M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Azariah becomes the king of Judah
15 Amaziah's son Azariah became king of Judah when Jeroboam had been king of Israel for 27 years.[a] 2 Azariah was 16 years old when he became king. He ruled in Jerusalem for 52 years. His mother's name was Jecoliah. She came from Jerusalem. 3 Azariah did things that the Lord said were good, as his father Amaziah had done. 4 But he did not remove the altars on the hills. The people continued to offer sacrifices and to burn incense on those altars.
5 The Lord caused the king to have a bad disease in his skin.[b] He had the disease until the day that he died. He lived in a house away from other people. His son Jotham had authority in the palace and he ruled the people of Judah.
6 The other things that happened while Azariah was king are written in a book. The book is called ‘The history of Judah's kings’. It tells about the things that Azariah did. 7 Azariah died and they buried him beside his ancestors in the City of David. His son Jotham became king after him.
Zechariah becomes the king of Israel
8 Jeroboam's son Zechariah became king of Israel when Azariah had been king of Judah for 38 years. He ruled Israel as king in Samaria for six months. 9 Zechariah did things that the Lord said were evil, as his ancestors had done. He did not turn away from the bad things that Nebat's son Jeroboam had done. Jeroboam had caused many people in Israel to do those sins.
10 Jabesh's son Shallum made a plan to kill Zechariah. Shallum murdered Zechariah at Ibleam and he became king himself. 11 The other things that happened while Zechariah was king are written in a book. The book is called ‘The history of Israel's kings’. 12 The Lord had given this promise to Jehu: ‘Your descendants will be kings of Israel for four generations.’ That is what happened.[c]
Shallum becomes the king of Israel
13 Jabesh's son Shallum became the king of Israel when Uzziah had been king of Judah for 39 years. He ruled as king in Samaria for one month. 14 Then Gadi's son Menahem went from Tirzah up to Samaria. He attacked King Shallum and he killed him. Menahem became king of Israel instead.
15 The other things that happened while Shallum was king are written in a book. The book is called ‘The history of Israel's kings’. It tells about the plan that he made to kill King Zechariah. 16 At that time, when Menahem came from Tirzah, he attacked the city of Tiphsah. The people who lived there refused to let him go into their city. So he killed them all. He even cut open the pregnant women.
Menahem becomes the king of Israel
17 Gadi's son Menahem became the king of Israel when Azariah had been king of Judah for 39 years. He ruled as king in Samaria for ten years. 18 Menahem did things that the Lord said were evil. He did not turn away from the bad things that Nebat's son Jeroboam had done. Jeroboam had caused many people in Israel to do those sins. 19 Then Pul, the king of Assyria, attacked the land of Israel.[d] Menahem paid him 34 tons of silver to help him to rule Israel with greater power. 20 Menahem made all the rich people in Israel pay taxes to him. Every rich man had to pay 50 silver coins. Menahem gave that money to the king of Assyria. Then the king of Assyria went away. He did not stay any longer in Israel.
21 The other things that happened while Menahem was king are written in a book. The book is called ‘The history of Israel's kings’. It tells about the things that Menahem did. 22 Menahem died and his son, Pekahiah, became king after him.
Pekahiah becomes the king of Israel
23 Menahem's son Pekahiah became the king of Israel when Azariah had been king of Judah for 50 years. He ruled Israel as king in Samaria for two years. 24 Pekahiah did things that the Lord said were evil. He did not turn away from the bad things that Nebat's son Jeroboam had done. Jeroboam had caused many people in Israel to do those sins.
25 One of Pekahiah's officers was Remaliah's son, Pekah. Pekah made a plan to kill Pekahiah. He took 50 men from Gilead with him, and he killed King Pekahiah. He also killed Argob and Arieh. He killed them all in a strong room in the king's palace in Samaria. Pekah then became king instead of Pekahiah. 26 The other things that happened while Pekahiah was king are written in a book. The book is called ‘The history of Israel's kings’. It tells about the things that Pekahiah did.
Pekah becomes the king of Israel
27 Remaliah's son Pekah became the king of Israel when Azariah had been king of Judah for 52 years. He ruled Israel as king in Samaria for 20 years. 28 Pekah did things that the Lord said were evil. He did not turn away from the bad things that Nebat's son Jeroboam had done. Jeroboam had caused many people in Israel to do those sins.
29 While Pekah was the king of Israel, the king of Assyria, Tiglath-Pileser, attacked towns in Israel. He took these places for himself: Ijon, Abel Beth Maakah, Janoah, Kedesh, Hazor, Gilead, Galilee and all of Naphtali's land. He took the people that lived in those places as prisoners to Assyria.
30 Then Elah's son Hoshea made a plan to kill Remaliah's son, Pekah. Hoshea murdered Pekah and he became king instead. That happened when Uzziah's son Jotham had been king of Judah for 20 years. 31 The other things that happened while Pekah was king are written in a book. The book is called ‘The history of Israel's kings’. It tells about the things that Pekah did.
Jotham becomes the king of Judah
32 Uzziah's son Jotham became the king of Judah when Remaliah's son Pekah had been king of Israel for two years. 33 Jotham was 25 years old when he became king. He ruled Judah as king in Jerusalem for 16 years. His mother's name was Jerusha. She was Zadok's daughter. 34 Jotham did things that the Lord said were good, as his father Uzziah had done. 35 But he did not remove the altars on the hills. The people continued to offer sacrifices and to burn incense on those altars. Jotham built the Higher Gate of the Lord's temple.
36 The other things that happened while Jotham was king are written in a book. The book is called ‘The history of Judah's kings’. It tells about the things that Jotham did. 37 While Jotham was king, the Lord began to send King Rezin of Syria and Remaliah's son Pekah to attack Judah. 38 Jotham died and they buried him beside his ancestors in the City of David, who was his ancestor. His son Ahaz became king after him.
Paul says ‘Hello’ to Titus
1 This letter is from me, Paul. I am God's servant and an apostle of Jesus Christ. God has sent me to help the people that he has chosen. I teach them to understand his true message and to trust him. As a result they will live in a way that pleases God. 2 They will also be sure that they will live with God for ever. Before the world began, God promised that his people would have life with him. And God never tells lies. 3 God is the one who saves us. Now, at the proper time, he has made his message clear. He has given his message to me so that I can tell it to people. That is what he has told me to do.
4 I am writing to you, Titus. I told you the message about Jesus and now we both believe in him. So you are like my own child.
I pray that God, the Father, and Christ Jesus, our Saviour, will continue to help you. I pray that they will give you peace in your mind.
Titus's work in Crete
5 I left you in Crete so that you could finish certain things. You should make right some things that were wrong. And you should choose leaders of the believers in every town, as I told you.
6 This is what a leader in the church must be like. Nobody should have a reason to say that he has done something wrong. He must be the husband of only one wife. He must have children who respect him. Nobody should say that they enjoy bad things or that they do not obey their parents.[a] 7 A leader in the church serves the believers on God's behalf. Because of that, nobody should have a reason to say that the leader has done anything wrong. A leader must not be proud. He must not become angry easily. He should not like to drink too much wine. He must not be someone who likes to fight. He must not want to get a lot of money for himself. 8 Instead, he must be happy to have visitors in his home. He must want to do good things. He must be careful in how he lives. He must do what is right. He must want to serve God well. He must control himself well.
9 A leader in the church must continue to believe the true message very well. That is the message which we have taught. Then he will be able to teach people what is true and right. He will also show that people who speak against the true message are wrong.
10 I say this because there are many people who refuse to obey their leaders. They speak about useless things and they deceive people. Many of them want the believers to obey all the Jewish rules.[b] 11 You must stop those people from teaching false things like that. They are causing whole families to believe their lies. They teach things that they should not teach. They deceive people because they want people to give them money. 12 Many years ago, there was a certain man who lived on Crete. The people there called him their prophet. Even he said, ‘People who live on Crete are always telling lies and doing wicked things. They are lazy and they eat too much food.’
13 What that man said is true. So you must warn the people there. Help them to believe the true message about Jesus more and more. 14 They must not listen to Jewish stories that are not true, or to human rules. Those things are the ideas of people who refuse to obey God's true message.
15 If someone is clean and good inside, everything is clean and good for them to enjoy. But if someone is not a believer and has an unclean mind, nothing is clean or good for that person. Their minds no longer think properly. They no longer feel guilty when they do something wrong. 16 People like that say that they know God. But they do disgusting things. This shows that they do not know him. They are completely bad. They refuse to obey God. They are not able to do anything good.
The Israelites worship idols instead of the Lord
8 The Lord says, ‘Warn the people of danger!
My people have not obeyed the covenant that I made with them.
They have refused to obey my laws.
So an enemy army will come to attack their land,
like an eagle that is ready to fly down and catch them.[a]
2 Israel's people call out to me for help.
They say, “We know you as our God.”
3 But they have refused to do what is good and right.
So their enemies will chase after them.
4 My people chose kings to rule them,
but they did not ask me about it.
They chose people to lead them, but I did not agree.
They used their silver and their gold
to make idols for themselves.
But that will destroy them in the end.
5 People of Samaria, you have made an image of a calf as your idol.[b]
But I hate that idol!
I am very angry with the Israelites.
How much longer will it be before I have to punish them?
6 That idol is not a true god!
An Israelite worker with special skills made it.
Samaria's idol of a calf will break into pieces!
7 Like a farmer, Israel's people have planted the wind.
So their harvest will be a strong storm!
The crops that grow in their fields will not have any grain.
So they will not be able to make flour for bread.
Even if the crops do make some grain,
foreign people will take it for themselves.
8 Israel will become lost among the other nations.
It will be like a useless pot that nobody needs.
9 Israel's rulers have gone to Assyria for help.
They are like a wild donkey that goes here and there.
Ephraim's people have paid money to get help from other nations.[c]
as if they are paying for lovers.
10 Yes, they have paid money to get friends who will help them.
But I will soon bring them together to punish them.
A great king will be cruel to them and they will receive much pain.[d]
11 Ephraim's people have built many altars to make sin offerings.
But the altars have become places where the people do even more sins![e]
12 I carefully explained my laws to my people.
But they do not accept my laws as their own.
13 Israel's people offer sacrifices to me,
and they eat the meat from those sacrifices.
But their sacrifices do not please me.
I know that they are guilty of wicked things.
Soon I will punish them for their sins.
They will have to return to Egypt.
14 Israel's people have built beautiful palaces.
But they have forgotten me, who made them into a nation!
Judah's people have built many strong cities.
But I will send fire to destroy their cities and their strong buildings.’
A song to sing as we climb.
Servants of the Lord
123 I look up to you, God,
as you rule from your throne in heaven.
2 Yes, our eyes look up to the Lord our God.
We want him to be kind to us, so we wait for his help.
We wait like servants who want help from their master.
3 Please be kind to us, Lord. Please forgive us.
People have insulted us more and more!
4 We have had too much!
Proud people laugh at us,
and they do not respect us.
Please stop them!
A song to sing as we climb.
David wrote this song.[a]
124 If the Lord was not fighting for us,
what would have happened?
Israel's people, now answer:
2 ‘If the Lord was not fighting for us when men attacked us,
3 our enemies would have eaten us alive![b]
They would have destroyed us,
because they were so angry against us.
4 They would have been too strong for us,
like rivers of waters that covered us,
5 They would have been like deep water over our heads
that drowned us.[c]
6 We should praise the Lord!
He did not let our enemies destroy us,
like wild animals that kill their food and eat it.
7 Now we have become free,
like a bird that got free out of a trap.
Our enemies lost their power, and we are free![d]
8 The one who helped us is the Lord.
He made the whole universe.’
A song to sing as we climb.
125 People who trust in the Lord are strong,
like Mount Zion.[e]
Nothing can shake it. It will always be there.
2 The Lord is always near to his people,
like the mountains round Jerusalem.
He keeps his people safe, now and for ever.[f]
3 Wicked people will not rule over God's own people.
They will not rule the land where righteous people live.
If they did, the righteous people might also do bad things.
4 Lord, please do good things to good, honest people.
Be kind to those who follow your good ways.
5 But as for people who follow their own bad ways,
Lord, please remove them!
Take them away, along with people who do evil things.
May Israel have peace!
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