M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Josiah rules Judah as king
34 Josiah was eight years old when he became king.[a] He ruled as king in Jerusalem for 31 years. 2 Josiah did things that the Lord said were right. He lived in the good ways of his ancestor, King David. He did not turn away from the Lord's teaching in any way.
3 When Josiah had been king for eight years, he was still a young man. At that time he began to worship God, as his ancestor David had done. When he had been king for 12 years, he started to remove the places in Jerusalem and in all Judah where people worshipped false gods. He removed the altars on the hills, the Asherah poles, the idols and the images of false gods. 4 He told his men to knock down the altars where people worshipped the idols of Baal. He broke into pieces the altars for incense that were near the other altars. He destroyed the Asherah poles, the idols and the images. He broke them all into very small pieces. He threw the bits over the graves of the people who had offered sacrifices to those false gods.
5 Josiah took the bones of the priests who had made sacrifices to the false gods. He burned the priests' bones on their own altars. That is how Josiah made Judah and Jerusalem clean again. 6 He went to the towns that belonged to the tribes of Manasseh, Ephraim and Simeon. He even went as far as Naphtali.[b] He did the same thing in all those towns, as well as in the villages around them where nobody lived. 7 He knocked down the altars and the Asherah poles. He completely destroyed the idols and the altars for incense everywhere in the kingdom of Israel. Then he returned to Jerusalem.
Josiah repairs the temple
8 When Josiah had been king for 18 years, he continued to make Judah and the temple clean places again. He sent three men to repair the temple of the Lord his God. They were Azaliah's son Shaphan, the city's officer Maaseiah, and Joah, son of Joahaz, the city's secretary.
9 They went to meet Hilkiah, the leader of the priests. They gave him the money that people had brought as gifts to God's temple. The people had given their money to the Levites who stood as guards at the doors of the temple. The people who brought these gifts had come from the tribes of Manasseh, Ephraim and the other people who still lived in Israel. All the people from the tribes of Judah and Benjamin, and those who lived in Jerusalem had also brought their gifts. 10 Then they gave this money to the men who had authority over the work on the Lord's temple. Those leaders then paid the workers who did the repairs to make the temple strong again. 11 They gave money to the carpenters and the builders to buy stones that were ready to use and wood. The kings of Judah had not taken care of the buildings. So the workers now needed stones and wood to repair the walls and the roofs.
12 The workers were honest men who worked well. Four Levites had authority over the workers. They were Jahath and Obadiah from Merari's clan, and Zechariah and Meshullam from Kohath's clan. Other Levites who were musicians 13 had authority over the men who carried the wood and the stones. They told the workers what to do as they did their different jobs. Some Levites worked as secretaries, officers or guards.
Hilkiah finds the book of God's laws
14 The Levites were bringing the money out of the Lord's temple that people had brought there.[c] While they were doing that, Hilkiah the priest found the book of God's laws. Those were the laws that the Lord had given to Moses for his people. 15 Hilkiah told Shaphan, the king's secretary, ‘I have found the book of the Law in the Lord's temple.’ He gave the book to Shaphan.
16 Then Shaphan took the book to the king and he said, ‘Your servants are doing everything that you told them to do. 17 They have paid out the money that was in the Lord's temple. They have given it to the leaders who have authority over the men who are doing the work.’
18 Then Shaphan, the king's secretary, told the king, ‘Hilkiah the priest has given a book to me.’ Then Shaphan read it aloud to the king. 19 When the king heard the words in the book of God's laws, he was so upset that he tore his clothes.
20 King Josiah gave a command to Hilkiah, Shaphan's son Ahikam, Micah's son Abdon, Shaphan the secretary and Asaiah the king's servant. 21 He told them, ‘Go to the temple. Ask the Lord about the message in this book that Hilkiah has found. I need to know what I should do, as well as the people who still live in Judah and in Israel. The Lord has become very angry with us because our ancestors have not obeyed his message. They have not done the things that this book tells us that we should do.’
22 So Hilkiah and the other men that the king had sent went to speak to Huldah. Huldah was a prophetess who lived in the north part of Jerusalem. She was the wife of Shallum, the son of Tokhath. Tokhath was the son of Hasrah, who took care of the king's clothes. The king's men told Huldah why they had come to meet her.
23 She said to them, ‘The Lord, Israel's God, says, “Tell this to the man who sent you here to me: 24 This is what the Lord says: I will bring great trouble to this place and the people who live here. The message of the book that they read to the king of Judah tells about what will happen. 25 I will send this trouble because they have turned away from me. They have offered sacrifices to other gods. I am very angry with them because of all the idols that they have made for themselves. My anger is like a fire that is burning and nobody can stop it!” 26 The king of Judah sent you here to ask for the Lord's answer. Say to the king, “The Lord, Israel's God, says this about the message that you have heard: 27 When you heard the message that I had spoken, you were very upset. You made yourself humble to respect me. You tore your clothes and you wept. You did that when you heard how I would punish this place and the people who live here. Because you became so upset, I have heard your prayer. 28 So I will let you die in peace and people will bury you beside your ancestors. You yourself will never see the great trouble that I will bring to this place and the people who live here.” That is what the Lord says.’
The men took Huldah's answer back to the king.
Josiah and the people promise to obey God's laws
29 Then King Josiah told all the leaders of Judah and Jerusalem to come and meet with him. 30 He went up to the Lord's temple.[d] All the people who lived in Jerusalem and in the rest of Judah went with him. They included the priests, the Levites, young people and old people. Everyone went to the temple. They all listened while the king read to them all the words in the book of God's covenant. That was the book that Hilkiah had found in the Lord's temple. 31 Then the king stood in his place beside the pillar in the temple. He promised the Lord that he would obey the covenant. He agreed to serve the Lord faithfully and to obey his commands, laws and rules. Josiah agreed to obey what was written in the book of God's covenant.
32 The king told all the people who were in Jerusalem and the people of Benjamin's tribe to stand. He told them to promise to obey God's laws. So the people who lived in Jerusalem agreed to obey the covenant of God, the God of their ancestors.
33 Josiah removed all the disgusting idols from all the land of the Israelites. He told all the people of Israel to worship the Lord their God. All the time that Josiah ruled as king, the people continued to worship the Lord, the God of their ancestors.
The 1,000 years
20 Then I saw an angel who was coming down from heaven. He was holding the key to the deep hole.[a] He also held a great chain in his hand. 2 He took hold of the dragon. That dragon is the Devil and Satan. He is the snake who has lived since long ago.[b] The angel tied up the dragon with the chain for 1,000 years. 3 Then he threw the dragon into the deep hole. He closed the door to the deep hole, and he locked it with the key. He put a seal on the door. During that time, Satan could no longer deceive the people of all nations. But after the 1,000 years have finished, he must go free for a short time.
4 Then I saw some thrones, and I saw people who were sitting on them. These people had received authority to judge other people. I also saw the souls of people who had died because they served Jesus. People had cut off their heads because they had told the truth about Jesus, and they had spoken God's message. These believers had not worshipped the wild animal or his image. They had not received the wild animal's mark on their heads or on their hands. Now they became alive again. They ruled as kings together with Christ for 1,000 years. 5 (But all the other dead people did not become alive again until the 1,000 years had finished.) This is the first time that God raises up dead people to become alive again. 6 God has blessed those people that he raises up that first time. They belong to God as his holy people. The second death has no power over them. Instead, they will be priests who serve God and Christ. They will rule as kings with him for 1,000 years.
God sends Satan into the lake of fire
7 When the 1,000 years have finished, God will let Satan go free out of his prison. 8 Satan will then go and deceive people in nations everywhere in the world. He will make them believe him. Those nations are God's enemies, Gog and Magog.[c] Satan will bring them together to fight a war against God's people. Satan's army has many people, as much as the sand on the shore of the sea.[d] 9 I saw them as they marched over the whole earth. They arrived at the city which God loves. That is where God's people had made their camp. Satan's army made their camp all around the city. Then fire came down from heaven and it destroyed them completely. 10 The Devil had deceived those people. I saw God throw him into the lake of fire that burns with sulphur. That is the lake where he had already thrown the wild animal and the false prophet. They will have a lot of pain in that place, all day and all night for ever.
God judges all the dead people
11 Then I saw a great white throne. I saw that God was sitting on it. The earth and the sky rushed away from the place where he sat. There was no longer any place for them. 12 I also saw the people who had died, important people and ordinary people. They were standing in front of the great throne. Then someone opened books to see what was in them. God had written in them all the things that the people had done. Then someone opened another book which is God's book of life.[e] God judged the people who had died. He looked in the books to see what they had done, and he decided what was right.
13 The sea brought up all the dead people who were in it. Death and Hades, the place for dead people, brought up all the dead people who were there too. God judged each person. God saw what they had done, and he decided what was right. 14 Then God threw Death and Hades into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death for people. 15 If anyone's name was not written in the book of life, God threw that person into the lake of fire.
The priests teach wrong things
2 The Lord Almighty says this to the priests:
2 ‘Listen carefully to what I say to you. You must respect my name properly. If not, I will punish you. I will no longer bless you but I will curse you. I am already doing that because you do not respect my name as you should.
3 I will punish your descendants. When you offer an animal as a sacrifice at your festivals, I will cover your faces with its dirty bits. Then they will throw you away with all the other dirty bits. Those are the bits that I cannot accept as clean.’[a]
4 The Lord Almighty says, ‘When I punish you like that, you will know that I have warned you. Then the covenant that I made with Levi and his descendants, the priests, can continue.[b] 5 I promised to give them a good life with many blessings. Levi received what I promised to him. He served me and he respected me, as a priest should do. 6 He taught my true message. He did not teach people anything that was bad. He lived in a good and honest way as he served me. He helped many people to stop doing wrong things.
7 Priests should help people to know the truth about God. People should ask the priests to teach them, because the Lord Almighty has chosen priests to speak his message. 8 But you priests do not serve me in the right way. What you teach causes many people to do wrong things. In that way, you have spoiled the covenant that I made with Levi.’
That is what the Lord Almighty says.
9 ‘So I have caused all the people to insult you. They no longer respect you, because you do not obey my rules. When you teach my people, you are kind to some of them but you cheat others.’[c]
Judah's people do not obey God
10 You know that we all have one Father. It is God himself who made all of us. But now we turn against each other. We do not respect the covenant that God made with our ancestors.[d]
11 Judah's people have turned against God.[e] As a result, people have done disgusting things in Jerusalem and in all Israel.[f] You have spoiled the holy place, the temple that the Lord loves.[g] You have turned away from the Lord and you worship foreign gods. 12 I pray that the Lord will remove all people like that from among his people. Not one of them will continue to belong to the family of Jacob.[h] They will no longer be able to offer gifts to the Lord Almighty.
13 Also, you weep so much that your tears cover the Lord's altar! You cry because the Lord no longer accepts your gifts. He is not happy with the gifts that you offer to him.
14 You ask, ‘Why is the Lord not happy with our gifts?’ The Lord knows that you men have not done the right thing with your wives. When you married as a young man, you promised to take care of your wife always. But you have sent her away, when the law says that you must stay with her as your wife. 15 The Lord has joined you together, as a man with his wife. Your body and your spirit belong to him. Why did God put you together? He wanted you to have children who would belong to him. So think carefully about how you live. Do not leave the wife that you married when you were a young man.
16 The Lord God of Israel says this: ‘If a man sends his wife away from him, I hate that! He has been cruel to his wife when he should take care of her. So be very careful! Remember your promise to take care of your wife.’
That is what the Lord Almighty says.
17 The Lord has become tired as he listens to your words.
You ask, ‘Why is he tired? What have we done to cause that?’ You say, ‘The Lord thinks that all people who do evil things are good! He does not punish them but he is happy with them.’ You also say, ‘God is not here to bring justice!’
19 Then Pilate told the soldiers to take Jesus outside. He told them to hit Jesus many times with a whip.
2 The soldiers used some branches with thorns to make a crown for Jesus. They put it on his head. Then put a dark red coat on him too. They did all this as if he was a king. 3 They came to him many times and they were saying to him, ‘Hello, King of the Jews, you are great!’ At the same time they slapped his face with their hands.
4 Pilate went outside once more. He said to the crowd, ‘Listen to me. I will bring Jesus out here to you. You should know this: I do not say that this man is guilty of anything wrong. I have no reason to punish him.’ 5 Then Jesus came out. He was still wearing the hat of thorns on his head and the dark red coat. Pilate said to them, ‘Look. Here is the man!’ 6 When the leaders of the priests and their officers saw Jesus, they shouted, ‘Kill him! Kill him on a cross!’ Pilate said to them, ‘Take him for yourselves and kill him on a cross. I can find no reason why I should punish him.’ 7 The Jews answered, ‘We have a law which says that he must die. He must die because he said, “I am the Son of God.” ’
8 When Pilate heard that, he was even more afraid. 9 He went back into the house. He asked Jesus, ‘Where are you really from?’ But Jesus did not answer him. 10 Pilate said to him, ‘Are you refusing to speak to me? Remember that I have authority. I can let you go free, or I can let them kill you on a cross.’ 11 Jesus answered, ‘You could have no power against me unless God had given it to you. So the man who sold me to you has done a worse thing than you have done.’ 12 From that moment, Pilate tried to let Jesus go free. But the Jewish leaders shouted back, ‘If you let him go, you are not Caesar's friend. Nobody should say that he himself is a king. That shows that he is against Caesar!’
13 When Pilate heard those words, he brought Jesus outside. Pilate sat down on a special seat for the judge. The seat was in a place called ‘Gabbatha’ in the Jewish language. There were large flat stones there, which covered the ground. 14 It was about noon on the day when they prepared the Passover meal. Pilate said to the Jews, ‘Here is your king!’ 15 But they shouted, ‘Take him away! Take him away! Kill him on a cross!’ Pilate asked them, ‘Do you want me to kill your king on a cross?’ The leaders of the priests answered, ‘Caesar is the only ruler that we call king.’ 16 Then Pilate gave Jesus to them, so that they could kill him on a cross.
They fix Jesus to a cross
The soldiers took hold of Jesus. 17 He was carrying the cross on which they would kill him. He went out to the place called ‘The Place of the Skull’.[a] This place is called ‘Golgotha’ in the Jewish language.[b]
18 When they arrived there, the soldiers fixed Jesus to the cross. They put two other men on crosses near to him. They were on each side of him and Jesus was between them.
19 Pilate wrote a notice. Then the soldiers put it on the cross. It said: ‘Jesus from Nazareth, the King of the Jews’. 20 The place where they put Jesus on the cross was near to the city. So many of the Jews read this notice. They could read it because Pilate had written the words in three languages. He had written it in the Jewish language and in the languages of the Roman people and the Greek people. 21 The leaders of the Jewish priests said to Pilate, ‘Do not write, “The King of the Jews”. Instead, write, “This man said that he is the King of the Jews.” ’ 22 Pilate answered, ‘I will not change what I have written.’
23 After the soldiers had put Jesus on the cross, they took his clothes. They made them into four parts, one part for each soldier. They also took his long shirt, which was one single piece of cloth. 24 So they said to each other, ‘We will not tear it. Instead, we will play a game with dice. The person who wins the game will have the shirt.’ This happened in the way that the Bible had already said:
‘Each of them took some of my clothes.
They played a game with dice to win what I was wearing.’
And that is what the soldiers did.[c]
25 Some women stood near to Jesus while he was on the cross. They were his mother, his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Cleopas, and Mary from Magdala. 26 Jesus saw his mother there. He also saw the disciple that he loved. That disciple was standing there, near Jesus' mother. So Jesus said to his mother, ‘Woman, look! There is your son.’ 27 Then he said to the disciple, ‘Look! There is your mother.’ From that time, the disciple took Jesus' mother to live in his own home.
Jesus dies
28 After this, Jesus knew that everything was now finished. Then he said, ‘I am thirsty.’ He said this so that things would happen in the way the Bible already said.[d] 29 There was a pot full of cheap wine there. So someone put a piece of cloth into the wine. They fixed the cloth to the end of a branch. The branch was from a plant called hyssop. Then they lifted the cloth up to Jesus' mouth. 30 Jesus drank the wine. Then he said, ‘Everything is finished.’ He bent his head down and he let his spirit go.
A soldier puts a spear into Jesus
31 It was the day when the Jews prepare everything for their day of rest. The next day was the day for the Passover meal, so it was a very important day. The Jews did not want the men's bodies to stay on the crosses during that day of rest.[e] So they asked Pilate to tell the soldiers to break the legs of those men.[f] Then they could take the dead bodies down from the crosses.
32 So the soldiers went there. They broke the legs of the two men who were on the crosses next to Jesus. 33 Then they went to Jesus. They saw that he was dead already. So they did not break his legs. 34 But one of the soldiers put a spear into Jesus' side. Immediately, blood and water came out of his body. 35 The man who saw these things has spoken about them. What he says is true. He knows that it really happened. He is telling you the truth so that you can believe. 36 The Bible already said how it would happen. It says:
‘Nobody will break any of his bones.’[g]
37 In another place, the Bible says:
‘People will push a spear into that man's body,
and then they will look at him.’[h]
And that is how it really happened.
Joseph buries Jesus
38 There was a man called Joseph who came from the town of Arimathea. He was one of Jesus' disciples, but he was afraid of the Jewish leaders. So he had not told people that he was a disciple of Jesus. Joseph went to Pilate and asked if he could take Jesus' dead body away. Pilate agreed. So Joseph went there and he took the body away. 39 Nicodemus went with Joseph. He was the man who had visited Jesus at night. Nicodemus brought about 33 kilograms of spices called myrrh and aloes.[i] 40 The two men covered Jesus' dead body with these spices. And they tied long pieces of linen cloth around it many times. That is how the Jewish people prepare a dead body before they bury it. 41 There was a garden near the place where they had killed Jesus on the cross. In that garden there was a place where they could put the bodies of dead people. It was a new hole in the rock, where nobody had ever put a dead body before. 42 The next day was the Jewish day of rest. So they put Jesus in that hole in the rock, because it was near.
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