M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Jerusalem Will Be Saved
19 When King Hezekiah heard the message, he tore his clothes and put on rough cloth to show how sad he was. Then he went into the Temple of the Lord. 2 Hezekiah sent Eliakim, the palace manager, and Shebna, the royal secretary, and the older priests to Isaiah. They were all wearing rough cloth when they came to Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz. 3 They told Isaiah, “This is what Hezekiah says: Today is a day of sorrow and punishment and disgrace, as when a child should be born, but the mother is not strong enough to give birth to it. 4 The king of Assyria sent his field commander to make fun of the living God. Maybe the Lord your God will hear what the commander said and will punish him for it. So pray for the few of us who are left alive.”
5 When Hezekiah’s officers came to Isaiah, 6 he said to them, “Tell your master this: The Lord says, ‘Don’t be afraid of what you have heard. Don’t be frightened by the words the servants of the king of Assyria have spoken against me. 7 Listen! I am going to put a spirit in the king of Assyria. He will hear a report that will make him return to his own country, and I will cause him to die by the sword there.’”
8 The field commander heard that the king of Assyria had left Lachish. When he went back, he found the king fighting against the city of Libnah.
9 The king received a report that Tirhakah, the Cushite king of Egypt, was coming to attack him. When the king of Assyria heard this, he sent messengers to Hezekiah, saying, 10 “Tell Hezekiah king of Judah: Don’t be fooled by the god you trust. Don’t believe him when he says Jerusalem will not be handed over to the king of Assyria. 11 You have heard what the kings of Assyria have done. They have completely defeated every country, so do not think you will be saved. 12 Did the gods of those people save them? My ancestors destroyed them, defeating the cities of Gozan, Haran, and Rezeph, and the people of Eden living in Tel Assar. 13 Where are the kings of Hamath and Arpad? Where are the kings of Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivvah?”
Hezekiah Prays to the Lord
14 When Hezekiah received the letter from the messengers and read it, he went up to the Temple of the Lord. He spread the letter out before the Lord 15 and prayed to the Lord: “Lord, God of Israel, whose throne is between the gold creatures with wings, only you are God of all the kingdoms of the earth. You made the heavens and the earth. 16 Hear, Lord, and listen. Open your eyes, Lord, and see. Listen to the words Sennacherib has said to insult the living God. 17 It is true, Lord, that the kings of Assyria have destroyed these countries and their lands. 18 They have thrown the gods of these nations into the fire, but they were only wood and rock statues that people made. So the kings have destroyed them. 19 Now, Lord our God, save us from the king’s power so that all the kingdoms of the earth will know that you, Lord, are the only God.”
God Answers Hezekiah
20 Then Isaiah son of Amoz sent a message to Hezekiah that said, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: I have heard your prayer to me about Sennacherib king of Assyria. 21 This is what the Lord has said against Sennacherib:
‘The people of Jerusalem
hate you and make fun of you.
The people of Jerusalem
laugh at you as you run away.
22 You have insulted me and spoken against me;
you have raised your voice against me.
You have a proud look on your face,
which is against me, the Holy One of Israel.
23 You have sent your messengers to insult the Lord.
You have said, “With my many chariots
I have gone to the tops of the mountains,
to the highest mountains of Lebanon.
I have cut down its tallest cedars
and its best pine trees.
I have gone to its farthest places
and to its best forests.
24 I have dug wells in foreign countries
and drunk water there.
By the soles of my feet,
I have dried up all the rivers of Egypt.”
25 “‘King of Assyria, surely you have heard.
Long ago I, the Lord, planned these things.
Long ago I designed them,
and now I have made them happen.
I allowed you to turn those strong, walled cities
into piles of rocks.
26 The people in those cities were weak;
they were frightened and put to shame.
They were like grass in the field,
like tender, young grass,
like grass on the housetop
that is burned by the wind before it can grow.
27 “‘I know when you rest,
when you come and go,
and how you rage against me.
28 Because you rage against me,
and because I have heard your proud words,
I will put my hook in your nose
and my bit in your mouth.
Then I will force you to leave my country
the same way you came.’
29 “Then the Lord said, ‘Hezekiah, I will give you this sign:
This year you will eat the grain that grows wild,
and the second year you will eat what grows wild from that.
But in the third year, plant grain and harvest it.
Plant vineyards and eat their fruit.
30 Some of the people in the family of Judah
will escape.
Like plants that take root,
they will grow strong and have many children.
31 A few people will come out of Jerusalem alive;
a few from Mount Zion will live.
The strong love of the Lord All-Powerful
will make this happen.’
32 “So this is what the Lord says about the king of Assyria:
‘He will not enter this city
or even shoot an arrow here.
He will not fight against it with shields
or build a ramp to attack the city walls.
33 He will return to his country the same way he came,
and he will not enter this city,’
says the Lord.
34 ‘I will defend and save this city
for my sake and for the sake of David, my servant.’”
35 That night the angel of the Lord went out and killed one hundred eighty-five thousand men in the Assyrian camp. When the people got up early the next morning, they saw all the dead bodies. 36 So Sennacherib king of Assyria left and went back to Nineveh and stayed there.
37 One day as Sennacherib was worshiping in the temple of his god Nisroch, his sons Adrammelech and Sharezer killed him with a sword. Then they escaped to the land of Ararat. So Sennacherib’s son Esarhaddon became king of Assyria.
God Spoke Through His Son
1 In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets many times and in many different ways. 2 But now in these last days God has spoken to us through his Son. God has chosen his Son to own all things, and through him he made the world. 3 The Son reflects the glory of God and shows exactly what God is like. He holds everything together with his powerful word. When the Son made people clean from their sins, he sat down at the right side of God, the Great One in heaven. 4 The Son became much greater than the angels, and God gave him a name that is much greater than theirs.
5 This is because God never said to any of the angels,
“You are my Son.
Today I have become your Father.” Psalm 2:7
Nor did God say of any angel,
“I will be his Father,
and he will be my Son.” 2 Samuel 7:14
6 And when God brings his firstborn Son into the world, he says,
“Let all God’s angels worship him.”[a] Psalm 97:7
7 This is what God said about the angels:
“God makes his angels become like winds.
He makes his servants become like flames of fire.” Psalm 104:4
8 But God said this about his Son:
“God, your throne will last forever and ever.
You will rule your kingdom with fairness.
9 You love right and hate evil,
so God has chosen you from among your friends;
he has set you apart with much joy.” Psalm 45:6–7
10 God also says,
“Lord, in the beginning you made the earth,
and your hands made the skies.
11 They will be destroyed, but you will remain.
They will all wear out like clothes.
12 You will fold them like a coat.
And, like clothes, you will change them.
But you never change,
and your life will never end.” Psalm 102:25–27
13 And God never said this to an angel:
“Sit by me at my right side
until I put your enemies under your control.”[b]Psalm 110:1
14 All the angels are spirits who serve God and are sent to help those who will receive salvation.
12 What Israel does is as useless as chasing the wind;
he chases the east wind all day.
They tell more and more lies
and do more and more violence.
They make agreements with Assyria,
and they send a gift of olive oil to Egypt.
2 The Lord also has some things against Judah.
He will punish Israel for what they have done;
he will give them what they deserve.
3 Their ancestor Jacob held on to his brother’s heel
while the two of them were being born.
When he grew to be a man,
he wrestled with God.
4 When Jacob wrestled with the angel and won,
he cried and asked for his blessing.
Later, God met with him at Bethel
and spoke with him there.
5 It was the Lord God All-Powerful;
the Lord is his great name.
6 You must return to your God;
love him, do what is just,
and always trust in him as your God.
7 The merchants use dishonest scales;
they like to cheat people.
8 Israel said, “I am rich! I am someone with power!”
All their money will do them no good
because of the sins they have done.
9 “But I am the Lord your God,
who brought you out of Egypt.
I will make you live in tents again
as you used to do on worship days.
10 I spoke to the prophets
and gave them many visions;
through them, I taught my lessons to you.”
11 The people of Gilead are evil,
worth nothing.
Though people sacrifice bulls at Gilgal,
their altars will become like piles of stone
in a plowed field.
12 Your ancestor Jacob fled to Northwest Mesopotamia
where he worked to get a wife;
he tended sheep to pay for her.
13 Later the Lord used a prophet
to bring Jacob’s descendants out of Egypt;
he used a prophet
to take care of the Israelites.
14 But the Israelites made the Lord angry when they killed other people,
and they deserve to die for their crimes.
The Lord will make them pay
for the disgraceful things they have done.
The Lord Saves, Idols Do Not
135 Praise the Lord!
Praise the name of the Lord;
praise him, you servants of the Lord,
2 you who stand in the Lord’s Temple
and in the Temple courtyards.
3 Praise the Lord, because he is good;
sing praises to him, because it is pleasant.
4 The Lord has chosen the people of Jacob for himself;
he has chosen the people of Israel for his very own.
5 I know that the Lord is great.
Our Lord is greater than all the gods.
6 The Lord does what he pleases,
in heaven and on earth,
in the seas and the deep oceans.
7 He brings the clouds from the ends of the earth.
He sends the lightning with the rain.
He brings out the wind from his storehouses.
8 He destroyed the firstborn sons in Egypt
the firstborn of both people and animals.
9 He did many signs and miracles in Egypt
against the king and his servants.
10 He defeated many nations
and killed powerful kings:
11 Sihon king of the Amorites,
Og king of Bashan,
and all the kings of Canaan.
12 Then he gave their land as a gift,
a gift to his people, the Israelites.
13 Lord, your name is everlasting;
Lord, you will be remembered forever.
14 The Lord defends his people
and has mercy on his servants.
15 The idols of other nations are made of silver and gold,
the work of human hands.
16 They have mouths, but they cannot speak.
They have eyes, but they cannot see.
17 They have ears, but they cannot hear.
They have no breath in their mouths.
18 People who make idols will be like them,
and so will those who trust them.
19 Family of Israel, praise the Lord.
Family of Aaron, praise the Lord.
20 Family of Levi, praise the Lord.
You who respect the Lord should praise him.
21 You people of Jerusalem, praise the Lord on Mount Zion.
Praise the Lord!
God’s Love Continues Forever
136 Give thanks to the Lord because he is good.
His love continues forever.
2 Give thanks to the God of gods.
His love continues forever.
3 Give thanks to the Lord of lords.
His love continues forever.
4 Only he can do great miracles.
His love continues forever.
5 With his wisdom he made the skies.
His love continues forever.
6 He spread out the earth on the seas.
His love continues forever.
7 He made the sun and the moon.
His love continues forever.
8 He made the sun to rule the day.
His love continues forever.
9 He made the moon and stars to rule the night.
His love continues forever.
10 He killed the firstborn sons of the Egyptians.
His love continues forever.
11 He brought the people of Israel out of Egypt.
His love continues forever.
12 He did it with his great power and strength.
His love continues forever.
13 He parted the water of the Red Sea.
His love continues forever.
14 He brought the Israelites through the middle of it.
His love continues forever.
15 But the king of Egypt and his army drowned in the Red Sea.
His love continues forever.
16 He led his people through the desert.
His love continues forever.
17 He defeated great kings.
His love continues forever.
18 He killed powerful kings.
His love continues forever.
19 He defeated Sihon king of the Amorites.
His love continues forever.
20 He defeated Og king of Bashan.
His love continues forever.
21 He gave their land as a gift.
His love continues forever.
22 It was a gift to his servants, the Israelites.
His love continues forever.
23 He remembered us when we were in trouble.
His love continues forever.
24 He freed us from our enemies.
His love continues forever.
25 He gives food to every living creature.
His love continues forever.
26 Give thanks to the God of heaven.
His love continues forever.
The Holy Bible, New Century Version®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.