M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Josiah Celebrates the Passover(A)
35 King Josiah ·celebrated [kept; observed] the Passover to the Lord in Jerusalem. The Passover lamb was ·killed [slaughtered] on the fourteenth day of the first month. 2 Josiah ·chose [appointed; assigned] the priests to ·do their duties [fulfill their offices], and he encouraged them as they served in the ·Temple [L house] of the Lord. 3 The Levites taught the Israelites and were ·made holy [set apart] for service to the Lord. Josiah said to them, “Put the Holy Ark in the ·Temple [L house] that David’s son Solomon, the king of Israel, built. Do not carry it from place to place on your shoulders anymore. Now serve the Lord your God and his people Israel. 4 Prepare yourselves by your family ·groups [divisions] for service, and do the jobs that King David and his son Solomon ·gave [wrote down for] you to do.
5 “Stand in the ·holy place [sanctuary] with a ·group [division] of the Levites for each family group of the people. 6 ·Kill [Slaughter] the Passover lambs, and ·make yourselves holy [consecrate/purify/sanctify yourselves] to the Lord. Prepare for your relatives, the people of Israel, to do as the Lord through Moses commanded.”
7 Josiah ·gave [provided] the Israelites thirty thousand sheep and goats to ·kill [slaughter] for the Passover sacrifices, and he gave them three thousand cattle. They were all his own ·animals [property].
8 Josiah’s ·officers [officials] also gave willingly to the people, the priests, and the Levites. Hilkiah, Zechariah, and Jehiel, the ·officers [officials] in charge of the ·Temple [L house], gave the priests twenty-six hundred lambs and goats and three hundred cattle for Passover ·sacrifices [offerings]. 9 Conaniah, his brothers Shemaiah and Nethanel, and Hashabiah, Jeiel, and Jozabad gave the Levites five thousand sheep and goats and five hundred cattle for Passover sacrifices. These men were ·leaders [officials] of the Levites.
10 When everything was ready for the Passover service, the priests and Levites in their divisions went to their ·places [stations], as the king had commanded. 11 The Passover lambs were ·killed [slaughtered]. Then the Levites skinned the animals and gave the blood to the priests, who ·sprinkled [splashed] it on the altar. 12 Then they ·gave [divided; set aside] the animals for the burnt offerings to the different family ·groups [divisions] so the burnt offerings [Lev. 1:1–17] could be ·offered [sacrificed] to the Lord as was written in the ·book [scroll] of Moses. They also did this with the cattle. 13 The Levites roasted the Passover sacrifices over the fire as ·they were commanded [prescribed], and they boiled the ·holy [consecrated] offerings in pots, kettles, and pans. Then they quickly ·gave [served] the meat to the people. 14 After this was finished, the Levites prepared meat for themselves and for the priests, the descendants of Aaron. The priests worked until night, offering the burnt offerings [Lev. 1:1–17] and burning the fat of the sacrifices.
15 The Levite singers ·from Asaph’s family [descended from Asaph] stood in ·the places chosen for them by [their stations as prescribed by] King David, Asaph, Heman, and Jeduthun [5:12], the king’s ·seer [prophet]. The gatekeepers at each gate did not have to leave their ·places [posts], because their fellow Levites had prepared ·everything for them for the Passover [L for them].
16 So everything was ·done [completed] that day for the ·worship [service] of the Lord, as King Josiah commanded. The Passover was ·celebrated [kept; observed], and the burnt offerings were ·offered [sacrificed] on the Lord’s altar. 17 The Israelites who were there ·celebrated [kept; observed] the Passover and the ·Feast [Festival] of Unleavened Bread for seven days. 18 The Passover had not been ·celebrated [observed; kept] like this in Israel since the prophet Samuel was alive [C over four hundred years earlier]. None of the kings of Israel had ever ·celebrated [kept; observed] a Passover like the one ·celebrated [kept; observed] by King Josiah, the priests, the Levites, the people of Judah and Israel who were there, and the people of Jerusalem. 19 This Passover was ·celebrated [kept; observed] in the eighteenth year Josiah ·was king [reigned].
The Death of Josiah(B)
20 After Josiah ·did all this for [restored; set in order] the ·Temple [L house], Neco king of Egypt led an army to ·attack [fight/do battle at] Carchemish, a town on the Euphrates River. And Josiah marched out to fight against Neco. 21 But Neco sent messengers to Josiah, saying, “King Josiah, ·there should not be war between us [what have we to do with each other? L what to me and to you]. I did not come to fight you, but ·my enemies [the kingdom/L house with which I am at war]. God told me to hurry, and he is on my side. So ·don’t fight [stop opposing] God, ·or he will [so he will not] destroy you.”
22 But Josiah did not ·go [L turn his face] away. He ·wore different clothes [disguised himself] ·so no one would know who he was [in order to fight him]. Refusing to listen to ·what Neco said at God’s command [L the words Neco received from God’s mouth], Josiah went to fight on the plain of Megiddo. 23 In the battle King Josiah was shot by archers. He told his servants, “Take me away because I am badly wounded.” 24 So they took him out of his chariot and put him in another chariot and carried him to Jerusalem. There he died and was buried in the ·graves [tombs] where his ·ancestors [fathers] were buried. All the people of Judah and Jerusalem ·were very sad because he was dead [mourned for him].
25 Jeremiah ·wrote some sad songs about [composed a lament for] Josiah. Even to this day all the men and women singers ·remember and honor [lament; mourn] Josiah with these songs. It became a ·custom [tradition] in Israel to sing these songs that are written in ·the collection of sad songs [The Book of Laments].
26 The ·other things Josiah did as king [rest of the acts/events/history of Josiah] and his acts of devotion in obedience to what was was written in the Lord’s ·Teachings [instructions; laws], 27 from ·beginning to end [first to last], ·are [L are they not…?] written in the ·book [scroll] of the kings of Israel and Judah.
The New Jerusalem
21 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth [Is. 65:17; 66:22; 2 Pet. 3:13]. [L For] The first heaven and the first earth had ·disappeared [passed away], and there was no sea anymore [C the sea represents chaos and evil, so its absence indicates peace and security]. 2 And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem [C the believers’ eternal dwelling place; 3:12], coming down out of heaven from God. It was prepared like a bride ·dressed [adorned] for her husband [19:7, 9]. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, “[L Look; T Behold] Now God’s ·presence [dwelling; tabernacle] is with people, and he will ·live [dwell; tabernacle; John 1:14] with them, and they will be his people [Ex. 29:45; Jer. 31:33; Ezek. 37:27]. God himself will be with them and will be their God.[a] 4 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes [7:17; Is. 25:8], and there will be no more death [Is. 25:8; 1 Cor. 15:54], ·sadness [mourning], crying, or pain, because ·all the old ways [the old order; L the first things] are gone.”
5 The One who was sitting on the throne [C Jesus] said, “Look! I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this, because these words are ·true and can be trusted [L faithful/reliable and true].”
6 The One on the throne said to me, “It is ·finished [done; accomplished]. I am the Alpha and the Omega [C the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet; 1:8], the Beginning and the End. I will give ·free water [L freely] from the spring of the water of life to anyone who is thirsty [Is. 55:1; John 7:37]. 7 Those who ·win the victory [conquer] will ·receive [inherit] ·this [L these things; C God’s promise], and I will be their God, and they will be my children [21:3; 2 Sam. 7:14]. 8 But cowards, those ·who refuse to believe [without faith], who do ·evil [vile; detestable] things, who kill, who sin sexually, who do ·evil magic [sorcery], who worship idols, and who tell lies—all these will have ·a place [L their part] in the lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death [20:6].”
9 Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last ·troubles [plagues] came to me, saying, “·Come with me [L Come], and I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb [C the church; Eph. 5:27–29].” 10 And the angel carried me away ·by the Spirit [or in the spirit] to a very large and high mountain. He showed me the holy city, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God. 11 It ·was shining with [possessed; L had] the glory of God and was ·bright [radiant; brilliant] like a ·very expensive jewel [precious stone], like a jasper, clear as crystal. 12 The city had a great high wall with twelve gates with twelve angels at the gates, and on each gate was written the name of one of the twelve tribes of Israel. 13 There were three gates on the east, three on the north, three on the south, and three on the west [Ezek. 48:30–35]. 14 The walls of the city were built on twelve foundation stones, and on the stones were written the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.
15 The angel who talked with me had a measuring rod made of gold to measure the city, its gates, and its wall. 16 The city ·was built in a square [L lies foursquare], and its length was equal to its width. The angel measured the city with the rod. The city was ·1,500 miles long, 1,500 miles wide, and 1,500 miles high [L 1,200 stadia—its length and width and height are equal; C the unit of measure called a stadium was approximately 600 feet]. 17 The angel also measured the wall. It was ·216 feet [L 144 cubits] ·high [or thick; C the Greek is ambiguous], by human measurements, which the angel was using. 18 The wall was made of jasper, and the city was made of pure gold, as pure as glass. 19 The foundation stones of the city walls were ·decorated [ornamented] with every kind of ·jewel [precious stone; Ex. 28:15–21; Is. 54:11–12]. The first foundation was jasper, the second was sapphire, the third was ·chalcedony [agate], the fourth was emerald, 20 the fifth was ·onyx [sardonyx], the sixth was carnelian, the seventh was ·chrysolite [yellow quartz], the eighth was beryl, the ninth was topaz, the tenth was ·chrysoprase [turquoise], the eleventh was jacinth, and the twelfth was amethyst [C the specific identity of some of these jewels is uncertain]. 21 The twelve gates were twelve pearls, each gate having been made from a single pearl. And the ·street [main street; square] of the city was made of pure gold as clear as glass.
22 I did not see a temple in the city, because the Lord God ·Almighty [All-powerful] and the Lamb are the city’s temple [C a temple representing the presence of God is not needed because God’s presence is throughout the city]. 23 The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, because the glory of God ·is its [gives it] light, and the Lamb is the city’s lamp [Is. 60:19]. 24 By its light the ·people of the world [nations] will walk, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it [Is. 60:1–3]. 25 The city’s gates will never be shut on any day [Is. 60:11], because there is no night there. 26 The glory and the honor of the nations will be brought into it [C as gifts to God]. 27 Nothing ·unclean [impure; profane; common] and no one who does ·shameful [detestable; abominable] things or tells lies will ever go into it. Only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s ·book [scroll] of life [3:5] will enter the city.
3 The Lord ·All-Powerful [Almighty; of Heaven’s Armies; T of hosts] says, “I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way for me [Is. 40:3; Matt. 11:10; Mark 1:2; Luke 7:27]. Suddenly, the Lord you are ·looking for [seeking] will come to his Temple; the messenger of the ·agreement [covenant; treaty], ·whom you want [in whom you delight], will come.” 2 ·No one can live through [L Who can endure…?] ·that time [the day of his coming]; ·no one can survive [who can stand…?] when he ·comes [appears]. He will be like a ·purifying [refiner’s] fire and like ·laundry [launderer’s] soap. 3 Like someone who ·heats [refines] and purifies silver, he will purify the ·Levites [L sons/descendants of Levi] and ·make them pure [refine them] like gold and silver. Then they will bring offerings to the Lord in ·the right way [righteousness]. 4 And the Lord will ·accept [be pleased with] the offerings from Judah and Jerusalem, as it was in ·the past [L days of antiquity and former years]. 5 The Lord ·All-Powerful [Almighty; of Heaven’s Armies; T of hosts] says, “Then I will come to you and judge you. I will be quick to testify against those who take part in ·evil magic [sorcery], adultery, and ·lying under oath [perjury], those who cheat workers of their pay and who cheat widows and orphans, those who ·are unfair to [turn away; deprive of justice] ·foreigners [aliens; immigrants], and those who do not ·respect [fear] me [Prov. 1:7].
Stealing from God
6 “I the Lord do not change. So you descendants of Jacob have not been ·destroyed [consumed]. 7 ·Since the time [L From the days] of your ·ancestors [fathers], you have ·disobeyed [turned away from; spurned] my ·rules [decrees; commands] and have not kept them. Return to me, and I will return to you,” says the Lord ·All-Powerful [Almighty; of Heaven’s Armies; T of hosts].
“But you ask, ‘How can we return?’
8 “·Should [or Can] a person rob God? But you are robbing me.
“You ask, ‘How have we robbed you?’
“You have robbed me in your offerings and ·the tenth of your crops [tithes]. 9 So a curse is on you, because the whole nation has robbed me. 10 Bring to the storehouse a full ·tenth of what you earn [tithe] so there will be food in my house [C the temple; Deut. 14:22–28]. Test me in this,” says the Lord ·All-Powerful [Almighty; of Heaven’s Armies; T of hosts]. “I will open the windows of heaven for you and pour out all the blessings you need. 11 I will stop the ·insects [pests; or plague; L the devourer] so they won’t ·eat [destroy] your crops. The grapes won’t ·fall from your vines before they are ready to pick [or fail to produce a crop],” says the Lord ·All-Powerful [Almighty; of Heaven’s Armies; T of hosts]. 12 “All the nations will call you blessed, because you will have a ·pleasant country [delightful land],” says the Lord ·All-Powerful [Almighty; of Heaven’s Armies; T of hosts].
The Lord’s Promise of Mercy
13 The Lord says, “You have said ·terrible things about [L hard things against] me.
“But you ask, ‘What have we said about you?’
14 “You have said, ‘It is ·useless [futile] to serve God. ·It did no good to obey [L What profit is there to keep] his laws and to ·show that we were sorry [L walk about in mourning] for what we did before the Lord ·All-Powerful [Almighty; of Heaven’s Armies; T of hosts]. 15 So we say that proud people are ·happy [blessed]. Evil people ·succeed [prosper]. They ·challenge [test] God and ·get away with it [escape harm].’”
16 Then those who ·honored [feared] the Lord spoke with each other, and the Lord listened and heard them. The names of those who ·respected [feared] the Lord and honored ·him [L his name] were written in his presence in a ·book to be remembered [scroll of remembrance].
17 The Lord ·All-Powerful [Almighty; of Heaven’s Armies; T of hosts] says, “They ·belong to me [shall be mine]; on that day they will be my ·very own [treasured possession; special treasure]. As a ·parent [father] ·shows mercy to [spares] his ·child [son] who serves him, I will ·show mercy to [spare] my people. 18 You will again see the difference between ·good [the righteous] and ·evil people [the wicked], between those who serve God and those who don’t.
Jesus’ Tomb Is Empty(A)
20 Early on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb while it was still dark. When she saw that the large stone had been moved away from the tomb, 2 she ran to Simon Peter and the ·follower [disciple] whom Jesus loved [C probably John]. Mary said, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put him.”
3 So Peter and the other ·follower [disciple] started for the tomb. 4 They were both running, but the other ·follower [disciple] ran faster than Peter and reached the tomb first. 5 He bent down and looked in and saw the strips of linen cloth lying there, but he did not go in. 6 Then following him, Simon Peter arrived and went into the tomb and saw the strips of linen lying there. 7 He also saw the [burial] cloth that had been around Jesus’ head, which was ·folded [or rolled] up and laid [by itself] in a different place from the strips of linen. 8 Then the other ·follower [disciple], who had reached the tomb first, also went in. He saw and believed. 9 ([L For] They did not yet understand from the Scriptures that ·Jesus must rise [it was necessary for him to rise] from the dead.)
Jesus Appears to Mary Magdalene
10 Then the ·followers [disciples] went back home. 11 But Mary stood outside the tomb, ·crying [weeping]. As she was ·crying [weeping], she bent down and looked inside the tomb. 12 She saw two angels dressed in white, sitting where Jesus’ body had been, one at the head and one at the feet.
13 They asked her, “Woman, why are you ·crying [weeping]?”
She answered, “They have taken away my Lord, and I don’t know where they have put him.” 14 When Mary said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not ·know [realize] it was Jesus.
15 Jesus asked her, “Woman, why are you ·crying [weeping]? Whom are you looking for?”
Thinking he was the gardener, she said to him, “·Did you take him away, sir? [L If you took him away, sir…] Tell me where you put him, and I will get him.”
16 Jesus said to her, “Mary.”
Mary turned toward Jesus and said in the Hebrew [C Aramaic] language, “Rabboni [C a variant of the more common Rabbi].” (This means “Teacher.”)
17 Jesus said to her, “Don’t ·hold on to [cling to; or touch] me, because I have not yet ·gone up [ascended] to the Father. But go to my brothers [C his disciples] and tell them, ‘I am ·going back [ascending] to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’”
18 Mary Magdalene went and said to the ·followers [disciples], “I saw the Lord!” And she told them what Jesus had said to her.
Jesus Appears to His Followers(B)
19 When it was evening on the first day of the week, Jesus’ ·followers [disciples] were together. The doors were ·locked [shut], because they were afraid of ·the elders [the Jewish leaders; L the Jews]. Then Jesus came and stood right in the middle of them and said, “Peace be with you.” 20 After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. His ·followers [disciples] ·were thrilled [rejoiced] when they saw the Lord.
21 Then Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father sent me, I now send you.” 22 After he said this, he breathed on them [Gen. 2:7] and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven. If you ·don’t forgive them [withhold forgiveness; L retain the sins of any; Matt. 16:19; 18:18], they are not forgiven.”
Jesus Appears to Thomas
24 Thomas (called Didymus [C meaning “the Twin”]), who was one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. 25 The other ·followers [disciples] kept telling Thomas, “We saw the Lord.”
But Thomas said, “I will not believe it until I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were and put my hand into his side.”
26 ·A week later [L After eight days] the ·followers [disciples] were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. The doors were ·locked [shut], but Jesus came in and stood right in the middle of them. He said, “Peace be with you.” 27 Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and look at my hands. Put your hand here in my side. Stop ·being an unbeliever [doubting] and believe.”
28 Thomas ·said to [answered] him, “My Lord and my God!”
29 Then Jesus told him, “You believe because you see me. ·Those who believe without seeing me will be truly blessed [L Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed].”
Why John Wrote This Book
30 Jesus [L therefore] did many other ·miracles [L signs; 2:11] in the presence of his ·followers [disciples] that are not written in this book. 31 But these are written so that you may ·believe [or keep on believing] that Jesus is the Christ [C Greek: Christos, for Hebrew Mashiach, the “anointed one”], the Son of God. Then, by believing, you may have life through his name.
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