M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Ahaz King of Judah
16 Ahaz was the son of Jotham king of Judah. Ahaz became king of Judah in the seventeenth year Pekah was king of Israel. Pekah was the son of Remaliah. 2 Ahaz was 20 years old when he became king. He ruled 16 years in Jerusalem. He was not like his ancestor David. He did not do what the Lord his God said was right. 3 Ahaz did the same things the kings of Israel had done. He even sacrificed his sons by burning them in the fire. He did the same hated sins as the other nations had done. And the Lord had forced these nations out of the land ahead of the Israelites. 4 Ahaz offered sacrifices and burned incense at the places where false gods were worshiped. And he did this on the hills and under every green tree.
5 Rezin king of Aram and Pekah king of Israel came up to Jerusalem to attack it. (Pekah was the son of Remaliah.) They surrounded Ahaz but could not defeat him. 6 At that time Rezin king of Aram took back the city of Elath for Aram. He forced out all the people of Judah. Then Edomites moved into Elath. And they still live there today.
7 Ahaz sent messengers to Tiglath-Pileser king of Assyria. Ahaz said, “I am your servant. Come and save me from the king of Aram and the king of Israel. They are attacking me.” 8 Ahaz took the silver and gold that was in the Temple of the Lord. He also took the treasuries of the palace. He sent these as a gift to the king of Assyria. 9 So the king of Assyria listened to Ahaz. He attacked Damascus and captured it. Then he sent all the people of Damascus to Kir. And he killed Rezin.
10 Then King Ahaz went to Damascus to meet Tiglath-Pileser king of Assyria. Ahaz saw an altar at Damascus. He sent plans and a pattern of this altar to Uriah the priest. 11 So Uriah the priest built an altar. It was just like the plans King Ahaz had sent him from Damascus. Uriah finished the altar before King Ahaz came back from Damascus. 12 When the king arrived from Damascus, he saw the altar. He went near and offered sacrifices on it. 13 He burned his burnt offerings and grain offerings. He poured out his drink offering. He also sprinkled the blood of his fellowship offerings on the altar.
14 Ahaz moved the bronze altar that was before the Lord at the front of the Temple. It was between Ahaz’s altar and the Temple of the Lord. He put it on the north side of his altar. 15 King Ahaz gave a command to Uriah the priest. Ahaz said, “Burn the morning burnt offering and the evening grain offering on the large altar. Also offer the king’s burnt offering and his grain offering. Offer the whole burnt offering for all the people of the land. And offer their grain offering and drink offering. Sprinkle on the altar all the blood of the burnt offering and of the sacrifice. But I will use the bronze altar to ask questions of God.” 16 Uriah the priest did everything King Ahaz commanded him to do.
17 Then King Ahaz took off the side panels from the bases. He took the washing bowls off the top of the bases. He also took the large bowl, which was called the Sea, off the bronze bulls that held it up. And he put it on a stone base. 18 Ahaz took away the platform for the royal throne. It had been built at the Temple. He also took away the outside entrance for the king. He did these things because of the king of Assyria.
19 The other things Ahaz did as king are written down. They are in the book of the history of the kings of Judah. 20 Ahaz died and was buried with his ancestors in Jerusalem. Ahaz’s son Hezekiah became king in his place.
Following the True Teaching
2 You must tell everyone what they must do to follow the true teaching. 2 Teach older men to have self-control, to be serious, and to be wise. They should be strong in faith, strong in love, and strong in patience.
3 Also, teach older women to be holy in the way they live. Teach them not to speak against others or have the habit of drinking too much wine. They should teach what is good. 4 In that way they can teach younger women to love their husbands and children. 5 They can teach younger women to be wise and pure, to take care of their homes, to be kind, and to obey their husbands. Then no one will be able to criticize the teaching God gave us.
6 In the same way, tell young men to be wise. 7 You should do good deeds to be an example in every way for young men. When you teach, be honest and serious. 8 And when you speak, speak the truth so that you cannot be criticized. Then anyone who is against you will be ashamed because there is nothing bad that he can say against us.
9 And tell slaves to obey their masters at all times. They should try to please them and not argue with them. 10 They should not steal from them. And they should show their masters that they can be trusted. Slaves should do these things so that in everything they do, they will show that the teaching of God our Savior is good.
11 That is the way we should live, because God’s grace has come. That grace can save every person. 12 It teaches us not to live against God and not to do the evil things the world wants to do. That grace teaches us to live in the present age in a wise and right way—a way that shows that we serve God. 13 We should live like that while we are waiting for the coming of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ. He is our great hope, and he will come with glory. 14 He gave himself for us; he died to free us from all evil. He died to make us pure people who belong only to him—people who are always wanting to do good things.
15 Tell everyone these things. You have full authority. So use that authority to strengthen the people and tell them what they should do. And do not let anyone treat you as if you were not important.
Israel’s Punishment
9 Israel, do not rejoice.
Don’t celebrate as the other nations do.
You have been unfaithful to your God.
You love the grain on your threshing floors.
So you worship the gods who supposedly gave it.
2 But there won’t be enough grain to feed the people.
And there won’t be enough wine to go around.
3 The Israelites will not stay in the Lord’s land.
Israel will return to being captives as they were in Egypt.
In Assyria they will eat food that they are not allowed to eat.
4 The Israelites will not give offerings of wine to the Lord.
Their sacrifices will not please him.
Their sacrifices will be like food that is eaten at a funeral.
It is unclean, and everyone who eats it becomes unclean.
Their food will only satisfy their hunger.
They cannot sacrifice it in the Temple.
5 What will you do then on the day of feasts
and on the festival days of the Lord?
6 Even if the people are not destroyed,
Egypt will take them as captives.
They will be buried in Memphis.[a]
Weeds will grow over their silver treasures.
Thorns will grow over their houses.
7 Let Israel know this.
The time of punishment has come.
The time to pay for your sins has come.
You have sinned very much,
and your hatred is great.
You think the prophet is a fool.
You say the spiritual man is crazy.
8 The prophet is God’s watchman
to warn Israel of danger.
But everywhere he goes you set traps for him.
You treat him as an enemy in God’s own land.
9 The men of Israel have become as sinful
as the men of Gibeah[b] were.
The Lord will remember the evil things they have done.
He will punish them for their sins.
10 “When I found Israel,
it was like finding grapes in the desert.
Your ancestors were like
finding the first figs on the tree.
But when they came to Baal Peor,
they began worshiping an idol.
They became as disgusting as the thing they worshiped.
11 Israel’s glory will fly away like a bird.
There will be no more pregnancies, no more births, no more babies.
12 But even if the Israelites bring up children,
I will take them all away.
How terrible it will be for them
when I turn away from them!
13 I have seen Israel, like Tyre,
given a pleasant place.
But the people of Israel will soon bring out
their children to be killed.”
14 Lord, give them what they should have.
What will you give them?
Make their women unable to have children.
Give them breasts that cannot feed their babies.
15 “The Israelites were wicked in Gilgal,
so I began to hate them there.
Because of the sinful things they have done,
I will force them to leave my land.
I will no longer love them.
Their leaders have turned against me.
16 Israel is like a sick plant.
Its root is dying, and it has no fruit.
So the people will have no more children.
And if they did, I would kill the children they love.”
17 God will reject them,
because they have not obeyed him.
They will wander among the nations.
Lord, Give Our Riches Back
A song for going up to worship.
126 When the Lord gave the riches back to Jerusalem,
it seemed as if we were dreaming.
2 Then we were filled with laughter,
and we sang happy songs.
Then the other nations said,
“The Lord has done great things for them.”
3 The Lord has done great things for us,
and we are very glad.
4 Lord, give us back our riches again.
Do this as you bring streams to the desert.
5 Those who cry as they plant crops
will sing at harvesttime.
6 Those who cry
as they carry out the seeds
will return singing
and carrying bundles of grain.
All Good Things Come from God
A song for going up to worship. Of Solomon.
127 If the Lord doesn’t build the house,
the builders are working for nothing.
If the Lord doesn’t guard the city,
the guards are watching for nothing.
2 It is no use for you to get up early
and stay up late,
working for a living.
The Lord gives sleep to those he loves.
3 Children are a gift from the Lord.
Babies are a reward.
4 Sons who are born to a young man
are like arrows in the hand of a warrior.
5 Happy is the man
who has his bag full of arrows.
They will not be defeated
when they fight their enemies in court.
The Happy Home
A song for going up to worship.
128 Happy are those who respect the Lord
and obey him.
2 You will enjoy what you work for.
You will be blessed with good things.
3 Your wife will give you many children.
She will be like a vine that produces a lot of fruit.
Your children will bring you much good.
They will be like olive branches that produce many olives.
4 This is how the man who respects the Lord
will be blessed.
5 May the Lord bless you from Mount Zion.
May you enjoy the good things of Jerusalem all your life.
6 May you see your grandchildren.
Let there be peace in Israel.
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.