M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Hezekiah’s Illness
20 In those days Hezeki′ah became sick and was at the point of death. And Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz came to him, and said to him, “Thus says the Lord, ‘Set your house in order; for you shall die, you shall not recover.’” 2 Then Hezeki′ah turned his face to the wall, and prayed to the Lord, saying, 3 “Remember now, O Lord, I beseech thee, how I have walked before thee in faithfulness and with a whole heart, and have done what is good in thy sight.” And Hezeki′ah wept bitterly. 4 And before Isaiah had gone out of the middle court, the word of the Lord came to him: 5 “Turn back, and say to Hezeki′ah the prince of my people, Thus says the Lord, the God of David your father: I have heard your prayer, I have seen your tears; behold, I will heal you; on the third day you shall go up to the house of the Lord. 6 And I will add fifteen years to your life. I will deliver you and this city out of the hand of the king of Assyria, and I will defend this city for my own sake and for my servant David’s sake.” 7 And Isaiah said, “Bring a cake of figs. And let them take and lay it on the boil, that he may recover.”
8 And Hezeki′ah said to Isaiah, “What shall be the sign that the Lord will heal me, and that I shall go up to the house of the Lord on the third day?” 9 And Isaiah said, “This is the sign to you from the Lord, that the Lord will do the thing that he has promised: shall the shadow go forward ten steps, or go back ten steps?” 10 And Hezeki′ah answered, “It is an easy thing for the shadow to lengthen ten steps; rather let the shadow go back ten steps.” 11 And Isaiah the prophet cried to the Lord; and he brought the shadow back ten steps, by which the sun[a] had declined on the dial of Ahaz.
Envoys from Babylon
12 At that time Mero′dach-bal′adan the son of Bal′adan, king of Babylon, sent envoys with letters and a present to Hezeki′ah; for he heard that Hezeki′ah had been sick. 13 And Hezeki′ah welcomed them, and he showed them all his treasure house, the silver, the gold, the spices, the precious oil, his armory, all that was found in his storehouses; there was nothing in his house or in all his realm that Hezeki′ah did not show them. 14 Then Isaiah the prophet came to King Hezeki′ah, and said to him, “What did these men say? And whence did they come to you?” And Hezeki′ah said, “They have come from a far country, from Babylon.” 15 He said, “What have they seen in your house?” And Hezeki′ah answered, “They have seen all that is in my house; there is nothing in my storehouses that I did not show them.”
16 Then Isaiah said to Hezeki′ah, “Hear the word of the Lord: 17 Behold, the days are coming, when all that is in your house, and that which your fathers have stored up till this day, shall be carried to Babylon; nothing shall be left, says the Lord. 18 And some of your own sons, who are born to you, shall be taken away; and they shall be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.” 19 Then said Hezeki′ah to Isaiah, “The word of the Lord which you have spoken is good.” For he thought, “Why not, if there will be peace and security in my days?”
Death of Hezekiah
20 The rest of the deeds of Hezeki′ah, and all his might, and how he made the pool and the conduit and brought water into the city, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah? 21 And Hezeki′ah slept with his fathers; and Manas′seh his son reigned in his stead.
Warning to Pay Attention
2 Therefore we must pay the closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it. 2 For if the message declared by angels was valid and every transgression or disobedience received a just retribution, 3 how shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation? It was declared at first by the Lord, and it was attested to us by those who heard him, 4 while God also bore witness by signs and wonders and various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his own will.
Exaltation through Abasement
5 For it was not to angels that God subjected the world to come, of which we are speaking. 6 It has been testified somewhere,
“What is man that thou art mindful of him,
or the son of man, that thou carest for him?
7 Thou didst make him for a little while lower than the angels,
thou hast crowned him with glory and honor,[a]
8 putting everything in subjection under his feet.”
Now in putting everything in subjection to him, he left nothing outside his control. As it is, we do not yet see everything in subjection to him. 9 But we see Jesus, who for a little while was made lower than the angels, crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for every one.
10 For it was fitting that he, for whom and by whom all things exist, in bringing many sons to glory, should make the pioneer of their salvation perfect through suffering. 11 For he who sanctifies and those who are sanctified have all one origin. That is why he is not ashamed to call them brethren, 12 saying,
“I will proclaim thy name to my brethren,
in the midst of the congregation I will praise thee.”
13 And again,
“I will put my trust in him.”
And again,
“Here am I, and the children God has given me.”
14 Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same nature, that through death he might destroy him who has the power of death, that is, the devil, 15 and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong bondage. 16 For surely it is not with angels that he is concerned but with the descendants of Abraham. 17 Therefore he had to be made like his brethren in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make expiation for the sins of the people. 18 For because he himself has suffered and been tempted, he is able to help those who are tempted.
Relentless Judgment on Israel
13 When E′phraim spoke, men trembled;
he was exalted in Israel;
but he incurred guilt through Ba′al and died.
2 And now they sin more and more,
and make for themselves molten images,
idols skilfully made of their silver,
all of them the work of craftsmen.
Sacrifice to these, they say.[a]
Men kiss calves!
3 Therefore they shall be like the morning mist
or like the dew that goes early away,
like the chaff that swirls from the threshing floor
or like smoke from a window.
4 I am the Lord your God
from the land of Egypt;
you know no God but me,
and besides me there is no saviour.
5 It was I who knew you in the wilderness,
in the land of drought;
6 but when they had fed[b] to the full,
they were filled, and their heart was lifted up;
therefore they forgot me.
7 So I will be to them like a lion,
like a leopard I will lurk beside the way.
8 I will fall upon them like a bear robbed of her cubs,
I will tear open their breast,
and there I will devour them like a lion,
as a wild beast would rend them.
9 I will destroy you, O Israel;
who[c] can help you?
10 Where[d] now is your king, to save you;
where are all[e] your princes,[f] to defend you[g]—
those of whom you said,
“Give me a king and princes”?
11 I have given you kings in my anger,
and I have taken them away in my wrath.
12 The iniquity of E′phraim is bound up,
his sin is kept in store.
13 The pangs of childbirth come for him,
but he is an unwise son;
for now he does not present himself
at the mouth of the womb.
14 Shall I ransom them from the power of Sheol?
Shall I redeem them from Death?
O Death, where[h] are your plagues?
O Sheol, where[i] is your destruction?
Compassion is hid from my eyes.
15 Though he may flourish as the reed plant,[j]
the east wind, the wind of the Lord, shall come,
rising from the wilderness;
and his fountain shall dry up,
his spring shall be parched;
it shall strip his treasury
of every precious thing.
16 [k] Samar′ia shall bear her guilt,
because she has rebelled against her God;
they shall fall by the sword,
their little ones shall be dashed in pieces,
and their pregnant women ripped open.
Lament over the Destruction of Jerusalem
137 By the waters[a] of Babylon,
there we sat down and wept,
when we remembered Zion.
2 On the willows[b] there
we hung up our lyres.
3 For there our captors
required of us songs,
and our tormentors, mirth, saying,
“Sing us one of the songs of Zion!”
4 How shall we sing the Lord’s song
in a foreign land?
5 If I forget you, O Jerusalem,
let my right hand wither!
6 Let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth,
if I do not remember you,
if I do not set Jerusalem
above my highest joy!
7 Remember, O Lord, against the E′domites
the day of Jerusalem,
how they said, “Raze it, raze it!
Down to its foundations!”
8 O daughter of Babylon, you devastator![c]
Happy shall he be who requites you
with what you have done to us!
9 Happy shall he be who takes your little ones
and dashes them against the rock!
Thanksgiving and Praise
A Psalm of David.
138 I give thee thanks, O Lord, with my whole heart;
before the gods I sing thy praise;
2 I bow down toward thy holy temple
and give thanks to thy name for thy steadfast love and thy faithfulness;
for thou hast exalted above everything
thy name and thy word.[d]
3 On the day I called, thou didst answer me,
my strength of soul thou didst increase.[e]
4 All the kings of the earth shall praise thee, O Lord,
for they have heard the words of thy mouth;
5 and they shall sing of the ways of the Lord,
for great is the glory of the Lord.
6 For though the Lord is high, he regards the lowly;
but the haughty he knows from afar.
7 Though I walk in the midst of trouble,
thou dost preserve my life;
thou dost stretch out thy hand against the wrath of my enemies,
and thy right hand delivers me.
8 The Lord will fulfil his purpose for me;
thy steadfast love, O Lord, endures for ever.
Do not forsake the work of thy hands.
Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright © 1946, 1952, and 1971 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.