M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Judah’s King Hezekiah
29 Hezekiah was twenty-five years old(A) when he became king, and he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Abijah[a] daughter of Zechariah. 2 He did what was right in the Lord’s sight(B) just as his ancestor David had done.
3 In the first year of his reign, in the first month, he opened the doors of the Lord’s temple and repaired them.(C) 4 Then he brought in the priests and Levites and gathered them in the eastern public square.(D) 5 He said to them, “Hear me, Levites. Consecrate yourselves(E) now and consecrate the temple of the Lord, the God of your ancestors. Remove everything impure from the holy place. 6 For our ancestors were unfaithful and did what is evil in the sight of the Lord our God. They abandoned him, turned their faces away from the Lord’s dwelling place, and turned their backs on him.[b](F) 7 They also closed the doors of the portico, extinguished the lamps, did not burn incense, and did not offer burnt offerings in the holy place of the God of Israel. 8 Therefore, the wrath of the Lord was on Judah and Jerusalem, and he made them an object of terror, horror, and mockery,[c](G) as you see with your own eyes. 9 Our fathers fell by the sword, and our sons, our daughters, and our wives are in captivity because of this.(H) 10 It is in my heart now to make a covenant with the Lord, the God of Israel(I) so that his burning anger may turn away from us. 11 My sons, don’t be negligent now, for the Lord has chosen you to stand in his presence, to serve him, and to be his ministers and burners of incense.”(J)
Cleansing the Temple
12 Then the Levites stood up:
Mahath(K) son of Amasai and Joel son of Azariah from the Kohathites;
Kish son of Abdi and Azariah son of Jehallelel from the Merarites;(L)
Joah son of Zimmah and Eden son of Joah from the Gershonites;
13 Shimri and Jeuel from the Elizaphanites;
Zechariah and Mattaniah from the Asaphites;
14 Jehiel[d] and Shimei from the Hemanites;
Shemaiah and Uzziel from the Jeduthunites.
15 They gathered their brothers together, consecrated themselves,(M) and went according to the king’s command by the words of the Lord(N) to cleanse the Lord’s temple.(O)
16 The priests went to the entrance of the Lord’s temple to cleanse it. They took all the unclean things they found in the Lord’s sanctuary to the courtyard of the Lord’s temple. Then the Levites received them and took them outside to the Kidron Valley.(P) 17 They began the consecration on the first day of the first month, and on the eighth day of the month they came to the portico of the Lord’s temple. They consecrated the Lord’s temple for eight days, and on the sixteenth day of the first month they finished.
18 Then they went inside to King Hezekiah and said, “We have cleansed the whole temple of the Lord, the altar of burnt offering and all its utensils, and the table for the rows of the Bread of the Presence and all its utensils. 19 We have set up and consecrated all the utensils that King Ahaz rejected during his reign(Q) when he became unfaithful. They are in front of the altar of the Lord.”
Renewal of Temple Worship
20 King Hezekiah got up early, gathered the city officials, and went to the Lord’s temple. 21 They brought seven bulls, seven rams, seven lambs, and seven male goats as a sin offering for the kingdom, for the sanctuary, and for Judah. Then he told the descendants of Aaron, the priests, to offer them on the altar of the Lord. 22 So they slaughtered the bulls, and the priests received the blood and splattered it on the altar.(R) They slaughtered the rams and splattered the blood on the altar. They slaughtered the lambs and splattered the blood on the altar. 23 Then they brought the goats for the sin offering right into the presence of the king and the congregation, who laid their hands on them.(S) 24 The priests slaughtered the goats and put their blood on the altar for a sin offering, to make atonement for all Israel,(T) for the king said that the burnt offering and sin offering were for all Israel.
25 Hezekiah stationed the Levites in the Lord’s temple with cymbals, harps, and lyres(U) according to the command of David,(V) Gad the king’s seer,(W) and the prophet Nathan.(X) For the command was from the Lord through his prophets. 26 The Levites stood with the instruments of David,(Y) and the priests with the trumpets.(Z)
27 Then Hezekiah ordered that the burnt offering be offered on the altar. When the burnt offerings began, the song of the Lord and the trumpets began, accompanied by the instruments of King David of Israel. 28 The whole assembly was worshiping, singing the song, and blowing the trumpets—all this continued until the burnt offering was completed. 29 When the burnt offerings were completed, the king and all those present with him bowed down and worshiped.(AA) 30 Then King Hezekiah and the officials told the Levites to sing praise to the Lord in the words of David and of the seer Asaph. So they sang praises with rejoicing and knelt low and worshiped.
31 Hezekiah concluded, “Now you are consecrated[e] to the Lord. Come near and bring sacrifices and thanksgiving offerings to the Lord’s temple.” So the congregation brought sacrifices and thanksgiving offerings, and all those with willing hearts(AB) brought burnt offerings. 32 The number of burnt offerings the congregation brought was seventy bulls, one hundred rams, and two hundred lambs; all these were for a burnt offering to the Lord. 33 Six hundred bulls and three thousand sheep and goats were consecrated.
34 However, since there were not enough priests, they weren’t able to skin all the burnt offerings, so their Levite brothers helped them(AC) until the work was finished and until the priests consecrated themselves. For the Levites were more conscientious[f](AD) to consecrate themselves than the priests were.(AE) 35 Furthermore, the burnt offerings were abundant, along with the fat of the fellowship offerings(AF) and with the drink offerings(AG) for the burnt offering.
So the service of the Lord’s temple was established. 36 Then Hezekiah and all the people rejoiced over how God had prepared the people, for it had come about suddenly.
Preparation for the Bowl Judgments
15 Then I saw another great and awe-inspiring sign[a] in heaven:(A) seven angels with the seven last plagues; for with them God’s wrath will be completed.(B) 2 I also saw something like a sea of glass(C) mixed with fire, and those who had won the victory over the beast, its image,[b] and the number of its name, were standing on the sea of glass with harps from God.(D) 3 They sang the song of God’s servant Moses(E) and the song of the Lamb:
Great and awe-inspiring are your works,
Lord God, the Almighty;
just and true(F) are your ways,
King of the nations.[c](G)
4 Lord, who will not fear
and glorify your name?
For you alone are holy.(H)
All the nations will come
and worship before you(I)
because your righteous acts
have been revealed.
5 After this I looked, and the heavenly temple—the tabernacle of testimony(J)—was opened.(K) 6 Out of the temple came the seven angels with the seven plagues, dressed in pure, bright linen, with golden sashes wrapped around their chests. 7 One of the four living creatures gave the seven angels seven golden bowls filled with the wrath of God who lives forever and ever.(L) 8 Then the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God and from his power,(M) and no one could enter the temple until the seven plagues of the seven angels were completed.
Israel’s Shepherds: Good and Bad
11 Open your gates, Lebanon,
and fire will consume your cedars.(A)
2 Wail, cypress,(B) for the cedar has fallen;
the glorious trees are destroyed!
Wail, oaks of Bashan,(C)
for the stately forest has fallen!
3 Listen to the wail(D) of the shepherds,(E)
for their glory is destroyed.
Listen to the roar of young lions,(F)
for the thickets of the Jordan(G) are[a] destroyed.
4 The Lord my God says this: “Shepherd the flock intended for slaughter. 5 Those who buy them slaughter them but are not punished.(H) Those who sell them say, ‘Blessed be the Lord because I have become rich!’ Even their own shepherds have no compassion for them. 6 Indeed, I will no longer have compassion on the inhabitants of the land”—this is the Lord’s declaration. “Instead, I will turn everyone over to his neighbor and his king. They will devastate the land, and I will not rescue it from their hand.”(I)
7 So I shepherded the flock intended for slaughter, the oppressed of the flock.[b] I took two staffs, calling one Favor(J) and the other Union, and I shepherded the flock. 8 In one month I got rid of three shepherds. I became impatient with them, and they also detested me. 9 Then I said, “I will no longer shepherd you. Let what is dying die, and let what is perishing perish; let the rest devour each other’s flesh.” 10 Next I took my staff called Favor and cut it in two, annulling the covenant I had made with all the peoples. 11 It was annulled on that day, and so the oppressed of the flock[c] who were watching me knew that it was the word of the Lord. 12 Then I said to them, “If it seems right to you, give me my wages; but if not, keep them.” So they weighed my wages, thirty pieces of silver.(K)
13 “Throw it to the potter,”[d] the Lord said to me—this magnificent price I was valued by them. So I took the thirty pieces of silver and threw it into the house of the Lord, to the potter.[e](L) 14 Then I cut in two my second staff, Union, annulling the brotherhood between Judah and Israel.
15 The Lord also said to me, “Take the equipment of a foolish shepherd. 16 I am about to raise up a shepherd in the land who will not care for those who are perishing, and he will not seek the lost[f] or heal the broken. He will not sustain the healthy,[g] but he will devour the flesh of the fat sheep(M) and tear off their hooves.
The Way to the Father
14 “Don’t let your heart be troubled.(A) Believe[a] in God; (B) believe also in me. 2 In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I am going (C) to prepare a place for you? 3 If I go away and prepare a place for you, I will come again(D) and take you to myself, so that where I am you may be also.(E) 4 You know the way to where I am going.”[b](F)
5 “Lord,” Thomas(G) said, “we don’t know where you’re going. How can we know the way?”
6 Jesus told him, “I am(H) the way,(I) the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. 7 If you know me, you will also know[c] my Father.(J) From now on you do know him(K) and have seen him.”
Jesus Reveals the Father
8 “Lord,” said Philip,(L) “show us the Father, and that’s enough for us.”
9 Jesus said to him, “Have I been among you all this time and you do not know me, Philip? The one who has seen me has seen the Father.(M) How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? 10 Don’t you believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me?(N) The words I speak to you I do not speak on my own.(O) The Father who lives in me does his works.(P) 11 Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me. Otherwise, believe[d] because of the works themselves.(Q)
Praying in Jesus’s Name
12 “Truly I tell you, the one who believes in me(R) will also do the works that I do. And he will do even greater works than these,(S) because I am going to the Father.(T) 13 Whatever you ask in my name, I will do it so that the Father may be glorified(U) in the Son.(V) 14 If you ask me[e] anything in my name,(W) I will do it.[f](X)
Another Counselor Promised
15 “If you love me, you will keep[g] my commands.(Y) 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor[h](Z) to be with you forever. 17 He is the Spirit(AA) of truth.(AB) The world is unable to receive him because it doesn’t see him or know him. But you do know him, because he remains with you and will be[i] in you.(AC)
The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit
18 “I will not leave you as orphans; I am coming to you. 19 In a little while the world will no longer see me,(AD) but you will see me.(AE) Because I live, you will live(AF) too. 20 On that day you will know that I am in my Father,(AG) you are in me, and I am in you. 21 The one who has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me.(AH) And the one who loves me will be loved by my Father.(AI) I also will love him and will reveal myself to him.”
22 Judas(AJ) (not Iscariot) said to him, “Lord, how is it you’re going to reveal yourself to us and not to the world?” (AK)
23 Jesus answered, “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.(AL) 24 The one who doesn’t love me will not keep my words. The word that you hear is not mine but is from the Father who sent me.(AM)
25 “I have spoken these things to you while I remain with you. 26 But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit,(AN) whom the Father will send(AO) in my name, will teach you all things(AP) and remind you of everything I have told you.(AQ)
Jesus’s Gift of Peace
27 “Peace I leave with you. My peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Don’t let your heart be troubled or fearful.(AR) 28 You have heard me tell you, ‘I am going away(AS) and I am coming to you.’ If you loved me, you would rejoice that I am going to the Father,(AT) because the Father is greater than I.(AU) 29 I have told you now before it happens(AV) so that when it does happen you may believe. 30 I will not talk with you much longer, because the ruler of the world(AW) is coming. He has no power over me.[j](AX) 31 On the contrary, so that the world may know that I love the Father, I do as the Father commanded me.
“Get up; let’s leave this place.
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