M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan

25 Then Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon marched against Jerusalem with his whole army. This happened during Zedekiah’s ninth year, tenth month and tenth day as king. He made a camp around the city. Then he built devices all around the city walls to attack it. ² The city was under attack until Zedekiah’s eleventh year as king. ³ By the ninth day of the fourth month, the hunger was terrible in the city. There was no food for the people to eat. ⁴ Then the city wall was broken through. And the whole army ran away at night. They went through the gate between the two walls by the king’s garden. The Babylonians were still surrounding the city. Zedekiah and his men ran toward the Jordan Valley. ⁵ But the Babylonian army chased King Zedekiah. They caught up with him in the plains of Jericho. All of his army was scattered from him. ⁶ So they captured Zedekiah and took him to the king of Babylon at Riblah. There he passed sentence on Zedekiah. ⁷ They killed Zedekiah’s sons as he watched. Then they put out his eyes. They put bronze chains on him and took him to Babylon.

⁸ Nebuzaradan was the commander of the king’s special guards. This officer of the king of Babylon came to Jerusalem. This was on the seventh day of the fifth month. This was in Nebuchadnezzar’s nineteenth year as king of Babylon. ⁹ Nebuzaradan set fire to the Temple of the Lord and the palace. He also set fire to all the houses of Jerusalem. Every important building was burned.

¹⁰ The whole Babylonian army broke down the walls around Jerusalem. That army was led by the commander of the king’s special guards. ¹¹ Nebuzaradan, the commander of the guards, took captive the people left in Jerusalem. And he took captive those who had surrendered to the king of Babylon. The rest of the people were also taken away. ¹² But the commander left behind some of the poorest people of the land. They were to take care of the vineyards and fields.

¹³ The Babylonians broke up the bronze pillars, the bronze stands and the large bronze bowl, which was called the Sea. These were in the Temple of the Lord. Then they carried the bronze to Babylon. ¹⁴ They also took the pots, shovels, wick trimmers, dishes and all the bronze objects. These were used to serve in the Temple. ¹⁵ The commander of the king’s special guards took away the pans for carrying hot coals. He also took the bowls and everything made of pure gold or silver. ¹⁶ There was so much bronze that it could not be weighed. There were two pillars and the large bronze bowl. There were also the movable stands which Solomon had made for the Temple of the Lord. ¹⁷ Each pillar was about 27 feet high. The bronze capital on top of the pillar was about 4½ feet high. It was decorated with a net design and bronze pomegranates all around it. The other pillar also had a net design. It was like the first pillar.

Judah Is Taken Prisoner

¹⁸ The commander of the guards took some prisoners. He took Seraiah the chief priest, Zephaniah the priest next in rank, and the three doorkeepers. ¹⁹ The commander also took other people who were still in the city. He took the officer in charge of the fighting men. He also took five people who advised the king. And he took the royal assistant who selected people for the army. And he took 60 other men who were in the city. ²⁰ Nebuzaradan, the commander, took all these people. And he brought them to the king of Babylon at Riblah. ²¹ There at Riblah, in the land of Hamath, the king had them killed. So the people of Judah were led away from their country as captives.

Gedaliah Becomes Governor

²² Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon left some people in the land of Judah. He appointed Gedaliah son of Ahikam as governor. (Ahikam was the son of Shaphan.)

²³ The army captains and their men heard that the king of Babylon had made Gedaliah governor. So they all came to Gedaliah at Mizpah. They were Ishmael son of Nethaniah and Johanan son of Kareah. Also there were Seraiah son of Tanhumeth the Netophathite, Jaazaniah son of the Maacathite and their men. ²⁴ Then Gedaliah made promises to these army captains and their men. He said, “Don’t be afraid of the Babylonian officers. Live in the land and serve the king of Babylon. Then everything will go well for you.”

²⁵ Ishmael was the son of Nethaniah. Nethaniah was the son of Elishama from the king’s family. In the seventh month Ishmael came with ten men and killed Gedaliah. They also killed the men of Judah and Babylon who were with Gedaliah at Mizpah. ²⁶ Then all the people, from the least important to the most important, ran away to Egypt. The army leaders also went. This was because they were afraid of the Babylonians.

Jehoiachin Is Set Free

²⁷ Jehoiachin king of Judah was held in Babylon for 37 years. In the thirty-seventh year Evil-Merodach became king of Babylon. He let Jehoiachin out of prison on the twenty-seventh day of the twelfth month. ²⁸ Evil-Merodach spoke kindly to Jehoiachin. He gave Jehoiachin a seat of honor. It was above the seats of the other kings who were with him in Babylon. ²⁹ So Jehoiachin put away his prison clothes. For the rest of his life, he ate at the king’s table. ³⁰ Every day the king gave Jehoiachin an allowance. This lasted as long as he lived.

The Priest Melchizedek

7 Melchizedek^[a] was the king of Salem and a priest for the Most High God. He met Abraham when Abraham was coming back after defeating the kings. When they met, Melchizedek blessed Abraham. ² And Abraham gave Melchizedek a tenth of everything he had brought back from the battle. First, Melchizedek’s name means “king of goodness.” Also, he is king of Salem, which means “king of peace.” ³ No one knows who Melchizedek’s father or mother was.^[b] No one knows where he came from. And no one knows when he was born or when he died. Melchizedek is like the Son of God; he continues being a priest forever.

⁴ You can see that Melchizedek was very great. Abraham, the great father, gave Melchizedek a tenth of everything that Abraham won in battle. ⁵ Now the law says that those in the tribe of Levi who become priests must get a tenth from the people. The priests collect it from their own people, even though the priests and the people are both from the family of Abraham. ⁶ Melchizedek was not from the tribe of Levi. But he got a tenth from Abraham. And he blessed Abraham, the man who had God’s promises. ⁷ And everyone knows that the more important person blesses the less important person. ⁸ Those priests get a tenth, but they are only men who live and then die. But Melchizedek, who got a tenth from Abraham, continues living, as the Scripture says. ⁹ It is Levi who gets a tenth from the people. But we might even say that when Abraham paid Melchizedek a tenth, then Levi also paid it. ¹⁰ Levi was not yet born. But Levi was in the body of his ancestor Abraham when Melchizedek met Abraham.

¹¹ The people were given the law^[c] concerning the system of priests from the tribe of Levi. But they could not be made spiritually perfect through that system of priests. So there was a need for another priest to come. I mean a priest like Melchizedek, not Aaron. ¹² And when a different kind of priest comes, the law must be changed, too. ¹³ We are saying these things about Christ. He belonged to a different tribe. No one from that tribe ever served as a priest at the altar. ¹⁴ It is clear that our Lord came from the tribe of Judah. And Moses said nothing about priests belonging to that tribe.

Jesus Is Like Melchizedek

¹⁵ And this becomes even more clear. We see that another priest comes, who is like Melchizedek.^{[d] 16} He was not made a priest by human rules and laws. He became a priest through the power of his life, which continues forever. ¹⁷ In the Scriptures, this is said about him:

¹⁸ The old rule is now set aside because it was weak and useless. ¹⁹ The law of Moses could not make anything perfect. But now a better hope has been given to us. And with this hope we can come near to God.

²⁰ Also, it is important that God made an oath when he made Jesus high priest. When the others became priests, there was no oath. ²¹ But Christ became a priest with God’s oath. God said:

²² So this means that Jesus is the guarantee of a better agreement^[e] from God to his people.

²³ Also, when one of the other priests died, he could not continue being a priest. So there were many priests. ²⁴ But Jesus lives forever. He will never stop serving as priest. ²⁵ So he is always able to save those who come to God through him. He can do this, because he always lives, ready to help those who come before God.

²⁶ So Jesus is the kind of high priest that we need. He is holy; he has no sin in him. He is pure and not influenced by sinners. And he is raised above the heavens. ²⁷ He is not like the other priests. They had to offer sacrifices every day, first for their own sins, and then for the sins of the people. But Christ does not need to do that. He offered his sacrifice only once and for all time. Christ offered himself! ²⁸ The law chooses high priests who are men with all their weaknesses. But the word of God’s oath came later than the law. It made God’s Son to be the high priest. And that Son has been made perfect forever.

God Warns Israel to Stop Sinning

1 Amos was one of the shepherds from the town of Tekoa. God showed him this vision about Israel. It was at the time Uzziah was king of Judah and Jeroboam son of Jehoash was king of Israel. This happened two years before the earthquake.

² Amos said,

Israel’s Neighbors Are Punished

The People of Aram

³ This is what the Lord says:

The People of Philistia

⁶ This is what the Lord says:

The People of Phoenicia

⁹ This is what the Lord says:

The People of Edom

¹¹ This is what the Lord says:

The People of Ammon

¹³ This is what the Lord says:

A Prayer for Victory

Of David.