M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
King Amaziah of Judah(A)
14 Jehoahaz’s son King Jehoash was in his second year as king of Israel when King Amaziah, son of Joash of Judah, began to rule. 2 Amaziah was 25 years old when he began to rule, and he ruled for 29 years in Jerusalem. His mother was Jehoaddin from Jerusalem.
3 He did what Yahweh considered right, but not exactly what his ancestor David had done. He did everything his father Joash had done. 4 But the illegal places of worship were still not torn down. The people continued to offer sacrifices and burn incense at these worship sites.
5 As soon as he had a firm control over the kingdom, he executed the officials who had killed his father, the former king. 6 But he didn’t execute their children. He obeyed Yahweh’s command written in the Book of Moses’ Teachings: “Parents must never be put to death for the crimes of their children, and children must never be put to death for the crimes of their parents. Each person must be put to death for his own crime.”
7 Amaziah killed 10,000 Edomites in the Dead Sea region and took the city of Sela in battle. He gave it the name Joktheel, which is still its name today.
King Amaziah’s Defeat and Death(B)
8 Then Amaziah sent messengers to King Jehoash, son of Jehoahaz and grandson of Jehu of Israel, to declare war on Israel.
9 King Jehoash of Israel sent this message to King Amaziah of Judah: “A thistle in Lebanon sent a message to a cedar in Lebanon. It said, ‘Let your daughter marry my son,’ but a wild animal from Lebanon came along and trampled the thistle. 10 You certainly defeated Edom, and now you have become arrogant. Enjoy your fame, but stay home. Why must you invite disaster and your own defeat and take Judah with you?”
11 But Amaziah wouldn’t listen. So King Jehoash of Israel attacked, and King Amaziah of Judah met him in battle at Beth Shemesh in Judah. 12 Israel defeated the army of Judah, and the Judeans fled to their homes. 13 King Jehoash of Israel captured King Amaziah, son of Joash and grandson of Ahaziah of Judah, at Beth Shemesh and went to Jerusalem. He tore down a 600-foot section of the wall around Jerusalem from Ephraim Gate to Corner Gate. 14 He took all the gold, silver, and all the utensils he found in Yahweh’s temple and in the royal palace treasury. He also took hostages. Then he returned to Samaria.
15 Isn’t everything else about Jehoash—what he did, his heroic acts when he fought against King Amaziah of Judah—written in the official records of the kings of Israel? 16 Jehoash lay down in death with his ancestors and was buried with the kings of Israel in Samaria. His son Jeroboam succeeded him as king.
17 Joash’s son King Amaziah of Judah lived 15 years after the death of Jehoahaz’s son King Jehoash of Israel. 18 Isn’t everything else about Amaziah written in the official records of the kings of Judah? 19 Conspirators in Jerusalem plotted against him, so he fled to Lachish. But they sent men to Lachish after him and killed him there. 20 They brought him back by horse, and he was buried in Jerusalem, in the City of David, with his ancestors.
21 All the people of Judah took Azariah, who was 16 years old, and made him king in place of his father Amaziah. 22 Azariah rebuilt Elath and returned it to Judah after King Amaziah lay down in death with his ancestors.
King Jeroboam II of Israel
23 Joash’s son Amaziah was in his fifteenth year as king of Judah when Jehoash’s son King Jeroboam of Israel began to rule in Samaria. Jeroboam ruled for 41 years. 24 He did what Yahweh considered evil. He didn’t turn away from any of the sins that Jeroboam (Nebat’s son) led Israel to commit.
25 He restored Israel’s boundaries from the border of Hamath to the Dead Sea as Yahweh Elohim of Israel predicted through his servant Jonah, the prophet from Gath Hepher and the son of Amittai. 26 Yahweh did this because he saw how bitterly everyone in Israel was suffering. No slave or free person could help Israel. 27 Since Yahweh had said he was not going to wipe out Israel’s name completely, he saved them through Jeroboam, son of Jehoash.
28 Isn’t everything else about Jeroboam—everything he did, his heroic acts when he fought, how he recovered Damascus and Hamath for Israel[a]—written in the official records of the kings of Israel? 29 Jeroboam lay down in death with his ancestors, the kings of Israel. His son Zechariah succeeded him as king.
Continue to Do Your Work
4 I solemnly call on you in the presence of God and Christ Yeshua, who is going to judge those who are living and those who are dead. I do this because Christ Yeshua will come to rule the world. 2 Be ready to spread the word whether or not the time is right. Point out errors, warn people, and encourage them. Be very patient when you teach.
3 A time will come when people will not listen to accurate teachings. Instead, they will follow their own desires and surround themselves with teachers who tell them what they want to hear. 4 People will refuse to listen to the truth and turn to myths.
5 But you must keep a clear head in everything. Endure suffering. Do the work of a missionary. Devote yourself completely to your work.
6 My life is coming to an end, and it is now time for me to be poured out as a sacrifice to God. 7 I have fought the good fight. I have completed the race. I have kept the faith. 8 The prize that shows I have God’s approval is now waiting for me. The Lord, who is a fair judge, will give me that prize on that day. He will give it not only to me but also to everyone who is eagerly waiting for him to come again.
Paul’s Final Instructions to Timothy
9 Hurry to visit me soon. 10 Demas has abandoned me. He fell in love with this present world and went to the city of Thessalonica. Crescens went to the province of Galatia, and Titus went to the province of Dalmatia. 11 Only Luke is with me. Get Mark and bring him with you. He is useful to me in my work. 12 I’m sending Tychicus to the city of Ephesus as my representative.
13 When you come, bring the warm coat I left with Carpus in the city of Troas. Also bring the scrolls and especially the parchments.[a]
14 Alexander the metalworker did me a great deal of harm. The Lord will pay him back for what he did. 15 Watch out for him. He violently opposed what we said. 16 At my first hearing no one stood up in my defense. Everyone abandoned me. I pray that it won’t be held against them. 17 However, the Lord stood by me and gave me strength so that I could finish spreading the Good News for all the nations to hear. I was snatched out of a lion’s mouth. 18 The Lord will rescue me from all harm and will take me safely to his heavenly kingdom. Glory belongs to him forever! Amen.
Final Greetings
19 Give my greetings to Prisca and Aquila and the family of Onesiphorus. 20 Erastus stayed in the city of Corinth and I left Trophimus in the city of Miletus because he was sick. 21 Hurry to visit me before winter comes. Eubulus, Pudens, Linus, Claudia and all the brothers and sisters send you greetings.
22 The Lord be with you. His good will[b] be with all of you.
7 “Whenever I want to heal Israel,
all I can see is Ephraim’s sin and Samaria’s wickedness.
People cheat each other.
They break into houses and steal.
They rob people in the streets.
2 They don’t realize that I remember
all the evil things they’ve done.
Now their sins surround them.
Their sins are in my presence.
3 “They make kings happy with the wicked things they do.
They make officials happy with the lies they tell.
4 They all commit adultery.
They are like a heated oven,
an oven so hot that a baker doesn’t have to fan its flames
when he makes bread.
5 On the day of the king’s celebration,
the officials become drunk from wine,
and the king joins mockers.
6 They become hot like an oven while they lie in ambush.
All night long their anger smolders,
but in the morning it burns like a raging fire.
7 They are all as hot as an oven.
They consume their judges like a fire.
All their kings die in battle, and none of them calls to me.
Israel Turns to Other Nations for Help
8 “Ephraim mixes with other nations.
Ephraim, you are like a half-baked loaf of bread.
9 Foreigners are using up your strength, but you don’t realize it.
You have become a gray-haired, old man, but you don’t realize it.
10 Israel, your arrogance testifies against you,
but even after all this, you don’t turn to Yahweh your Elohim
or look to him for help.
11 Ephraim, you are like a silly, senseless dove.
You call for Egypt and run to Assyria for help.
12 When you go, I will spread my net over you.
I will snatch you out of the air like a bird.
I will punish you for all the evil things you have done.
13 “How horrible it will be for these people.
They have run away from me.
They must be destroyed because they’ve rebelled against me.
I want to reclaim them, but they tell lies about me.
14 They don’t pray to me sincerely,
even though they cry in their beds
and make cuts on their bodies
while praying for grain and new wine.
They have turned against me.
15 I trained them and made them strong.
Yet, they plan evil against me.
16 They don’t return to the Most High.
They are like a defective bow.
Their officials will die in battle
because they curse.
The people in Egypt will ridicule them for this.
Psalm 120
A song for going up to worship.
1 When I was in trouble, I cried out to Yahweh,
and he answered me.
2 O Yahweh, rescue me from lying lips
and from a deceitful tongue.
3 You deceitful tongue, what can Yahweh give you?
What more can he do for you?
4 He will give you a warrior’s sharpened arrows and red-hot coals.
5 How horrible it is to live as a foreigner in Meshech
or to stay in the tents of Kedar.
6 I have lived too long with those who hate peace.
7 I am for peace, but when I talk about it,
they only talk about war.
Psalm 121
A song for going up to worship.
1 I look up toward the mountains.
Where can I find help?
2 My help comes from Yahweh,
the maker of heaven and earth.
3 He will not let you fall.
Your guardian will not fall asleep.
4 Indeed, the Guardian of Israel never rests or sleeps.
5 Yahweh is your guardian.
Yahweh is the shade over your right hand.
6 The sun will not beat down on you during the day,
nor will the moon at night.
7 Yahweh guards you from every evil.
He guards your life.
8 Yahweh guards you as you come and go,
now and forever.
Psalm 122
A song by David for going up to worship.
1 I was glad when they said to me,
“Let’s go to the house of Yahweh.”
2 Our feet are standing inside your gates, Jerusalem.
3 Jerusalem is built to be a city
where the people are united.[a]
4 All of Yah’s tribes go to that city
because it is a law in Israel
to give thanks to the name of Yahweh.
5 The court of justice sits there.
It consists of princes who are David’s descendants.
6 Pray for the peace of Jerusalem:
“May those who love you prosper.
7 May there be peace inside your walls
and prosperity in your palaces.”
8 For the sake of my relatives and friends, let me say,
“May it go well for you!”
9 For the sake of the house of Yahweh our Elohim,
I will seek what is good for you.
The Names of God Bible (without notes) © 2011 by Baker Publishing Group.