M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Hezekiah’s Illness and Recovery
20 (A)In those days Hezekiah became [a]mortally ill. And Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz came to him and said to him, “Thus says the Lord, ‘(B)Set your house in order, for you shall die and not live.’” 2 Then he turned his face to the wall and prayed to the Lord, saying, 3 “(C)Remember now, O Lord, I beseech You, (D)how I have walked before You in truth and with a whole heart and have done what is good in Your sight.” And (E)Hezekiah wept [b]bitterly. 4 Before Isaiah had gone out of the middle court, the word of the Lord came to him, saying, 5 “Return and say to (F)Hezekiah the leader of My people, ‘Thus says the Lord, the God of your father David, “(G)I have heard your prayer, (H)I have seen your tears; behold, I will heal you. On the third day you shall go up to the house of the Lord. 6 I will add fifteen years to your [c]life, and I will deliver you and this city from the hand of the king of Assyria; and (I)I will defend this city for My own sake and for My servant David’s sake.”’” 7 Then Isaiah said, “Take a cake of figs.” And they took and laid it on the boil, and he recovered.
8 Now Hezekiah said to Isaiah, “What will be the sign that the Lord will heal me, and that I shall go up to the house of the Lord the third day?” 9 Isaiah said, “(J)This shall be the sign to you from the Lord, that the Lord will do the thing that He has spoken: shall the shadow go forward ten steps or go back ten steps?” 10 So Hezekiah [d]answered, “It is easy for the shadow to decline ten steps; no, but let the shadow turn backward ten steps.” 11 Isaiah the prophet cried to the Lord, and (K)He brought the shadow on the [e]stairway back ten steps by which it had gone down on the [f]stairway of Ahaz.
Hezekiah Shows Babylon His Treasures
12 (L)At that time [g]Berodach-baladan a son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent letters and a present to Hezekiah, for he heard that Hezekiah had been sick. 13 Hezekiah listened to them, and showed them (M)all his treasure house, the silver and the gold and the spices and the precious oil and the house of his armor and all that was found in his treasuries. There was nothing in his house nor in all his dominion that Hezekiah did not show them. 14 Then Isaiah the prophet came to King Hezekiah and said to him, “What did these men say, and from where have they come to you?” And Hezekiah said, “They have come from a far country, from Babylon.” 15 He said, “What have they seen in your house?” So Hezekiah [h]answered, “They have seen all that is in my house; there is nothing among my treasuries that I have not shown them.”
16 Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, “Hear the word of the Lord. 17 ‘Behold, the days are coming when (N)all that is in your house, and all that your fathers have laid up in store to this day will be carried to Babylon; nothing shall be left,’ says the Lord. 18 ‘Some (O)of your sons who shall issue from you, whom you will beget, will be taken away; and they will become (P)officials in the palace of the king of Babylon.’” 19 Then Hezekiah said to Isaiah, “The word of the Lord which you have spoken is (Q)good.” For he [i]thought, “Is it not so, if there will be peace and truth in my days?”
20 (R)Now the rest of the acts of Hezekiah and all his might, and how he (S)made the pool and the conduit and brought water into the city, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah? 21 (T)So Hezekiah slept with his fathers, and Manasseh his son became king in his place.
Give Heed
2 For this reason we must pay much closer attention to [a]what we have heard, so that (A)we do not drift away from it. 2 For if the word (B)spoken through (C)angels proved [b]unalterable, and (D)every transgression and disobedience received a just [c](E)penalty, 3 (F)how will we escape if we neglect so great a (G)salvation? [d]After it was at the first (H)spoken through the Lord, it was (I)confirmed to us by those who heard, 4 God also testifying with them, both by (J)signs and wonders and by (K)various [e]miracles and by [f](L)gifts of the Holy Spirit (M)according to His own will.
Earth Subject to Man
5 For He did not subject to angels [g](N)the world to come, concerning which we are speaking. 6 But one has testified (O)somewhere, saying,
“(P)What is man, that You remember him?
Or the son of man, that You are concerned about him?
7 “(Q)You have made him [h]for a little while lower than the angels;
You have crowned him with glory and honor,
[i]And have appointed him over the works of Your hands;
8 (R)You have put all things in subjection under his feet.”
For in subjecting all things to him, He left nothing that is not subject to him. But now (S)we do not yet see all things subjected to him.
Jesus Briefly Humbled
9 But we do see Him who was (T)made [j]for a little while lower than the angels, namely, Jesus, (U)because of the suffering of death (V)crowned with glory and honor, so that (W)by the grace of God He might (X)taste death (Y)for everyone.
10 For (Z)it was fitting for Him, (AA)for whom are all things, and through whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to (AB)perfect the [k](AC)author of their salvation through sufferings. 11 For both He who (AD)sanctifies and those who (AE)are [l]sanctified are all (AF)from one Father; for which reason He is not ashamed to call them (AG)brethren, 12 saying,
“(AH)I will proclaim Your name to My brethren,
In the midst of the congregation I will sing Your praise.”
13 And again,
“(AI)I will put My trust in Him.”
And again,
“(AJ)Behold, I and the children whom God has given Me.”
14 Therefore, since the children share in [m](AK)flesh and blood, (AL)He Himself likewise also partook of the same, that (AM)through death He might render powerless (AN)him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, 15 and might free those who through (AO)fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives. 16 For assuredly He does not [n]give help to angels, but He gives help to the [o]descendant of Abraham. 17 Therefore, He [p]had (AP)to be made like His brethren in all things, so that He might (AQ)become a merciful and faithful (AR)high priest in (AS)things pertaining to God, to (AT)make propitiation for the sins of the people. 18 For since He Himself was (AU)tempted in that which He has suffered, He is able to come to the aid of those who are tempted.
Ephraim’s Idolatry
13 (A)When Ephraim [a]spoke, there was trembling.
He (B)exalted himself in Israel,
But through (C)Baal he [b]did wrong and died.
2 And now they sin more and more,
And make for themselves (D)molten images,
Idols [c](E)skillfully made from their silver,
All of them the (F)work of craftsmen.
They say of them, “Let the [d]men who sacrifice kiss the (G)calves!”
3 Therefore they will be like the (H)morning cloud
And like dew which [e]soon disappears,
Like (I)chaff which is blown away from the threshing floor
And like (J)smoke from a [f]chimney.
4 Yet I have been the (K)Lord your God
Since the land of Egypt;
And you were not to know (L)any god except Me,
For there is no savior (M)besides Me.
5 I [g](N)cared for you in the wilderness,
(O)In the land of drought.
6 As they had their pasture, they became (P)satisfied,
And being satisfied, their (Q)heart became proud;
Therefore they (R)forgot Me.
7 So I will be (S)like a lion to them;
Like a (T)leopard I will [h]lie in wait by the wayside.
8 I will encounter them (U)like a bear robbed of her cubs,
And I will tear open [i]their chests;
There I will also (V)devour them like a lioness,
As a wild beast would tear them.
9 It is your destruction, O Israel,
[j]That you are (W)against Me, against your (X)help.
10 Where now is your (Y)king
That he may save you in all your cities,
And your (Z)judges of whom you [k]requested,
“Give me a king and princes”?
11 I (AA)gave you a king in My anger
And (AB)took him away in My wrath.
12 The iniquity of Ephraim is bound up;
His sin is (AC)stored up.
13 The pains of (AD)childbirth come upon him;
He is (AE)not a wise son,
For [l]it is not the time that he should (AF)delay at the opening of the womb.
14 Shall I (AG)ransom them from the [m]power of Sheol?
Shall I redeem them from death?
(AH)O Death, where are your thorns?
O Sheol, where is your sting?
(AI)Compassion will be hidden from My sight.
15 Though he (AJ)flourishes among the [n]reeds,
An (AK)east wind will come,
The wind of the Lord coming up from the wilderness;
And his fountain will (AL)become dry
And his spring will be dried up;
It will (AM)plunder his treasury of every precious article.
16 [o]Samaria will be held (AN)guilty,
For she has (AO)rebelled against her God.
(AP)They will fall by the (AQ)sword,
Their little ones will be (AR)dashed in pieces,
And their pregnant (AS)women will be ripped open.
An Experience of the Captivity.
137 By the (A)rivers of Babylon,
There we sat down and (B)wept,
When we remembered Zion.
2 Upon the [a](C)willows in the midst of it
We (D)hung our [b]harps.
3 For there our captors [c](E)demanded of us [d]songs,
And (F)our tormentors mirth, saying,
“Sing us one of the songs of Zion.”
4 How can we sing (G)the Lord’s song
In a foreign land?
5 If I (H)forget you, O Jerusalem,
May my right hand [e]forget her skill.
6 May my (I)tongue cling to the roof of my mouth
If I do not remember you,
If I do not [f](J)exalt Jerusalem
Above my chief joy.
7 Remember, O Lord, against the sons of (K)Edom
The day of Jerusalem,
Who said, “Raze it, raze it
(L)To its very foundation.”
8 O daughter of Babylon, you [g](M)devastated one,
How blessed will be the one who (N)repays you
With [h]the recompense with which you have repaid us.
9 How blessed will be the one who seizes and (O)dashes your little ones
Against the rock.
Thanksgiving for the Lord’s Favor.
A Psalm of David.
138 (P)I will give You thanks with all my heart;
I will sing praises to You before the (Q)gods.
2 I will bow down (R)toward Your holy temple
And (S)give thanks to Your name for Your lovingkindness and Your [i]truth;
For You have (T)magnified Your [j]word [k]according to all Your name.
3 On the day I (U)called, You answered me;
You made me bold with (V)strength in my soul.
4 (W)All the kings of the earth will give thanks to You, O Lord,
When they have heard the words of Your mouth.
5 And they will (X)sing of the ways of the Lord,
For (Y)great is the glory of the Lord.
6 For (Z)though the Lord is exalted,
Yet He (AA)regards the lowly,
But the (AB)haughty He knows from afar.
7 Though I (AC)walk in the midst of trouble, You will [l](AD)revive me;
You will (AE)stretch forth Your hand against the wrath of my enemies,
And Your right hand will (AF)save me.
8 The Lord will (AG)accomplish what concerns me;
Your (AH)lovingkindness, O Lord, is everlasting;
(AI)Do not forsake the (AJ)works of Your hands.
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.