M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
13 Jehoahaz (the son of Jehu) began a seventeen-year reign over Israel during the twenty-third year of the reign of King Joash of Judah. 2 But he was an evil king, and he followed the wicked paths of Jeroboam, who had caused Israel to sin. 3 So the Lord was very angry with Israel, and he continually allowed King Hazael of Syria and his son Ben-hadad to conquer them.
4 But Jehoahaz prayed for the Lord’s help, and the Lord listened to him; for the Lord saw how terribly the king of Syria was oppressing Israel. 5 So the Lord raised up leaders among the Israelis to rescue them from the tyranny of the Syrians; and then Israel lived in safety again as they had in former days. 6 But they continued to sin, following the evil ways of Jeroboam; and they continued to worship the goddess Asherah at Samaria. 7 Finally the Lord reduced Jehoahaz’s army to fifty mounted troops, ten chariots, and ten thousand infantry; for the king of Syria had destroyed the others as though they were dust beneath his feet.
8 The rest of the history of Jehoahaz is recorded in The Annals of the Kings of Israel.
9-10 Jehoahaz died and was buried in Samaria, and his son Joash reigned in Samaria for sixteen years. He came to the throne in the thirty-seventh year of the reign of King Joash of Judah. 11 But he was an evil man, for, like Jeroboam, he encouraged the people to worship idols and led them into sin. 12 The rest of the history of the reign of Joash, including his wars against King Amaziah of Judah, are written in The Annals of the Kings of Israel. 13 Joash died and was buried in Samaria with the other kings of Israel; and Jeroboam II became the new king.
14 When Elisha was in his last illness, King Joash visited him and wept over him.
“My father! My father! You are the strength of Israel!”[a] he cried.
15 Elisha told him, “Get a bow and some arrows,” and he did.
16-17 “Open that eastern window,” he instructed. Then he told the king to put his hand upon the bow, and Elisha laid his own hands upon the king’s hands.
“Shoot!” Elisha commanded, and he did.
Then Elisha proclaimed, “This is the Lord’s arrow, full of victory over Syria; for you will completely conquer the Syrians at Aphek. 18 Now pick up the other arrows and strike them against the floor.”
So the king picked them up and struck the floor three times. 19 But the prophet was angry with him. “You should have struck the floor five or six times,” he exclaimed, “for then you would have beaten Syria until they were entirely destroyed; now you will be victorious only three times.”
20-21 So Elisha died and was buried.
In those days bandit gangs of Moabites used to invade the land each spring. Once some men who were burying a friend spied these marauders so they hastily threw his body into the tomb of Elisha. And as soon as the body touched Elisha’s bones, the dead man revived and jumped to his feet!
22 King Hazael of Syria had oppressed Israel during the entire reign of King Jehoahaz. 23 But the Lord was gracious to the people of Israel, and they were not totally destroyed. For God pitied them, and also he was honoring his contract with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. And this is still true. 24 Then King Hazael of Syria died, and his son Ben-hadad reigned in his place.
25 King Joash of Israel[b] (the son of Jehoahaz) was successful on three occasions in reconquering the cities that his father had lost to Ben-hadad.
3 You may as well know this too, Timothy, that in the last days it is going to be very difficult to be a Christian. 2 For people will love only themselves and their money; they will be proud and boastful, sneering at God, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful to them, and thoroughly bad. 3 They will be hardheaded and never give in to others; they will be constant liars and troublemakers and will think nothing of immorality. They will be rough and cruel, and sneer at those who try to be good. 4 They will betray their friends; they will be hotheaded, puffed up with pride, and prefer good times to worshiping God. 5 They will go to church,[a] yes, but they won’t really believe anything they hear. Don’t be taken in by people like that.
6 They are the kind who craftily sneak into other people’s homes and make friendships with silly, sin-burdened women and teach them their new doctrines. 7 Women of that kind are forever following new teachers, but they never understand the truth. 8 And these teachers fight truth just as Jannes and Jambres fought against Moses. They have dirty minds, warped and twisted, and have turned against the Christian faith.
9 But they won’t get away with all this forever. Someday their deceit will be well known to everyone, as was the sin of Jannes and Jambres.
10 But you know from watching me that I am not that kind of person. You know what I believe and the way I live and what I want. You know my faith in Christ and how I have suffered. You know my love for you, and my patience. 11 You know how many troubles I have had as a result of my preaching the Good News. You know about all that was done to me while I was visiting in Antioch, Iconium, and Lystra, but the Lord delivered me. 12 Yes, and those who decide to please Christ Jesus by living godly lives will suffer at the hands of those who hate him. 13 In fact, evil men and false teachers will become worse and worse, deceiving many, they themselves having been deceived by Satan.
14 But you must keep on believing the things you have been taught. You know they are true, for you know that you can trust those of us who have taught you. 15 You know how, when you were a small child, you were taught the holy Scriptures; and it is these that make you wise to accept God’s salvation by trusting in Christ Jesus. 16 The whole Bible[b] was given to us by inspiration from God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives; it straightens us out and helps us do what is right. 17 It is God’s way of making us well prepared at every point, fully equipped to do good to everyone.
5 “Listen to this, you priests and all of Israel’s leaders; listen, all you men of the royal family: You are doomed! For you have deluded the people with idols at Mizpah and Tabor 2 and dug a deep pit to trap them at Acacia. But never forget—I will settle up with all of you for what you’ve done.
3 “I have seen your evil deeds: Israel, you have left me as a prostitute leaves her husband; you are utterly defiled. 4 Your deeds won’t let you come to God again, for the spirit of adultery is deep within you, and you cannot know the Lord.
5 “The very arrogance of Israel testifies against her in my court. She will stumble under her load of guilt, and Judah, too, shall fall. 6 Then at last, they will come with their flocks and herds to sacrifice to God, but it will be too late—they will not find him. He has withdrawn from them and they are left alone.
7 “For they have betrayed the honor of the Lord, bearing children that aren’t his. Suddenly they and all their wealth will disappear. 8 Sound the alarm! Warn with trumpet blasts in Gibeah and Ramah, and on over to Beth-aven; tremble, land of Benjamin! 9 Hear this announcement, Israel: When your day of punishment comes, you will become a heap of rubble.
10 “The leaders of Judah have become the lowest sort of thieves.[a] Therefore, I will pour my anger down upon them like a waterfall, 11 and Ephraim will be crushed and broken by my sentence because she is determined to follow idols. 12 I will destroy her as a moth does wool; I will sap away the strength of Judah like dry rot.
13 “When Ephraim and Judah see how sick they are, Ephraim will turn to Assyria, to the great king there, but he can neither help nor cure.
14 “I will tear Ephraim and Judah as a lion rips apart its prey; I will carry them off and chase all rescuers away.
15 “I will abandon them and return to my home until they admit their guilt and look to me for help again, for as soon as trouble comes, they will search for me and say:
6 “‘Come, let us return to the Lord; it is he who has torn us—he will heal us. He has wounded—he will bind us up. 2 In just a couple of days,[b] or three at the most, he will set us on our feet again to live in his kindness! 3 Oh, that we might know the Lord! Let us press on to know him, and he will respond to us as surely as the coming of dawn or the rain of early spring.’”
4 “O Ephraim and Judah, what shall I do with you? For your love vanishes like morning clouds, and disappears like dew. 5 I sent my prophets to warn you of your doom; I have slain you with the words of my mouth, threatening you with death. Suddenly, without warning, my judgment will strike you as surely as day follows night.
6 “I don’t want your sacrifices—I want your love; I don’t want your offerings—I want you to know me.
7 “But like Adam, you broke my covenant; you refused my love. 8 Gilead is a city of sinners, tracked with footprints of blood. 9 Her citizens are gangs of robbers, lying in ambush for their victims; packs of priests murder along the road to Shechem and practice every kind of sin. 10 Yes, I have seen a horrible thing in Israel—Ephraim chasing other gods, Israel utterly defiled.
11 “O Judah, for you also there is a plentiful harvest of punishment waiting—and I wanted so much to bless you!
145 I am praying with great earnestness; answer me, O Lord, and I will obey your laws. 146 “Save me,” I cry, “for I am obeying.” 147 Early in the morning before the sun is up, I am praying and pointing out how much I trust in you. 148 I stay awake through the night to think about your promises. 149 Because you are so loving and kind, listen to me and make me well again.
150 Here come these lawless men to attack me, 151 but you are near, O Lord; all your commandments are based on truth. 152 I have known from earliest days that your will never changes.
153 Look down upon my sorrows and rescue me, for I am obeying your commands. 154 Yes, rescue me and give me back my life again just as you have promised. 155 The wicked are far from salvation, for they do not care for your laws. 156 Lord, how great is your mercy; oh, give me back my life again.
157 My enemies are so many. They try to make me disobey, but I have not swerved from your will. 158 I loathed these traitors because they care nothing for your laws. 159 Lord, see how much I really love your demands. Now give me back my life and health because you are so kind. 160 There is utter truth in all your laws; your decrees are eternal.
161 Great men have persecuted me, though they have no reason to, but I stand in awe of only your words. 162 I rejoice in your laws like one who finds a great treasure. 163 How I hate all falsehood, but how I love your laws. 164 I will praise you seven times a day because of your wonderful laws.
165 Those who love your laws have great peace of heart and mind and do not stumble. 166 I long for your salvation, Lord, and so I have obeyed your laws. 167 I have looked for your commandments, and I love them very much; 168 yes, I have searched for them. You know this because everything I do is known to you.
169 O Lord, listen to my prayers; give me the common sense you promised. 170 Hear my prayers; rescue me as you said you would. 171 I praise you for letting me learn your laws. 172 I will sing about their wonder, for each of them is just. 173 Stand ready to help me because I have chosen to follow your will. 174 O Lord, I have longed for your salvation, and your law is my delight. 175 If you will let me live, I will praise you; let your laws assist me.
176 I have wandered away like a lost sheep; come and find me, for I have not turned away from your commandments.
The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.