M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Josiah King of Judah
34 Josiah was eight years old when he became king. He ruled 31 years in Jerusalem. 2 He did what the Lord said was right. He did good things as his ancestor David had done. Josiah did not stop doing what was right.
3 In his eighth year as king, Josiah began to obey the God his ancestor David had followed. This was while Josiah was still young. In his twelfth year as king, Josiah began to remove the false gods from Judah and Jerusalem. He destroyed the places for worshiping false gods. He removed the Asherah idols and the wooden and metal idols. 4 The people tore down the altars for the Baal gods as Josiah directed. Then Josiah cut down the incense altars that were above them. He broke up the Asherah idols and the wooden and metal idols. He beat them into powder. Then he sprinkled the powder on the graves of the people who had offered sacrifices to these gods. 5 He burned the bones of their priests on their own altars. So Josiah removed idol worship from Judah and Jerusalem. 6 He did the same for the towns in the areas of Manasseh, Ephraim and Simeon. He did this all the way to Naphtali. And he did the same for the ruins near these towns. 7 Josiah broke down the altars and Asherah idols. Then he beat the idols into powder. He cut down all the incense altars in all of Israel. Then he went back to Jerusalem.
8 In Josiah’s eighteenth year as king, he made Judah and the Temple pure again. He sent Shaphan son of Azaliah, Maaseiah the city leader and Joah son of Joahaz the recorder. They were to repair the Temple of the Lord, the God of Josiah. 9 These men went to Hilkiah the high priest. They gave him the money the people had given for the Temple of God. The Levite doorkeepers had collected this money from the people of Manasseh, Ephraim and all the Israelites who were left alive. They also collected this money from all the people of Judah, Benjamin and Jerusalem. 10 Then the Levites gave it to the men who directed the work on the Temple of the Lord. And these supervisors paid the workers that rebuilt and repaired the Temple. 11 They gave money to carpenters and builders to buy cut rocks and wood. The wood was used to rebuild the buildings and to make beams for them. The kings of Judah had let the buildings become ruins. 12 The men did their work well. Their supervisors were Jahath, Obadiah, Zechariah and Meshullam. Jahath and Obadiah were Levites from the family of Merari. Zechariah and Meshullam were from the family of Kohath. These Levites were all skilled musicians. 13 They were in charge of the workers who carried things and all the other workers. Some Levites worked as secretaries, officers and doorkeepers.
The Law Is Found
14 The Levites brought out the money that was in the Temple of the Lord. As they were doing this, Hilkiah the priest found the Book of the Lord’s Teachings. These teachings had been given through Moses. 15 Hilkiah said to Shaphan the royal assistant, “I’ve found the Book of the Teachings. It was in the Temple of the Lord!” He gave it to Shaphan.
16 Then Shaphan took the book to the king and reported to Josiah: “Your officers are doing everything you told them to do. 17 They have paid out the money that was in the Temple of the Lord. They have given it to the supervisors and the workers.” 18 Then Shaphan the royal assistant told the king, “Hilkiah the priest has given me a book.” And Shaphan read from the book to the king.
19 The king heard the words of the Teachings. Then he tore his clothes to show how upset he was. 20 He gave these orders to Hilkiah, Ahikam son of Shaphan. He also gave them to Acbor son of Micaiah, Shaphan and Asaiah. Shaphan was the royal assistant. And Asaiah was the king’s servant. These were the orders: 21 “Go and ask the Lord about the words in the book that was found. Ask for me and for the people who are left alive in Israel and Judah. The Lord is very angry with us because our ancestors did not obey the Lord’s word. They did not do everything this book says to do.”
22 So Hilkiah and those the king sent with him left. They went to talk to Huldah the prophetess. She was the wife of Shallum son of Tikvah, the son of Harhas. Harhas took care of the king’s clothes. Huldah lived in Jerusalem, in the new area of the city.
23 She said to them, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: Tell the man who sent you to me, 24 ‘This is what the Lord says: I will bring trouble to this place and to the people living here. I will bring all the curses that are written in the book that was read to the king of Judah. 25 The people of Judah have left me. They have burned incense to other gods. They have made me angry by all the bad things they have made. So I will punish them in my anger. My anger will not be stopped.’ 26 Tell the king of Judah who sent you to ask the Lord, ‘This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says about the words you heard: 27 You heard my words against this place and its people. And you became sorry for what you had done. You became sorry in my presence. You tore your clothes to show how upset you were. And you cried in my presence. This is why I have heard you, says the Lord. 28 So I will let you die. You will be buried in peace. You won’t see all the trouble that I will bring to this place and the people living here.’”
So they took her message back to the king.
29 Then the king gathered all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem together. 30 He went up to the Temple of the Lord. All the men from Judah and the people from Jerusalem went with him. The priests and the Levites and all the people—from the most important to the least important—went with him. He read to them all the words in the Book of the Agreement. That book was found in the Temple of the Lord. 31 Then the king stood by his pillar. He made an agreement in the presence of the Lord. He agreed to follow the Lord and to obey his commands, rules and laws with his whole being. And he agreed to obey the words of the agreement written in this book. 32 Then Josiah made all the people in Jerusalem and Benjamin promise to accept the agreement. The people of Jerusalem obeyed the agreement of God, the God their ancestors obeyed.
33 And Josiah threw out the hated idols from all the land that belonged to the Israelites. He led everyone in Israel to serve the Lord their God. While Josiah lived, the people obeyed the Lord, the God their ancestors obeyed.
The 1,000 Years
20 I saw an angel coming down from heaven. He had the key to the bottomless pit. He also held a large chain in his hand. 2 The angel grabbed the dragon, that old snake who is the devil. The angel tied him up for 1,000 years. 3 Then he threw him into the bottomless pit and closed it and locked it over him. The angel did this so that he could not trick the people of the earth anymore until the 1,000 years were ended. After 1,000 years he must be set free for a short time.
4 Then I saw some thrones and people sitting on them. They had been given the power to judge. And I saw the souls of those who had been killed because they were faithful to the truth of Jesus and the message from God. They had not worshiped the beast or his idol. They had not received the mark of the beast on their foreheads or on their hands. They came back to life and ruled with Christ for 1,000 years. 5 (The others that were dead did not live again until the 1,000 years were ended.) This is the first raising of the dead. 6 Blessed and holy are those who share in this first raising of the dead. The second death has no power over them. They will be priests for God and for Christ. They will rule with him for 1,000 years.
7 When the 1,000 years are over, Satan will be set free from his prison. 8 He will go out to trick the nations in all the earth—Gog and Magog. Satan will gather them for battle. There will be so many people that they will be like sand on the seashore. 9 And Satan’s army marched across the earth and gathered around the camp of God’s people and the city that God loves. But fire came down from heaven and burned them up. 10 And Satan, who tricked them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur with the beast and the false prophet. There they will be punished day and night forever and ever.
People of the World Are Judged
11 Then I saw a great white throne and the One who was sitting on it. Earth and sky ran away from him and disappeared. 12 And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne. And the book of life was opened. There were also other books opened. The dead were judged by what they had done, which was written in the books. 13 The sea gave up the dead who were in it. Death and Hades[a] gave up the dead who were in them. Each person was judged by what he had done. 14 And Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This lake of fire is the second death. 15 And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.
Rules for Priests
2 “Priests, this command is for you. 2 Listen to me. Pay attention to what I say. Honor my name,” says the Lord of heaven’s armies. “If you don’t, I will send a curse on you. I will curse your blessings. I have already cursed them because you don’t pay attention to what I say.
3 “I will punish your descendants. I will smear your faces with the garbage from your feasts. And you will be thrown away with it. 4 Then you will know why I am giving you this command. It is so that my agreement with Levi will continue,” says the Lord of heaven’s armies. 5 “My agreement for priests was with the tribe of Levi. I promised them life and peace. And I gave these to them so they would honor me. They did honor me and fear me. 6 They taught the true teachings. They spoke no lies. With peace and honesty they did what I said they should do. They kept many people from sinning.
7 “A priest should teach what he knows. People should learn the teachings from him because he is the messenger of the Lord of heaven’s armies. 8 But you priests have stopped obeying me. With your teachings you have caused many people to do wrong. You have broken the agreement with the tribe of Levi!” says the Lord of heaven’s armies. 9 “You have not been careful to do what I say. You take sides in court cases. So I have caused you to be hated and disgraced in front of everybody.”
Judah Was Not Loyal to God
10 We all have the same father. The same God made us. So why do people break their promises to each other? They don’t respect the agreement that our ancestors made with God. 11 The people of Judah have broken their promises. They have done something God hates in Israel and Jerusalem. The people of Judah did not respect the Temple that the Lord loves. The men of Judah married the women who worship foreign gods. 12 The man who does this might bring offerings to the Lord of heaven’s armies. But the Lord will still separate him from the community of Israel.
13 This is another thing you do. You cover the Lord’s altar with your tears. You cry and moan because the Lord does not accept your offerings. He is not pleased with what you bring. 14 You ask, “Why?” It is because the Lord sees how you treated the wife you married when you were young. You broke your promise with her. She was your partner. You promised yourself to her. 15 God made husbands and wives to become one body and one spirit for his purpose. This is so they would have children who are true to God. So be careful. Do not break your promise with the wife you married when you were young.
16 The Lord God of Israel says, “I hate divorce. And I hate people who do cruel things as easily as they put on clothes,” says the Lord of heaven’s armies. So be careful. And do not break your trust.
The Special Day of Judging
17 You have tired the Lord with what you say.
You ask, “How have we tired him?”
You did it by saying, “God thinks anyone who does evil is good. And he is pleased with them.” Or you asked, “Where is the God who is fair?”
19 Then Pilate ordered that Jesus be taken away and whipped. 2 The soldiers used some thorny branches to make a crown. They put this crown on Jesus’ head and put a purple robe around him. 3 Then they came to Jesus many times and said, “Hail, King of the Jews!” They hit Jesus in the face.
4 Again Pilate came out and said to them, “Look! I am bringing Jesus out to you. I want you to know that I find nothing I can charge against him.” 5 Then Jesus came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. Pilate said to the Jews, “Here is the man!”
6 When the leading priests and the guards saw Jesus they shouted, “Kill him on a cross! Kill him on a cross!”
But Pilate answered, “Take him and nail him to a cross yourselves. I find nothing I can charge against him.”
7 The Jews answered, “We have a law that says he should die, because he said he is the Son of God.”
8 When Pilate heard this, he was even more afraid. 9 He went back inside the palace and asked Jesus, “Where are you from?” But Jesus did not answer him. 10 Pilate said, “You refuse to speak to me? Don’t you know that I have power to set you free and power to have you killed on a cross?”
11 Jesus answered, “The only power you have over me is the power given to you by God. The man who gave me to you is guilty of a greater sin.”
12 After this, Pilate tried to let Jesus go free. But the Jews cried out, “Anyone who makes himself king is against Caesar. If you let this man go free, you are not Caesar’s friend.”
13 Pilate heard what the Jews were saying. So he brought Jesus out to the place called The Stone Pavement. (In the Jewish language[a] the name is Gabbatha.) Pilate sat down on the judge’s seat there. 14 It was about six o’clock in the morning on Preparation Day of Passover week. Pilate said to the Jews, “Here is your king!”
15 They shouted, “Take him away! Take him away! Kill him on a cross!”
Pilate asked them, “Do you want me to kill your king on a cross?”
The leading priests answered, “The only king we have is Caesar!”
16 So Pilate gave Jesus to them to be killed on a cross.
Jesus Is Killed on a Cross
The soldiers took charge of Jesus. 17 Carrying his own cross, Jesus went out to a place called The Place of the Skull. (In the Jewish language[b] this place is called Golgotha.) 18 There they nailed Jesus to the cross. They also put two other men on crosses, one on each side of Jesus with Jesus in the middle. 19 Pilate wrote a sign and put it on the cross. It read: “JESUS OF NAZARETH, THE KING OF THE JEWS.” 20 The sign was written in the Jewish language, in Latin, and in Greek. Many of the Jews read the sign, because this place where Jesus was killed was near the city. 21 The leading Jewish priests said to Pilate, “Don’t write, ‘The King of the Jews.’ But write, ‘This man said, I am the King of the Jews.’”
22 Pilate answered, “What I have written, I have written!”
23 After the soldiers nailed Jesus to the cross, they took his clothes. They divided them into four parts. Each soldier got one part. They also took his long shirt. It was all one piece of cloth, woven from top to bottom. 24 So the soldiers said to each other, “We should not tear this into parts. We should throw lots to see who will get it.” This happened to give full meaning to the Scripture:
“They divided my clothes among them.
And they threw lots for my clothing.” Psalm 22:18
So the soldiers did this.
25 Jesus’ mother stood near his cross. His mother’s sister was also standing there, with Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. 26 Jesus saw his mother. He also saw the follower he loved standing there. He said to his mother, “Dear woman, here is your son.” 27 Then he said to the follower, “Here is your mother.” From that time on, this follower took her to live in his home.
Jesus Dies
28 After this, Jesus knew that everything had been done. To make the Scripture come true, he said, “I am thirsty.”[c] 29 There was a jar full of vinegar there, so the soldiers soaked a sponge in it. Then they put the sponge on a branch of a hyssop plant and lifted it to Jesus’ mouth. 30 Jesus tasted the vinegar. Then he said, “It is finished.” He bowed his head and died.
31 This day was Preparation Day. The next day was a special Sabbath day. The Jews did not want the bodies to stay on the cross on the Sabbath day. So they asked Pilate to order that the legs of the men be broken[d] and the bodies be taken away. 32 So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first man on the cross beside Jesus. Then they broke the legs of the man on the other cross beside Jesus. 33 But when the soldiers came to Jesus, they saw that he was already dead. So they did not break his legs. 34 But one of the soldiers stuck his spear into Jesus’ side. At once blood and water came out. 35 (The one who saw this happen has told about it. The things he says are true. He knows that he tells the truth. He told about it so that you also can believe.) 36 These things happened to make the Scripture come true: “Not one of his bones will be broken.”[e] 37 And another Scripture said, “They will look at the one they have stabbed.”[f]
Jesus Is Buried
38 Later, a man named Joseph from Arimathea asked Pilate if he could take the body of Jesus. (Joseph was a secret follower of Jesus, because he was afraid of the Jews.) Pilate gave his permission. So Joseph came and took Jesus’ body away. 39 Nicodemus went with Joseph. Nicodemus was the man who earlier had come to Jesus at night. He brought about 75 pounds of spices. This was a mixture of myrrh and aloes. 40 These two men took Jesus’ body and wrapped it with the spices in pieces of linen cloth. (This is how the Jews bury people.) 41 In the place where Jesus was killed, there was a garden. In the garden was a new tomb where no one had ever been buried. 42 The men laid Jesus in that tomb because it was near, and the Jews were preparing to start their Sabbath day.
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.