M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Manasseh King of Judah
21 Manasseh was 12 years old when he became king. And he was king 55 years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Hephzibah. 2 He did what the Lord said was wrong. He did the hated things the other nations had done. And the Lord had forced these nations out of the land ahead of the Israelites. 3 Manasseh’s father, Hezekiah, had destroyed the places where false gods were worshiped. But Manasseh rebuilt them. He built altars for Baal. And he made an Asherah idol as Ahab king of Israel had done. Manasseh worshiped all the stars of heaven and served them. 4 The Lord had said about the Temple, “I will be worshiped in Jerusalem.” But Manasseh built altars in the Temple of the Lord. 5 He built altars to worship the stars in the two courtyards of the Temple of the Lord. 6 He burned his own son as a sacrifice. He practiced magic and told the future by explaining signs and dreams. He got advice from mediums and fortune-tellers. He did many things that the Lord said were wrong. And this made the Lord angry.
7 Manasseh carved an Asherah idol and put it in the Temple. The Lord had spoken to David and his son Solomon about the Temple. He had said, “I will be worshiped in this Temple and in Jerusalem forever. I have chosen Jerusalem from all the tribes of Israel. 8 I will never again make the Israelites wander out of the land I gave their ancestors. But they must obey everything I have commanded them. And they must obey all the teachings my servant Moses gave them.” 9 But the people did not listen. Manasseh led them to do wrong. They did more evil than the nations the Lord had destroyed ahead of the Israelites.
10 The Lord spoke through his servants the prophets. He said, 11 “Manasseh king of Judah has done these hated things. He has done more evil than the Amorites before him. Manasseh also has caused Judah to sin with his idols. 12 So this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘I will bring much trouble on Jerusalem and Judah. Anyone who hears about it will be shocked. 13 I will stretch the measuring line of Samaria over Jerusalem. And the plumb line used against Ahab’s family will be used on Jerusalem. I will wipe out Jerusalem as a man wipes a dish. He wipes it and turns it upside down. 14 I will go away from the rest of my people who are left. I will give them to their enemies. They will be robbed by all their enemies. 15 My people did what I said was wrong. They have made me angry from the day their ancestors left Egypt until now.’”
16 Manasseh also killed many innocent people. He filled Jerusalem from one end to the other with their blood. This was besides the sin he caused Judah to do. He caused Judah to do what the Lord said was wrong.
17 The other things Manasseh did as king are written down, even the sin he did. They are in the book of the history of the kings of Judah. 18 Manasseh died and was buried in the garden of his own palace. It is the garden of Uzza. Then Manasseh’s son Amon became king in his place.
Amon King of Judah
19 Amon was 22 years old when he became king. He was king for two years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Meshullemeth daughter of Haruz. She was from Jotbah. 20 Amon did what the Lord said was wrong. He did as his father Manasseh had done. 21 Amon lived in the same way his father had lived. He worshiped the idols his father had worshiped. And he bowed down before them. 22 Amon rejected the Lord, the God of his ancestors. He did not follow the ways of the Lord.
23 Amon’s officers made plans against him and killed him in his palace. 24 Then the people of Judah killed all those who had made plans to kill King Amon. And they made his son Josiah king in his place.
25 Everything else Amon did is written down. It is in the book of the history of the kings of Judah. 26 He was buried in his grave in the garden of Uzza. And his son Josiah became king in his place.
Jesus Is Greater Than Moses
3 So all of you, holy brothers, should think about Jesus. You were all called by God. God sent Jesus to us, and he is the high priest of our faith. 2 And Jesus was faithful to God as Moses was. Moses did everything God wanted him to do in God’s family. 3 A man who is the head of a family receives more honor than others in the family. It is the same with Jesus. Jesus should have more honor than Moses. 4 Every family has its head, but God is the head of everything. 5 Moses was faithful in God’s family as a servant. He told what God would say in the future. 6 But Christ is faithful as a Son who is the head of God’s family. And we are God’s family if we hold on to our faith and are proud of the great hope we have.
We Must Continue to Follow God
7 So it is as the Holy Spirit says:
“Today listen to what he says.
8 Do not be stubborn as in the past
when you turned against God.
There you tested God in the desert.
9 For 40 years in the desert your ancestors saw the things I did.
But they tested me and my patience.
10 I was angry with them.
I said, ‘They are not loyal to me.
They have not understood my ways.’
11 So I was angry and made a promise.
‘They will never enter my land of rest.’”[a] Psalm 95:7-11
12 So brothers, be careful that none of you has an evil, unbelieving heart. This will stop you from following the living God. 13 But encourage each other every day. Do this while it is “today.”[b] Help each other so that none of you will become hardened because of sin and its tricks. 14 We all share in Christ. This is true if we keep till the end the sure faith we had in the beginning. 15 This is what the Scripture says:
“Today listen to what he says.
Do not be stubborn as in the past
when you turned against God.” Psalm 95:7-8
16 Who heard God’s voice and was against him? It was all those people Moses led out of Egypt. 17 And whom was God angry with for 40 years? He was angry with those who sinned, who died in the desert. 18 And whom was God talking to when he promised that they would never enter and have his rest? He was talking to those who did not obey him. 19 So we see that they were not allowed to enter and have God’s rest because they did not believe.
Israel Returns to God
14 Israel, return to the Lord your God.
Your sins have caused your ruin.
2 Come back to the Lord
and say these words to him:
“Take away all our sin
and kindly receive us.
Then we will give you the praise we promised you.
3 Assyria cannot save us.
We will not trust in our horses.
We will not say again, ‘Our gods,’
to the things our hands have made.
You show mercy to us, who are like orphans.”
4 The Lord says,
“I will forgive them for leaving me.
I will love them freely.
I am not angry with them anymore.
5 I will be like the dew to Israel.
It will blossom like a lily.
Like the cedar trees in Lebanon,
its roots will be firm.
6 The people will be like spreading branches.
They will be like the beautiful olive trees.
They will be like the sweet-smelling cedars in Lebanon.
7 The people of Israel will again live under my protection.
They will grow like the grain.
They will bloom like a vine.
They will be as famous as the wine of Lebanon.
8 Israel, have nothing to do with idols.
I, the Lord, am the one who answers your prayers.
I am the one who watches over you.
I am like a green pine tree.
Your blessings come from me.”
9 A wise person will know these things.
An understanding person will take them to heart.
The Lord’s ways are right.
Good people live by following them,
but those who turn against God die because of them.
God Knows Everything
For the director of music. A song of David.
139 Lord, you have examined me.
You know all about me.
2 You know when I sit down and when I get up.
You know my thoughts before I think them.
3 You know where I go and where I lie down.
You know well everything I do.
4 Lord, even before I say a word,
you already know what I am going to say.
5 You are all around me—in front and in back.
You have put your hand on me.
6 Your knowledge is amazing to me.
It is more than I can understand.
7 Where can I go to get away from your Spirit?
Where can I run from you?
8 If I go up to the skies, you are there.
If I lie down where the dead are, you are there.
9 If I rise with the sun in the east,
and settle in the west beyond the sea,
10 even there you would guide me.
With your right hand you would hold me.
11 I could say, “The darkness will hide me.
The light around me will turn into night.”
12 But even the darkness is not dark to you.
The night is as light as the day.
Darkness and light are the same to you.
13 You made my whole being.
You formed me in my mother’s body.
14 I praise you because you made me in an amazing and wonderful way.
What you have done is wonderful.
I know this very well.
15 You saw my bones being formed
as I took shape in my mother’s body.
When I was put together there,
16 you saw my body as it was formed.
All the days planned for me
were written in your book
before I was one day old.
17 God, your thoughts are precious to me.
They are so many!
18 If I could count them,
they would be more than all the grains of sand.
When I wake up,
I am still with you.
19 God, I wish you would kill the wicked!
Get away from me, you murderers!
20 These men say evil things about you.
Your enemies use your name thoughtlessly.
21 Lord, I hate those who hate you.
I hate those who rise up against you.
22 I feel only hate for them.
They are my enemies.
23 God, examine me and know my heart.
Test me and know my thoughts.
24 See if there is any bad thing in me.
Lead me in the way you set long ago.
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.