M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Chapter 19
Jehoshaphat Rebuked. 1 Jehoshaphat king of Judah returned in safety to his house in Jerusalem. 2 Jehu the seer, son of Hanani,[a] went out to meet King Jehoshaphat and said to him: “Should you help the wicked and love those who hate the Lord? For this reason, wrath is upon you from the Lord. 3 Yet some good has been found[b] in you, since you have removed the asherahs from the land and have set your heart to seek God.”
Judges Appointed. 4 Jehoshaphat dwelt in Jerusalem; but he went out again among the people from Beer-sheba to the highlands of Ephraim and brought them back to the Lord, the God of their ancestors. 5 He appointed judges in the land, in all the fortified cities of Judah, city by city, 6 and he said to them: “Take care what you do, for the judgment you give is not human but divine; for when it comes to judgment God will be with you.(A) 7 And now, let the fear of the Lord be upon you. Act carefully, for with the Lord, our God, there is no injustice, no partiality, no bribe-taking.”(B) 8 In Jerusalem also, Jehoshaphat appointed some Levites and priests and some of the family heads of Israel for the Lord’s judgment and the disputes of those who dwell in Jerusalem.(C) 9 He gave them this command: “Thus you shall act: in the fear of the Lord, with fidelity and with an undivided heart. 10 And in every dispute that comes to you from your kin living in their cities, whether it concerns bloodguilt or questions of law, command, statutes, or ordinances, warn them lest they incur guilt before the Lord and his wrath come upon you and your kin. Do that and you shall not incur guilt.(D) 11 See now, Amariah is chief priest over you for everything that pertains to the Lord, and Zebadiah, son of Ishmael, is leader of the house of Judah in all that pertains to the king; and the Levites will be your officials. Take firm action, and the Lord will be with the good.”
Chapter 20
Invasion from Edom. 1 [c]After this the Moabites, the Ammonites, and with them some Meunites came to fight against Jehoshaphat. 2 Jehoshaphat was told: “A great multitude is coming against you from across the sea, from Edom; they are already in Hazazon-tamar” (which is En-gedi). 3 Frightened, Jehoshaphat resolved to consult the Lord. He proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah. 4 Then Judah gathered to seek the Lord’s help; from every one of the cities of Judah they came to seek the Lord.(E)
Jehoshaphat’s Prayer. 5 Jehoshaphat stood up in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem in the house of the Lord before the new court, 6 and he said: “Lord, God of our ancestors, are you not God in heaven, and do you not rule over all the kingdoms of the nations? In your hand is power and might, and no one can withstand you.(F) 7 Was it not you, our God, who dispossessed the inhabitants of this land before your people Israel and gave it forever to the descendants of Abraham, your friend? 8 They have dwelt in it and they built in it a sanctuary for your name. They have said: 9 ‘If evil comes upon us, the sword of judgment, or pestilence, or famine, we will stand before this house and before you, for your name is in this house, and we will cry out to you in our affliction, and you will hear and save!’(G) 10 And now, see the Ammonites, Moabites, and those of Mount Seir whom you did not allow Israel to invade when they came from the land of Egypt, but instead they passed them by and did not destroy them:(H) 11 See how they are now repaying us by coming to drive us out of the possession you have given us. 12 O our God, will you not bring judgment on them? We are powerless before this vast multitude that is coming against us. We ourselves do not know what to do, so our eyes are turned toward you.”
Victory Prophesied. 13 All Judah was standing before the Lord, with their little ones, their wives, and their children. 14 And the spirit of the Lord came upon Jahaziel, son of Zechariah, son of Benaiah, son of Jeiel, son of Mattaniah, a Levite of the clan of Asaph, in the midst of the assembly, 15 and he said: “Pay attention, all of Judah, inhabitants of Jerusalem, and King Jehoshaphat! The Lord says to you: Do not fear or be dismayed at the sight of this vast multitude, for the battle is not yours but God’s. 16 Go down against them tomorrow. You will see them coming up by the ascent of Ziz, and you will come upon them at the end of the wadi which opens on the wilderness of Jeruel. 17 You will not have to fight in this encounter. Take your places, stand firm, and see the salvation of the Lord; he will be with you, Judah and Jerusalem. Do not fear or be dismayed. Tomorrow go out to meet them, and the Lord will be with you.”(I) 18 Then Jehoshaphat knelt down with his face to the ground, and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell down before the Lord in worship. 19 Levites from among the Kohathites and Korahites stood up to sing the praises of the Lord, the God of Israel, their voices ever louder.
The Invaders Destroyed. 20 Early in the morning they went out to the wilderness of Tekoa. As they were going out, Jehoshaphat halted and said: “Listen to me, Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem! Let your faith in the Lord, your God, be firm, and you will be firm.(J) Have faith in his prophets and you will succeed.” 21 [d]After taking counsel with the people, he appointed some to sing to the Lord and some to praise the holy Splendor as it went forth at the head of the army. They sang: “Give thanks to the Lord, whose love endures forever.”(K) 22 At the moment they began their jubilant praise, the Lord laid an ambush against the Ammonites, Moabites, and those of Mount Seir who were coming against Judah, so that they were defeated. 23 For the Ammonites and Moabites set upon the inhabitants of Mount Seir and exterminated them according to the ban.(L) And when they had finished with the inhabitants of Seir, each helped to destroy the other.
24 When Judah came to the watchtower of the wilderness and looked toward the throng, there were only corpses fallen on the ground, with no survivors. 25 Jehoshaphat and his people came to gather the spoils, and they found an abundance of cattle and personal property, garments and precious vessels. They took so much that they were unable to carry it all; it took them three days to gather the spoils, there was so much of it. 26 On the fourth day they held an assembly in the Valley of Berakah[e]—for there they blessed the Lord; that is why the place is called the Valley of Berakah to this day. 27 Then all the men of Judah and Jerusalem, with Jehoshaphat at their head, returned to Jerusalem with joy; for the Lord had given them joy over their enemies. 28 They came to Jerusalem, with harps, lyres, and trumpets, to the house of the Lord. 29 And the fear of God came upon all the kingdoms of the surrounding lands when they heard how the Lord had fought against the enemies of Israel. 30 Thereafter Jehoshaphat’s kingdom had peace, for his God gave him rest on every side.
Jehoshaphat’s Other Deeds. 31 (M)Thus Jehoshaphat reigned over Judah. He was thirty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned twenty-five years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Azubah, daughter of Shilhi. 32 He walked in the way of Asa his father unceasingly, doing what was right in the Lord’s sight. 33 Nevertheless, the high places did not disappear and the people had not yet set their hearts on the God of their ancestors.
34 The rest of the acts of Jehoshaphat, first and last, are recorded in the chronicle of Jehu, son of Hanani, which was incorporated into the book of the kings of Israel. 35 After this, Jehoshaphat king of Judah joined with Ahaziah king of Israel—he acted wickedly. 36 (N)He joined with him in building ships to go to Tarshish; the fleet was built at Ezion-geber. 37 But Eliezer, son of Dodavahu from Mareshah, prophesied against Jehoshaphat. He said: “Because you have joined with Ahaziah, the Lord will shatter your work.” And the ships were wrecked and were unable to sail to Tarshish.
Chapter 8[a]
The Seven Trumpets. 1 When he broke open the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven[b] for about half an hour.(A) 2 And I saw that the seven angels who stood before God were given seven trumpets.(B)
The Gold Censer. 3 Another angel came and stood at the altar,[c] holding a gold censer. He was given a great quantity of incense to offer, along with the prayers of all the holy ones, on the gold altar that was before the throne.(C) 4 The smoke of the incense along with the prayers of the holy ones went up before God from the hand of the angel. 5 Then the angel took the censer, filled it with burning coals from the altar, and hurled it down to the earth. There were peals of thunder, rumblings, flashes of lightning, and an earthquake.(D)
The First Four Trumpets. 6 The seven angels who were holding the seven trumpets prepared to blow them.(E)
7 When the first one blew his trumpet, there came hail and fire mixed with blood, which was hurled down to the earth. A third of the land was burned up, along with a third of the trees and all green grass.[d]
8 [e]When the second angel blew his trumpet, something like a large burning mountain was hurled into the sea. A third of the sea turned to blood,(F) 9 a third of the creatures living in the sea[f] died, and a third of the ships were wrecked.
10 When the third angel blew his trumpet, a large star burning like a torch fell from the sky. It fell on a third of the rivers and on the springs of water.(G) 11 The star was called “Wormwood,”[g] and a third of all the water turned to wormwood. Many people died from this water, because it was made bitter.(H)
12 When the fourth angel blew his trumpet, a third of the sun, a third of the moon, and a third of the stars were struck, so that a third of them became dark. The day lost its light for a third of the time, as did the night.(I)
13 Then I looked again and heard an eagle flying high overhead cry out in a loud voice, “Woe! Woe! Woe[h] to the inhabitants of the earth from the rest of the trumpet blasts that the three angels are about to blow!”
Chapter 4
Fourth Vision: The Lampstand and the Two Olive Trees. 1 Then the angel who spoke with me returned and aroused me, like one awakened from sleep. 2 He said to me, “What do you see?” I replied, “I see a lampstand[a] all of gold,(A) with a bowl on top of it. There are seven lamps on it, with seven spouts on each of the lamps that are on top of it. 3 And beside it are two olive trees,[b] one on the right of the bowl and one to its left.” 4 Then I said to the angel who spoke with me, “What are these things, my lord?” 5 And the angel who spoke with me replied, “Do you not know what these things are?” I said, “No, my lord.”
An Oracle. 6 Then he said to me: “This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: Not by might, and not by power, but by my spirit,[c](B) says the Lord of hosts. 7 Who are you, O great mountain?[d] Before Zerubbabel you become a plain. He will bring forth the first stone amid shouts of ‘Favor, favor be upon it!’”
8 Then the word of the Lord came to me: 9 The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundations of this house, and his hands will finish it. Thus you shall know that the Lord of hosts has sent me to you. 10 For whoever has scorned such a day of small things will rejoice to see the capstone[e] in the hand of Zerubbabel.
Resumption of the Vision: Explanation of Lamps and Trees. “These seven are the eyes of the Lord that range over the whole earth.”(C) 11 I then asked him, “What are these two olive trees, on the right of the lampstand and on its left?” 12 A second time I asked, “What are the two streams from the olive trees that pour out golden oil through two taps of gold?” 13 He said to me, “Do you not know what these are?” I answered, “No, my lord.” 14 Then he said, “These are the two anointed ones[f] who stand by the Lord of the whole earth.”(D)
Chapter 7
The Feast of Tabernacles. 1 [a]After this, Jesus moved about within Galilee; but he did not wish to travel in Judea, because the Jews were trying to kill him.(A) 2 But the Jewish feast of Tabernacles was near.(B) 3 So his brothers[b] said to him, “Leave here and go to Judea, so that your disciples also may see the works you are doing. 4 No one works in secret if he wants to be known publicly. If you do these things, manifest yourself to the world.”(C) 5 For his brothers did not believe in him. 6 [c]So Jesus said to them, “My time is not yet here, but the time is always right for you. 7 The world cannot hate you, but it hates me, because I testify to it that its works are evil.(D) 8 You go up to the feast. I am not going up[d] to this feast, because my time has not yet been fulfilled.” 9 After he had said this, he stayed on in Galilee.
10 But when his brothers had gone up to the feast, he himself also went up, not openly but [as it were] in secret. 11 The Jews were looking for him at the feast and saying, “Where is he?” 12 And there was considerable murmuring about him in the crowds. Some said, “He is a good man,” [while] others said, “No; on the contrary, he misleads the crowd.” 13 Still, no one spoke openly about him because they were afraid of the Jews.(E)
The First Dialogue.[e] 14 When the feast was already half over, Jesus went up into the temple area and began to teach. 15 [f](F)The Jews were amazed and said, “How does he know scripture without having studied?” 16 Jesus answered them and said, “My teaching is not my own but is from the one who sent me. 17 Whoever chooses to do his will[g] shall know whether my teaching is from God or whether I speak on my own.(G) 18 Whoever speaks on his own seeks his own glory, but whoever seeks the glory of the one who sent him is truthful, and there is no wrong in him. 19 Did not Moses give you the law? Yet none of you keeps the law. Why are you trying to kill me?”(H) 20 The crowd answered, “You are possessed![h] Who is trying to kill you?”(I) 21 Jesus answered and said to them, “I performed one work[i] and all of you are amazed(J) 22 because of it. Moses gave you circumcision—not that it came from Moses but rather from the patriarchs—and you circumcise a man on the sabbath.(K) 23 If a man can receive circumcision on a sabbath so that the law of Moses may not be broken, are you angry with me because I made a whole person well on a sabbath?(L) 24 Stop judging by appearances, but judge justly.”(M)
25 So some of the inhabitants of Jerusalem said, “Is he not the one they are trying to kill? 26 And look, he is speaking openly and they say nothing to him. Could the authorities[j] have realized that he is the Messiah? 27 But we know where he is from. When the Messiah comes, no one will know where he is from.”(N) 28 So Jesus cried out in the temple area as he was teaching and said, “You know me and also know where I am from. Yet I did not come on my own, but the one who sent me, whom you do not know, is true.(O) 29 I know him, because I am from him, and he sent me.”(P) 30 So they tried to arrest him, but no one laid a hand upon him, because his hour had not yet come.(Q) 31 But many of the crowd began to believe in him, and said, “When the Messiah comes, will he perform more signs than this man has done?”(R)
Officers Sent to Arrest Jesus.[k] 32 The Pharisees heard the crowd murmuring about him to this effect, and the chief priests and the Pharisees sent guards to arrest him. 33 So Jesus said, “I will be with you only a little while longer, and then I will go to the one who sent me.(S) 34 You will look for me but not find [me], and where I am you cannot come.”(T) 35 So the Jews said to one another, “Where is he going that we will not find him? Surely he is not going to the dispersion[l] among the Greeks to teach the Greeks, is he? 36 What is the meaning of his saying, ‘You will look for me and not find [me], and where I am you cannot come’?”
Rivers of Living Water.[m] 37 On the last and greatest day of the feast, Jesus stood up and exclaimed, “Let anyone who thirsts come to me and drink.(U) 38 Whoever believes in me, as scripture says:
39 He said this in reference to the Spirit that those who came to believe in him were to receive. There was, of course, no Spirit yet,[o] because Jesus had not yet been glorified.(W)
Discussion About the Origins of the Messiah.[p] 40 Some in the crowd who heard these words said, “This is truly the Prophet.”(X) 41 Others said, “This is the Messiah.” But others said, “The Messiah will not come from Galilee, will he? 42 Does not scripture say that the Messiah will be of David’s family and come from Bethlehem, the village where David lived?”(Y) 43 So a division occurred in the crowd because of him. 44 Some of them even wanted to arrest him, but no one laid hands on him.
45 So the guards went to the chief priests and Pharisees, who asked them, “Why did you not bring him?” 46 The guards answered, “Never before has anyone spoken like this one.” 47 So the Pharisees answered them, “Have you also been deceived? 48 Have any of the authorities or the Pharisees believed in him?(Z) 49 But this crowd, which does not know the law, is accursed.” 50 Nicodemus, one of their members who had come to him earlier, said to them,(AA) 51 “Does our law condemn a person before it first hears him and finds out what he is doing?”(AB) 52 They answered and said to him, “You are not from Galilee also, are you? Look and see that no prophet arises from Galilee.”
Chapter 8
A Woman Caught in Adultery.[q] [53 Then each went to his own house,
Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.