M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan

Asa Wars against Baasha

16 In the thirty-sixth year of Asa’s reign ^(A)Baasha king of Israel came up against Judah and ^[a]fortified Ramah in order to prevent anyone from going out or coming in to Asa king of Judah. ² Then Asa brought out silver and gold from the treasuries of the house of the Lord and the king’s house, and sent them to Ben-hadad king of Aram, who lived in Damascus, saying, ³ “Let there be a treaty between ^[b]you and me, as between my father and your father. Behold, I have sent you silver and gold; go, break your treaty with Baasha king of Israel so that he will withdraw from me.” ⁴ So Ben-hadad listened to King Asa and sent the commanders of his armies against the cities of Israel, and they ^[c]conquered Ijon, Dan, Abel-maim and all ^(B)the ^[d]store cities of Naphtali. ⁵ When Baasha heard of it, he ceased ^[e]fortifying Ramah and stopped his work. ⁶ Then King Asa brought all Judah, and they carried away the stones of Ramah and its timber with which Baasha had been building, and with them he ^[f]fortified Geba and Mizpah.

Asa Imprisons the Prophet

⁷ At that time ^(C)Hanani the seer came to Asa king of Judah and said to him, “^(D)Because you have relied on the king of Aram and have not relied on the Lord your God, therefore the army of the king of Aram has escaped out of your hand. ⁸ Were not ^(E)the Ethiopians and the Lubim ^(F)an immense army with very many chariots and horsemen? Yet ^(G)because you relied on the Lord, He delivered them into your hand. ⁹ For ^(H)the eyes of the Lord move to and fro throughout the earth that He may strongly support those ^(I)whose heart is completely His. You have acted foolishly in this. Indeed, from now on you will surely have wars.” ¹⁰ Then Asa was angry with the seer and put him in ^[g]prison, for he was enraged at him for this. And Asa oppressed some of the people at the same time.

^11 (J)Now, the acts of Asa from first to last, behold, they are written in the Book of the Kings of Judah and Israel. ¹² In the thirty-ninth year of his reign Asa became diseased in his feet. His disease was severe, yet even in his disease he ^(K)did not seek the Lord, but the physicians. ¹³ So Asa slept with his fathers, ^[h]having died in the forty-first year of his reign. ¹⁴ They buried him in his own tomb which he had cut out for himself in the city of David, and they laid him in the resting place which he had filled ^(L)with spices of various kinds blended by the perfumers’ art; and ^(M)they made a very great fire for him.

The Book with Seven Seals

5 I saw ^[a]in the right hand of Him who ^(A)sat on the throne a ^[b](B)book written inside and on the back, ^(C)sealed up with seven seals. ² And I saw a ^(D)strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, “Who is worthy to open the ^[c]book and to break its seals?” ³ And no one ^(E)in heaven or on the earth or under the earth was able to open the ^[d]book or to look into it. ⁴ Then I began to weep greatly because no one was found worthy to open the ^[e]book or to look into it; ⁵ and one of the elders *said to me, “Stop weeping; behold, the ^(F)Lion that is ^(G)from the tribe of Judah, the ^(H)Root of David, has overcome so as to open the ^[f]book and its seven seals.”

⁶ And I saw ^[g]between the throne (with the four living creatures) and ^(I)the elders a ^(J)Lamb standing, as if ^(K)slain, having seven ^(L)horns and ^(M)seven eyes, which are ^(N)the seven Spirits of God, sent out into all the earth. ⁷ And He came and took ^(O)the book out of the right hand of Him who ^(P)sat on the throne. ⁸ When He had taken the ^[h]book, the ^(Q)four living creatures and the ^(R)twenty-four elders ^(S)fell down before the ^(T)Lamb, each one holding a ^(U)harp and ^(V)golden bowls full of incense, which are the ^(W)prayers of the ^[i]saints. ⁹ And they *sang a ^(X)new song, saying,

Angels Exalt the Lamb

¹¹ Then I looked, and I heard the voice of many angels ^(AF)around the throne and the ^(AG)living creatures and the ^(AH)elders; and the number of them was ^(AI)myriads of myriads, and thousands of thousands, ¹² saying with a loud voice,

¹³ And ^(AM)every created thing which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all things in them, I heard saying,

¹⁴ And the ^(AQ)four living creatures kept saying, “^(AR)Amen.” And the ^(AS)elders ^(AT)fell down and worshiped.

A Call to Repentance

1 In the eighth month of the second year of ^(A)Darius, the word of the Lord came to ^(B)Zechariah the prophet, the son of Berechiah, the son of ^(C)Iddo saying, ² “The Lord was very ^(D)angry with your fathers. ³ Therefore say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, “^(E)Return to Me,” declares the Lord of hosts, “that I may return to you,” says the Lord of hosts. ⁴ “Do not be ^(F)like your fathers, to whom the ^(G)former prophets proclaimed, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, “^(H)Return now from your evil ways and from your evil deeds.”’ But they did ^(I)not listen or give heed to Me,” declares the Lord. ⁵ “Your ^(J)fathers, where are they? And the ^(K)prophets, do they live forever? ⁶ But did not My words and My statutes, which I commanded My servants the prophets, ^(L)overtake your fathers? Then they repented and said, ‘^(M)As the Lord of hosts purposed to do to us in accordance with our ways and our deeds, so He has dealt with us.’”’”

Patrol of the Earth

⁷ On the twenty-fourth day of the eleventh month, which is the month Shebat, in the second year of Darius, the word of the Lord came to Zechariah the prophet, the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo, as follows: ⁸ I saw at night, and behold, a man was riding on a ^(N)red horse, and he was standing among the ^(O)myrtle trees which were in the ravine, with red, sorrel and ^(P)white horses behind him. ⁹ Then I said, “My ^(Q)lord, what are these?” And the ^(R)angel who was speaking with me said to me, “I will show you what these are.” ¹⁰ And the man who was standing among the myrtle trees answered and said, “These are those whom the Lord has sent to ^[a](S)patrol the earth.” ¹¹ So they answered the angel of the Lord who was ^(T)standing among the myrtle trees and said, “We have ^[b]patrolled the earth, and behold, ^(U)all the earth is ^[c]peaceful and quiet.”

¹² Then the angel of the Lord said, “O Lord of hosts, ^(V)how long will You ^(W)have no compassion for Jerusalem and the cities of Judah, with which You have been ^(X)indignant these ^(Y)seventy years?” ¹³ The Lord answered the ^(Z)angel who was speaking with me with ^[d]gracious words, ^(AA)comforting words. ¹⁴ So the angel who was speaking with me said to me, “^(AB)Proclaim, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, “I am ^(AC)exceedingly jealous for Jerusalem and Zion. ¹⁵ But I am very ^(AD)angry with the nations who are ^(AE)at ease; for while I was only a little angry, they ^[e](AF)furthered the disaster.” ¹⁶ Therefore thus says the Lord, “I will ^(AG)return to Jerusalem with compassion; My ^(AH)house will be built in it,” declares the Lord of hosts, “and a measuring ^(AI)line will be stretched over Jerusalem.”’ ¹⁷ Again, proclaim, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, “My ^(AJ)cities will again overflow with prosperity, and the Lord will again ^(AK)comfort Zion and again ^(AL)choose Jerusalem.”’”

^18 [f]Then I lifted up my eyes and looked, and behold, there were four horns. ¹⁹ So I said to the angel who was speaking with me, “What are these?” And he answered me, “These are the ^(AM)horns which have scattered Judah, Israel and Jerusalem.” ²⁰ Then the Lord showed me four ^(AN)craftsmen. ²¹ I said, “What are these coming to do?” And he said, “These are the ^(AO)horns which have scattered Judah so that no man lifts up his head; but these craftsmen have come to terrify them, to ^(AP)throw down the horns of the nations who have lifted up their horns against the land of Judah in order to scatter it.”

Jesus Goes to Galilee

4 Therefore when ^(A)the Lord knew that the Pharisees had heard that Jesus was making and ^(B)baptizing more disciples than John ² (although ^(C)Jesus Himself was not baptizing, but His ^(D)disciples were), ³ He left ^(E)Judea and went away ^(F)again into Galilee. ⁴ And He had to pass through ^(G)Samaria. ⁵ So He *came to a city of ^(H)Samaria called Sychar, near ^(I)the parcel of ground that ^(J)Jacob gave to his son Joseph; ⁶ and Jacob’s well was there. So Jesus, being wearied from His journey, was sitting thus by the well. It was about ^[a]the sixth hour.

The Woman of Samaria

⁷ There *came a woman of Samaria to draw water. Jesus *said to her, “Give Me a drink.” ⁸ For His ^(K)disciples had gone away into ^(L)the city to buy food. ⁹ Therefore the ^(M)Samaritan woman *said to Him, “How is it that You, being a Jew, ask me for a drink since I am a Samaritan woman?” (For ^(N)Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.) ¹⁰ Jesus answered and said to her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, ‘Give Me a drink,’ you would have asked Him, and He would have given you ^(O)living water.” ¹¹ She *said to Him, “^[b]Sir, You have nothing to draw with and the well is deep; where then do You get that ^(P)living water? ¹² You are not greater than our father Jacob, are You, who ^(Q)gave us the well, and drank of it himself and his sons and his cattle?” ¹³ Jesus answered and said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will thirst again; ¹⁴ but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him ^(R)shall never thirst; but the water that I will give him will become in him a well of water springing up to ^(S)eternal life.”

¹⁵ The woman *said to Him, “^[c]Sir, ^(T)give me this water, so I will not be thirsty nor come all the way here to draw.” ¹⁶ He *said to her, “Go, call your husband and come here.” ¹⁷ The woman answered and said, “I have no husband.” Jesus *said to her, “You have correctly said, ‘I have no husband’; ¹⁸ for you have had five husbands, and the one whom you now have is not your husband; this you have said truly.” ¹⁹ The woman *said to Him, “^[d]Sir, I perceive that You are ^(U)a prophet. ^20 (V)Our fathers worshiped in ^(W)this mountain, and you people say that ^(X)in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship.” ²¹ Jesus *said to her, “Woman, believe Me, ^(Y)an hour is coming when ^(Z)neither in this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. ^22 (AA)You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for ^(AB)salvation is from the Jews. ²³ But ^(AC)an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father ^(AD)in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers. ²⁴ God is ^[e]spirit, and those who worship Him must worship ^(AE)in spirit and truth.” ²⁵ The woman *said to Him, “I know that ^(AF)Messiah is coming (^(AG)He who is called Christ); when that One comes, He will declare all things to us.” ²⁶ Jesus *said to her, “^(AH)I who speak to you am He.”

²⁷ At this point His ^(AI)disciples came, and they were amazed that He had been speaking with a woman, yet no one said, “What do You seek?” or, “Why do You speak with her?” ²⁸ So the woman left her waterpot, and went into the city and *said to the men, ²⁹ “Come, see a man ^(AJ)who told me all the things that I have done; ^(AK)this is not ^[f]the Christ, is it?” ³⁰ They went out of the city, and were coming to Him.

³¹ Meanwhile the disciples were urging Him, saying, “^(AL)Rabbi, eat.” ³² But He said to them, “I have food to eat that you do not know about.” ³³ So the ^(AM)disciples were saying to one another, “No one brought Him anything to eat, did he?” ³⁴ Jesus *said to them, “My food is to ^(AN)do the will of Him who sent Me and to ^(AO)accomplish His work. ³⁵ Do you not say, ‘There are yet four months, and then comes the harvest’? Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look on the fields, that they are white ^(AP)for harvest. ³⁶ Already he who reaps is receiving ^(AQ)wages and is gathering ^(AR)fruit for ^(AS)life eternal; so that he who sows and he who reaps may rejoice together. ³⁷ For in this case the saying is true, ‘^(AT)One sows and another reaps.’ ³⁸ I sent you to reap that for which you have not labored; others have labored and you have entered into their labor.”

The Samaritans

³⁹ From ^(AU)that city many of the Samaritans believed in Him because of the word of the woman who testified, “^(AV)He told me all the things that I have done.” ⁴⁰ So when the Samaritans came to Jesus, they were asking Him to stay with them; and He stayed there two days. ⁴¹ Many more believed because of His word; ⁴² and they were saying to the woman, “It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves and know that this One is indeed ^(AW)the Savior of the world.”

⁴³ After ^(AX)the two days He went forth from there into Galilee. ⁴⁴ For Jesus Himself testified that ^(AY)a prophet has no honor in his own country. ⁴⁵ So when He came to Galilee, the Galileans received Him, ^(AZ)having seen all the things that He did in Jerusalem at the feast; for they themselves also went to the feast.

Healing a Nobleman’s Son

⁴⁶ Therefore He came again to ^(BA)Cana of Galilee ^(BB)where He had made the water wine. And there was a royal official whose son was sick at ^(BC)Capernaum. ⁴⁷ When he heard that Jesus had come ^(BD)out of Judea into Galilee, he went to Him and was imploring Him to come down and heal his son; for he was at the point of death. ⁴⁸ So Jesus said to him, “Unless you people see ^[g](BE)signs and ^(BF)wonders, you simply will not believe.” ⁴⁹ The royal official *said to Him, “^[h]Sir, come down before my child dies.” ⁵⁰ Jesus *said to him, “^(BG)Go; your son lives.” The man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him and started off. ⁵¹ As he was now going down, his slaves met him, saying that his ^[i]son was living. ⁵² So he inquired of them the hour when he began to get better. Then they said to him, “Yesterday at the ^[j]seventh hour the fever left him.” ⁵³ So the father knew that it was at that hour in which Jesus said to him, “Your son lives”; and he himself believed and ^(BH)his whole household. ⁵⁴ This is again a ^(BI)second ^[k]sign that Jesus performed when He had ^(BJ)come out of Judea into Galilee.