M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
King Hezekiah Rededicates the Temple(A)
29 Hezekiah began to rule as king when he was 25 years old. He ruled for 29 years in Jerusalem. His mother was Abijah, daughter of Zechariah. 2 He did what Yahweh considered right, as his ancestor David had done.
3 In the first month of his first year as king, he opened the doors of Yahweh’s temple and repaired them. 4 He brought the priests and Levites together in the square on the east side of the temple.
5 He said to them, “Listen to me, Levites. Perform the ceremonies to make the temple of Yahweh Elohim of your ancestors holy. Remove anything that has been corrupted from the holy place. 6 Our ancestors were unfaithful and did what Yahweh our Elohim considered evil. They deserted him. They turned away from Yahweh’s tent[a] and turned their backs on him. 7 They also shut the doors of the temple’s entrance hall, extinguished the lamps, and didn’t burn incense or sacrifice burnt offerings in the holy place to the Elohim of Israel. 8 So Yahweh was angry with Judah and Jerusalem. He made them something that shocks and terrifies people and that people ridicule, as you can see with your own eyes. 9 Our fathers were killed in battle, and our sons, daughters, and wives are prisoners because of this. 10 Now I intend to make a pledge to Yahweh Elohim of Israel so that he may turn his burning anger away from us. 11 Don’t be negligent, my sons. Yahweh has chosen you to stand in front of him, serve him, be his servants, and burn sacrifices.”
12 So the Levites started to work.
From Kohath’s descendants were Mahath, son of Amasai, and Joel, son of Azariah.
From Merari’s descendants were Kish, son of Abdi, and Azariah, son of Jehallelel.
From Gershon’s descendants were Joah, son of Zimmah, and Eden, son of Joah.
13 From Elizaphan’s descendants were Shimri and Jeiel.
From Asaph’s descendants were Zechariah and Mattaniah.
14 From Heman’s descendants were Jehiel and Shimei.
From Jeduthun’s descendants were Shemaiah and Uzziel.
15 These men gathered their relatives and performed the ceremonies to make themselves holy. Then they obeyed the king’s order from Yahweh’s word and entered the temple to make it clean.[b] 16 The priests entered Yahweh’s temple to make it clean. They carried into the courtyard every unclean thing that they found in Yahweh’s temple. Then the Levites took the unclean items outside the city to the Kidron Brook. 17 They started on the first day of the first month. On the eighth day they went into Yahweh’s entrance hall, and for eight days they performed the ceremonies to make Yahweh’s temple holy. They finished on the sixteenth day of the first month.
18 Then they went to King Hezekiah. They said to him, “We have made all of Yahweh’s temple clean. This includes the altar for burnt offerings, all its utensils, the table for the rows of bread and all its utensils, 19 and all the utensils King Ahaz refused to use during his reign when he was unfaithful. We have restored them and made them holy. They are in front of Yahweh’s altar.”
20 Early in the morning Hezekiah gathered the leaders of the city and went to Yahweh’s temple. 21 They brought seven bulls, seven rams, seven lambs, and seven male goats as an offering for sin for the kingdom, the holy place, and Judah. Hezekiah told the priests, Aaron’s descendants, to sacrifice the animals on Yahweh’s altar.
22 So they slaughtered the bulls, and the priests sprinkled the blood on the altar. Then they slaughtered the rams and sprinkled the blood on the altar. After that, they slaughtered the lambs and sprinkled the blood on the altar. 23 Then they brought the male goats for the offering for sin in front of the king and the assembly, who laid their hands on them. 24 The priests slaughtered the goats and made their blood an offering for sin at the altar to make peace with the Lord for Israel. The king had said that the burnt offerings and offerings for sin should be for all Israel.
25 He had the Levites stand in Yahweh’s temple with cymbals, harps, and lyres as David, the king’s seer[c] Gad, and the prophet Nathan had ordered. This command came from Yahweh through his prophets. 26 The Levites stood with David’s instruments, and the priests had the trumpets. 27 Then Hezekiah ordered the sacrificing of burnt offerings on the altar. When the burnt offerings started, the songs to Yahweh started. These songs were accompanied by trumpets and the instruments of King David of Israel. 28 The whole assembly bowed down with their faces touching the ground, singers began to sing, and the trumpets blew until the burnt offering was finished. 29 When the burnt offerings were finished, the king and everyone who was with him kneeled and bowed down. 30 Then King Hezekiah and the leaders told the Levites to praise Yahweh with the words of David and the seer Asaph. They joyfully sang praises, bowed down, and worshiped.
31 Hezekiah said, “You have dedicated your lives to Yahweh. Come, bring sacrifices and thank offerings to Yahweh’s temple.”
The assembly brought sacrifices and thank offerings, and everyone who was willing brought burnt offerings. 32 The burnt offerings brought by the assembly totaled 70 bulls, 100 rams, and 200 lambs. All of these were burnt offerings to Yahweh. 33 The animals dedicated as holy sacrifices were 600 bulls and 3,000 sheep. 34 But the priests needed more help to skin all the burnt offerings. So their relatives, the Levites, helped them until the work was completed and the priests could make themselves holy. The Levites were more diligent in making themselves holy than the priests were. 35 There were many burnt offerings in addition to the fat of the fellowship offerings and wine offerings that accompanied the burnt offerings. So the worship in Yahweh’s temple was reestablished. 36 Hezekiah and all the people were overjoyed because of what Elohim had done for the people. Everything had happened so quickly.
Seven Angels with Seven Plagues
15 I saw another sign in heaven. It was spectacular and amazing. There were seven angels with the last seven plagues which are the final expression of God’s anger.
2 Then I saw what looked like a sea of glass mixed with fire. Those who had won the victory over the beast, its statue, and the number of its name were standing on the glassy sea. They were holding God’s harps 3 and singing the song of God’s servant Moses and the song of the lamb. They sang,
“The things you do are spectacular and amazing, Lord God Almighty.
The way you do them is fair and true, King of the Nations.
4 Lord, who won’t fear and praise your name?
You are the only holy one,
and all the nations will come to worship you
because they know about your fair judgments.”
5 After these things I looked, and I saw that the temple of the tent containing the words of God’s promise was open in heaven. 6 The seven angels with the seven plagues came out of the temple wearing clean, shining linen with gold belts around their waists. 7 One of the four living creatures gave seven gold bowls full of the anger of God, who lives forever and ever, to the seven angels. 8 The temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God and his power. No one could enter the temple until the seven plagues of the seven angels came to an end.
Zechariah Is Told to Take Care of the Sheep
11 Open your doors, Lebanon,
so that fire will be able to burn down your cedars.
2 Cry, cypress trees,
because the cedars have fallen
and the stately trees have been destroyed.
Cry, oak trees of Bashan,
because your dense forest has fallen down.
3 Listen! The shepherds are crying,
because their rich pastures are destroyed.
Listen! The young lions are roaring,
because the lush banks of the Jordan are destroyed.
4 This is what Yahweh my Elohim says: Take care of the sheep that are about to be slaughtered. 5 Those who buy them will kill them and go unpunished. Those who sell them will say, “Praise Yahweh! I’ve become rich!” Even their own shepherds will have no pity on them.
6 Yahweh declares, “I will no longer have pity on those who live in the land. I am going to hand the people over to their neighbors and their king, who will crush the land. And I won’t rescue any of them from their power.”
7 So I became the shepherd of the sheep that were to be slaughtered and also of the oppressed sheep. I took two shepherd staffs and named one Favor and the other Unity. And I took care of the sheep. 8 I got rid of three shepherds in one month. I became impatient with the sheep, and they also became disgusted with me. 9 So I said, “I won’t be your shepherd. Let those that are dying die. Let those that are missing stay missing. And let those that are left devour each other.”
10 Then I took my staff called Favor and broke it in pieces, to break the promise[a] that I had made to all the nations. 11 So it was broken on that day, and the oppressed among the sheep who were watching me realized that it was the word of Yahweh.
12 Then I said to them, “If it’s alright with you, pay me my wages. But if it’s not, don’t.” And they paid me my wages—30 pieces of silver.
13 Yahweh told me, “Give it to the potter.” So I took the 30 pieces of silver. Such a magnificent price was set by them! I gave the pieces of silver to the potter at the house of Yahweh.
14 Then I broke my second staff, called Unity, in pieces, to break off the brotherhood between Judah and Israel.
15 Then Yahweh said to me, “Use the equipment of a foolish shepherd again. 16 I’m about to place a shepherd in the land. He will not take care of those that are dying. He will not search for the young. He will not heal those that have broken their legs or support those that can still stand. But he will eat the meat of the fat animals and tear off their hoofs.
17 “How horrible it will be for the foolish shepherd who abandoned the sheep.
A sword will strike his arm and his right eye.
His arm will be completely withered.
His right eye will be completely blind.”
Jesus Promises to Send the Holy Spirit
14 “Don’t be troubled. Believe in God, and believe in me. 2 My Father’s house has many rooms. If that were not true, would I have told you that I’m going to prepare a place for you? 3 If I go to prepare a place for you, I will come again. Then I will bring you into my presence so that you will be where I am. 4 You know the way to the place where I am going.”
5 Thomas said to him, “Lord, we don’t know where you’re going. So how can we know the way?”
6 Yeshua answered him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one goes to the Father except through me. 7 If you have known me, you will also know my Father. From now on you know him through me and have seen him in me.”
8 Philip said to Yeshua, “Lord, show us the Father, and that will satisfy us.”
9 Yeshua replied, “I have been with all of you for a long time. Don’t you know me yet, Philip? The person who has seen me has seen the Father. So how can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? 10 Don’t you believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? What I’m telling you doesn’t come from me. The Father, who lives in me, does what he wants. 11 Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and that the Father is in me. Otherwise, believe me because of the things I do.
12 “I can guarantee this truth: Those who believe in me will do the things that I am doing. They will do even greater things because I am going to the Father. 13 I will do anything you ask the Father in my name so that the Father will be given glory because of the Son. 14 If you ask me to do something, I will do it.
15 “If you love me, you will obey my commandments. 16 I will ask the Father, and he will give you another helper who will be with you forever. 17 That helper is the Spirit of Truth. The world cannot accept him, because it doesn’t see or know him. You know him, because he lives with you and will be in you.
18 “I will not leave you all alone. I will come back to you. 19 In a little while the world will no longer see me, but you will see me. You will live because I live. 20 On that day you will know that I am in my Father and that you are in me and that I am in you. 21 Whoever knows and obeys my commandments is the person who loves me. Those who love me will have my Father’s love, and I, too, will love them and show myself to them.”
22 Judas (not Iscariot) asked Yeshua, “Lord, what has happened that you are going to reveal yourself to us and not to the world?”
23 Yeshua answered him, “Those who love me will do what I say. My Father will love them, and we will go to them and make our home with them. 24 A person who doesn’t love me doesn’t do what I say. I don’t make up what you hear me say. What I say comes from the Father who sent me.
25 “I have told you this while I’m still with you. 26 However, the helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything. He will remind you of everything that I have ever told you.
27 “I’m leaving you peace. I’m giving you my peace. I don’t give you the kind of peace that the world gives. So don’t be troubled or cowardly. 28 You heard me tell you, ‘I’m going away, but I’m coming back to you.’ If you loved me, you would be glad that I’m going to the Father, because the Father is greater than I am.
29 “I’m telling you this now before it happens. When it does happen, you will believe. 30 The ruler of this world has no power over me. But he’s coming, so I won’t talk with you much longer. 31 However, I want the world to know that I love the Father and that I am doing exactly what the Father has commanded me to do. Get up! We have to leave.”
The Names of God Bible (without notes) © 2011 by Baker Publishing Group.