M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Chapter 30[a]
Invitation to the Passover. 1 Hezekiah sent messengers to all Israel and Judah, and he also wrote letters to Ephraim and Manas-seh, inviting them to come to the house of the Lord in Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover in honor of the Lord, the God of Israel. 2 [b]The king and his officials and the entire assembly in Jerusalem had agreed to celebrate the Passover in the second month, 3 having been unable to celebrate it at the proper time because the priests had not sanctified themselves in sufficient numbers and the people had not yet assembled in Jerusalem.
4 The proposal was accepted by the king and all the assembly. 5 Therefore, they resolved to issue a proclamation throughout all Israel, from Dan to Beer-sheba, that the people should come to Jerusalem and celebrate the Passover in honor of the Lord, the God of Israel. For the feast had not been celebrated in large numbers in the manner prescribed. 6 Accordingly, couriers traveled throughout Israel and Judah with letters from the king and his officials, as the king had commanded, saying: “O people of Israel, return to the Lord, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, so that he may turn back to you, the remnant left from the hands of the kings of Assyria. 7 Do not be like your ancestors and your brothers who were unfaithful to the Lord, the God of their ancestors, so that he made them an object of horror, as you yourselves now see. 8 Do not be stiff-necked as your ancestors were, but submit yourselves to the Lord and come to his sanctuary that he has consecrated forever, and serve the Lord, your God, so that his fierce anger may turn away from you. 9 For when you return to the Lord, your brothers and your children will be treated with compassion by their captors and return to this land. For the Lord, your God, is gracious and compassionate, and he will not turn his face away from you if you return to him.”
10 The couriers went from town to town in Ephraim and Manasseh, and as far as Zebulun, but the people scorned and mocked them. 11 Nevertheless a few people from Asher, Manasseh, and Zebulun humbled themselves and came to Jerusalem. 12 The hand of God was also on Judah to make the people of one mind to do what the king and the officials commanded in accordance with the word of the Lord.
13 The Passover Celebrated. A huge crowd gathered together in Jerusalem to celebrate the Feast of Unleavened Bread in the second month. 14 They began their work by removing the altars that were in Jerusalem. Then they removed all the altars of incense and threw them into the Kidron Valley.
15 On the fourteenth day of the second month they slaughtered the Passover lamb. Meanwhile, the priests and the Levites were ashamed; after they consecrated themselves, they brought burnt offerings to the temple of the Lord. 16 Then they took their accustomed places according to the law of Moses, the man of God, while the priests sprinkled the blood that they had received from the Levites.
17 Since many people in the assembly had not sanctified themselves, the Levites had to slaughter the Passover lambs for them to the Lord.[c] 18 For a large number of people, mainly from Ephraim, Manasseh, Issachar, and Zebulun, had not cleansed themselves, but even so they ate the Passover contrary to what was prescribed.
However, Hezekiah prayed for them, saying: “May the good Lord grant pardon 19 to all those who are determined to seek God, the Lord, the God of their ancestors, even though they have not been purified as holiness requires.” 20 The Lord listened to Hezekiah and healed the people.
21 With great rejoicing the Israelites who were present in Jerusalem celebrated the Feast of Unleavened Bread for seven days, while the Levites and the priests day after day praised the Lord with all their strength. 22 Hezekiah then spoke encouragingly to all the Levites who had shown themselves to be well skilled in the service of the Lord. During the seven days of the festival the people consumed their assigned portion of food, sacrificing offerings of well-being and giving thanks to the Lord, the God of their ancestors.
23 Then the entire assembly agreed to continue the festival for another seven days, and they did so with joyous celebration. 24 Hezekiah, the king of Judah, contributed to the assembly one thousand bulls and seven thousand sheep, and the officials gave to the assembly one thousand bulls and ten thousand sheep, while the priests sanctified themselves in great numbers. 25 The entire assembly of Judah rejoiced, along with the priests and the Levites and the resident aliens who had come from Israel, as well as the resident aliens who dwelt in Judah. 26 There was great rejoicing in Jerusalem, for since the time of Solomon, the son of King David of Israel, nothing of this magnitude had been seen in Jerusalem. 27 Then the priests and the Levites stood up and blessed the people, and their voices were heard by God when their prayer reached his holy dwelling in heaven.
Chapter 16
The Seven Bowls of the Wrath of God.[a] 1 Then I heard a loud voice from the temple say to the seven angels, “Go forth and pour out on the earth the seven bowls of the wrath of God.”
2 The first angel went forth and poured out his bowl on the earth. Immediately, foul and malignant sores broke out on those who had the mark of the beast and who worshiped its image.[b]
3 [c]The second angel poured out his bowl on the sea. It turned to blood, like the blood of a dead person, and every living thing in the sea died.
4 The third angel poured out his bowl on the rivers and the springs of water, and they turned to blood. 5 Then I heard the angel in charge of the waters say:
“You are just, O Holy One,
who are and who were,
in these your judgments.
6 For they have shed the blood
of the saints and the Prophets,
and you have given them blood to drink,
as they deserve.”
7 And I heard the altar respond:
“Yes, Lord God Almighty,
true and just are your judgments.”
8 The fourth angel poured out his bowl on the sun, and the sun was allowed to burn people with its flames. 9 They were scorched by the fierce heat, and they cursed the name of God who had the power to inflict those plagues, but they refused to repent and pay him homage.
10 The fifth angel poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast, and its kingdom was plunged into darkness.[d] People gnawed their tongues in agony 11 and cursed the God of heaven because of their pains and sores, instead of repenting for what they had done.
12 The sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river Euphrates, and its water was dried up to prepare the way for the kings from the East. 13 I saw three unclean spirits like frogs[e] come forth from the mouth of the dragon, from the mouth of the beast, and from the mouth of the false prophet.
14 These are demonic spirits with the power to work miracles. They were sent to the kings of the entire world to assemble them for battle on the great day of God the Almighty.
15 [f]“Behold, I am coming like a thief! Blessed is the one who stays awake and keeps his clothes close by so that he will not have to go naked and be exposed to shame.” 16 These spirits then assembled the kings at the place that in Hebrew is called Armageddon.[g]
17 The seventh angel poured out his bowl into the air, and a loud voice came out of the temple from the throne, saying, “It is done!” 18 Then there followed flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder, and a violent earthquake—so violent that there has never been one like it since the human race has inhabited the earth.
19 The great city was split into three parts, and the cities of the nations collapsed in ruin. Babylon the Great was also remembered by God, as he made her drink the cup filled with the wine of his fury and wrath. 20 Every island vanished, and no mountains were to be found. 21 Huge hailstones, each weighing about one hundred pounds, fell from the sky on the people, and they cursed God on account of the plague of hail that turned out to be so terrible.
Chapter 12
The Lord Undertakes Defense of Jerusalem.1 An oracle: the word of the Lord concerning Israel. Thus says the Lord, who spread out the heavens and founded the earth and formed the human spirit within:
2 Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup that will intoxicate all the surrounding nations, and Judah will be besieged as well as Jerusalem. 3 On that day, when all the nations of the world are gathered against her, I will make Jerusalem a heavy stone for all the peoples. All those who try to lift it will hurt themselves seriously, even though all the nations of the earth will be massed against her.
4 On that day, says the Lord, I will strike all the horses with panic and their riders with madness. Further, I will strike blind all the horses of the peoples, but I will keep a watchful eye on the house of Judah. 5 Then the people of Judah will say to themselves, “The inhabitants of Jerusalem derive their strength from the Lord of hosts, their God.”
6 On that day, I will make the families of Judah like a brazier burning in a woodland, like a torch aflame among sheaves, and they will consume all the surrounding nations on their right and on their left, while the people of Jerusalem will reside peacefully in their city. 7 The Lord will save the tents of Judah first, so that the glory of the house of David and the glory of the inhabitants of Jerusalem will not surpass that of Judah. 8 On that day, the Lord will shield the inhabitants of Jerusalem. The weakest of them will be like David when that day comes, and the house of David will be godlike, with the angel of the Lord at their head.
9 On that day I will set out to destroy all the nations that attack Jerusalem.
10 They Will Cry over Him Whom They Have Pierced.[a] Further, I will pour out a spirit of grace and supplication on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem so that they will look on me, the one whom they have pierced, and mourn for him as one mourns for an only son, and they will grieve over him as one grieves over a firstborn.
11 On that day the mourning in Jerusalem will be as great as the mourning over Hadadrimmon in the plain of Megiddo.[b] 12 And the land will mourn, each family individually:
The family of the house of David by itself,
and their women by themselves;
the family of the house of Nathan by itself,
and their women by themselves;
13 the family of the house of Levi by itself,
and their women by themselves;
the family of the house of Shimei by itself,
and all their women by themselves;
14 all the remaining families by themselves,
and their women by themselves.
Chapter 13
The Country Will Be Purified. 1 On that day a fountain will be opened for the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to cleanse them from sin and impurity.
The Community of the Witnesses to Christ[a]
Chapter 15
Union with Jesus[b]
1 “I am the true vine,
and my Father is the vinegrower.
2 He removes every branch
that does not bear fruit,
and every branch that does
he prunes to make it bear even more.
3 You have already been cleansed
by the word I have spoken to you.
4 “Abide in me,
as I abide in you.
Just as a branch cannot bear fruit by itself
unless it abides in the vine,
so you cannot bear fruit
unless you abide in me.
5 “I am the vine,
you are the branches.
Whoever abides in me, and I in him,
will bear much fruit.
Apart from me you can do nothing.
6 Whoever does not abide in me
will be thrown away like a withered branch.
Such branches are gathered up,
thrown into the fire, and burned.
7 “If you abide in me
and my words abide in you,
you may ask for whatever you wish,
and it will be done for you.
8 By this is my Father glorified,
that you bear much fruit
and become my disciples.
9 “As the Father has loved me,
so have I loved you.
Remain in my love.
10 If you keep my commandments,
you will remain in my love,
just as I have kept my Father’s commandments
and remain in his love.
11 “I have told you these things
so that my joy may be in you
and your joy may be complete.
Love as Jesus Does[c]
12 “This is my commandment:
love one another
as I have loved you.
13 No one can have greater love
than to lay down his life for his friends.
14 You are my friends
if you do what I command you.
15 “I shall no longer call you servants,
because a servant does not know
what his master is doing.
I have called you friends
because I have revealed to you
everything that I have heard from my Father.
16 “You did not choose me.
Rather, I chose you.
And I appointed you
to go out and bear fruit,
fruit that will remain,
so that the Father may give you
whatever you ask him in my name.
17 The command I give you is this:
love one another.
Witnesses to Jesus in the Face of the World’s Hatred[d]
18 “If the world hates you,
be aware that it hated me
before it hated you.
19 If you belonged to the world,
the world would love you as its own.
But you do not belong to the world
because I have chosen you out of the world,
and therefore the world hates you.
20 “Remember the word that I said to you:
‘a servant is not greater than his master.’
If they persecuted me,
they will persecute you.
If they kept my word,
they will keep yours as well.
21 But they will do all these things to you
on account of my name,
because they do not know the one who sent me.
22 “If I had not come
and spoken to them,
they would not be guilty of sin,
but now they have no excuse for their sin.
23 Whoever hates me
hates my Father also.
24 If I had not done works among them
that no one else had ever done,
they would not be guilty of sin.
But now they have seen and hated
both me and my Father.
25 All this was to fulfill the word
that is inscribed in their Law:
‘They hated me without cause.’
26 “When the Advocate comes
whom I will send you from the Father,
the Spirit of truth who comes from the Father,
he will testify on my behalf.
27 And you also are my witnesses
because you have been with me from the beginning.
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