M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Chapter 30
Invitation to Passover. 1 Hezekiah sent word to all Israel and Judah, and even wrote letters to Ephraim and Manasseh, saying that they should come to the house of the Lord in Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover to the Lord, the God of Israel.(A) 2 (B)The king, his princes, and the entire assembly in Jerusalem had agreed to celebrate the Passover during the second month. 3 They could not celebrate it at the regular time because the priests had not sanctified themselves in sufficient numbers, and the people were not gathered at Jerusalem. 4 This seemed right to the king and the entire assembly, 5 and they issued a decree to be proclaimed throughout all Israel from Beer-sheba to Dan, that everyone should come to celebrate the Passover to the Lord, the God of Israel, in Jerusalem; for not many had kept it in the prescribed manner. 6 By the king’s command, the couriers, with the letters written by the king and his princes, went through all Israel and Judah. They said: “Israelites, return to the Lord, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, that he may return to you, the remnant left from the hands of the Assyrian kings. 7 Do not be like your ancestors and your kin who acted treacherously toward the Lord, the God of their ancestors, so that he handed them over to desolation, as you yourselves now see.(C) 8 Do not be stiff-necked, as your ancestors were; stretch out your hands to the Lord and come to his sanctuary that he has consecrated forever, and serve the Lord, your God, that he may turn his burning anger from you. 9 If you return to the Lord, your kinfolk and your children will find mercy with their captors and return to this land. The Lord, your God, is gracious and merciful and he will not turn away his face from you if you return to him.”(D)
10 So the couriers passed from city to city in the land of Ephraim and Manasseh and as far as Zebulun, but they were derided and scoffed at. 11 Nevertheless, some from Asher, Manasseh, and Zebulun humbled themselves and came to Jerusalem. 12 In Judah, however, the hand of God brought it about that the people were of one heart to carry out the command of the king and the princes by the word of the Lord. 13 Thus many people gathered in Jerusalem to celebrate the feast of Unleavened Bread in the second month; it was a very great assembly.
Passover Celebrated. 14 They proceeded to remove the altars that were in Jerusalem as well as all the altars of incense, and cast them into the Wadi Kidron.(E) 15 They slaughtered the Passover on the fourteenth day of the second month. The priests and Levites were shamed into sanctifying themselves and brought burnt offerings into the house of the Lord. 16 They stood in the places prescribed for them according to the law of Moses, the man of God. The priests splashed the blood given them by the Levites; 17 for many in the assembly had not sanctified themselves, and the Levites were in charge of slaughtering the Passover victims for all who were unclean so as to consecrate them to the Lord.(F) 18 The greater part of the people, in fact, chiefly from Ephraim, Manasseh, Issachar, and Zebulun, had not cleansed themselves. Nevertheless they ate the Passover, contrary to the prescription; because Hezekiah prayed for them, saying, “May the good Lord grant pardon to 19 all who have set their heart to seek God, the Lord, the God of their ancestors, even though they are not clean as holiness requires.” 20 The Lord heard Hezekiah and healed the people.
21 Thus the Israelites who were in Jerusalem celebrated the feast of Unleavened Bread with great rejoicing for seven days, and the Levites and the priests sang the praises of the Lord day after day with all their strength. 22 Hezekiah spoke encouragingly to all the Levites who had shown themselves well skilled in the service of the Lord. And when they had completed the seven days of festival, sacrificing communion offerings and singing praises to the Lord, the God of their ancestors, 23 the whole assembly agreed to celebrate another seven days. So with joy they celebrated seven days more. 24 King Hezekiah of Judah had contributed a thousand bulls and seven thousand sheep to the assembly, and the princes a thousand bulls and ten thousand sheep. The priests sanctified themselves in great numbers, 25 and the whole assembly of Judah rejoiced, together with the priests and Levites and the rest of the assembly that had come from Israel, as well as the resident aliens from the land of Israel and those that lived in Judah. 26 There was great rejoicing in Jerusalem, for since the days of Solomon, son of David, king of Israel, there had been nothing like it in the city. 27 Then the levitical priests rose and blessed the people; their voice was heard and their prayer reached heaven, God’s holy dwelling.
Chapter 16
The Seven Bowls.[a] 1 I heard a loud voice speaking from the temple to the seven angels, “Go and pour out the seven bowls of God’s fury upon the earth.”
2 The first angel went and poured out his bowl on the earth. Festering and ugly sores broke out on those who had the mark of the beast or worshiped its image.[b]
3 [c]The second angel poured out his bowl on the sea. The sea turned to blood like that from a corpse; every creature living in the sea died.
4 The third angel poured out his bowl on the rivers and springs of water. These also turned to blood.(A) 5 Then I heard the angel in charge of the waters say:
“You are just, O Holy One,
who are and who were,
in passing this sentence.(B)
6 For they have shed the blood of the holy ones and the prophets,
and you [have] given them blood to drink;
it is what they deserve.”(C)
7 Then I heard the altar cry out,
“Yes, Lord God almighty,
your judgments are true and just.”(D)
8 The fourth angel poured out his bowl on the sun. It was given the power to burn people with fire. 9 People were burned by the scorching heat and blasphemed the name of God who had power over these plagues, but they did not repent or give him glory.(E)
10 (F)The fifth angel poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast.[d] Its kingdom was plunged into darkness, and people bit their tongues in pain 11 and blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and sores. But they did not repent of their works.(G)
12 The sixth angel emptied his bowl on the great river Euphrates. Its water was dried up to prepare the way for the kings of the East.[e] 13 I saw three unclean spirits like frogs[f] come from the mouth of the dragon, from the mouth of the beast, and from the mouth of the false prophet.(H) 14 These were demonic spirits who performed signs. They went out to the kings of the whole world to assemble them for the battle on the great day of God the almighty.(I) 15 (“Behold, I am coming like a thief.”[g] Blessed is the one who watches and keeps his clothes ready, so that he may not go naked and people see him exposed.)(J) 16 They then assembled the kings in the place that is named Armageddon[h] in Hebrew.
17 The seventh angel poured out his bowl into the air. A loud voice came out of the temple from the throne, saying, “It is done.”(K) 18 Then there were lightning flashes, rumblings, and peals of thunder, and a great earthquake. It was such a violent earthquake that there has never been one like it since the human race began on earth.(L) 19 The great city[i] was split into three parts, and the gentile cities fell. But God remembered great Babylon, giving it the cup filled with the wine of his fury and wrath. 20 [j]Every island fled, and mountains disappeared. 21 Large hailstones like huge weights came down from the sky on people, and they blasphemed God for the plague of hail because this plague was so severe.(M)
Chapter 12
Oracles Concerning the Nations and Judah.[a] 1 An oracle:[b] The word of the Lord concerning Israel—oracle of the Lord, who spreads out the heavens, lays the foundations of the earth, and fashions the human spirit within:(A) 2 See, I will make Jerusalem a cup of reeling[c] for all peoples round about.(B) Judah will be besieged, even Jerusalem. 3 On that day I will make Jerusalem a heavy stone for all peoples. All who attempt to lift it will injure themselves badly, though all the nations of the earth will gather against it. 4 On that day—oracle of the Lord—I will strike every horse with fright, and its rider with madness. But over the house of Judah I will keep watch, while I strike blind all the horses of the peoples. 5 Then the clans of Judah will say to themselves, “The inhabitants of Jerusalem have their strength in the Lord of hosts, their God.”(C) 6 On that day I will make the clans of Judah like a brazier of fire in the woodland and like a burning torch among sheaves, and they will devour right and left all the surrounding peoples; but Jerusalem will again inhabit its own place.(D)
7 The Lord will save the tents of Judah first, that the glory of the house of David and the glory of the inhabitants of Jerusalem may not be exalted over Judah. 8 On that day the Lord will shield the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that the weakest among them will be like David on that day; and the house of David will be like God, like the angel of the Lord before them.
9 On that day I will seek the destruction of all nations that come against Jerusalem.(E) 10 I will pour out on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of mercy and supplication, so that when they look on him whom they have thrust through,[d](F) they will mourn for him as one mourns for an only child, and they will grieve for him as one grieves over a firstborn.(G)
Catalogue of Mourners. 11 On that day the mourning in Jerusalem will be as great as the mourning for Hadadrimmon in the plain of Megiddo.[e] 12 And the land shall mourn, each family apart: the family of the house of David, and their women; the family of the house of Nathan, and their women; 13 the family of the house of Levi, and their women; the family of Shimei, and their women; 14 and all the rest of the families, each family apart, and the women apart.
Chapter 13
Oracles Concerning the End of False Prophecy.[f] 1 On that day a fountain will be opened for the house of David[g] and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, to purify from sin and uncleanness.(H)
Chapter 15
The Vine and the Branches. 1 [a]“I am the true vine,[b] and my Father is the vine grower.(A) 2 He takes away every branch in me that does not bear fruit, and every one that does he prunes[c] so that it bears more fruit. 3 You are already pruned because of the word that I spoke to you.(B) 4 Remain in me, as I remain in you. Just as a branch cannot bear fruit on its own unless it remains on the vine, so neither can you unless you remain in me. 5 I am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever remains in me and I in him will bear much fruit, because without me you can do nothing. 6 [d](C)Anyone who does not remain in me will be thrown out like a branch and wither; people will gather them and throw them into a fire and they will be burned. 7 If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask for whatever you want and it will be done for you.(D) 8 By this is my Father glorified, that you bear much fruit and become my disciples.(E) 9 As the Father loves me, so I also love you. Remain in my love.(F) 10 If you keep my commandments, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and remain in his love.(G)
11 “I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and your joy may be complete.(H) 12 This is my commandment: love one another as I love you.(I) 13 [e]No one has greater love than this,(J) to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. 14 You are my friends if you do what I command you. 15 I no longer call you slaves, because a slave does not know what his master is doing. I have called you friends,[f] because I have told you everything I have heard from my Father.(K) 16 It was not you who chose me, but I who chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit that will remain, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name he may give you.(L) 17 This I command you: love one another.(M)
The World’s Hatred.[g] 18 “If the world hates you, realize that it hated me first.(N) 19 If you belonged to the world, the world would love its own; but because you do not belong to the world, and I have chosen you out of the world, the world hates you.(O) 20 Remember the word I spoke to you,[h] ‘No slave is greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours.(P) 21 And they will do all these things to you on account of my name,[i] because they do not know the one who sent me.(Q) 22 If I had not come and spoken[j] to them, they would have no sin; but as it is they have no excuse for their sin.(R) 23 Whoever hates me also hates my Father.(S) 24 If I had not done works among them that no one else ever did, they would not have sin; but as it is, they have seen and hated both me and my Father.(T) 25 But in order that the word written in their law[k] might be fulfilled, ‘They hated me without cause.’(U)
26 “When the Advocate comes whom I will send[l] you from the Father, the Spirit of truth that proceeds from the Father, he will testify to me.(V) 27 And you also testify, because you have been with me from the beginning.(W)
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.