M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan

Asa Reigns over Judah

14 ^[a](A)So Abijah slept with his fathers, and they buried him in the city of David; and Asa his son became king in his place. The land was quiet for ten years during his days.

^2 [b]And Asa did what was good and right in the sight of Yahweh his God, ³ for he removed ^(B)the foreign altars and ^(C)high places, shattered the sacred pillars, cut the ^[c](D)Asherim in pieces, ⁴ and said for Judah to seek Yahweh, the God of their fathers, and to do the law and the commandment. ⁵ He also ^[d]removed the high places and the ^(E)incense altars from all the cities of Judah. And the kingdom was quiet before him. ^6 (F)And he built fortified cities in Judah, since the land was quiet, and ^[e]there was no one at war with him during those years, ^(G)because Yahweh had given him rest. ⁷ And he said to Judah, “^(H)Let us build these cities and surround them with walls and towers, gates and bars. The land is still ^[f]ours because we have sought Yahweh our God; we have sought Him, and He has given us rest on every side.” So they built and succeeded. ⁸ Now Asa had a military force of ^(I)300,000 from Judah, bearing large shields and spears, and 280,000 from Benjamin, bearing shields and wielding bows; all of them were mighty men of valor.

⁹ Then Zerah the Ethiopian ^(J)went out against them with a military force of one million men and 300 chariots, and he came to ^(K)Mareshah. ¹⁰ So Asa went out ^[g]to meet him, and they arranged themselves for battle in the valley of Zephathah at Mareshah. ¹¹ Then Asa ^(L)called to Yahweh his God and said, “Yahweh, there is no one besides You to help in the battle between those of abundant power and those who have no power; so help us, O Yahweh our God, ^(M)for we lean on You, and in Your name have come against this multitude. O Yahweh, You are our God; let not mortal man prevail against You.” ¹² So ^(N)Yahweh smote the Ethiopians before Asa and before Judah, and the Ethiopians fled. ¹³ And Asa and the people who were with him pursued them as far as ^(O)Gerar; and so many Ethiopians fell that ^[h]they could not recover, for they were shattered before Yahweh and before His ^[i]army. And they carried away very much spoil. ¹⁴ And they struck down all the cities around Gerar, ^(P)for the dread of Yahweh had fallen on them; and they plundered all the cities, for there was much plunder in them. ¹⁵ They also struck down ^[j]those who owned livestock, and they carried away large numbers of sheep and camels. Then they returned to Jerusalem.

The Spirit of God Comes on Azariah

15 Now ^(Q)the Spirit of God came on Azariah the son of Oded, ² and he went out ^[k]to meet Asa and said to him, “Listen to me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin: ^(R)Yahweh is with you when you are with Him. And ^(S)if you seek Him, He will be found; but if you forsake Him, He will forsake you. ^3 (T)Now for many days Israel was without the true God and without ^(U)a teaching priest and without law. ⁴ But ^(V)in their distress they turned to Yahweh, the God of Israel, and they searched for Him, and He was found by them. ^5 (W)Now in those times there was no peace to him who went out or to him who came in, for much confusion was upon all the inhabitants of the lands. ^6 (X)And nation was crushed by nation, and city by city, for God threw them into confusion with every kind of distress. ⁷ But you, ^(Y)be strong and do not let your hands fall limp, for there is ^(Z)reward for your work.”

Asa Takes Away Detestable Idols

⁸ Now when Asa heard these words and the ^[l]prophecy which Azariah the son of Oded the prophet spoke, he strengthened himself and took away the detestable idols from all the land of Judah and Benjamin and from ^(AA)the cities which he had captured in the hill country of Ephraim. ^(AB)He then renewed the altar of Yahweh which was in front of the porch of Yahweh. ⁹ And he gathered all Judah and Benjamin and those from Ephraim, Manasseh and Simeon ^(AC)who sojourned with them, for many defected to him from Israel when they saw that Yahweh his God was with him. ¹⁰ So they assembled at Jerusalem in the third month of the fifteenth year of Asa’s reign. ^11 (AD)And they sacrificed to Yahweh that day 700 oxen and 7,000 sheep from the spoil they had brought. ^12 (AE)They entered into the covenant to seek Yahweh, the God of their fathers, with all their heart and soul; ¹³ and whoever would not seek Yahweh, the God of Israel, ^(AF)should be put to death, whether small or great, man or woman. ¹⁴ Moreover, they swore an oath to Yahweh with a loud voice, with shouting, with trumpets and with horns. ¹⁵ All Judah was glad concerning the oath, for they had sworn with their whole heart and had searched for Him with all their desire, and He was found by them. So ^(AG)Yahweh gave them rest on every side.

^16 (AH)He also removed Maacah, the mother of King Asa, from being queen mother, because she had made a horrid image ^[m]as ^(AI)an Asherah; and ^(AJ)Asa cut down her horrid image, crushed it and burned it at the brook Kidron. ¹⁷ But the high places were not ^[n]removed from Israel; nevertheless Asa’s heart was wholly devoted all his days. ¹⁸ And he brought into the house of God the holy things of his father and his own holy things: silver and gold and utensils. ¹⁹ And there was no more war until the thirty-fifth year of Asa’s reign.

The Throne in Heaven

4 After ^(A)these things I looked, and behold, ^(B)a door standing open in heaven, and the first voice which I had heard, ^(C)like the sound of a trumpet speaking with me, said, “^(D)Come up here, and I will ^(E)show you what must take place after these things.” ² Immediately I was ^[a](F)in the Spirit, and behold, ^(G)a throne was standing in heaven, and ^(H)One sitting on the throne. ³ And He who was sitting was like a ^(I)jasper stone and a ^(J)sardius in appearance; and there was a ^[b](K)rainbow around the throne, like an ^(L)emerald in appearance. ^4 (M)Around the throne were ^(N)twenty-four thrones, and upon those thrones I saw ^(O)twenty-four elders ^(P)sitting, clothed in ^(Q)white garments, and ^(R)golden crowns on their heads. ⁵ And out from the throne come ^(S)flashes of lightning and sounds and peals of thunder. And there were ^(T)seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are ^(U)the seven Spirits of God. ⁶ And before the throne there was something like a ^(V)sea of glass, like crystal. And in the ^[c]center and ^(W)around the throne, ^(X)four living creatures ^(Y)full of eyes in front and behind. ^7 (Z)And the first creature was like a lion, and the second creature like a calf, and the third creature had a face like that of a man, and the fourth creature was like a flying eagle. ⁸ And the ^(AA)four living creatures, each one of them having ^(AB)six wings, are ^(AC)full of eyes around and within, and ^(AD)day and night ^[d]they do not cease to say,

⁹ And when the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to Him who ^(AH)sits on the throne, to ^(AI)Him who lives forever and ever, ¹⁰ the ^(AJ)twenty-four elders will ^(AK)fall down before Him who ^(AL)sits on the throne, and will worship ^(AM)Him who lives forever and ever, and will cast their ^(AN)crowns before the throne, saying,

The Glory of Yahweh Will Fill the Temple

2 On the twenty-first of the seventh month, the word of Yahweh came by the hand of ^(A)Haggai the prophet saying, ² “Speak now to ^(B)Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, ^(C)governor of Judah, and to ^(D)Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and to the ^(E)remnant of the people saying, ³ ‘Who among you ^(F)remains who saw this house in its ^(G)former glory? And how do you see it now? Does it not seem like nothing in your eyes? ⁴ But now, ^(H)be strong, Zerubbabel,’ declares Yahweh, ‘be strong also, Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and all you people of the land, be strong,’ declares Yahweh, ‘and work; for ^(I)I am with you,’ declares Yahweh of hosts. ⁵ ‘As for the ^[a](J)promise which I cut with you when you came out of Egypt, ^[b]My ^(K)Spirit is standing in your midst; ^(L)do not fear!’ ⁶ For thus says Yahweh of hosts, ‘^(M)Once more—^[c]in a ^(N)little while—I am going to ^(O)shake the heavens and the earth, the sea also and the dry land. ⁷ And I will shake ^(P)all the nations; and ^[d]they will come with the ^(Q)desirable things of all nations, and I will ^(R)fill this house with glory,’ says Yahweh of hosts. ⁸ ‘The ^(S)silver is Mine, and the gold is Mine,’ declares Yahweh of hosts. ⁹ ‘The latter ^(T)glory of this house will be greater than the ^(U)former,’ says Yahweh of hosts, ‘and in this place I will give ^(V)peace,’ declares Yahweh of hosts.”

¹⁰ On the ^(W)twenty-fourth of the ninth month, in the second year of Darius, the word of Yahweh came to Haggai the prophet, saying, ¹¹ “Thus says Yahweh of hosts, ‘^(X)Ask now the priests about the law: ¹² If a man carries ^(Y)holy meat in the ^[e]fold of his garment and touches bread with ^[f]this fold or cooked food, wine, oil, or any other food, will it become holy?’” And the priests answered, “No.” ¹³ Then Haggai said, “^(Z)If one who is unclean from a ^[g]corpse touches any of these, will the latter become unclean?” And the priests answered, “It will become unclean.” ¹⁴ Then Haggai answered and said, “‘^(AA)So is this people. And so is this nation before Me,’ declares Yahweh, ‘and so is every work of their hands; and what they bring near to Me there is unclean. ¹⁵ But now, ^(AB)oh set your heart to consider from this day ^[h]onward: from before one ^(AC)stone was set on another in the temple of Yahweh, ^16 [i]from when it was that one came to a grain heap of twenty measures, then there would be only ten; and from when one came to the wine vat to draw fifty troughs full, then there would be only twenty. ¹⁷ I struck you and every work of your hands with ^(AD)scorching wind, mildew, and hail; ^[j]yet you did not come back to Me,’ declares Yahweh. ¹⁸ ‘^(AE)Oh set your heart to consider from this day ^[k]onward, from the ^(AF)twenty-fourth day of the ninth month; from the day when the temple of Yahweh was ^(AG)founded, set your heart to consider: ¹⁹ Is the seed still in the barn? Even including the vine, the fig tree, the pomegranate, and the olive tree, it has not borne fruit. Yet from this day on I will ^(AH)bless you.’”

Yahweh Chooses Zerubbabel

²⁰ Then the word of Yahweh came a second time to Haggai on the ^(AI)twenty-fourth day of the month, saying, ²¹ “Speak to ^(AJ)Zerubbabel governor of Judah, saying, ‘I am going to ^(AK)shake the heavens and the earth. ²² I will ^(AL)overthrow the thrones of kingdoms and destroy the ^(AM)strength of the kingdoms of the ^[l]nations; and I will ^(AN)overthrow the chariots and their riders, and the ^(AO)horses and their riders will go down, ^(AP)everyone by the sword of another.’ ²³ ‘On that day,’ declares Yahweh of hosts, ‘I will take you, Zerubbabel, son of Shealtiel, My servant,’ declares Yahweh, ‘and I will make you like a ^[m](AQ)signet ring, for ^(AR)I have chosen you,’” declares Yahweh of hosts.

You Must Be Born Again

3 Now there was a man of the Pharisees, named ^(A)Nicodemus, a ^(B)ruler of the Jews; ² this man came to Jesus by night and said to Him, “^(C)Rabbi, we know that You have come from God as a teacher; for no one can do these ^[a](D)signs that You do unless ^(E)God is with him.” ³ Jesus answered and said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one ^(F)is born ^[b]again he cannot see ^(G)the kingdom of God.”

⁴ Nicodemus *said to Him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?” ⁵ Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of ^(H)water and the Spirit he cannot enter into ^(I)the kingdom of God. ^6 (J)That which has been born of the flesh is flesh, and that which has been born of the Spirit is spirit. ⁷ Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born ^[c]again.’ ^8 (K)The wind blows where it wishes and you hear its sound, but do not know where it comes from and where it is going; so is everyone who has been born of the Spirit.”

⁹ Nicodemus answered and said to Him, “How can these things be?” ¹⁰ Jesus answered and said to him, “Are you ^(L)the teacher of Israel and do not understand these things? ¹¹ Truly, truly, I say to you, ^(M)we speak of what we know and ^(N)bear witness of what we have seen, and ^(O)you do not accept our witness. ¹² If I told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things? ^13 (P)And no one has ascended into heaven, but ^(Q)He who descended from heaven, ^(R)the Son of Man. ¹⁴ And as ^(S)Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must ^(T)the Son of Man ^(U)be lifted up; ¹⁵ so that whoever believes will ^(V)in Him have eternal life.

¹⁶ “For God ^[d]so ^(W)loved the world, that He ^(X)gave His ^[e](Y)only begotten Son, that whoever ^(Z)believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. ¹⁷ For God ^(AA)did not send the Son into the world ^(AB)to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. ^18 (AC)He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of ^(AD)the ^[f]only begotten Son of God. ¹⁹ And this is the judgment, that ^(AE)the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for ^(AF)their deeds were evil. ^20 (AG)For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light lest his deeds be exposed. ²¹ But he who ^(AH)practices the truth comes to the Light, so that his deeds may be manifested as having been done by God.”

John the Baptist’s Last Witness

²² After these things Jesus and His ^(AI)disciples came into the land of Judea, and there He was spending time with them and ^(AJ)baptizing. ²³ And John also was baptizing in Aenon near Salim, because there was much water there; and people were coming and were being baptized— ²⁴ for ^(AK)John had not yet been thrown into prison.

²⁵ Therefore there arose a debate between John’s disciples and a Jew about ^(AL)purification. ²⁶ And they came to John and said to him, “^(AM)Rabbi, He who was with you ^(AN)beyond the Jordan, to whom you ^(AO)have borne witness, behold, He is baptizing and all are coming to Him.” ²⁷ John answered and said, “^(AP)A man can receive nothing unless it ^(AQ)has been given him from heaven. ²⁸ You yourselves ^[g]are my witnesses that I said, ‘^(AR)I am not the ^[h]Christ,’ but, ‘I have been sent ahead of Him.’ ²⁹ He who has the bride is ^(AS)the bridegroom; but the friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom’s voice. So this ^(AT)joy of mine has been made full. ³⁰ He must increase, but I must decrease.

³¹ “^(AU)He who comes from above is above all, ^(AV)he who is of the earth is from the earth and speaks of the earth. ^(AW)He who comes from heaven is above all. ³² What He has seen and heard, of that He ^(AX)bears witness; and ^(AY)no one receives His witness. ³³ He who has received His witness ^(AZ)has set his seal to this, that God is true. ³⁴ For He whom God has ^(BA)sent speaks the words of God; ^[i](BB)for He gives the Spirit without measure. ^35 (BC)The Father loves the Son and ^(BD)has given all things into His hand. ³⁶ He who ^(BE)believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who ^(BF)does not ^[j]obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.”