M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan

King Hezekiah Makes Improvements

31 When the Passover celebration was finished, the Israelites who were in Jerusalem for Passover went out to the towns of Judah. Then they smashed the stone idols that were in the towns. These stone idols were used to worship false gods. They also cut down the Asherah poles. And they destroyed the high places and the altars all through the areas of Judah and Benjamin. They did the same things in the area of Ephraim and Manasseh. They did these things until they destroyed all the things used for worshiping the false gods. Then all the Israelites went back home to their own towns.

² The priests and Levites had been divided into groups, and each group had its own special job to do. So King Hezekiah told these groups to begin doing their jobs again. So the priests and Levites again had the job of offering the burnt offerings and the fellowship offerings. And they had the job of serving in the Temple and singing and praising God by the doors to the Lord’s house.^{[a] 3} Hezekiah gave some of his own animals to be offered as the burnt offerings. These animals were used for the daily burnt offerings that were given each morning and each evening. They were offered on the Sabbath days, during New Moon celebrations, and on the other special meeting days, as the law of the Lord commands.

⁴ The people were supposed to give a part of their crops and things to the priests and Levites. So Hezekiah commanded the people living in Jerusalem to give them their share. In that way the priests and Levites could spend all of their time doing what the law of the Lord told them to do. ⁵ People all around the country heard about this command. So the Israelites gave the first part of their harvest of grain, grapes, oil, honey, and all the things they grew in their fields. They brought one-tenth of all these many things. ⁶ The men of Israel and Judah living in the towns of Judah also brought one-tenth of their cattle and sheep. They also brought one-tenth of the things that were put in a special place that was only for the Lord their God. They brought all these things and put them in piles.

⁷ The people began to bring these things in the third month and they finished bringing the collection in the seventh month. ⁸ When Hezekiah and the leaders came, they saw the piles of things that were collected. They praised the Lord and his people, the Israelites.

⁹ Then Hezekiah asked the priests and the Levites about the piles of things. ¹⁰ Azariah the high priest from Zadok’s family said to Hezekiah, “From the time that the people started bringing the offerings into the Lord’s house, we have had plenty to eat. We have eaten until we are full and there is still plenty left over! The Lord has really blessed his people. That is why we have so much left over.”

¹¹ Then Hezekiah commanded the priests to make storerooms ready in the Lord’s Temple. So this was done. ¹² Then the priests brought the offerings, tithes,^[b] and other things that were to be given only to God. All these things collected were put in the storerooms in the Temple. Conaniah the Levite was in charge of everything that was collected. Shimei was second in charge of these things. Shimei was Conaniah’s brother. ¹³ Conaniah and his brother Shimei were supervisors of these men: Jehiel, Azaziah, Nahath, Asahel, Jerimoth, Jozabad, Eliel, Ismakiah, Mahath, and Benaiah. King Hezekiah and Azariah the official in charge of God’s Temple chose these men.

¹⁴ Kore was in charge of the offerings that the people freely gave to God. He was responsible for giving out the collections that were given to the Lord. And he was responsible for giving out the gifts that had been made holy. Kore was the gatekeeper at the East Gate. His father’s name was Imnah the Levite. ¹⁵ Eden, Miniamin, Jeshua, Shemaiah, Amariah, and Shecaniah helped Kore. These men served faithfully in the towns where the priests were living. They gave the collection of things to their relatives in each group of priests. They gave the same things to the more important people and to the less important.

¹⁶ These men also gave the collection of things to the males three years old and older who had their names in the Levite family histories. All these males were to enter the Lord’s Temple for daily service to do the things they were responsible to do. Each group of Levites had their own responsibility. ¹⁷ The priests were given their part of the collection. This was done by families, in the way they were listed in the family histories. The Levites who were 20 years old and older were given their part of the collection, according to their groups and responsibilities. ¹⁸ The Levites’ babies, wives, sons, and daughters also got part of the collection. This was done for all the Levites who were listed in the family histories. This was because the Levites were faithful to always keep themselves holy and ready for service.

¹⁹ Some of Aaron’s descendants, the priests, lived in the towns or on farms near the towns where the Levites were living. Men were chosen by name in each of these towns to give part of the collection to these descendants of Aaron. All the males and those named in the family histories of the Levites got part of the collection.

²⁰ So King Hezekiah did those good things in all Judah. He did what was good and right and faithful before the Lord his God. ²¹ He had success in every work he began—the service of God’s Temple and in obeying the law and commands, and in following his God. Hezekiah did all these things with all his heart.

The Woman on the Red Beast

17 One of the seven angels came and spoke to me. This was one of the angels that had the seven bowls. The angel said, “Come, and I will show you the punishment that will be given to the famous prostitute. She is the one sitting over many waters. ² The rulers of the earth sinned sexually with her. The people of the earth became drunk from the wine of her sexual sin.”

³ Then the angel carried me away by the Spirit to the desert. There I saw a woman sitting on a red beast. The beast was covered with evil names. It had seven heads and ten horns. ⁴ The woman was dressed in purple and red. She was shining with the gold, jewels, and pearls that she was wearing. She had a golden cup in her hand. This cup was filled with terribly evil things and the filth of her sexual sin. ⁵ She had a title written on her forehead. This title has a hidden meaning. This is what was written:

the great babylon

mother of prostitutes

and the evil things of the earth

⁶ I saw that the woman was drunk. She was drunk with the blood of God’s holy people. She was drunk with the blood of those who told about their faith in Jesus.

When I saw the woman, I was fully amazed. ⁷ Then the angel said to me, “Why are you amazed? I will tell you the hidden meaning of this woman and the beast she rides—the beast with seven heads and ten horns. ⁸ The beast you saw was once alive, but now it is not. However, it will come up out of the bottomless pit and go away to be destroyed. The people who live on the earth will be amazed when they see the beast, because it was once alive, is no longer living, but will come again. These are the people whose names have never been written in the book of life since the beginning of the world.

⁹ “You need wisdom to understand this. The seven heads on the beast are the seven hills where the woman sits. They are also seven rulers. ¹⁰ Five of the rulers have already died. One of the rulers lives now, and the last ruler is coming. When he comes, he will stay only a short time. ¹¹ The beast that was once alive but is no longer living is an eighth ruler. This eighth ruler also belongs to the first seven rulers. And he will go away to be destroyed.

¹² “The ten horns you saw are ten rulers. These ten rulers have not yet received their kingdom, but they will receive power to rule with the beast for one hour. ¹³ All ten of these rulers have the same purpose. And they will give their power and authority to the beast. ¹⁴ They will make war against the Lamb. But the Lamb will defeat them, because he is Lord of lords and King of kings. And with him will be his chosen and faithful followers—the people he has called to be his.”

¹⁵ Then the angel said to me, “You saw the waters where the prostitute sits. These waters are the many peoples, the different races, nations, and languages in the world. ¹⁶ The beast and the ten horns you saw will hate the prostitute. They will take everything she has and leave her naked. They will eat her flesh and destroy her with fire. ¹⁷ God put the idea in their minds to do what would complete his purpose. They agreed to give the beast their power to rule until what God has said is completed. ¹⁸ The woman you saw is the great city that rules over the kings of the earth.”

No More False Prophets

² The Lord All-Powerful says, “At that time I will remove all the idols from the earth. People will not even remember their names, and I will remove the false prophets and unclean spirits from the earth. ³ Whoever continues to prophesy will be punished. Even their parents, their own mother and father, will say to them, ‘You have spoken lies in the name of the Lord, so you must die!’ Their own mother and father will stab them for prophesying. ⁴ At that time the prophets will be ashamed of their visions and prophecies. They will not wear the rough cloth that shows a person is a prophet. They will not wear those clothes to trick people with the lies they call prophecies. ⁵ They will say, ‘I am not a prophet. I am a farmer. I have worked as a farmer since I was a little child.’ ⁶ But other people will say, ‘Then what are these wounds in your hands?’ He will say, ‘I was beaten in the house of my friends.’”

⁷ The Lord All-Powerful says, “Sword, wake up and strike the shepherd, my friend! Strike the shepherd, and the sheep will run away. And I will punish those little ones. ⁸ Two-thirds of the people in the land will be struck down and die,” says the Lord, “but one-third will survive. ⁹ Then I will test those survivors by giving them many troubles. The troubles will be like the fire a person uses to prove silver is pure. I will test them the way a person tests gold. Then they will call to me for help, and I will answer them. I will say, ‘You are my people.’ And they will say, ‘The Lord is my God.’”

16 “I have told you all this so that you won’t lose your faith when you face troubles. ² People will tell you to leave their synagogues and never come back. In fact, the time will come when they will think that killing you would be doing service for God. ³ They will do this because they have not known the Father, and they have not known me. ⁴ I have told you all this now to prepare you. So when the time comes for these things to happen, you will remember that I warned you.

The Work of the Holy Spirit

“I did not tell you these things at the beginning, because I was with you then. ⁵ Now I am going back to the one who sent me. And none of you asks me, ‘Where are you going?’ ⁶ But you are filled with sadness because I have told you all this. ⁷ Let me assure you, it is better for you that I go away. I say this because when I go away I will send the Helper to you. But if I did not go, the Helper would not come.

⁸ “When the Helper comes, he will show the people of the world how wrong they are about sin, about being right with God, and about judgment. ⁹ He will prove that they are guilty of sin, because they don’t believe in me. ¹⁰ He will show them how wrong they are about how to be right with God. The Helper will do this, because I am going to the Father. You will not see me then. ¹¹ And he will show them how wrong their judgment is, because their leader^[a] has already been condemned.

¹² “I have so much more to tell you, but it is too much for you to accept now. ¹³ But when the Spirit of truth comes, he will lead you into all truth. He will not speak his own words. He will speak only what he hears and will tell you what will happen in the future. ¹⁴ The Spirit of truth will bring glory to me by telling you what he receives from me. ¹⁵ All that the Father has is mine. That is why I said that the Spirit will tell you what he receives from me.

Sadness Will Turn Into Happiness

¹⁶ “After a short time you won’t see me. Then after another short time you will see me again.”

¹⁷ Some of the followers said to each other, “What does he mean when he says, ‘After a short time you won’t see me. Then after another short time you will see me again’? And what does he mean when he says, ‘Because I am going to the Father’?” ¹⁸ They also asked, “What does he mean by ‘a short time’? We don’t understand what he is saying.”

¹⁹ Jesus saw that the followers wanted to ask him about this. So he said to them, “Are you asking each other what I meant when I said, ‘After a short time you won’t see me. Then after another short time you will see me again’? ²⁰ The truth is, you will cry and be sad, but the world will be happy. You will be sad, but then your sadness will change to happiness.

²¹ “When a woman gives birth to a baby, she has pain, because her time has come. But when her baby is born, she forgets the pain. She forgets because she is so happy that a child has been born into the world. ²² It is the same with you. Now you are sad, but I will see you again, and you will be happy. You will have a joy that no one can take away. ²³ In that day you will not have to ask me about anything. And I assure you, my Father will give you anything you ask him for in my name. ²⁴ You have never asked for anything in this way before. But ask in my name, and you will receive. And you will have the fullest joy possible.

Victory Over the World

²⁵ “I have told you these things, using words that hide the meaning. But the time will come when I will not use words like that to tell you things. I will speak to you in plain words about the Father. ²⁶ Then you will be able to ask the Father for things in my name. I’m not saying that I will have to ask the Father for you. ²⁷ The Father himself loves you because you have loved me. And he loves you because you have believed that I came from God. ²⁸ I came from the Father into the world. Now I am leaving the world and going back to the Father.”

²⁹ Then his followers said, “You are already speaking plainly to us. You are not using words that hide the meaning. ³⁰ We can see now that you know all things. You answer our questions even before we ask them. This makes us believe that you came from God.”

³¹ Jesus said, “So now you believe? ³² Listen to me. A time is coming when you will be scattered, each to his own home. In fact, that time is already here. You will leave me, and I will be alone. But I am never really alone, because the Father is with me.

³³ “I have told you these things so that you can have peace in me. In this world you will have troubles. But be brave! I have defeated the world!”