter to the Church in Ephesus
2 “To the messenger of the church in Ephesus, write:
The one who holds the seven stars in his right hand, the one who walks among the seven gold lamp stands, says: 2 I know what you have done—how hard you have worked and how you have endured. I also know that you cannot tolerate wicked people. You have tested those who call themselves apostles but are not apostles. You have discovered that they are liars. 3 You have endured, suffered trouble because of my name, and have not grown weary. 4 However, I have this against you: The love you had at first is gone. 5 Remember how far you have fallen. Return to me and change the way you think and act, and do what you did at first. I will come to you and take your lamp stand from its place if you don’t change. 6 But you have this in your favor—you hate what the Nicolaitans are doing. I also hate what they’re doing.
7 “Let the person who has ears listen to what the Spirit says to the churches. I will give the privilege of eating from the tree of life, which stands in the paradise of God, to everyone who wins the victory.
A Letter to the Church in Smyrna
8 “To the messenger of the church in Smyrna, write:
The first and the last, who was dead and became alive, says: 9 I know how you are suffering, how poor you are—but you are rich. I also know that those who claim to be Jews slander you. They are the synagogue of Satan. 10 Don’t be afraid of what you are going to suffer. The devil is going to throw some of you into prison so that you may be tested. Your suffering will go on for ten days. Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life.
11 Let the person who has ears listen to what the Spirit says to the churches. Everyone who wins the victory will never be hurt by the second death.
A Letter to the Church in Pergamum
12 “To the messenger of the church in Pergamum, write:
The one who holds the sharp two-edged sword says: 13 I know where you live. Satan’s throne is there. You hold on to my name and have not denied your belief in me, even in the days of Antipas. He was my faithful witness who was killed in your presence, where Satan lives. 14 But I have a few things against you: You have among you those who follow what Balaam taught Balak. Balak trapped the people of Israel by encouraging them to eat food sacrificed to idols and to sin sexually. 15 You also have some who follow what the Nicolaitans teach. 16 So return to me and change the way you think and act, or I will come to you quickly and wage war against them with the sword from my mouth.
17 Let the person who has ears listen to what the Spirit says to the churches. I will give some of the hidden manna to everyone who wins the victory. I will also give each person a white stone with a new name written on it, a name that is known only to the person who receives it.
A Letter to the Church in Thyatira
18 “To the messenger of the church in Thyatira, write:
The Son of God, whose eyes are like flames of fire and whose feet are like glowing bronze, says: 19 I know what you do. I know your love, faith, service, and endurance. I also know that what you are doing now is greater than what you did at first. 20 But I have something against you: You tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophet. She teaches and misleads my servants to sin sexually and to eat food sacrificed to idols. 21 I gave her time to turn to me and change the way she thinks and acts, but she refuses to turn away from her sexual sins. 22 Watch me! I’m going to throw her into a sickbed. Those who commit sexual sins with her will also suffer a lot, unless they turn away from what she is doing. 23 I will kill her children. Then all the churches will know that I am the one who searches hearts and minds. I will reward each of you for what you have done. 24 But the rest of you in Thyatira—all who don’t hold on to Jezebel’s teaching, who haven’t learned what are called the deep things of Satan—I won’t burden you with anything else. 25 Just hold on to what you have until I come.
26 I have received authority from my Father.[a] I will give authority over the nations to everyone who wins the victory and continues to do what I want until the end. 27 Those people will rule the nations with iron scepters and shatter them like pottery. 28 I will also give them the morning star. 29 Let the person who has ears listen to what the Spirit says to the churches.
Jerusalem Will Be Destroyed
3 How horrible it will be for that rebellious
and corrupt place, the city of violence.
2 It obeys no one.
It does not accept correction.
It does not trust Yahweh.
It does not draw close to its Elohim.
3 Its officials are like roaring lions.
Its judges are like wolves in the evening.
They leave nothing to gnaw on for the morning.
4 Its prophets are reckless and unfaithful.
Its priests contaminate what is holy.
They violate the teachings.
5 The righteous Yahweh is in that city.
He does no wrong.
He brings his judgment to light every morning.
He does not fail.
But those who are perverted are shameless.
6 “I will cut off the nations.
Their towers will be destroyed.
I will demolish their streets.
No one will walk through them.
Their cities will be completely destroyed.
Not a single person will be left.
No one will be living there.
7 I said to my people,
‘You will fear me.
You will accept correction!’
Then their homeland would not be wiped out
even though I have punished them.
Still, they continued to be corrupt in everything they did.”
8 Yahweh declares, “Just wait!
One day I will stand up as a witness.
I have decided to gather nations,
to bring kingdoms together,
and to pour my rage, my burning anger, on them.
The whole land will be consumed by my fiery fury.
Israel Will Turn Away from Sin
9 “Then I will give all people pure lips
to worship Yahweh
and to serve him with one purpose.
10 From beyond the rivers of Sudan
my worshipers, my scattered people, will bring my offering.
11 On that day you will no longer be ashamed
of all your rebellious acts against me.
Then I will remove your arrogance
and never again will you act proud on my holy mountain.
12 So with you I will leave a faithful few, a humble and poor people.
They will seek refuge in the name of Yahweh.
13 The faithful few in Israel will not do wrong, tell lies,
or use their tongues to deceive others.
They will graze their sheep and lie down,
and there will be no one to terrify them.”
Israel’s Joyful Song
14 Sing happily, people of Zion!
Shout loudly, Israel!
Celebrate and rejoice with all your heart, people of Jerusalem.
15 Yahweh has reversed the judgments against you.
He has forced out your enemies.
The Melek of Israel, Yahweh, is with you.
You will never fear disaster again.
16 On that day Jerusalem will be told,
“Do not be afraid, Zion!
Do not lose courage!”
17 Yahweh your Elohim is with you.
He is a hero who saves you.
He happily rejoices over you,
renews you with his love,
and celebrates over you with shouts of joy.
Israel Will Return Home
18 “I will gather those among you who are troubled because of the festivals.
They bear a burden of disgrace.
19 At that time
I will deal with all who have overpowered you.
I will rescue those who are lame.
I will gather those who have been scattered.
I will make them praised and famous in all the world,
though they had been ashamed.
20 At that time I will bring you home.
Yes, at that time I will gather you together.
I will make you famous and praised among all the people of the earth
when I restore your fortunes right before your eyes,” says Yahweh.
The Word Becomes Human
1 In the beginning the Word already existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was already with God in the beginning.
3 Everything came into existence through him. Not one thing that exists was made without him.
4 He was the source of life, and that life was the light for humanity.
5 The light shines in the dark, and the dark has never extinguished it.[a]
6 God sent a man named John to be his messenger. 7 John came to declare the truth about the light so that everyone would become believers through his message. 8 John was not the light, but he came to declare the truth about the light.
9 The real light, which shines on everyone, was coming into the world. 10 He was in the world, and the world came into existence through him. Yet, the world didn’t recognize him. 11 He went to his own people, and his own people didn’t accept him. 12 However, he gave the right to become God’s children to everyone who believed in him. 13 These people didn’t become God’s children in a physical way—from a human impulse or from a husband’s desire to have a child. They were born from God.
14 The Word became human and lived among us. We saw his glory. It was the glory that the Father shares with his only Son, a glory full of kindness[b] and truth.
15 (John declared the truth about him when he said loudly, “This is the person about whom I said, ‘The one who comes after me was before me because he existed before I did.’”)
16 Each of us has received one gift after another because of all that the Word is. 17 Laws were given through Moses, but kindness and truth came into existence through Yeshua Christ. 18 No one has ever seen God. God’s only Son, the one who is closest to the Father’s heart, has made him known.
John Prepares the Way(A)
19 This was John’s answer when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, “Who are you?” 20 John didn’t refuse to answer. He told them clearly, “I’m not the Messiah.”
21 They asked him, “Well, are you Elijah?”
John answered, “No, I’m not.”
Then they asked, “Are you the prophet?”
John replied, “No.”
22 So they asked him, “Who are you? Tell us so that we can take an answer back to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?”
23 John said, “I’m a voice crying out in the desert, ‘Make the way for the Lord straight,’ as the prophet Isaiah said.”
24 Some of those who had been sent were Pharisees. 25 They asked John, “Why do you baptize if you’re not the Messiah or Elijah or the prophet?”
26 John answered them, “I baptize with water. Someone you don’t know is standing among you. 27 He’s the one who comes after me. I am not worthy to untie his sandal strap.”
28 This happened in Bethany on the east side of the Jordan River, where John was baptizing.
John Identifies Jesus as the Lamb of God
29 John saw Yeshua coming toward him the next day and said, “Look! This is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. 30 He is the one I spoke about when I said, ‘A man who comes after me was before me because he existed before I did.’ 31 I didn’t know who he was. However, I came to baptize with water to show him to the people of Israel.”
32 John said, “I saw the Spirit come down as a dove from heaven and stay on him. 33 I didn’t know who he was. But God, who sent me to baptize with water, had told me, ‘When you see the Spirit come down and stay on someone, you’ll know that person is the one who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’ 34 I have seen this and have declared that this is the Son of God.”
Calling of the First Disciples
35 The next day John was standing with two of his disciples. 36 John saw Yeshua walk by. John said, “Look! This is the Lamb of God.” 37 When the two disciples heard John say this, they followed Yeshua.
38 Yeshua turned around and saw them following him. He asked them, “What are you looking for?”
They said to him, “Rabbi” (which means “teacher”), “where are you staying?”
39 Yeshua told them, “Come, and you will see.” So they went to see where he was staying and spent the rest of that day with him. It was about ten o’clock in the morning.
40 Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, was one of the two disciples who heard John and followed Yeshua. 41 Andrew at once found his brother Simon and told him, “We have found the Messiah” (which means “Christ”). 42 Andrew brought Simon to Yeshua.
Yeshua looked at Simon and said, “You are Simon, son of John. Your name will be Cephas” (which means “Peter”).
43 The next day Yeshua wanted to go to Galilee. He found Philip and told him, “Follow me!” 44 (Philip was from Bethsaida, the hometown of Andrew and Peter.)
45 Philip found Nathanael and told him, “We have found the man whom Moses wrote about in his teachings and whom the prophets wrote about. He is Yeshua, son of Joseph, from the city of Nazareth.”
46 Nathanael said to Philip, “Can anything good come from Nazareth?”
Philip told him, “Come and see!”
47 Yeshua saw Nathanael coming toward him and remarked, “Here is a true Israelite who is sincere.”
48 Nathanael asked Yeshua, “How do you know anything about me?”
Yeshua answered him, “I saw you under the fig tree before Philip called you.”
49 Nathanael said to Yeshua, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the king of Israel!”
50 Yeshua replied, “You believe because I told you that I saw you under the fig tree. You will see greater things than that.” 51 Yeshua said to Nathanael, “I can guarantee this truth: You will see the sky open and God’s angels going up and coming down to the Son of Man.”
The Names of God Bible (without notes) © 2011 by Baker Publishing Group.