M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Azariah King of Judah
15 Azariah[a] son of Amaziah became king of Judah. This was during Jeroboam’s twenty-seventh year as king of Israel. 2 Azariah was 16 years old when he became king. He ruled 52 years in Jerusalem. His mother was named Jecoliah, and she was from Jerusalem. 3 He did what the Lord said was right. He obeyed God just as his father Amaziah had done. 4 But the places where false gods were worshiped were not removed. So the people still made sacrifices and burned incense there.
5 The Lord struck Azariah with a harmful skin disease. He had this disease until the day he died. He lived in a separate house. Jotham, the king’s son, was in charge of the palace. He governed the people of the land.
6 All the other things Azariah did are written down. They are in the book of the history of the kings of Judah. 7 Azariah died and was buried near his ancestors in Jerusalem. And his son Jotham became king in his place.
Zechariah King of Israel
8 Zechariah son of Jeroboam was king over Israel in Samaria. He ruled for six months. This was during Azariah’s thirty-eighth year as king of Judah. 9 Zechariah did what the Lord said was wrong. He did just as his ancestors had done. Jeroboam son of Nebat had caused the people of Israel to sin. And Zechariah did not stop doing the same sins.
10 Shallum son of Jabesh made plans against Zechariah. He killed Zechariah in Ibleam. And Shallum became king in Zechariah’s place. 11 The other acts of Zechariah are written down. They are in the book of the history of the kings of Israel. 12 Now the Lord had told Jehu: “Your sons down to your great-great-grandchildren will be kings of Israel.” And the Lord’s word came true.
Shallum King of Israel
13 Then Shallum son of Jabesh became king. This was during Uzziah’s thirty-ninth year as king of Judah. Shallum ruled for a month in Samaria. 14 Then Menahem son of Gadi came up from Tirzah to Samaria. He attacked Shallum son of Jabesh in Samaria. He killed him and became king in Shallum’s place.
15 The other acts of Shallum and his secret plans are written down. They are in the book of the history of the kings of Israel.
Menahem King of Israel
16 Menahem started out from Tirzah and attacked Tiphsah. He destroyed the city and the area nearby. This was because the people had refused to open the city gate for him. So he defeated them and ripped open all their pregnant women.
17 Menahem son of Gadi became king over Israel. This was during Azariah’s thirty-ninth year as king of Judah. And Menahem ruled ten years in Samaria. 18 He did what the Lord said was wrong. Jeroboam son of Nebat had caused Israel to sin. And all the time Menahem was king, he did not stop doing the same sins.
19 Pul king of Assyria came to attack the land. Menahem gave him about 74,000 pounds of silver. This was so Pul would support Menahem and make his hold on the kingdom stronger. 20 Menahem raised the money by taxing all the rich men of Israel. He taxed each man about 1¼ pounds of silver. Then he gave the money to the king of Assyria. So the king of Assyria left and did not stay in the land.
21 Everything else Menahem did is written down. It is in the book of the history of the kings of Israel. 22 Then Menahem died. And his son Pekahiah became king in his place.
Pekahiah King of Israel
23 Pekahiah son of Menahem became king over Israel in Samaria. This was during Azariah’s fiftieth year as king of Judah. Pekahiah ruled two years. 24 He did what the Lord said was wrong. Jeroboam son of Nebat had caused Israel to sin. And Pekahiah did not stop doing the same sins.
25 Pekah son of Remaliah was one of Pekahiah’s captains. He made plans against Pekahiah. He took 50 men of Gilead with him and killed Pekahiah. They killed him, Argob and Arieh in the palace at Samaria. Then Pekah became king in Pekahiah’s place.
26 Everything else Pekahiah did is written down. It is in the book of the history of the kings of Israel.
Pekah King of Israel
27 Pekah son of Remaliah became king over Israel in Samaria. This was during Azariah’s fifty-second year as king of Judah. And Pekah ruled 20 years. 28 He did what the Lord said was wrong. Jeroboam son of Nebat had caused Israel to sin. And Pekah did not stop doing the same sins.
29 Tiglath-Pileser, also called Pul, was king of Assyria. He attacked while Pekah was king of Israel. Tiglath-Pileser captured the cities of Ijon, Abel Beth Maacah, Janoah, Kedesh and Hazor. He also captured Gilead and Galilee. And he captured all the land of Naphtali. He sent the people from these places away to Assyria. 30 Then Hoshea son of Elah made plans against Pekah son of Remaliah. Hoshea attacked and killed Pekah. Then he became king in Pekah’s place. This was during the twentieth year Jotham son of Uzziah was king.
31 Everything else Pekah did is written down. It is in the book of the history of the kings of Israel.
Jotham King of Judah
32 Then Jotham son of Uzziah became king of Judah. This was during the second year Pekah son of Remaliah was king of Israel. 33 Jotham was 25 years old when he became king. He ruled 16 years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Jerusha daughter of Zadok. 34 Jotham did what the Lord said was right. He obeyed God just as his father Uzziah had done. 35 But the places where false gods were worshiped were not removed. And the people still made sacrifices and burned incense there. Jotham rebuilt the Upper Gate of the Temple of the Lord.
36 The other things Jotham did while he was king are written down. They are in the book of the history of the kings of Judah. 37 At that time the Lord began to send Rezin king of Aram against Judah. He also sent Pekah son of Remaliah against them. 38 Jotham died and was buried with his ancestors in Jerusalem. It was the city of David, his ancestor. And Jotham’s son Ahaz became king in his place.
Paul Instructs Titus
1 From Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ. I was sent to help the faith of God’s chosen people. I was sent to help them to know the truth. And that truth shows people how to serve God. 2 That faith and that knowledge come from our hope for life forever. God promised that life to us before time began, and God does not lie. 3 At the right time God let the world know about that life through preaching. He trusted me with that work, and I preached because God our Savior commanded me to.
4 To Titus. You are like a true son to me in the faith we share.
Grace and peace to you from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior.
Titus’ Work in Crete
5 I left you in Crete so that you could finish doing the things that still needed to be done. I left you there also so that you could choose men to be elders in every town. 6 To be an elder, a man must not be guilty of doing wrong. He must have only one wife. His children must be believers. They must not be known as children who are wild and who do not obey. 7 An overseer has the job of taking care of God’s work. So he must not be guilty of doing wrong. He must not be a man who is proud and selfish or who becomes angry quickly. He must not drink too much wine. He must not be a person who likes to fight. And he must not be a person who always tries to get rich by cheating people. 8 An overseer must be ready to help others by accepting them into his home. He must love what is good. He must be wise. He must live right. He must be holy. And he must be able to control himself. 9 An overseer must faithfully follow the truth just as we teach it. He must be able to help people by using true and right teaching. And he must be able to show those who are against the true teaching that they are wrong.
10 There are many people who refuse to obey—people who talk about worthless things and lead others into the wrong way. I am talking mostly about those who insist on circumcision to be saved. 11 These people must be stopped from talking. They are destroying whole families by teaching things that they should not teach. They teach them only to cheat people and make money. 12 Even one of their own prophets from Crete said, “Cretan people are always liars. They are evil animals and lazy people who do nothing but eat.” 13 The words that prophet said are true. So tell those people that they are wrong. You must be strict with them. Then they will become strong in the faith 14 and stop accepting Jewish stories. And they will stop following the commands of others who do not accept the truth. 15 To those who are pure, all things are pure. But to those who are full of sin and do not believe, nothing is pure. The thinking of those people has become evil and their knowledge of what is right has been ruined. 16 They say they know God, but the evil things they do show that they do not accept God. They are terrible people, they refuse to obey, and they are useless for doing anything good.
Israel Has Trusted Wrong Things
8 “Put the trumpet to your lips and give the warning!
The enemy swoops down on my people like an eagle.
The Israelites have broken my agreement.
They have turned against my teachings.
2 They cry out to me,
‘Our God, we in Israel know you!’
3 But Israel has rejected what is good.
So the enemy chases them.
4 They chose their own kings
without asking my permission.
They chose their own leaders,
men I did not know.
They made their silver and gold into idols.
For all this they will be destroyed.
5 I hate that calf-shaped idol.
I am very angry with the people.
How long will they remain unclean?
6 The idol is something a craftsman made.
It is not God.
Israel’s calf-shaped idol
will surely be smashed to pieces.
7 “Israel’s foolish plans are like planting the wind.
But they will harvest a whirlwind.
Her plans are like a stalk with no head of grain.
It produces nothing.
Even if it produces something,
other nations would eat it.
8 Israel is destroyed.
The people are mixed among the other nations.
They have become useless to me.
9 Like a wild donkey,
Israel has run to Assyria.
Israel has hired other nations to protect her.
10 Although Israel is mixed among the nations,
I will gather them together.
They will become weaker and weaker
as they suffer under the great king of Assyria.
11 “The more altars Israel built to remove sin,
the more they have become altars for sinning.
12 They reject the many teachings I have written for them.
They act as if the teachings were strange and foreign to them.
13 The Israelites offer sacrifices to me
and eat the meat.
But the Lord is not pleased with them.
He remembers the evil they have done.
And he will punish them for their sins.
They will be slaves again as they were in Egypt.
14 The people of Israel have forgotten their Maker.
They trust in the palaces they have built.
And Judah trusts in her many strong, walled cities.
But I will send fire on their cities
and destroy their strong towers.”
A Prayer for Mercy
A song for going up to worship.
123 Lord, I look up to you.
You live in heaven.
2 Slaves depend on their masters.
And a female servant depends on her mistress.
In the same way, we depend on our God.
We wait for him to show us mercy.
3 Be kind to us, Lord. Be kind to us
because we have been insulted.
4 We have suffered many insults from lazy people
and much cruelty from the proud.
The Lord Saves His People
A song for going up to worship. Of David.
124 What if the Lord had not been on our side?
(Let Israel repeat this.)
2 What if the Lord had not been on our side
when men attacked us?
3 When they were angry with us,
they would have swallowed us alive.
4 They would have been like a flood drowning us.
They would have poured over us like a river.
5 They would have swept us away like a mighty stream.
6 Praise the Lord.
He did not let them chew us up.
7 We have escaped like a bird
from the hunter’s trap.
The trap has been broken,
and we have escaped.
8 Our help comes from the Lord,
who made heaven and earth.
God Protects Those Who Trust Him
A song for going up to worship.
125 Those who trust the Lord are like Mount Zion.
It sits unmoved forever.
2 The mountains surround Jerusalem.
And the Lord surrounds his people
now and forever.
3 The wicked will not rule
over those who do right.
If they did, the people who do right
might use their power to do evil.
4 Lord, be good to those who are good,
whose hearts are honest.
5 But, Lord, when you punish those who do evil,
also punish those who stop following you.
Let there be peace in Israel.
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.