M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Hoshea becomes the last king of Israel
17 Elah's son Hoshea became the king of Israel when Ahaz had been king of Judah for 12 years. Hoshea ruled Israel as king in Samaria for nine years. 2 Hoshea did things that the Lord said were evil. But he was not as wicked as the kings of Israel who lived before him. 3 Shalmaneser, the king of Assyria, came to attack Hoshea in Samaria. Hoshea agreed to accept Shalmaneser's authority. Israel had to pay a lot of money as taxes to Shalmaneser each year.
4 Then King Shalmaneser discovered that Hoshea had decided to turn against him. Hoshea had sent a message to So, the king of Egypt, to ask for his help. He had also refused to send the taxes for that year to the king of Assyria. So King Shalmaneser took hold of Hoshea and he put him in prison. 5 The king of Assyria took his army and he marched through all the land of Israel. He attacked Samaria. His army made their camp around the city for three years.
6 When Hoshea had been king of Israel for nine years, the king of Assyria won the war against Samaria. He took the Israelites away to Assyria as his prisoners. He caused them to live in Halah, in Gozan beside the River Habor and in towns in Media.
Why the Lord punished Israel
7 All this happened because the Israelites did bad things against the Lord, their God. The Lord had brought them safely out of Egypt. He had rescued them from the power of Pharaoh, the king of Egypt. But now they worshipped other gods. 8 They did the same bad things that the nations that lived in Canaan did. The Lord had chased those nations out of Canaan so that the Israelites could live there. The Israelites copied the bad things that the kings of Israel were doing. 9 They secretly did things that the Lord their God said were not right. In all their towns, they built altars to worship false gods. They built them everywhere, in small villages and in strong cities. 10 They put up stone pillars and Asherah poles to worship their gods. They put them on top of all the high hills and under all the big trees. 11 At all those places they burned incense to worship their gods, as the nations in Canaan had done. The Lord had chased those nations out of Canaan so that the Israelites could live there. The Israelites did evil things that made the Lord very angry. 12 They refused to obey the Lord's command and they worshipped useless idols.
13 The Lord had used his prophets and his other servants to warn the people of Israel and Judah. He told them, ‘Stop living in an evil way. Obey my Law, with its commands and its rules. I gave my Law to your ancestors so that they would obey it. I also used my servants, the prophets, to teach it to you.’
14 But the Israelites would not agree to obey God's Law. They were proud and they refused to obey. Like their ancestors, they did not trust in the Lord their God. 15 They did not obey God's rules. They did not accept the covenant that he had made with their ancestors. They did not listen when he warned them. Instead, they worshipped useless idols, which caused them to become useless themselves. The Lord had commanded them not to live in the same way that the nations around them did. But they did that anyway. 16 They turned away from all the commands of the Lord their God. They used metal to make images of two calves as their idols. They also made an Asherah pole to worship. They worshipped all the stars in the sky and they served Baal. 17 They burned their sons and their daughters in fire as offerings to Baal. They used magic to find out what would happen in the future. They chose to do things that the Lord said were evil. That made him very angry.
18 The Lord was so angry with Israel that he sent them far away from himself. Only the tribe of Judah remained. 19 But even the people of Judah did not obey the commands of the Lord their God. They did the same bad things that the Israelites had done. 20 So the Lord turned against all the descendants of Israel. He punished them. He put them under the power of robbers. In that way, he chased them far away from himself.
21 God made Israel become a separate kingdom from David's family, Judah. Then Israel chose Nebat's son Jeroboam to be their king. Jeroboam caused the Israelites to turn away from the Lord. He led them to do terrible sins. 22 The Israelites continued to live in the bad way that Jeroboam showed them. They did not turn away from those sins. 23 In the end, the Lord sent the Israelites away from himself. He had used his servants, the prophets, to warn them that this would happen. As a result, the Assyrian army took the Israelites away from their own land as prisoners to Assyria. They still live there, even today.
Foreign people come to live in Israel
24 The king of Assyria brought foreign people to live in the towns of Samaria. They came from Babylon, Cuthah, Avva, Hamath and Sepharvaim. They lived in places in Samaria where the Israelites had lived. They took Samaria for themselves and they lived in its towns.[a] 25 When those people first lived in Samaria, they did not worship the Lord. So the Lord sent lions among them. The lions were killing some of the people. 26 People told the king of Assyria, ‘You sent some nations of people to go and live in the towns of Samaria. But they do not know how to obey the rules of that country's god. So he has sent lions to attack them. The lions are killing them because they do not know the rules of that country's god.’
27 The king of Assyria replied, ‘You took some Israelite priests away from Samaria as prisoners. Send one of them back to live there. Then he can teach the people what the god of that country wants them to do.’
28 So they sent back one of the priests that they had caught and taken away to Assyria. He went to live in Bethel. He taught the people how to worship the Lord properly.
29 But the people of each nation that had gone to live in Samaria made their own idols to worship.[b] They put them at the altars that the Israelites had built on the hills. They did this in each town where they lived. 30 The people from Babylon made idols of the god called Succoth-Benoth. The people from Cuthah made idols of the god called Nergal. The people from Hamath made idols of the god called Ashima. 31 The people from Avva made idols of their gods called Nibhaz and Tartak. The people from Sepharvaim burned their children in fire as offerings to their gods, Adrammelech and Anammelech.
32 The foreign people in Samaria also worshipped the Lord. They chose some of their own people to serve as priests at the altars on the hills. 33 In this way, they worshipped the Lord, but they also served their own gods. They did that in the way that they had always done in their own countries. That was what they did before the Assyrians sent them to live in Samaria. 34 Even today, they still do things in the same way that they have always done them. They do not truly worship the Lord. They do not obey his rules, his laws or his teaching. They do not obey the commands that the Lord gave to the descendants of Jacob. Jacob was the man that the Lord gave a new name to. He gave him the name ‘Israel’. 35 The Lord made a covenant with the descendants of Israel. He said to them, ‘Do not worship any other gods. Do not bend down low to give them honour. Do not serve them. Do not offer any sacrifices to them. 36 Instead, you must worship only the Lord. He is the one who used his great power to bring you safely out of Egypt. Bend down low to give him honour. Offer sacrifices to him. 37 You must be careful to obey his rules, his teaching, his laws and his commands that he wrote for you. You must not worship other gods. 38 Never forget the covenant that I made with you. Do not worship any other gods. 39 Instead, you must only worship the Lord your God. It is he who will save you from the power of all your enemies.’
40 But the foreign people who now lived in Samaria would not accept the Lord's teaching. They continued to live in the way that they always had done. 41 Even while they were worshipping the Lord, they continued to serve their own idols. Their children and their grandchildren continue to live as their fathers did, even today.
Do what is right
3 Tell the believers there to respect the government and those who have authority. They must remember to obey their rulers. They must always be ready to help other people. 2 They must not say bad things about anyone. They must not quarrel with people. Instead, they should be kind and polite to everyone.
3 Before we believed in Christ, we ourselves were fools too. We did not obey God. We believed a false message. We wanted to do many kinds of bad things to make us happy. We could not stop doing them. Every day we did evil things. We were jealous of other people. People hated us, and we hated each other.
4 But then God, our Saviour, showed clearly that he is very kind. He showed that he loves all people. 5 God did not save us because of any good things that we ourselves had done. He saved us because he chose to forgive us. God has washed us so that we are clean inside. We have been born again, so that we live a new life. God's Holy Spirit has done this for us. 6 Jesus Christ died as a sacrifice to save us. So now God has poured his Holy Spirit into us, to fill us. 7 Because God is very kind, he has accepted us as right with himself. As a result, we know that we will receive the good things that God has prepared for us. We know that we will live with God for ever.
8 That message is certainly true. So you must teach people the things that I have said in this letter. Make sure that they understand them well. Then the people who have believed in God will be careful to do good things. Good things like that will help everyone.
9 But stay away from people who argue about silly things. They study long lists of their families' names from years ago. Refuse to quarrel with people like that. Refuse to argue about the rules in God's Law. All those kinds of things have no value and they do not help anyone. 10 If someone teaches a false message that causes trouble, warn him. If you warn him twice and he still does not stop, stay away from him. 11 You know that a person like that has chosen not to believe the true message. He knows that he is doing a bad thing, but he continues to do it.
Paul finishes his letter
12 I will send either Artemas or Tychicus to you.[a] After one of them has arrived, please come to meet me in Nicopolis. Come as quickly as you can. I have decided that I will stay in Nicopolis during the winter.[b]
13 Please help Zenas, the lawyer, and Apollos as much as you can.[c] Make sure that they have everything that they need for their journey. 14 Our Christian friends there must learn to do good things. They should supply things to people who need help. That will show that their lives are really useful.
15 Everyone who is here with me says ‘hello’ to you. Please say ‘hello’ on our behalf to the believers there who love us. I pray that God will continue to be very kind to all of you.
The Lord says that Israel is guilty
10 Israel was like a healthy vine that had lots of grapes.
But as the Israelites became more and more rich,
they built more and more altars.
As their land gave more crops,
they made the pillars that they worshipped more beautiful.
2 They do not truly trust God.
They are guilty and they must receive their punishment.
The Lord will break their altars.
He will destroy their special pillars.
3 Soon these people will say, ‘We did not respect the Lord's authority.
Because of that we have no king.
But even if we had a king now, he could not do anything to help us.’
4 They promise to do many things,
but they never do what they promise.
They make useless agreements.
So people accuse each other in the courts.
They are like weeds that grow in a farmer's field.
5 The people who live in Samaria will be afraid.
They will worry about their image of a calf at Beth Aven.[a]
They will weep because it will go away from them.
The priests who serve the idol will cry too.
They know that an enemy will take away their great and beautiful idol.
6 Assyria's army will carry the idol away.[b]
It will be a gift to give honour to Assyria's great king.
Ephraim's people will feel ashamed.
They will be sorry that they trusted in their wooden idol.
7 The people of Samaria and their king will come to an end.[c]
They will be like a small stick that water carries away.
8 The wicked altars on the hills will break into pieces.[d]
These are places where Israel's people have done bad things.
Thorn bushes and weeds will grow all over their altars.
Then the people will say to the mountains, ‘Hide us!’
They will say to the hills, ‘Fall on us!’
The Lord promises to punish Israel
9 The Lord says,
‘People of Israel, you have continued to do bad things,
since the time that you were at Gibeah.[e]
When the people did evil things at Gibeah,
war destroyed them as a result.
10 When I decide that the time is right,
I will punish the Israelites.
Because of their many sins,
I will bring other nations to attack them.
Their enemies will tie them up with chains.
11 Ephraim was like a cow that I had taught to stamp on grain.[f]
She loved to work for me.
But now I will make her do hard work!
I will put a heavy yoke on her beautiful neck.
Judah will also have to plough the ground.
Jacob's descendants must work to dig up the hard ground.[g]
12 Be like a farmer who plants good seed.
Plant things that are good and right.
Then your harvest will be faithful love.
Plough the hard ground and prepare it for the Lord to bless you.
It is time for you to turn back to the Lord.
Then he will bless you with good things,
like rain that falls on the ground!
13 But instead, you have planted evil things.
So your harvest is terrible trouble.
The food that you eat comes from your lies.
You trusted in your own strength to save you.
You thought that your strong army would keep you safe.
14 So you will soon hear the noise of war.
Enemies will destroy all your strong buildings.
It will be like the time that King Shalman's army destroyed Beth Arbel.[h]
In that battle, cruel soldiers killed mothers together with their children.
15 The same thing will happen to you, people of Bethel,
because of the wicked things that you have done.[i]
When the day of your punishment arrives,
the king of Israel will surely die.’
A song to sing as we climb.
129 Since I was young, my enemies have often attacked me.
Israel's people now answer:
2 ‘They have often attacked me since I was young,
but they have not won against me.
3 They hit my back with whips.
They made long marks on it,
like farmers who are ploughing their fields.
4 But the Lord is righteous.
He has made me free from those cruel people.’
5 I pray that everyone who hates Zion's people will be ashamed.
Then they will have to turn around and go back.
6 May they be useless, like grass that grows on a roof.
It dies before it can grow tall!
7 A gardener cannot use it.
A farmer will not keep it.[a]
8 People that go past will not say to them,
‘We will ask the Lord to bless you!’
Nobody will say to those who hate Zion's people,
‘Receive our blessing in the name of the Lord!’
A song to sing as we climb.
I have great trouble
130 Lord, I am crying aloud to you
because I have great trouble.
2 My Lord, please listen to me!
I am asking you to be kind and help me.
3 Lord, if you should write down all our sins,
nobody could stand as a righteous person.
4 But you forgive people for their sins,
and so we give you honour.
5 I will wait for the Lord to help me.
I trust him completely.
So I wait for him to do what he has promised.
6 I want my Lord to come and help me,
more than a guard at night wants the morning to come.
Yes, I want my Lord to come quickly, even more than that.
7 Israel's people, trust the Lord to help you.
The Lord has faithful love for his people.
He is always ready to save them.
8 He will save Israel's people from all their sins.
A song to sing as we climb.
David wrote this song.
131 Lord, I am not proud.
I do not think that I am a great person.
I do not try to do great things.
I do not worry about things that are too hard for me to understand.
2 Instead, I am quiet
and there is peace in my mind.
I am like a young child who sits on his mother's knee.
Yes, I have peace in my mind.
3 Israel's people, trust the Lord to help you,
now and for ever.
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