M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
21 When Jehoshaphat joined his ancestors in death and was laid to rest with his fathers in the city of David, Jerusalem, his son Jehoram succeeded him to the throne. 2 Jehoshaphat, king of the true Israel,[a] had a number of sons in addition to Jehoram: Azariah, Jehiel, Zechariah, Azaryahu, Michael, and Shephatiah. 3 Jehoshaphat made each one a wealthy governor with silver, gold, and costly gifts over his own fortified cities in Judah and appointed Jehoram as the future king since he was the firstborn. 4 Once Jehoram had taken over his father’s kingdom and had established himself, he killed all his brothers and some rulers of Israel so they could not challenge his right to rule.
5 Jehoram was 32 years old when he ascended to the throne, and he reigned eight years in Jerusalem. 6 But he was not a righteous king as his father was before him. He married Ahab’s daughter and was tempted to worship her pagan gods as the kings of the Northern Kingdom did. He did evil instead of following the Eternal; 7 now despite this the Eternal upheld His promise to David. In His covenant with David, He promised David’s family would guide Israel forever, so He would not destroy Jehoram or his government. But God punished him with revolts by Edom and Libnah.
8 Instead of following Jehoram’s rule, the people of Edom revolted and elected their own king. 9 Jehoram responded to their disobedience by attacking the Edomites with all of his officers and chariots. But the Edomites surrounded Jehoram with his army of commanders and chariots. Then Jehoram went out in the dark of night and struck down the Edomite rebellion. 10 Edom has continually rebelled against the rule of Judah until this day. Likewise, Libnah (a Levitical city in southwestern Judah) revolted against Jehoram’s rule at the same time because Jehoram had abandoned the Eternal One, the True God of his ancestors, in favor of worshiping foreign gods. 11 He even built high places in the mountains of Judah to honor those gods, leading the citizens of Jerusalem and Judah to prostitute themselves spiritually to other gods.
This is a particularly bloody time for Israel in the north and Judah in the south. Each king—or queen in the case of Athaliah in Judah—has to watch his or her back constantly for international threats from Aram north of Israel, Egypt south of Judah, or Ammon, Moab, and Edom on the other side of the Jordan River and Dead Sea. As well, there is political and familial intrigue and deception in the palace households of some of these kings. Being a monarch is a very dangerous position, and some do not fare well.
In just a few years, King Jehu from Israel carries out a bloody campaign against anyone associated with the House of Ahab in order to eradicate idolatry and rebellion from the land. But this move by Jehu only buys Israel another century before the Neo-Assyrians move in and exile the people.
12 Having heard about Jehoram’s actions, Elijah the prophet sent a letter to the king.
Elijah’s Letter: I received this message from the Eternal One, True God of your ancestor David: “You have not followed Me as Jehoshaphat, your father, and as Asa, your grandfather, did during their reigns 13 but have instead followed the gods of the kings of Israel. You have caused the people of Judah and the citizens of Jerusalem to prostitute themselves spiritually as Ahab and his family did. You have murdered your brothers, your own family, who were better men than you. 14 Because of your evil actions, the Eternal will severely punish your people, your children, your wives, and all your possessions. 15 And you will suffer with an intestinal disease until your bowels come out, ending your life.”
16 Fulfilling His promise, the Eternal incited the Philistines and the Arabs who bordered the Cushites to attack Jehoram 17 and Judah. They invaded the nation and plundered the palace, taking all the possessions including the king’s children and wives. When they had finished, all that remained was Jehoahaz,[b] Jehoram’s youngest son. 18 Then the Eternal infected the king with a terminal intestinal illness. 19 He died painfully two years later with the prolapse of his intestines. After he died, the people did not honor his memory by lighting a fire for him as they had done for his ancestors. 20 He was 32 years old when he became king, and he ruled in Jerusalem for eight years. No one was sorry when he died. They buried him in the city of David, Jerusalem, but not in the tombs with the other kings and his ancestors.
When the trumpets blast, another cycle of disasters begin. Each calamity affects one-third of the earth, its inhabitants, and the heavenly lights. Time flies as the disasters intensify.
9 Then the fifth messenger sounded his trumpet. I saw a star that had dropped out of heaven to earth. He received the key that unlocks the shaft leading to the abyss, the pit that falls away to nothingness; and 2 he opened the shaft to the abyss. Huge columns of smoke rose from the depths of the cavern—a black, ugly smoke as if from a great furnace so that the sun was darkened and the air was thickened by the blanket of smoke from the shaft. 3 From the smoke, locusts appeared and swarmed upon the earth. They were given power, like the power of scorpions on the earth. 4-5 However, they were instructed not to damage any grasses, plants, or trees that grow from the earth. Instead, they were given power for five months to torture, but not to kill, the people without the seal of God upon their foreheads. The torment they inflicted was like the sting of a scorpion when it strikes. 6 During those days, people will seek any way possible to kill themselves, but death will not befriend them. They will long to die and end their miseries, but death will elude them.
7 The locusts looked like horses clad in armor, ready for battle. They wore golden wreaths on their heads, and their faces appeared human 8 with hair as long as women’s hair, but they had teeth as sharp as lions’ teeth. 9 They had armor that appeared to be iron plated; and when their wings flapped, they sounded like an army of horse-drawn chariots rushing into battle. 10 They have tails like scorpions with stingers, and the power invested in them to inflict torture on people for five months lies in their tails. 11 They were ruled by the messenger of the abyss, whose Hebrew name is Abaddon and whose Greek name is Apollyon, both meaning “the Destroyer.”
12 The first disaster has occurred; there are two more disasters to come.
13 Then the sixth messenger sounded his trumpet; and I heard a voice from the four corners of the golden altar that is before God, 14 commanding the sixth messenger with the trumpet.
A Voice: Set loose the four messengers who are bound in chains at the great river Euphrates.
15 Then the four messengers, who had been held in chains until the hour and the day and the month and the year when they would kill one-third of humanity, were released.
16 I heard that 200 million soldiers rode in the cavalry. 17 This is how these horses and their riders appeared in my vision: the riders wore breastplates of fiery red, smoky blue,[a] and sulfur yellow. The heads of the horses seemed to be like the heads of lions; they breathed fire and smoke and sulfur from their mouths, 18 killing one-third of humanity with the three plagues coming out of their mouths. 19 The lethal power of these horses was not only in their mouths but also in their tails because their tails, which resembled snakes, had heads that inflicted injury.
20 The rest of humanity, those not killed by these plagues, did not rethink their course and turn away[b] from the devices of their own making. Despite all these calamities, they continued worshiping demons and idols crafted in gold, silver, bronze, stone, and wood. They bowed down to images which cannot see or hear or walk. 21 They failed to turn away[c] from their murders, their sorceries, their sexual immoralities, and their thefts.
5 That night I had a sixth vision. I looked up and saw a large scroll flying.
Heavenly Messenger: 2 What do you see before you?
A sixth vision reveals the righteous ness held in God’s word, the true measure by which all are judged.
Zechariah: I see a large scroll flying. It’s at least 30 feet long and 15 feet wide.
Heavenly Messenger: 3 This scroll is God’s curse of judgment that blankets all the land. On one side, it is written that all who steal will be banished from the land. On the other side, it says that all who break their solemn vows will be banished. 4 The Eternal, Commander of heavenly armies, says, “I will dispatch this curse of judgment into the home of every thief and every perjurer who invokes My name. The decree will remain through the night in that house until it destroys everything, even its wood and stone.”
5 The heavenly messenger who had been talking with me went out. It was time for a seventh vision.
Heavenly Messenger: Look up. What do you see moving forward?
A seventh vision explains that the wickedness infecting the world will one day be contained by the agents of God.
Zechariah: 6 What is it?
Heavenly Messenger: It is a six-gallon basket[a] moving forward. Like the scroll, it, too, is a mark of judgment carrying the iniquity that they committed in the land.
7 Suddenly, the basket’s lead cover was lifted, and I saw a woman inside. She seemed to want out.
Heavenly Messenger: 8 This is Lady Wickedness.
The messenger pushed the woman back into the basket and replaced the basket’s stone (that is, its lead cover) over the mouth so she’d stay inside it. 9 Then in this vision, I looked up and saw two women moving forward with wings resembling the wings of storks. With the power of the wind in their wings, they lifted the basket up to a place somewhere far away, between heaven and earth.
Zechariah: 10 Where are they taking the basket?
Heavenly Messenger: 11 It is being delivered to the land of Shinar, which you know as Babylon. A temple is being built for it there; and once it is ready, they will put the basket on its own altar cart. Let the Babylonians worship what God has condemned.
8 Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. 2 He awoke early in the morning to return to the temple. When He arrived, the people surrounded Him, so He sat down and began to teach them. 3 While He was teaching, the scribes and Pharisees brought in a woman who was caught in the act of adultery; and they stood her before Jesus.
Pharisees: 4 Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. 5 Moses says in the law that we are to kill such women by stoning. What do You say about it?
6 This was all set up as a test for Jesus; His answers would give them grounds to accuse Him of crimes against Moses’ law. Jesus bent over and wrote something in the dirt with His finger. 7 They persisted in badgering Jesus, so He stood up straight.
Jesus: Let the first stone be thrown by the one among you who has not sinned.
8 Once again Jesus bent down to the ground and resumed writing with His finger. 9 The Pharisees who heard Him stood still for a few moments and then began to leave slowly, one by one, beginning with the older men. Eventually only Jesus and the woman remained, 10 and Jesus looked up.
Jesus: Dear woman, where is everyone? Are we alone? Did no one step forward to condemn you?
Woman Caught in Adultery: 11 Lord, no one has condemned me.
Jesus: Well, I do not condemn you either; all I ask is that you go and from now on avoid the sins that plague you.][a]
12 On another occasion, Jesus spoke to the crowds again.
Jesus: I am the light that shines through the cosmos; if you walk with Me, you will thrive in the nourishing light that gives life and will not know darkness.
Pharisees: 13 Jesus, what You are claiming about Yourself cannot possibly be true. The only person bearing witness is You.
Jesus: 14 Even if I am making bold claims about Myself—who I am, what I have come to do—I am speaking the truth. You see, I know where I came from and where I will go when I am done here. You know neither where I come from nor where I will go. 15 You spend your time judging by the wrong criteria, by human standards; but I am not here to judge anyone. 16 If I were to judge, then My judgment would be based on truth; but I would not judge anyone alone. I act in harmony with the One who sent Me. 17 Your law states that if the testimonies of two witnesses agree, their testimony is true. 18 Well, I testify about Myself, and so does the Father who sent Me here.
Pharisees: 19 Where is the Father who testifies on Your behalf?
Jesus: You don’t know the Father or Me. If you knew Me, then you would also know the Father.
20 Jesus said all of these things in the treasury while He was teaching in the temple; followers and opponents alike gathered to hear Him, but none of His enemies tried to seize Him because His time had not yet come.
Jesus (to the crowds): 21 I am leaving this place, and you will look for Me and die in your sin. For where I am going, you are unable to come.
Jews: 22 Is He suicidal? He keeps saying, “Where I am going, you are unable to come.”
Jesus: 23 You originate from the earth below, and I have come from the heavens above. You are from this world, and I am not. 24 That’s why I told you that you will die here as a result of your sins. Unless you believe I am who I have said I am, your sins will lead to your death.
Jews: 25 Who exactly are You?
Jesus: From the beginning of My mission, I have been telling you who I am. 26 I have so much to say about you, so many judgments to render; but if you hear one thing, hear that the One who sent Me is true, and all the things I have heard from Him I speak into the world.
27 The people had not understood that Jesus was teaching about the Father.
Jesus: 28 Whenever the day comes and you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He. It will be clear then that I am not acting alone, but that I am speaking the things I have learned directly from the Father. 29 The One who sent Me is with Me; He has not abandoned Me because I always do what pleases Him.
30 As Jesus was speaking, many in the crowd believed in Him.
Even though many believe, they can not imagine what He means about the lifting up of the Son of Man.
Jesus (to the new Jewish believers): 31 If you hear My voice and abide in My word, you are truly My disciples; 32 you will know the truth, and that truth will give you freedom.
Jewish Believers: 33 We are Abraham’s children, and we have never been enslaved to anyone. How can You say to us, “You will be set free”?
Jesus: 34 I tell you the truth: everyone who commits sin surrenders his freedom to sin. He is a slave to sin’s power. 35 Even a household slave does not live in the home like a member of the family, but a son belongs there forever. 36 So think of it this way: if the Son comes to make you free, you will really be free.
Jesus notices that some of His opponents are listening, so He speaks louder and turns His remarks to them.
37 I know you are descendants of Abraham, but here you are plotting to murder Me because you do not welcome My voice into your lives. 38 As I speak, I am painting you a picture of what I have seen with My Father; here you are repeating the things you have seen from your father.
Jews: 39 Abraham is our father.
Jesus: If you are truly Abraham’s children, then act like Abraham! 40 From what I see you are trying to kill Me, a man who has told you the truth that comes from the Father. This is not something Abraham would do, 41 but you are doing what you have learned from your father.
Jews: We were not born from adulterous parents; we have one Father: God.
Jesus: 42 I come from the one True God, and I’m not here on My own. He sent Me on a mission. If God were your Father, you would know that and would love Me. 43 You don’t even understand what I’m saying. Do you? Why not? It is because You cannot stand to hear My voice. 44 You are just like your true father, the devil; and you spend your time pursuing the things your father loves. He started out as a killer, and he cannot tolerate truth because he is void of anything true. At the core of his character, he is a liar; everything he speaks originates in these lies because he is the father of lies. 45 So when I speak truth, you don’t believe Me. 46-47 If I speak the truth, why don’t you believe Me? If you belong to God’s family, then why can’t you hear God speak? The answer is clear; you are not in God’s family. I speak truth, and you don’t believe Me. Can any of you convict Me of sin?
Jews: 48 We were right when we called You a demon-possessed Samaritan.
Jesus: 49-50 I’m not taken by demons. You dishonor Me, but I give all glory and honor to the Father. But I am not pursuing My own fame. There is only One who pursues and renders justice. 51 I tell you the truth, anyone who hears My voice and keeps My word will never experience death.
Jews: 52 We are even more confident now that You are demon-possessed. Just go down the list: Abraham died, the prophets all died. Yet You say, “If you keep My word, you will never taste death.” 53 Are you greater than our father Abraham? He died; remember? Prophets—are any of them still alive? No. Who do You think You are?
Jesus: 54 If I were trying to make Myself somebody important, it would be a waste of time. That kind of fame is worth nothing. It is the Father who is behind Me, urging Me on, giving Me praise. You say, “He is our God,” 55 but you are not in relationship with Him. I know Him intimately; even if I said anything other than the truth, I would be a liar, like you. I know Him, and I do as He says. 56 Your father Abraham anticipated the time when I would come, and he celebrated My coming.
Jews: 57 You aren’t even 50 years old, yet You have seen and talked with Abraham?
Jesus: 58 I tell you the truth; I AM before Abraham was born.
59 The people picked up stones to hurl at Him, but Jesus slipped out of the temple. Their murderous rage would have to wait.
The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.