M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
King Josiah of Judah(A)
22 (B)Josiah was eight years old when he became king of Judah, and he ruled in Jerusalem for thirty-one years. His mother was Jedidah, the daughter of Adaiah from the town of Bozkath. 2 Josiah did what was pleasing to the Lord; he followed the example of his ancestor King David, strictly obeying all the laws of God.
The Book of the Law Is Discovered(C)
3 In the eighteenth year of his reign, King Josiah sent the court secretary Shaphan, the son of Azaliah and grandson of Meshullam, to the Temple with the order: 4 “Go to the High Priest Hilkiah and get a report on the amount of money that the priests on duty at the entrance to the Temple have collected from the people. 5 Tell him to give the money to the men who are in charge of the repairs in the Temple. They are to pay 6 the carpenters, the builders, and the masons, and buy the timber and the stones used in the repairs. 7 (D)The men in charge of the work are thoroughly honest, so there is no need to require them to account for the funds.”
8 Shaphan delivered the king's order to Hilkiah, and Hilkiah told him that he had found the book of the Law in the Temple. Hilkiah gave him the book, and Shaphan read it. 9 Then he went back to the king and reported: “Your servants have taken the money that was in the Temple and have handed it over to the men in charge of the repairs.” 10 And then he said, “I have here a book that Hilkiah gave me.” And he read it aloud to the king.
11 When the king heard the book being read, he tore his clothes in dismay, 12 and gave the following order to Hilkiah the priest, to Ahikam son of Shaphan, to Achbor son of Micaiah, to Shaphan, the court secretary, and to Asaiah, the king's attendant: 13 “Go and consult the Lord for me and for all the people of Judah about the teachings of this book. The Lord is angry with us because our ancestors have not done what this book says must be done.”
14 Hilkiah, Ahikam, Achbor, Shaphan, and Asaiah went to consult a woman named Huldah, a prophet who lived in the newer part of Jerusalem. (Her husband Shallum, the son of Tikvah and grandson of Harhas, was in charge of the Temple robes.) They described to her what had happened, 15 and she told them to go back to the king and give him 16 the following message from the Lord: “I am going to punish Jerusalem and all its people, as written in the book that the king has read. 17 They have rejected me and have offered sacrifices to other gods, and so have stirred up my anger by all they have done. My anger is aroused against Jerusalem, and it will not die down. 18 As for the king himself, this is what I, the Lord God of Israel, say: You listened to what is written in the book, 19 and you repented and humbled yourself before me, tearing your clothes and weeping, when you heard how I threatened to punish Jerusalem and its people. I will make it a terrifying sight, a place whose name people will use as a curse. But I have heard your prayer, 20 and the punishment which I am going to bring on Jerusalem will not come until after your death. I will let you die in peace.”
The men returned to King Josiah with this message.
4 Now, God has offered us the promise that we may receive that rest he spoke about. Let us take care, then, that none of you will be found to have failed to receive that promised rest. 2 For we have heard the Good News, just as they did. They heard the message, but it did them no good, because when they heard it, they did not accept it with faith. 3 (A)We who believe, then, do receive that rest which God promised. It is just as he said,
“I was angry and made a solemn promise:
‘They will never enter the land where I would have given them rest!’”
He said this even though his work had been finished from the time he created the world.
4 (B)For somewhere in the Scriptures this is said about the seventh day: “God rested on the seventh day from all his work.” 5 (C)This same matter is spoken of again: “They will never enter that land where I would have given them rest.” 6 Those who first heard the Good News did not receive that rest, because they did not believe. There are, then, others who are allowed to receive it. 7 (D)This is shown by the fact that God sets another day, which is called “Today.” Many years later he spoke of it through David in the scripture already quoted:
“If you hear God's voice today,
do not be stubborn.”
8 (E)If Joshua had given the people the rest that God had promised, God would not have spoken later about another day. 9 As it is, however, there still remains for God's people a rest like God's resting on the seventh day. 10 (F)For those who receive that rest which God promised will rest from their own work, just as God rested from his. 11 Let us, then, do our best to receive that rest, so that no one of us will fail as they did because of their lack of faith.
12 The word of God is alive and active, sharper than any double-edged sword. It cuts all the way through, to where soul and spirit meet, to where joints and marrow come together. It judges the desires and thoughts of the heart. 13 (G)There is nothing that can be hid from God; everything in all creation is exposed and lies open before his eyes. And it is to him that we must all give an account of ourselves.
Jesus the Great High Priest
14 Let us, then, hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we have a great High Priest who has gone into the very presence of God—Jesus, the Son of God. 15 Our High Priest is not one who cannot feel sympathy for our weaknesses. On the contrary, we have a High Priest who was tempted in every way that we are, but did not sin. 16 Let us have confidence, then, and approach God's throne, where there is grace. There we will receive mercy and find grace to help us just when we need it.
1 This is the Lord's message to Joel son of Pethuel.
The People Mourn the Destruction of the Crops
2 Pay attention, you older people;
everyone in Judah, listen.
Has anything like this ever happened
in your time or the time of your ancestors?
3 Tell your children about it;
they will tell their children,
who in turn will tell the next generation.
4 Swarm after swarm of locusts settled on the crops;
what one swarm left, the next swarm devoured.
5 Wake up and weep, you drunkards;
cry, you wine-drinkers;
the grapes for making new wine have been destroyed.
6 (A)An army of locusts has attacked our land;
they are powerful and too many to count;
their teeth are as sharp as those of a lion.
7 They have destroyed our grapevines
and chewed up our fig trees.
They have stripped off the bark,
till the branches are white.
8 Cry, you people, like a young woman who mourns the death
of the man she was going to marry.
9 There is no grain or wine to offer in the Temple;
the priests mourn because they have no offerings for the Lord.
10 The fields are bare;
the ground mourns
because the grain is destroyed,
the grapes are dried up,
and the olive trees are withered.
11 Grieve, you farmers;
cry, you that take care of the vineyards,
because the wheat, the barley,
yes all the crops are destroyed.
12 The grapevines and fig trees have withered;
all the fruit trees have wilted and died.
The joy of the people is gone.
13 Put on sackcloth and weep,
you priests who serve at the altar!
Go into the Temple and mourn all night!
There is no grain or wine to offer your God.
14 Give orders for a fast;
call an assembly!
Gather the leaders
and all the people of Judah
into the Temple of the Lord your God
and cry out to him!
15 (B)The day of the Lord is near,
the day when the Almighty brings destruction.
What terror that day will bring!
16 We look on helpless as our crops are destroyed.
There is no joy in the Temple of our God.
17 The seeds die in the dry earth.
There is no grain to be stored,
and so the empty granaries are in ruins.
18 The cattle are bellowing in distress
because there is no pasture for them;
the flocks of sheep also suffer.
19 I cry out to you, Lord,
because the pastures and trees are dried up,
as though a fire had burned them.
20 Even the wild animals cry out to you
because the streams have become dry.
A Prayer for Protection[a]
140 Save me, Lord, from evildoers;
keep me safe from violent people.
2 They are always plotting evil,
always stirring up quarrels.
3 (A)Their tongues are like deadly snakes;
their words are like a cobra's poison.
4 Protect me, Lord, from the power of the wicked;
keep me safe from violent people
who plot my downfall.
5 The proud have set a trap for me;
they have laid their snares,
and along the path they have set traps to catch me.
6 I say to the Lord, “You are my God.”
Hear my cry for help, Lord!
7 My Sovereign Lord, my strong defender,
you have protected me in battle.
8 Lord, don't give the wicked what they want;
don't let their plots succeed.
9 Don't let my enemies be victorious;[b]
make their threats against me fall back on them.
10 May red-hot coals fall on them;
may they be thrown into a pit and never get out.
11 May those who accuse others falsely not succeed;
may evil overtake violent people and destroy them.
12 Lord, I know that you defend the cause of the poor
and the rights of the needy.
13 The righteous will praise you indeed;
they will live in your presence.
An Evening Prayer[c]
141 I call to you, Lord; help me now!
Listen to me when I call to you.
2 (B)Receive my prayer as incense,
my uplifted hands as an evening sacrifice.
3 Lord, place a guard at my mouth,
a sentry at the door of my lips.
4 Keep me from wanting to do wrong
and from joining evil people in their wickedness.
May I never take part in their feasts.
5 Good people may punish me and rebuke me in kindness,
but I will never accept honor from evil people,
because I am always praying against their evil deeds.
6 When their rulers are thrown down from rocky cliffs,
the people will admit that my words were true.
7 Like wood that is split and chopped into bits,
so their bones are scattered at the edge of the grave.[d]
8 But I keep trusting in you, my Sovereign Lord.
I seek your protection;
don't let me die!
9 Protect me from the traps they have set for me,
from the snares of those evildoers.
10 May the wicked fall into their own traps
while I go by unharmed.
Good News Translation® (Today’s English Version, Second Edition) © 1992 American Bible Society. All rights reserved. For more information about GNT, visit www.bibles.com and www.gnt.bible.