M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Ahaziah King of Judah
22 The people of Jerusalem chose Ahaziah to be king in Jehoram’s place. Ahaziah was Jehoram’s youngest son. The robbers who had come with the Arabs to attack Jehoram’s camp had killed all of Jehoram’s older sons. So Ahaziah began to rule Judah. 2 He was 22 years old when he began to rule. And he ruled one year in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Athaliah, a granddaughter of Omri. 3 Ahaziah also lived as Ahab’s family had lived. This was because his mother encouraged him to do wrong things. 4 Ahaziah did what the Lord said was wrong. That is what Ahab’s family had done. And they gave advice to Ahaziah after his father died. Their bad advice led to his death. 5 Ahaziah followed their advice when he went to fight King Hazael of Aram. King Joram of Israel, Ahab’s son, went with him. They met Hazael at the town of Ramoth in Gilead. The Arameans wounded Joram in battle. 6 So Joram returned to the town of Jezreel to get well. He was wounded at Ramoth when he fought Hazael king of Aram.
Then King Ahaziah of Judah, son of Jehoram, went to Jezreel. He went there to visit Joram son of Ahab because he was wounded.
7 God caused Ahaziah’s death when he went to visit Joram. Ahaziah arrived and went out with Joram to meet Jehu son of Nimshi. The Lord had appointed Jehu to destroy Ahab’s family. 8 While Jehu was punishing Ahab’s family, he found the leaders of Judah. He also found Ahaziah’s relatives who served Ahaziah. Jehu killed them all. 9 Then Jehu looked for Ahaziah. Jehu’s men caught him hiding in Samaria. So they brought him to Jehu. Then they killed and buried him. They said, “Ahaziah is a descendant of Jehoshaphat. And Jehoshaphat obeyed the Lord with all his heart.” No one in Ahaziah’s family had the power to take control of the kingdom of Judah.
Athaliah Queen of Judah
10 Now Ahaziah’s mother, Athaliah, saw that her son was dead. Then she killed all the royal family in Judah. 11 But Jehosheba took Joash, Ahaziah’s son. She stole him from among the other sons of the king. Those sons were going to be murdered. She put Joash and his nurse in a bedroom. Jehosheba was King Jehoram’s daughter and Ahaziah’s sister. She was also the wife of Jehoiada the priest. She hid Joash so Athaliah could not kill him. 12 Joash was hidden with them in the Temple of God for six years. During that time Athaliah ruled the land.
23 In the seventh year Jehoiada decided to do something. He made an agreement with the commanders of the groups of 100 men. These were the commanders: Azariah son of Jeroham, Ishmael son of Jehohanan, Azariah son of Obed, Maaseiah son of Adaiah, and Elishaphat son of Zicri. 2 They went around in Judah and gathered the Levites from all the towns. They also gathered the leaders of the families of Israel. Then they went to Jerusalem. 3 All the people together made an agreement with the king in the Temple of God.
Jehoiada said to them, “The king’s son will rule. That is what the Lord promised about David’s descendants. 4 Now this is what you must do: You priests and Levites go on duty on the Sabbath. A third of you will guard the doors. 5 A third of you will be at the king’s palace. And a third of you will be at the Foundation Gate. All the other people will stay in the courtyards of the Temple of the Lord. 6 Don’t let anyone come into the Temple of the Lord. Only the priests and Levites who serve may come in. They may come because they have been made ready to serve the Lord. But all the other men must do the job the Lord has given them. 7 The Levites must stay near the king. Every man must have his sword with him. If anyone tries to enter the Temple, kill him. You must stay with the king everywhere he goes.”
8 The Levites and all the people of Judah obeyed everything Jehoiada the priest had commanded. He did not excuse anyone from the groups of the priests. So each commander took the men who came on duty on the Sabbath with those who went off duty on the Sabbath. 9 Jehoiada gave the commanders of the groups of 100 men the spears and the large and small shields. They had belonged to King David. They were kept in the Temple of God. 10 Then Jehoiada told the men where to stand. Every man had his weapon in his hand. They stood around the king, near the altar and the Temple. They stood from the south side of the Temple to the north side.
11 Jehoiada and his sons brought out the king’s son. And they put the crown on him. They gave him a copy of the law. Then they appointed him king and poured olive oil on him. Then they shouted, “Long live the king!”
12 Athaliah heard the noise of the people running and praising the king. So she went to them at the Temple of the Lord. 13 She looked and saw the king standing by his pillar at the entrance. The officers and the men who blew trumpets were near him. All the people of the land were happy and blowing trumpets. The singers were playing musical instruments and leading praises. Then Athaliah tore her clothes to show how upset she was. She shouted, “Traitors! Traitors!”
14 Jehoiada the priest sent out the commanders of 100 men who led the army. He said to them, “Surround her with soldiers and take her out of the Temple area. Kill with a sword anyone who follows her.” He had said, “Don’t put Athaliah to death in the Temple of the Lord.” 15 So they caught her when she came to the entrance of the Horse Gate near the palace. And they put her to death there.
16 Then Jehoiada made an agreement with the people and the king. They agreed that they would be the Lord’s special people. 17 All the people went to the temple of Baal and tore it down. They smashed the altars and idols there. And they killed Mattan the priest of Baal in front of the altars.
18 Then Jehoiada chose the priests to be responsible for the Temple of the Lord. These priests were Levites. David had given them duties in the Temple of the Lord. They were to offer the burnt offerings to the Lord as the Teachings of Moses commanded. They offered the sacrifices with much joy and singing as David had commanded. 19 Jehoiada put guards at the gates of the Temple of the Lord. Then anyone who was unclean in any way could not enter the Temple.
20 Jehoiada took with him the commanders of 100 men, the important men, the rulers of the people and all the people of the land. They brought the king down from the Temple of the Lord. They went through the Upper Gate into the palace. Then they seated the king on the throne. 21 All the people of Judah were very happy. And Jerusalem had peace because Athaliah had been put to death with the sword.
The Angel and the Little Scroll
10 Then I saw another powerful angel coming down from heaven. He was dressed in a cloud and had a rainbow around his head. His face was like the sun, and his legs were like poles of fire. 2 The angel was holding a small scroll open in his hand. He put his right foot on the sea and his left foot on the land. 3 He shouted loudly like the roaring of a lion. When he shouted, the voices of seven thunders spoke. 4 The seven thunders spoke, and I started to write. But then I heard a voice from heaven. The voice said, “Do not write what the seven thunders said. Keep these things secret.”
5 Then the angel I saw standing on the sea and on the land raised his right hand to heaven. 6 He made a promise by the power of the One who lives forever and ever. He is the One who made the skies and all that is in them. He made the earth and all that is in it, and he made the sea and all that is in it. The angel said, “There will be no more waiting! 7 In the days when the seventh angel is ready to blow his trumpet, God’s secret plan will be finished. This plan is the Good News God told to his servants, the prophets.”
8 Then I heard the same voice from heaven again. The voice said to me, “Go and take the open scroll that is in the angel’s hand. This is the angel that is standing on the sea and on the land.”
9 So I went to the angel and asked him to give me the little scroll. He said to me, “Take the scroll and eat it. It will be sour in your stomach. But in your mouth it will be sweet as honey.” 10 So I took the little scroll from the angel’s hand and I ate it. In my mouth it tasted sweet as honey. But after I ate it, it was sour in my stomach. 11 Then I was told, “You must prophesy again about many peoples, nations, languages, and kings.”
The Vision of the Four Chariots
6 I looked up again. I saw four chariots coming from between two mountains. They were mountains of bronze. 2 Red horses pulled the first chariot. Black horses pulled the second chariot. 3 White horses pulled the third chariot. And strong, spotted horses pulled the fourth chariot. 4 I spoke to the angel who was talking with me. I asked, “What are these, sir?”
5 He said, “These are going to the four directions on earth. They have just come from the presence of the Lord of the whole world. 6 The chariot pulled by the black horses will go north. The white horses will go west. And the spotted horses will go south.”
7 The powerful horses were trying to go through all the earth. So he said, “Go through all the earth.” And they did.
8 Then he called to me, “Look. The horses that went north have calmed the Lord’s anger that came from there to punish.”
A Crown for Joshua
9 The Lord spoke his word to me. He said: 10 “Heldai, Tobijah and Jedaiah were captives in Babylon. Get silver and gold from them. Go that same day to the house of Josiah son of Zephaniah. 11 Make the silver and gold into a crown. And put it on the head of Joshua son of Jehozadak. Joshua is the high priest. 12 Tell him this is what the Lord of heaven’s armies says: ‘There is a man whose name is the Branch. He will branch out from where he is. He will build the Temple of the Lord. 13 One man[a] will build the Temple of the Lord. And the other[b] will receive the honor of a king. One man will sit on his throne and rule. And the other will be a priest on his throne. And these two men will work together in peace.’ 14 The crown will be kept in the Temple of the Lord. It will remind Heldai, Tobijah, Jedaiah and Josiah son of Zephaniah of God’s king. 15 People living far away will come and build the Temple of the Lord. Then you will know the Lord of heaven’s armies has sent me to you. This will happen if you completely obey the Lord your God.”
Jesus Heals a Man Born Blind
9 As Jesus was walking along, he saw a man who had been born blind. 2 His followers asked him, “Teacher, whose sin caused this man to be born blind—his own sin or his parents’ sin?”
3 Jesus answered, “It is not this man’s sin or his parents’ sin that made him blind. This man was born blind so that God’s power could be shown in him. 4 While it is daytime, we must continue doing the work of the One who sent me. The night is coming. And no one can work at night. 5 While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”
6 After Jesus said this, he spit on the ground and made some mud with it. He put the mud on the man’s eyes. 7 Then he told the man, “Go and wash in the Pool of Siloam.” (Siloam means Sent.) So the man went to the pool. He washed and came back. And he was able to see.
8 Some people had seen this man begging before. They and the man’s neighbors said, “Look! Is this the same man who always sits and begs?”
9 Some said, “Yes! He is the one.” But others said, “No, he’s not the same man. He only looks like him.”
So the man himself said, “I am the man.”
10 They asked, “What happened? How did you get your sight?”
11 He answered, “The man named Jesus made some mud and put it on my eyes. Then he told me to go to Siloam and wash. So I went and washed and came back seeing.”
12 They asked him, “Where is this man?”
The man answered, “I don’t know.”
Pharisees Question the Healing
13 Then the people took to the Pharisees the man who had been blind. 14 The day Jesus had made mud and healed his eyes was a Sabbath day. 15 So now the Pharisees asked the man, “How did you get your sight?”
He answered, “He put mud on my eyes. I washed, and now I can see.”
16 Some of the Pharisees were saying, “This man does not keep the Sabbath day. He is not from God!”
Others said, “But a man who is a sinner can’t do miracles like these.” So they could not agree with each other.
17 They asked the man again, “What do you say about him? It was your eyes he opened.”
The man answered, “He is a prophet.”
18 The Jews did not believe that he had been blind and could now see again. So they sent for the man’s parents 19 and asked them, “Is this your son? You say that he was born blind. Then how does he see now?”
20 His parents answered, “We know that this is our son, and we know that he was born blind. 21 But we don’t know how he can see now. We don’t know who opened his eyes. Ask him. He is old enough to answer for himself.” 22 His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jews. The Jews had already decided that anyone who said that Jesus was the Christ would be put out of the synagogue. 23 That is why his parents said, “He is old enough. Ask him.”
24 So for the second time, they called the man who had been blind. They said, “You should give God the glory by telling the truth. We know that this man is a sinner.”
25 He answered, “I don’t know if he is a sinner. But one thing I do know. I was blind, and now I can see.”
26 They asked, “What did he do to you? How did he make you see again?”
27 He answered, “I have already told you that. But you would not listen to me. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you want to become his followers, too?”
28 Then they insulted him and said, “You are his follower. We are followers of Moses. 29 We know that God spoke to Moses. But we don’t even know where this man comes from!”
30 The man answered, “This is a very strange thing. You don’t know where he comes from, and yet he opened my eyes. 31 We all know that God does not listen to sinners. But God listens to anyone who worships and obeys him. 32 Nobody has ever heard of anyone giving sight to a man born blind. 33 If this man were not from God, he could do nothing.”
34 They answered, “You were born full of sin! Are you trying to teach us?” And they threw the man out.
Spiritual Blindness
35 Jesus heard that they had thrown him out. So Jesus found him and said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?”
36 He asked, “Who is the Son of Man, sir? Tell me, so I can believe in him!”
37 Jesus said to him, “You have already seen him. The Son of Man is the one talking with you now.”
38 He said, “Yes, Lord, I believe!” Then the man bowed and worshiped Jesus.
39 Jesus said, “I came into this world so that the world could be judged. I came so that the blind[a] could see and so that those who see will become blind.”
40 Some of the Pharisees were near Jesus. When they heard him say this, they asked, “What? Are you saying that we are blind, too?”
41 Jesus said, “If you were really blind, you would not be guilty of sin. But now that you say you can see, your guilt remains.”
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.