M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Hezekiah Restores the Temple
29 Hezekiah became king when he was 25 years old, and he reigned 29 years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Abijah the daughter of Zechariah. 2 He did right in the eyes of Adonai, just as his father David had done. 3 In the first month of the first year of his reign, he opened the doors of the House of Adonai and repaired them. 4 He brought in the kohanim and the Levites and assembled them into the eastern square.
5 Then he said to them: “Listen to me, Levites! Sanctify yourselves, and sanctify the House of Adonai, the God of your fathers, and remove the defilement out of the holy place. 6 Our fathers acted unfaithfully and did evil in the sight of Adonai Eloheinu and have forsaken Him. They turned their faces away from Adonai’s dwelling place and turned their backs on Him. 7 They also shut the doors of the porch and put out the lamps. They did not burn incense or offering any burnt offerings in the Holy Place to the God of Israel. 8 Therefore, the wrath of Adonai was upon Judah and Jerusalem. He has made them an object of horror, dread and scorn, as you are seeing with your own eyes. 9 Behold, for this our fathers have fallen by the sword, and our sons, daughters and wives are in captivity.
10 “Now it is in my heart to make a covenant with Adonai, the God of Israel, so that His fierce anger may turn away from us. 11 My sons, now do not be negligent, for Adonai has chosen you to stand before Him, to serve Him, and to be His ministers and to burn incense to Him.”
12 Then these Levites arose: from the sons of Kohath, Mahath son of Amasai and Joel the son of Azariah; from the sons of Merari, Kish son of Abdi and Azariah son of Jehallelel; from the sons of Gershon, Joah son of Zimmah and Eden son of Joah; 13 from the sons of Elizaphan, Shimri and Jeiel; from the sons of Asaph, Zechariah and Mattaniah; 14 from the sons of Heman, Jehiel and Shimei; and from the sons of Jeduthun, Shemaiah and Uzziel.
15 When they had gathered their brothers and sanctified themselves, they went in, as the king ordered according to the words of Adonai, to cleanse the House of Adonai.
16 So the kohanim went into the inner part of the House of Adonai to purify it. They brought out to the courtyard of the House of Adonai every impure thing that they found in the temple of Adonai. Then the Levites received it and carried it out to Kidron Valley. 17 They began the consecration on the first day of the first month, and by the eighth day of the month they reached the porch of Adonai. For eight days they consecrated the House of Adonai and finished on the sixteenth day of the first month.
18 Then they went in to King Hezekiah and said, “We have purified the entire House of Adonai—the altar of burnt offering with all its vessels, the table of the rows of bread with all the vessels. 19 We have also prepared and concecrated all the articles that King Ahaz discarded in his unfaithfulness, while he was king. Behold, they are now before the altar of Adonai.”
20 Then King Hezekiah arose early gathered the leaders of the city and went up to the House of Adonai. 21 They brought seven bulls, seven rams, seven lambs and seven he-goats as a sin offering for the kingdom, the sanctuary and Judah, and he commanded the kohanim—the sons of Aaron—to offer them on the altar of Adonai. 22 So they slaughtered the bulls and the kohanim took the blood and sprinkled it against the altar; next they slaughtered the rams and sprinkled the blood against the altar; then they slaughtered the lambs and sprinkled the blood against the altar. 23 The he-goats for the sin offering were brought before the king and the congregation, and they laid their hands on them. 24 The kohanim then slaughtered them and purified the altar with their blood to make atonement for all Israel, for the king commanded that the burnt offering and the sin offering should be made for all Israel.
25 He stationed the Levites in the House of Adonai with cymbals, harps and lyres, according to the command of David, of Gad the king’s seer and of Nathan the prophet. For the command was by the authority of Adonai through His prophets. 26 So the Levites stood with David’s instruments and the kohanim with the trumpets.
27 Then Hezekiah gave the order to sacrifice the burnt offering on the altar. When the burnt offering began, the song of Adonai also began with the trumpets, together with the instruments of King David of Israel. 28 The entire congregation prostrated themselves, while the singers sang and the trumpeters played. All this continued until the burnt offering was finished.
29 Now at the completion of the burnt offering, the king and all who were present with him knelt down and worshiped. 30 Moreover, King Hezekiah and the officials ordered the Levites to sing praises to Adonai with the words of David and of Asaph the seer. So they sang praises with gladness and bowed down and worshiped.
31 Then Hezekiah responded and said, “You have now consecrated yourselves to Adonai. Come near and bring sacrifices and thank offerings into the House of Adonai.” The congregation brought in sacrifices and thankofferings, and all whose hearts were willing brought burnt offerings.
32 The number of the burnt offerings that the congregation brought was 70 bulls, 100 rams, and 200 lambs—all of these as a burnt offering to Adonai. 33 The animals consecrated as sacrifices were 600 bulls and 3,000 sheep. 34 The kohanim, however, were too few to flay all the burnt offerings, so their kinsmen, the Levites, helped them until the work was completed, and until other kohanim had consecrated themselves. For the Levites had been more conscientious to consecrate themselves than the kohanim. 35 There were also a great many burnt offerings, along with the fat of the peace offerings and the drink offering at every burnt offering.
Thus the avodah of the House of Adonai was reestablished. 36 Hezekiah and all the people rejoiced because of what God had enabled the people to accomplish, because it happened so suddenly.
Song of Moses to the Lamb
15 Then I saw another great and wonderful sign in heaven: seven angels who have seven plagues—the last ones, for with them God’s wrath is finished. 2 And I saw something like a sea of glass mixed with fire, and those who had overcome the beast and his image[a] and the number of his name standing by the sea of glass, holding the harps of God. 3 And they are singing the song of Moses[b] the servant of God and the song of the Lamb, saying,
“Great and wonderful are Your deeds,
Adonai Elohei-Tzva’ot![c]
Just and true are Your ways,
O King of the nations![d]
4 Who shall not fear and glorify Your name, O Lord?
For You alone are Holy.
All the nations shall come and worship before You,[e]
for Your righteous acts have been revealed!”
5 After these things I looked, and the Temple of the Tent of Witness in heaven was opened. 6 Out of the Temple came the seven angels having the seven plagues, dressed in pure bright linen and wearing wide gold sashes around their chests.
7 Then one of the four living creatures gave the seven angels seven golden bowls full of the wrath of God, who lives forever and ever. 8 And the Temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God and from His power.[f] No one was able to enter the Temple until the seven angels’ seven plagues were finished.
Devastation of Surrounding Lands
11 Open your gates, Lebanon—
fire will devour your cedars!
2 Wail, cypress tree! For the cedar has fallen.
Those majestic ones are devastated.
Wail, oaks of Bashan!
For the thick forest is cut down!
3 Listen to the wailing of the shepherds,
for their glory is destroyed!
Listen to the roaring of young lions,
for Jordan’s thickets are ruined!
Two Staffs
4 Thus said Adonai my God: “Shepherd the flock marked for slaughter! 5 Their buyers slay them and go unpunished. Those who sell them say, ‘Blessed be Adonai, for I am rich!’ Their own shepherds do not spare them. 6 I will no longer have compassion on the inhabitants of the land”—it is a declaration of Adonai. “Behold, I will hand everyone over to his neighbor and his king. They will devastate the land, and I will not deliver them from their hand.”
7 So I pastured the flock for the slaughter, especially the afflicted of the flock. Then I took two staffs—one I called Favor and the other I called Union—and I pastured the flock. 8 Next I disposed of the three shepherds in one month—for my soul was impatient with them and their soul also detested me. 9 Then I said, “I will not shepherd you! Let the dying die, let the perishing perish, and let those who are left eat one another’s flesh!” 10 So I took my staff called Favor and broke it to pieces, in order to break my covenant that I made with all people. 11 It was broken on that day. The afflicted of the flock that were watching me knew that this was the word of Adonai.”
12 Then I said to them, “If it seems good to you, pay me my wages, but if not, don’t bother!” So they weighed out my wages—30 pieces of silver.[a]
13 Then Adonai said to me, “Throw it to the potter—that exorbitant price at which they valued Me!” So I took the 30 pieces of silver and threw them into the House of Adonai, to the potter.[b]
14 Then I broke my second staff called Union, in order to break the brotherhood between Judah and Israel. 15 Again Adonai said to me, “Once more take up the equipment of a foolish shepherd! 16 For behold, I am going to raise up a shepherd in the land who will not care for the dying, seek out the young or heal the injured or nourish the healthy. Instead he will eat the meat of the choice sheep, even tearing off their hoofs.”
17 Woe to the worthless shepherd
who deserts the flock![c]
May a sword fell his arm and his right eye!
May his arm be all withered
and his right eye totally blinded!”
The Way to the Father’s House
14 “Do not let your heart be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in Me. 2 In My Father’s house there are many dwelling places. If it were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? 3 If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and take you to Myself, so that where I am you may also be. 4 And you know the way to where I am going.”[a]
5 Thomas said to Him, “Master, we don’t know where You are going. How can we know the way?”
6 Yeshua said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life! No one comes to the Father except through Me. 7 If you have come to know Me, you will know My Father also. From now on, you do know Him and have seen Him.”
8 Philip said to Him, “Master, show us the Father, and it is enough for us.”
9 Yeshua said to him, “Have I been with you for so long a time, and you haven’t come to know Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father. 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? The words I say to you, I do not speak on My own; but the Father dwelling in Me does His works. 11 Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me—or at least believe because of the works themselves.
12 “Amen, amen I tell you, he who puts his trust in Me, the works that I do he will do; and greater than these he will do, because I am going to the Father. 13 And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 If you ask Me[b] anything in My name, I will do it.”
The Believer’s Helper
15 “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments. 16 I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper[c] so He may be with you forever— 17 the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not behold Him or know Him. You know Him, because He abides with you and will be in you. 18 I will not abandon you as orphans;[d] I will come to you. 19 In a little while, the world will no longer behold Me, but you will behold Me. Because I live, you also will live!
20 “In that day, you will know that I am in My Father, you are in Me, and I am in you. 21 He who has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me. He who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and reveal Myself to him.”
22 Judah (not the one from Kriot) said to Him, “Master, what has happened, that You are about to reveal Yourself to us and not the world?”
23 Yeshua answered and said to him, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word. My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our dwelling with him. 24 He who does not love Me does not keep My words. And the word you hear is not Mine, but the Father’s who sent Me. 25 These things I have spoken to you while dwelling with you. 26 But the Helper, the Ruach ha-Kodesh whom the Father will send in My name, will teach you everything and remind you of everything that I said to you.
27 “Shalom I leave you, My shalom I give to you; but not as the world gives! Do not let your heart be troubled or afraid. 28 You’ve heard Me say, ‘I am going away and I am coming back to you.’ If you loved Me, you would rejoice that I am going to the Father, because the Father is greater than I. 29 I have told you now before it happens, so that when it happens you may believe!
30 “I will not talk with you much longer, for the ruler of this world is coming. He has nothing on Me. 31 But in order that the world may know that I love the Father, I do exactly as the Father commanded Me.
“Get up, let’s go from here!”
Tree of Life (TLV) Translation of the Bible. Copyright © 2015 by The Messianic Jewish Family Bible Society.