M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan

The Collection for the Priests

31 The Passover celebration was finished. All the Israelites in Jerusalem went out to the towns of Judah. There they smashed the stone pillars used to worship false gods. They cut down the Asherah idols. They destroyed the altars and places for worshiping false gods. They destroyed all of them in the areas of Judah, Benjamin, Ephraim and Manasseh. They destroyed everything used for worshiping the false gods. Then all the Israelites returned to their own towns and homes.

² King Hezekiah appointed groups of priests and Levites for their special duties. They were to offer burnt offerings and fellowship offerings. They were to worship and to give thanks and praise at the gates where the Lord lives. ³ Hezekiah gave some of his own animals for the burnt offerings. Burnt offerings were given every morning and evening. They were also given on Sabbath days and during New Moons and other feasts commanded by the Lord’s Teachings.

⁴ Hezekiah commanded the people living in Jerusalem to give the priests and Levites the portion that belonged to them. Then the priests and Levites could give all their time to the Lord’s Teachings. ⁵ Soon the king’s command went out to the Israelites. And they gave quickly and freely. They gave the first portion of their grain, wine, oil and honey. They gave the first portion of everything they grew in their fields. They brought a large amount, one-tenth of everything. ⁶ The men of Israel and Judah who lived in Judah also gave. They brought one-tenth of their cattle and sheep. And they brought one-tenth of the holy things that were given to the Lord their God. They put all these things in piles. ⁷ The people began bringing their things in the third month. And they finished in the seventh month. ⁸ Hezekiah and his officers came and saw the piles. Then they praised the Lord and his people, the people of Israel. ⁹ Hezekiah asked the priests and Levites about the piles. ¹⁰ Azariah was the leading priest from Zadok’s family. He answered Hezekiah, “Since the people began to bring their offerings to the Temple of the Lord, we have had plenty to eat. We have had plenty left over. The Lord has blessed his people. So we have all this left over.”

¹¹ Then Hezekiah commanded the priests to prepare the storerooms in the Temple of the Lord. So this was done. ¹² Then the priests brought the offerings and the things given to the Lord. They also brought the tenth of everything the people had given. All these things were put in the storerooms. Conaniah the Levite was in charge of these things. Conaniah’s brother Shimei was second to him. ¹³ Conaniah and his brother Shimei were over these supervisors: Jehiel, Azaziah, Nahath, Asahel, Jerimoth, Jozabad, Eliel, Ismakiah, Mahath and Benaiah. King Hezekiah and Azariah the officer in charge of the Temple of God chose those men.

¹⁴ Kore was in charge of the special gifts the people wanted to give to God. He was responsible for giving out the contributions made to the Lord and the holy gifts. Kore was the son of Imnah the Levite. Kore was the guard at the East Gate. ¹⁵ Eden, Miniamin, Jeshua, Shemaiah, Amariah and Shecaniah helped Kore. They served well in the towns where the priests lived. They gave from what was collected to the other groups of priests. They gave both to the young and the old.

¹⁶ These men also gave from what was collected to the males 3 years old and older. These were males who had their names in the Levite family histories. They were to enter the Temple of the Lord for their daily service. Each group had its own responsibilities. ¹⁷ The priests were given their part of the collection. This was done by families, as listed in the family histories. The Levites 20 years old and older were given their part of the collection. This was done by their responsibilities and by their groups. ¹⁸ The Levites’ babies, wives, sons and daughters also got part of the collection. This was done for all the Levites who were listed in the family histories. This was because the Levites always kept themselves ready to serve the Lord.

¹⁹ Some of Aaron’s descendants, the priests, lived on the farmland near the towns. Some also lived in the towns. Men were chosen by name to give part of the collection to these priests. All the males and those named in the family histories of the Levites received part of the collection.

²⁰ This is what King Hezekiah did in Judah. He did what was good and right and obedient before the Lord his God. ²¹ Hezekiah tried to obey God in his service of the Temple of God. He tried to obey God’s teachings and commands. He gave himself fully to his work for God. So he had success.

The Woman on the Animal

17 One of the seven angels came and spoke to me. This was one of the angels that had the seven bowls. He said, “Come, and I will show you the punishment that will be given to the famous prostitute. She is the one sitting over many waters. ² The kings of the earth sinned sexually with her. And the people of the earth became drunk from the wine of her sexual immorality.”

³ Then the angel carried me away by the Spirit to the desert. There I saw a woman sitting on a red beast. He was covered with names against God written on him. He had seven heads and ten horns. ⁴ The woman was dressed in purple and red. She was shining with the gold, jewels, and pearls she was wearing. She had a golden cup in her hand. This cup was filled with evil things and the uncleanness of her sexual immorality. ⁵ She had a title written on her forehead. This title has a hidden meaning. This is what was written:

⁶ I saw that the woman was drunk. She was drunk with the blood of God’s holy people. She was drunk with the blood of those who were killed because of their faith in Jesus.

When I saw the woman, I was fully amazed. ⁷ Then the angel said to me, “Why are you amazed? I will tell you the hidden meaning of this woman and the beast she rides—the one with seven heads and ten horns. ⁸ The beast that you saw was once alive. He is not alive now. But he will be alive and come up out of the bottomless pit and go away to be destroyed. The people who live on earth will be amazed when they see the beast. They will be amazed because he was once alive, is not alive now, but will come again. These are the people whose names have never been written in the book of life since the beginning of the world.

⁹ “You need a wise mind to understand this. The seven heads on the beast are the seven hills where the woman sits. They are also seven kings. ¹⁰ Five of the kings have already died. One of the kings lives now. And the last king is coming. When he comes, he will stay only a short time. ¹¹ The beast that was once alive but is not alive now is an eighth king. This eighth king also belongs to the first seven kings. And he will go away to be destroyed.

¹² “The ten horns you saw are ten kings. These ten kings have not yet begun to rule. But they will receive power to rule with the beast for one hour. ¹³ All ten of these kings have the same purpose. And they will give their power and authority to the beast. ¹⁴ They will make war against the Lamb. But the Lamb will defeat them, because he is Lord of lords and King of kings. He will defeat them with his chosen and faithful followers—the people that he has called.”

¹⁵ Then the angel said to me, “You saw the water where the prostitute sits. These waters are the many peoples, the different races, nations, and languages. ¹⁶ The beast and the ten horns you saw will hate the prostitute. They will take everything she has and leave her naked. They will eat her body and burn her with fire. ¹⁷ God made the ten horns want to carry out his purpose: They agreed to give the beast their power to rule. They will rule until what God has said is completed. ¹⁸ The woman you saw is the great city that rules over the kings of the earth.”

² The Lord of heaven’s armies says, “At that time I will get rid of the names of the idols from the land. No one will remember them anymore. I will also remove the prophets and unclean spirits. ³ A person might continue to prophesy. If he does, his own father and mother will tell him, ‘You have told lies using the Lord’s name. So you must die.’ When he prophesies, his own parents should stab him.

⁴ “At that time the prophets will be ashamed of their visions and prophecies. They won’t wear the prophet’s clothes made of hair to trick people. ⁵ They will say, ‘I am not a prophet. I am a farmer. I have been a farmer since I was young.’ ⁶ But someone will ask, ‘What are the deep cuts on your body?’ And he will answer, ‘I was hurt at my friend’s house.’

The Shepherd Is Killed

16 “I have told you these things to keep you from giving up. ² People will put you out of their synagogues. Yes, the time is coming when whoever kills you will think that he is offering service to God. ³ They will do this because they have not known the Father and they have not known me. ⁴ I have told you these things now. So when the time comes, you will remember that I warned you.

The Work of the Holy Spirit

“I did not tell you these things at the beginning, because I was with you then. ⁵ Now I am going back to the One who sent me. But none of you asks me, ‘Where are you going?’ ⁶ Your hearts are filled with sadness because I have told you these things. ⁷ But I tell you the truth. It is better for you that I go away. When I go away I will send the Helper^[a] to you. If I do not go away, then the Helper will not come. ⁸ When the Helper comes, he will prove to the people of the world the truth about sin, about being right with God, and about judgment. ⁹ He will prove to them about sin, because they don’t believe in me. ¹⁰ He will prove to them that I am right with God, because I am going to the Father. You will not see me anymore. ¹¹ And the Helper will prove to them the truth about judgment, because the ruler of this world is already judged.

¹² “I have many more things to say to you, but they are too much for you now. ¹³ But when the Spirit of truth comes he will lead you into all truth. He will not speak his own words. He will speak only what he hears and will tell you what is to come. ¹⁴ The Spirit of truth will bring glory to me. He will take what I have to say and tell it to you. ¹⁵ All that the Father has is mine. That is why I said that the Spirit will take what I have to say and tell it to you.

Sadness Will Become Happiness

¹⁶ “After a little while you will not see me. And then after a little while you will see me again.”

¹⁷ Some of the followers said to each other, “What does Jesus mean when he says, ‘After a little while you will not see me, and then after a little while you will see me again’? And what does he mean when he says, ‘Because I am going to the Father’?” ¹⁸ They also asked, “What does he mean by ‘a little while’? We don’t understand what he is saying.”

¹⁹ Jesus saw that the followers wanted to ask him about this. So Jesus said to the followers, “Are you asking each other what I meant when I said, ‘After a little while you will not see me. And then after a little while you will see me again’? ²⁰ I tell you the truth. You will cry and be sad, but the world will be happy. You will be sad, but your sadness will become joy. ²¹ When a woman gives birth to a baby, she has pain, because her time has come. But when her baby is born, she forgets the pain. She forgets because she is so happy that a child has been born into the world. ²² It is the same with you. Now you are sad. But I will see you again and you will be happy. And no one will take away your joy. ²³ In that day you will not ask me for anything. I tell you the truth. My Father will give you anything you ask for in my name. ²⁴ You have never asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive. And your joy will be the fullest joy.

Victory over the World

²⁵ “I have told you these things, using words that hide the meaning. But the time will come when I will not use words like that to tell you things. I will speak to you in plain words about the Father. ²⁶ In that day you will ask the Father for things in my name. I am saying that I will not need to ask the Father for you. ²⁷ No! The Father himself loves you. He loves you because you have loved me. And he loves you because you have believed that I came from God. ²⁸ I came from the Father into the world. Now I am leaving the world and going back to the Father.”

²⁹ Then the followers of Jesus said, “You are speaking clearly to us now. You are not using words that are hard to understand. ³⁰ We can see now that you know all things. You can answer a person’s question even before he asks it. This makes us believe that you came from God.”

³¹ Jesus answered, “So now you believe? ³² Listen to me. A time is coming when you will be scattered. Each of you will be scattered to your own home. That time is now here. You will leave me. I will be alone. But I am never really alone. Why? Because the Father is with me.

³³ “I told you these things so that you can have peace in me. In this world you will have trouble. But be brave! I have defeated the world!”