M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan

23 which king sent, and all the eld men of Judah, and of Jerusalem, were gathered to him. (and the king sent for all the elders of Judah, and of Jerusalem, and they were gathered unto him.)

² And the king went up into the temple of the Lord, and all the men of Judah, and all the men that dwelled in Jerusalem with him, the priests and the prophets, and all the people from little unto great; and the king read, while all men heard, all the words of the book of [the] bond of peace of the Lord, the which was found in the house of the Lord. (And the king went up into the Temple of the Lord, and all the men of Judah, and all the men who lived in Jerusalem with him, the priests and the prophets, and all the people from the little unto the great; and the king read, while all the men listened, all the words of The Book of the Covenant of the Lord, which had been found in the House of the Lord.)

³ And the king stood on the degrees; and smote a bond of peace before the Lord, that they would go after the Lord, and keep his commandments and witnessings and ceremonies in all their heart and in all their soul, and that they should raise up the words of this bond of peace, that were written in that book; and the people assented to the covenant. (And the king stood on the steps; and struck a covenant before the Lord, that they would follow the Lord, and keep his commandments and testimonies and statutes, with all their heart and with all their soul, and that they would raise up the words of this covenant that were written in that book; and the people agreed to the covenant.)

⁴ And the king commanded to Hilkiah, the bishop, and to the priests of the second order, and to the porters, that they should cast out of the temple [of the Lord] all the vessels, that were made to Baal, and in the maumet wood, and to all the knighthood of (the) heaven(s); and he burnt those vessels without Jerusalem, in the even valley of Kidron, and he bare the powder of those vessels into Bethel. (And the king commanded to the High Priest Hilkiah, and to the priests of the second order, and to the guards, that they should throw out of the Temple of the Lord all the vessels that were made for Baal, and for Asherah, and for all the host of heaven; and he burned those vessels outside Jerusalem, in the Kidron Valley, and he brought the powder of those vessels to Bethel.)

⁵ And he did away [the] false diviners, which the kings of Judah had set to make sacrifice in (the) high things by the cities of Judah, and in the compass of Jerusalem; and he did away them that burnt incense to Baal, and to the sun, and to the moon, and to (the) twelve signs, and to all the knighthood of (the) heaven(s). (And he did away the false diviners, whom the kings of Judah had ordained to make sacrifice in the hill shrines in the cities of Judah, and all around Jerusalem; and he did away those who burned incense to Baal, and to the sun, and to the moon, and to the twelve signs, yea, to all the host of heaven.)

⁶ And the king made the wood of maumetry to be borne out of the house of the Lord, without Jerusalem, in(to) the even valley of Kidron, and he burnt it there; and he drove it into powder, and casted it forth upon the sepulchres of the common people. (And the king ordered the sacred pole of that idol, or that false god, Asherah to be taken out of the House of the Lord, and out of Jerusalem, to the Kidron Valley, and he burned it there; and he drove it down into powder, and threw it forth onto the tombs, or the graves, of the common people.)

⁷ Also he destroyed the little houses of [the] womanish men, the which houses were in the house of the Lord; for the which houses women weaved, or wattled, as little houses of the wood. (And he destroyed the little houses of the male whores of the Temple, which houses were attached to the House of the Lord; and where women weaved, or wattled, vestments used in honouring and worshipping Asherah.)

⁸ And he gathered all the priests from the cities of Judah, and he defouled the high things, where the priests made sacrifice, from Geba unto Beersheba; and he destroyed the altars of the gates (that were) in the entering of the door of Joshua, (who was the) prince of a city, which door was at the left half of the gate of the city. (And he gathered all the priests from the cities of Judah, and he defiled the hill shrines, where the priests made sacrifice, from Geba unto Beersheba; and he destroyed the altars of the demons that were at the entrance of the gate of Joshua, who was the ruler of the city, which gate was on the left side of the city gate.)

⁹ Nevertheless the priests of [the] high things went not up to the altar of the Lord in Jerusalem, but only they ate therf loaves in the midst of their brethren. (Now the priests of the hill shrines did not go up to the altar of the Lord in Jerusalem, but they did eat the unleavened bread in the midst of their kinsmen.)

¹⁰ Also he defouled Topheth, which is in the even valley of the son of Hinnom, (so) that no man should hallow his son either his daughter by fire to Moloch. (And he defiled Topheth, which is in the Valley of Ben-hinnom, so that no man would sacrifice his son or his daughter in the fire to Moloch.)

¹¹ Also he did away [the] horses, that the kings of Judah had given to the sun, in the entering of the temple of the Lord, beside the chamber of Nathanmelech, the gelding, that was in (the) Parvarim, (that is, the suburbs, or the living quarters); forsooth he burnt by fire the chariots of the sun. (And he did away the horses, that the kings of Judah had erected to the sun, at the entrance to the Temple of the Lord, beside the chamber of Nathanmelech, the eunuch, that was in the Parvarim, that is, in the suburbs, or the living quarters; and he burned up the chariots of the sun.)

¹² Also the king destroyed the altars, that were on the roofs of the solar of Ahaz, which the kings of Judah had made; and the king destroyed the altars, which Manasseh had made in the two great places of the temple of the Lord; and he ran from thence, and scattered the ashes of those altars into the strand of Kidron. (And the king destroyed the altars that were on the roof of the solarium of Ahaz, which the kings of Judah had made; and the king destroyed the altars which Manasseh had made in the two great courtyards of the Temple of the Lord; and he went from there, and scattered the ashes of those altars in the Kidron Valley.)

¹³ Also the king defouled the high things, that were in Jerusalem at the right half of the hill of offence, that is, the hill of Olivet, which Solomon, king of Israel, had builded to Ashtoreth, the idol of Sidonians, and to Chemosh, the offence of Moab, and to Malcham, the abomination of the sons of Ammon; (And the king defiled the hill shrines that were east of Jerusalem, on the right side of the hill of offence, that is, south of the Mount of Olives, which Solomon, the king of Israel, had built for Ashtoreth, the false god of the Sidonians, and for Chemosh, the offensive god of Moab, and for Milcom, the abominable god of the Ammonites;)

¹⁴ and he all-brake [the] images, and cutted down (the) [maumet] woods (and cut down the sacred poles of Asherah), and filled the places of those with the bones of dead men.

¹⁵ Furthermore also he destroyed the altar that was in Bethel, and the high solemn thing, which Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, had made, that made Israel to do sin; and he destroyed that high altar, and burnt it, and all-brake it into powder, and cutted down also the [maumet] wood. (And furthermore he destroyed the altar that was in Bethel, and the hill shrine, which Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, had made, who had made Israel to do sin; and he destroyed that high altar, and burned it, and broke it all into powder, and also cut down the sacred pole of Asherah.)

¹⁶ And Josiah turned, and saw there sepulchres that were in the hill; and he sent, and took the bones from the sepulchres, and burnt those on the altar, and defouled it, after the word of the Lord, that the man of God spake, that before-said these words. (And Josiah turned, and saw the tombs, or the graves, that were there on the hill; and he sent for, and took all the bones from those tombs, or those graves, and burned them on the altar, and defiled it, after the word of the Lord, that the man of God spoke, who foretold these things.)

¹⁷ And the king said, What is this burial, that I see? [Whose is this tomb that I see?] And the citizens of that city answered to him, It is the sepulchre of the man of God, that came from Judah, and before-said these words (and foretold these things), which thou hast done upon the altar of Bethel.

¹⁸ And the king said, Suffer ye him (Do not ye touch him); no man move his bones. And (so) his bones dwelled untouched with the bones of the prophet, that came from Samaria.

¹⁹ Furthermore also Josiah did away all the temples of [the] high things, that were in the cities of Samaria, which the kings of Israel had made to stir the Lord to ire; and he did to those temples by all things which he had done in Bethel. (And furthermore Josiah did away all the temples of the hill shrines that were in the cities of Samaria, which the kings of Israel had built, and had so stirred the Lord to anger; and he did to those temples all the things which he had done to the temples in Bethel.)

²⁰ And he killed all the priests of [the] high things, that were there upon the altars, and he burnt men’s bones on those altars; and he turned again to Jerusalem; (And he killed all the priests of the hill shrines, who were there at the altars, and he burned the bones of people upon those altars; and then he returned to Jerusalem;)

²¹ and he commanded to all the people, and said, Make ye pask to the Lord your God, after that, that is written in the book of this bond of peace. (and he commanded to all the people, and said, Keep ye the Passover to the Lord your God, after what is written in this Book of the Covenant.)

²² Certainly such a pask was not made, from the days of judges that deemed Israel, and of all the days of the kings of Israel, and of Judah, (Certainly such a Passover was not kept, from the days of the judges who judged Israel, nor in all the days of the kings of Israel, or of Judah,)

²³ as this pask (that) was made to the Lord in Jerusalem in the eighteenth year of king Josiah.

²⁴ But also Josiah did away men having fiends speaking in their wombs, and false diviners in altars, and he did away the figures of idols, and all [the] uncleannesses, and [the] abominations, that were in the land of Judah and in Jerusalem, that he should do the words of the law, that were written in the book, that Hilkiah, the priest, found in the temple of the Lord. (And Josiah also did away men having fiends speaking in their wombs, and false diviners at altars, and the figures of idols, and all the uncleannesses, and the abominations, that were in the land of Judah and in Jerusalem, so that he would do all the words of the Law, that were written in the book that the High Priest Hilkiah had found in the Temple of the Lord.)

²⁵ No king before him was like him, that turned again to the Lord in all his heart, and in all his soul, and in all his strength, after all the law of Moses; neither after him rose (up) any like him. (There was no king like him before him, who had turned again to the Lord with all his heart, and with all his soul, and with all his strength, after all the Law of Moses; nor did there rise up any king like him after him.)

²⁶ Nevertheless the Lord was not turned away from the ire of his great vengeance, by which his strong vengeance was wroth against Judah, for the stirrings to ire by which Manasseh had stirred him to ire.

²⁷ Therefore the Lord said, I shall do away also Judah from my face, as I did away Israel; and I shall cast away this city Jerusalem, which I chose, and the house of which I said, My name shall be there. (And so the Lord said, I shall also do away Judah from before me, as I did away Israel; and I shall throw away this city of Jerusalem, which I chose, and the House of which I said, My name shall always be there.)

²⁸ Forsooth the residue of the words of Josiah, and all things that he did, whether these be not written in the book of [the] words of [the] days of the kings of Judah?

²⁹ In the days of Josiah, Pharaoh Necho, the king of Egypt, went up against the king of Assyrians, to the flood Euphrates; and Josiah, king of Judah, went into the meeting of Pharaoh, to forbid him to pass through Judah; and Josiah was slain in Megiddo, when he had seen Pharaoh. (In the days of Josiah, Pharaoh Necho, the king of Egypt, went up to the Euphrates River to help the king of Assyria; and Josiah, the king of Judah, went out against Pharaoh, to forbid him to pass through Judah; and Josiah was killed at Megiddo, when he met Pharaoh in battle.)

³⁰ And his servants bare him dead from Megiddo, and brought him into Jerusalem, and buried him in his sepulchre; and the people of the land took Jehoahaz^[a], the son of Josiah, and anointed him, and made him king for his father (and made him king in place of his father).

³¹ Jehoahaz was of three and twenty years, when he began to reign, and he reigned three months in Jerusalem; the name of his mother was Hamutal, the daughter of Jeremy of Libnah.

³² And he did evil before the Lord, by all things which his fathers had done.

³³ And Pharaoh Necho bound him in prison in Riblah, that is in the land of Hamath, that he should not reign in Jerusalem; and Pharaoh set a pain, either a fine, to the land of Judah, in an hundred talents of silver, and in one talent of gold (and Pharaoh put a fine on the land of Judah, of a hundred talents of silver, and a talent of gold).

³⁴ And Pharaoh Necho made king Eliakim, the son of Josiah, for Josiah, his father (And Pharaoh Necho made Eliakim, Josiah’s son, to be king in place of his father); and he turned the name of him to Jehoiakim; forsooth Pharaoh took Jehoahaz (away), and led him into Egypt, (and he died there).

³⁵ Soothly Jehoiakim gave silver and gold to Pharaoh, when he had commanded to the land by all years, that it should be brought, by the commandment of Pharaoh; and Jehoiakim raised of each man by his mights, or after his power, both silver and gold, of the people of the land, that he should give to Pharaoh Necho. (And Jehoiakim paid the silver and gold to Pharaoh, in all the years that he commanded over the land, that it should be brought in, by Pharaoh’s commandment; and Jehoiakim raised both the silver, and the gold, from the people of the land, yea, out of each man’s own wealth, so that he could pay it to Pharaoh Necho.)

³⁶ Jehoiakim was of five and twenty years, when he began to reign, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem; the name of his mother was Zebudah, the daughter of Pedaiah of Rumah.

³⁷ And he did evil before the Lord, by all things which his fathers had done.

5 For each bishop taken of men, is ordained for men in these things that be to God [in those things that be to God], that he offer gifts and sacrifices for sins.

² Which may together sorrow with them, that be unknowing and err [that know not and err]; for also he is environed with infirmity.

³ And therefore he oweth, as for the people, so also for himself, to offer for sins.

⁴ Neither any man taketh to him honour, but he that is called of God, as Aaron was.

⁵ So [and] Christ clarified not himself, that he were bishop, but he that spake to him, Thou art my Son, to day I engendered thee [to day I gendered thee].

⁶ As [and] in another place he saith, Thou art a priest without end [Thou art a priest into without end], after the order of Melchisedec.

⁷ Which in the days of his flesh offered, with great cry and tears, prayers and beseechings to him that might make him safe from death, and was heard for his reverence.

⁸ And when he was God's Son, he learned obedience of these things that he suffered;

⁹ and he brought to the end is made cause of everlasting health [and he led to perfection is made cause of everlasting health] to all that obey him,

¹⁰ and is called of God a bishop, by the order of Melchisedec. [called of God a bishop, by the order of Melchisedec.]

¹¹ Of whom there is to us a great word for to say, and able to be expounded, for ye be made feeble to hear.

¹² For when ye ought to be masters for a time, again ye need that ye be taught, which be the letters of the beginning of God's words [which be the elements, or letters, of the beginning of God's words]. And ye be made those, to whom is need of milk, and not [of] firm meat.

¹³ For each that is partner of milk, is without part of the word of rightwiseness, for he is a little child.

¹⁴ But of perfect men is firm meat, of them that for custom have [their] wits exercised to discretion of good and of evil [of good and evil].

2 Sing ye with a trump in Zion, yell ye in mine holy hill. All the dwellers of earth be disturbed; for the day of the Lord cometh, (Sing ye with a trumpet in Zion, yell ye upon my holy hill. All the people of the land be troubled; for the day of the Lord cometh,)

² for the day of darknesses and of mist is nigh, the day of cloud and of whirlwind. (These locusts be) As the morrowtide spread abroad on hills, (like) a much people and strong. None was like it from the beginning, and after it shall not be, till into years of generation and of generation. (for the day of darkness and of mist is near, the day of cloud and of whirlwind. These locusts be like the morning spread abroad upon the hills, like a strong, innumerable host, or army. Nothing was ever like them before, and after them, nothing shall ever be like them again.)

³ Before the face thereof shall be fire devouring, and after it shall be burning flame; as a garden of liking the land shall be before them, and wilderness of desert (it) shall be after them, and none is that shall escape them. (At the front, they be like a devouring fire, and at the back, they be like a burning flame; before they come, the land shall be like a Garden of Eden, but after they leave, it shall be a wilderness of the desert, and there is nothing that shall escape them.)

⁴ The looking of them shall be as the looking of horses; and as horsemen, so they shall run.

⁵ As the sound of carts on the heads of hills they shall skip; as the sound of the flame of fire devouring stubble, as a strong people made ready to battle. (They shall skip over the hill-tops, sounding like the rattle of carts, and like the flames of fire devouring stubble; they shall come like a strong, innumerable host, or army, prepared to do battle.)

⁶ Peoples shall be tormented of the face thereof, all faces shall be (as) driven into a pot. (The peoples shall be tormented before them, yea, all their faces shall turn pale with fear.)

⁷ As strong men they shall run, as men warriors they shall ascend on the wall. (These) Men shall go in their ways, and they shall not bow away from their paths. (They shall run like strong men, and like fighting men they shall go up on the walls. They shall go straight in their ways, and they shall not turn away from their paths.)

⁸ Each man shall not make strait his brother, each man shall go in his path; but also they shall fall down by windows, and shall not be hurt. (No one shall divert his neighbour, each one shall go on his own path; and they shall go in through the windows, and not be hurt.)

⁹ They shall enter into the city, they shall run on the wall; they shall ascend on houses, they shall enter as a night thief by windows. (They shall enter into the city, they shall run upon the walls; they shall go up on the houses, and they shall go in through the windows like a night thief.)

¹⁰ The earth trembled of his face, heavens were moved, the sun and the moon were made dark, and stars withdrew their shining. (The earth trembled before them, the heavens were moved, the sun and the moon were made dark, and the stars withdrew their shining.)

¹¹ And the Lord gave his voice before the face of his host, for his hosts be full many; for those be strong, and do the word of him. For the day of the Lord is great, and full fearedful, and who shall suffer it?

¹² Now therefore saith the Lord, Be ye turned again to me in all your heart, in fasting, and weeping, and wailing; (And yet even now, saith the Lord, turn ye again to me/return to me, with all your heart, with fasting, and weeping, and wailing;)

¹³ and carve ye your hearts, and not your clothes, and be ye turned again to your Lord God, for he is benign, and merciful, patient, and of much mercy, and abiding, either forgiving, on malice. (and carve ye, or rend ye, your hearts, and not your clothes, and turn ye again to the Lord your God/and return to the Lord your God, for he is benign, and merciful, patient, and of much mercy, and forgiving of malice.)

¹⁴ Who knoweth, if God be (not) turned again, and forgive, and leave blessing after him? sacrifice and moist sacrifice to our Lord God. (Who knoweth, if God shall not turn again, or repent, and forgive, and even leave a blessing behind him? so, offer ye grain and wine to the Lord our God!)

¹⁵ Sing ye with a trump in Zion, hallow ye fasting, call ye (a) company; (Sing ye with a trumpet in Zion, call ye for a fast, call ye the congregation;)

¹⁶ gather together the people, hallow ye the church (gather together the people, call ye the congregation), gather ye together (the) eld men, gather ye together (the) little children, and (those) sucking the breasts; a spouse go out of his bed, and a spousess (out) of her chamber.

¹⁷ Priests, the ministers of the Lord, shall weep betwixt the porch and the altar, and shall say, Lord! spare thou, spare thy people, and give thou not thine heritage into shame, that nations be lords of them. Why say they among peoples, Where is the God of them? (The priests, the ministers of the Lord, shall weep between the porch and the altar, and shall say, Lord! spare thou, spare thy people, and give thou not thy own inheritance into shame, so that the nations be their lords. Why let the heathen say, Where is their God?)

¹⁸ The Lord loved jealously his land, and spared his people. (And then the Lord jealously, or zealously, loved his land, and spared his people.)

¹⁹ And the Lord answered, and said to his people, Lo! I shall send to you wheat, and wine, and oil, and ye shall be [ful]filled with those; and I shall no more give you (to be a) shame among heathen men. (And the Lord said to his people, Lo! I shall send you corn, or grain, and wine, and oil, and ye shall be fulfilled, or satisfied, with them/and ye shall be filled full with them; and I shall no more allow you to be the reproach of the heathen.)

²⁰ And I shall make him that is at the north far from you; and I shall cast him out into a land without way, and desert; his face against the east sea, and the last part thereof at the last sea; and the stink thereof shall go up, and the root thereof shall ascend, for he did proudly. (And I shall make those who be at the north to go far away from you; and I shall throw them out into a land without a way, and turned into a desert; their front forces shall turn toward the East Sea, or the Dead Sea, and their last parts toward the West Sea, or the Mediterranean Sea; and the stink of their carrion, or of their corpses, shall go up, for I shall go out against them, because of what they did so proudly to thee.)

²¹ Earth, do not thou dread, make thou full out joy, and be glad; for the Lord magnified that (that) he should do. (O earth/O land, do not thou fear, rejoice, and be happy; for the Lord magnified what he said he would do.)

²² Beasts of the country, do not ye dread, for the fair things of desert burgeoned; for the tree brought his fruit, the fig tree and [the] vinery gave their strength. (Beasts in the fields, do not ye fear, for the beautiful things of the desert have burgeoned/for the pastures of the wilderness have become green; the trees have brought forth their fruit, and the fig trees and the vines gave their harvest.)

²³ And the sons of Zion, make ye full out joy, and be ye glad in your Lord God, for he gave to you a teacher of rightfulness, and he shall make morrowtide rain and eventide rain to come down to you, as in the beginning. (And people of Zion, rejoice, and be ye happy in the Lord your God, for he gave you a teacher of righteousness/for he gave you the right amount of rain, and he shall make the morning, or the early, rain and the evening, or the late, rain come down to you, like before.)

²⁴ And cornfloors shall be [full-]filled of wheat, and pressers shall flow with wine and oil. (And the threshing floors shall be filled full with grain, and the winepresses shall flow with wine and oil.)

²⁵ And I shall yield to you the years which the locust, bruchus, and rust, and wortworm, my great strength, ate, which I sent into you. (And I shall give back to you the years which the locust, and the bruchus, and rust, and the wortworm, my great host, or my great army, ate, which I sent against you.)

²⁶ And ye shall eat eating, and ye shall be [ful]filled; and ye shall praise the name of your Lord God, that made marvels with you; and my people shall not be shamed [into] without end. (And ye shall have plenty to eat, and ye shall be fulfilled, or satisfied/and ye shall be filled full; and ye shall praise the name of the Lord your God, who made miracles for you; and my people shall not be shamed forever.)

²⁷ And ye shall know, that I am in the midst of Israel; and I am your Lord God, and none is more; and my people shall not be shamed [into] without end. (And ye shall know, that I am in the midst of Israel; and I am the Lord your God, and no one is greater; and my people shall not be shamed forever.)

²⁸ And it shall be, after these things I shall shed out my spirit on each man (And it shall be, after these things I shall pour out my spirit upon everyone); and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy; your eld men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions.

²⁹ But also I shall shed out my spirit on my servants, and handmaids, in those days; (And I shall even pour out my spirit upon slaves, and slave-girls, in those days;)

³⁰ and I shall give great wonders in heaven, and in earth, blood, and fire, and the heat of smoke. (and I shall give great wonders in the heavens, and upon the earth, yea, blood, and fire, and the heat of smoke.)

³¹ The sun shall be turned into darknesses, and the moon into blood, before that the great day and horrible of the Lord come. (The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before that the great and terrible day of the Lord come.)

³² And it shall be, each that calleth to help the name of the Lord shall be safe; for why salvation, either saving, shall be in the hill of Zion and in Jerusalem, as the Lord said, and in the residue men, which the Lord calleth. (And it shall be, that everyone who calleth on the name of the Lord for help, shall be saved; for salvation, or saving, shall be on Mount Zion, and in Jerusalem, as the Lord hath said, and among those who remain, or those who survive, that is, the remnant, whom the Lord calleth.)

142 The learning of David; his prayer, when he was in the den. With my voice I cried to the Lord; with my voice I prayed heartily to the Lord. (The teaching of David; his prayer, when he was in the cave. With my voice I cried to the Lord; with my voice I heartily prayed to the Lord.)

² I shedded out my prayer in his sight; and I pronounce(d) my tribulation before him. (I poured out my complaints before him; and I told him about all my troubles.)

³ While my spirit faileth of me; and thou hast known my paths. In this way in which I went; proud men hid a snare to me. (Yea, when my spirit failed within me; thou knewest which path I should take. For on the way in which I went; proud people hid a snare for me.)

⁴ I beheld to the right side, and I saw; and none there was that knew me. Flight perished from me; and none there is that seeketh (to help) my soul. (I looked to the right; and I saw, that there was no one there who knew me. I had no way to escape; there was no one to rescue me.)

⁵ Lord, I cried to thee; I said, Thou art mine hope; my part in the land of livers. (Lord, I cried to thee; I said, Thou art my only hope, my portion in the land of the living.)

⁶ Give thou attention to my beseeching; for I am made low full greatly. Deliver thou me from them that pursue me; for they be comforted on me. (Give thou attention to my plea; for I am brought down so very low. Save thou me from those who pursue me; for they be stronger than me.)

⁷ Lead my soul out of keeping to acknowledge to thy name; just men abide me, till thou yield to me. (Lead me out of this prison, so that I can praise thy name; the righteous shall gather around me, when thou shalt reward me.)