M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan

Hezekiah Celebrates the Passover

30 King Hezekiah sent messages to all the people of Israel and Judah. He also wrote letters to the people of Ephraim and Manasseh. Hezekiah invited all these people to come to the Temple of the Lord in Jerusalem. There they could celebrate the Passover for the Lord, the God of Israel. ² King Hezekiah, his officers and all the people in Jerusalem agreed to celebrate the Passover in the second month. ³ They could not celebrate it at the normal time. This was because not enough priests had made themselves ready to serve the Lord. And the people had not gathered yet in Jerusalem. ⁴ This plan satisfied King Hezekiah and all the people. ⁵ So they made an announcement everywhere in Israel, from Beersheba to Dan.^[a] They told the people to come to Jerusalem. There they would celebrate the Passover for the Lord, the God of Israel. For a long time most of the people had not celebrated the Passover as the law commanded. ⁶ So the messengers took letters from the king and his officers all through Israel and Judah. This is what the letters said:

¹⁰ The messengers went to every town in Ephraim and Manasseh. They went all the way to Zebulun. But the people laughed at the messengers and made fun of them. ¹¹ But some men from Asher, Manasseh and Zebulun were sorry for what they had done and went to Jerusalem. ¹² And God caused all the people of Judah to agree to obey King Hezekiah and his officers. Their command had come from the Lord.

¹³ A large crowd came together in Jerusalem to celebrate the Feast of Unleavened Bread. This was in the second month. ¹⁴ The people removed the altars and incense altars to false gods in Jerusalem. And they threw them into the Kidron Valley.

¹⁵ They killed the Passover lamb on the fourteenth day of the second month. The priests and the Levites were ashamed. So they made themselves holy for the Lord. They brought burnt offerings into the Temple of the Lord. ¹⁶ They took their regular places in the Temple as the Teachings of Moses the man of God commanded. The Levites gave the blood of the sacrifices to the priests. Then the priests sprinkled the blood on the altar. ¹⁷ Many people in the crowd had not made themselves holy for the Lord. So they were not permitted to kill the Passover lambs. So the Levites were responsible for killing the Passover lambs for everyone who was not clean. The Levites made each lamb holy for the Lord. ^18-19 Many people from Ephraim, Manasseh, Issachar and Zebulun had not purified themselves for the feast. But they ate the Passover even though it was against the law. So Hezekiah prayed for them. He said, “Lord, you are good. You are the Lord, the God our ancestors obeyed. Please forgive everyone who tries to obey you. Forgive them even if they did not make themselves clean as the rules of the Temple command.” ²⁰ The Lord listened to Hezekiah’s prayer, and he healed the people. ²¹ The Israelites in Jerusalem celebrated the Feast of Unleavened Bread for seven days. And they were very happy. The Levites and priests praised the Lord every day with loud music. ²² Some of the Levites understood well how to do their service for the Lord. And Hezekiah encouraged them. The people ate the feast for seven days. And they offered fellowship offerings. They praised the Lord, the God their ancestors worshiped.

²³ Then all the people agreed to stay seven more days. So they celebrated the Passover with joy for seven more days. ²⁴ Hezekiah king of Judah gave 1,000 bulls and 7,000 sheep to the people. The officers gave 1,000 bulls and 10,000 sheep to the people. Many priests made themselves holy for the Lord. ²⁵ All the people of Judah, the priests, the Levites, those who came from Israel, the foreigners from Israel and the foreigners living in Judah were very happy. ²⁶ There was much joy in Jerusalem. There had not been a celebration like this since Solomon’s time. He was the son of David and king of Israel. ²⁷ The priests and Levites stood up and blessed the people. And God heard them because their prayer reached heaven, which is his holy home.

The Bowls of God’s Anger

16 Then I heard a loud voice from the temple. The voice said to the seven angels, “Go and pour out the seven bowls of God’s anger on the earth.”

² The first angel left. He poured out his bowl on the land. Then ugly and painful sores came upon all those who had the mark of the beast and who worshiped his idol.

³ The second angel poured out his bowl on the sea. Then the sea became blood like that of a dead man. Every living thing in the sea died.

⁴ The third angel poured out his bowl on the rivers and the springs of water. And they became blood. ⁵ Then I heard the angel of the waters say to God:

⁸ The fourth angel poured out his bowl on the sun. The sun was given power to burn the people with fire. ⁹ They were burned by the great heat, and they cursed the name of God. God is the One who had control over these troubles. But the people refused to change their hearts and lives and give glory to God.

¹⁰ The fifth angel poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast. And darkness covered the beast’s kingdom. People bit their tongues because of the pain. ¹¹ They cursed the God of heaven because of their pain and the sores they had. But they refused to change their hearts and turn away from the evil things they did.

¹² The sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river Euphrates. The water in the river was dried up. This prepared the way for the kings from the east to come. ¹³ Then I saw three evil spirits that looked like frogs. They came out of the mouth of the dragon, out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet. ¹⁴ These evil spirits are the spirits of demons. They have power to do miracles. They go out to the kings of the whole world. They go out to gather the kings for battle on the great day of God All-Powerful.

¹⁵ “Listen! I will come as a thief comes! Happy is the person who stays awake and keeps his clothes with him. Then he will not have to go without clothes and be ashamed because he is naked.”

¹⁶ Then the evil spirits gathered the kings together to the place that is called Armageddon^[a] in the Hebrew language.

¹⁷ The seventh angel poured out his bowl into the air. Then a loud voice came out of the temple from the throne. The voice said, “It is finished!” ¹⁸ Then there were flashes of lightning, noises, thunder, and a big earthquake. This was the worst earthquake that has ever happened since people have been on earth. ¹⁹ The great city split into three parts. The cities of the nations were destroyed. And God did not forget to punish Babylon the Great. He gave that city the cup filled with the wine of his terrible anger. ²⁰ Every island disappeared, and there were no more mountains. ²¹ Giant hailstones fell on people from the sky. The hailstones weighed about 100 pounds each. People cursed God because of the hail. This trouble was a terrible thing.

Jerusalem Will Be Saved

12 This message is the word of the Lord to Israel. The Lord stretched out the skies. He laid the foundations of the earth. He put man’s spirit in him. And the Lord says this: ² “I will make Jerusalem like a cup of poison to the nations around her. They will come and attack Jerusalem and Judah. ³ One day all the nations on earth will come together to attack Jerusalem. But I will make Jerusalem like a heavy rock. Anyone who tries to move it will get hurt. ⁴ At that time I will scare every horse. And its rider will panic,” says the Lord. “I will watch over Judah. But I will blind all the horses of the enemies. ⁵ Then the leaders of Judah will say to themselves, ‘The people of Jerusalem are strong. This is because the Lord of heaven’s armies is their God.’

⁶ “At that time I will make the leaders of Judah like a fire burning a stack of wood. They will be like a fire burning straw. They will destroy all the people around them left and right. But Jerusalem will remain safe.

⁷ “The Lord will save the people of Judah first. Then the people in Jerusalem, David’s city, won’t have more honor than Judah. ⁸ At that time the Lord will protect the people in Jerusalem. Then even the weakest of them will be strong like David. And the family of David will be like God. They will be like an angel of the Lord leading the people. ⁹ At that time I will go to destroy all the nations that attack Jerusalem.

Crying for the One They Stabbed

¹⁰ “I will give David’s family and people in Jerusalem a spirit of kindness and mercy. They will look at me, the one they have stabbed. And they will cry like someone crying over the death of an only child. They will be as sad as someone who has lost a firstborn son. ¹¹ At that time there will be much crying in Jerusalem. It will be like the crying for Hadad Rimmon in the plain of Megiddo. ¹² The land will cry. Each family will cry alone. The family of David and their wives will cry. The family of Nathan and their wives will cry. ¹³ The family of Levi and their wives will cry. The family of Shimei and their wives will cry. ¹⁴ And all the rest of the families and their wives will cry.

13 “At that time a fountain will be opened. It will be for David’s descendants and for the people of Jerusalem. It will cleanse them of their sins and wrongs.”

Jesus Is Like a Vine

15 “I am the true vine; my Father is the gardener. ² He cuts off every branch of mine that does not produce fruit. And he trims and cleans every branch that produces fruit so that it will produce even more fruit. ³ You are already clean because of the words I have spoken to you. ⁴ Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can produce fruit alone. It must remain in the vine. It is the same with you. You cannot produce fruit alone. You must remain in me.

⁵ “I am the vine, and you are the branches. If a person remains in me and I remain in him, then he produces much fruit. But without me he can do nothing. ⁶ If anyone does not remain in me, then he is like a branch that is thrown away. That branch dies. People pick up dead branches, throw them into the fire, and burn them. ⁷ Remain in me and follow my teachings. If you do this, then you can ask for anything you want, and it will be given to you. ⁸ You should produce much fruit and show that you are my followers. This brings glory to my Father. ⁹ I loved you as the Father loved me. Now remain in my love. ¹⁰ I have obeyed my Father’s commands, and I remain in his love. In the same way, if you obey my commands, you will remain in my love. ¹¹ I have told you these things so that you can have the same joy I have. I want your joy to be the fullest joy.

¹² “This is my command: Love each other as I have loved you. ¹³ The greatest love a person can show is to die for his friends. ¹⁴ You are my friends if you do what I command you. ¹⁵ I don’t call you servants now. A servant does not know what his master is doing. But now I call you friends because I have made known to you everything I heard from my Father. ¹⁶ You did not choose me; I chose you. And I gave you this work, to go and produce fruit. I want you to produce fruit that will last. Then the Father will give you anything you ask for in my name. ¹⁷ This is my command: Love each other.

Jesus Warns His Followers

¹⁸ “If the world hates you, remember that it hated me first. ¹⁹ If you belonged to the world, then it would love you as it loves its own. But I have chosen you out of the world. So you don’t belong to it. That is why the world hates you. ²⁰ Remember what I told you: A servant is not greater than his master. If people did wrong to me, they will do wrong to you, too. And if they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours, too. ²¹ They will do all this to you because of me. They don’t know the One who sent me. ²² If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not be guilty of sin. But now they have no excuse for their sin. ²³ He who hates me also hates my Father. ²⁴ I did works among them that no one else has ever done. If I had not done those works, they would not be guilty of sin. But now they have seen what I did, and yet they have hated both me and my Father. ²⁵ But this happened so that what is written in their law would be true: ‘They hated me for no reason.’^[a]

²⁶ “I will send you the Helper^[b] from the Father. He is the Spirit of truth who comes from the Father. When he comes, he will tell about me. ²⁷ And you also must tell people about me because you have been with me from the beginning.