M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
9 The prophet Elisha gave instructions to one of the prophets’ disciples.
Elisha: Prepare yourself, and transport this bottle of oil to Ramoth-gilead. 2 Once you arrive, find Jehu (son of Jehoshaphat, Nimshi’s son). Ask him to leave his brothers, and then lead him into a more private chamber. 3 Anoint his head with oil from the bottle and speak these words: “This is the Eternal’s message: ‘I anoint you as Israel’s king.’” Then exit through the door quickly, and do not look back.
4 The young prophet traveled to Ramoth-gilead. 5 When he got there, the military commanders were sitting together.
Young Prophet: I have a message for you, Commander.
Jehu: We are all commanders. Which commander do you seek?
Young Prophet: You, Commander.
6 Jehu stood up, and he and the young prophet entered the house together. The young man anointed Jehu’s head with oil and spoke these words:
Young Prophet: This is the message from the Eternal, Israel’s God: “I anoint you as king over all of the Eternal’s people. You are Israel’s king. 7 The first thing I want you to do is attack your master Ahab’s house. Do this so that I may have vengeance for what Jezebel did to My prophets and to those who served Me. 8 Slaughter all of Ahab’s household, starting with King Joram. All the male members of Ahab’s house, slave or free, will be killed in Israel. 9 Ahab’s household will be like the household of Jeroboam (Nebat’s son) and the household of Baasha (Ahijah’s son)—ruined. 10 Jezebel will be devoured by dogs in the land of Jezreel. Her body will not be buried by anyone because it will be torn to pieces.”
The young prophet then opened the door and departed in haste.
11 When Jehu appeared before his master’s servants, one of the commanders questioned him.
Commander: Is everything well? What did that lunatic have to say to you?
Jehu: You should already know this man and his talk of nonsense.
Jehu’s hesitation before telling his commanders what has happened is understandable. These men are all servants of King Joram. By allowing himself to be anointed as king, Jehu commits treason against his king, who has been God’s chosen ruler. This story parallels the ascension of David to Israel’s throne: both men serve in the king’s army, are anointed in private, and are reluctant to kill the king. Just as David was the fresh start for all of Israel, Jehu is God’s fresh start in the Northern Kingdom.
Commanders: 12 We don’t believe you. Tell us what he really said!
Jehu: Very well. This is what he told me: “This is the Eternal’s message: ‘I anoint you as Israel’s king.’”
13 All the men quickly took off their coats and placed them before Jehu on the steps. They sounded the trumpet.
Commanders: Jehu is now Israel’s king!
14 Jehu (son of Jehoshaphat, Nimshi’s son) began plotting against Joram. The entire community of Israel with Joram was defending Ramoth-gilead against Hazael (Aram’s king); but if you remember, 15 King Joram had gone to Jezreel to wait for his injuries to heal—the injuries the Arameans had given him while he was fighting against Aram’s king, Hazael.
Jehu: If you really want me to be king, then do not let anyone leave this city to spread this news in Jezreel.
16 Jehu took a chariot to Jezreel, where Joram was resting. As you may recall, Ahaziah (Judah’s king) was there visiting Joram. 17 The watchman was up on the watchtower in Jezreel, and he saw Jehu and his followers approaching.
Watchman: There is a large group of people approaching.
Joram: Summon a horseman to go out to the group and ask them, “Do you come in peace?”
18 A horseman went out and spoke to Jehu and his followers.
Horseman: The king asks, “Do you come in peace?”
Jehu: Peace? What do you know about peace? Get behind me, and follow.
The watchman immediately went and updated Joram about the situation.
Watchman: The horseman went out to them, but he did not come back.
19 Joram summoned another horseman.
Second Horseman: The king asks, “Do you come in peace?”
Jehu: Peace? What do you know about peace? Get behind me, and follow.
20 The watchman then went and updated Joram about the situation again.
Watchman: The second horseman went out to them, but he did not come back either. Their force and speed is as fierce as the crazy driving of Jehu (Nimshi’s son).
Joram: 21 Prepare my chariot.
So they prepared his chariot; and he and Ahaziah (Judah’s king) went out together, each in his own chariot, to meet Jehu’s caravan on Naboth the Jezreelite’s land.
Joram (face-to-face with Jehu): 22 Do you come in peace, Jehu?
Jehu: Peace? What do you know about peace when the promiscuity and witchcraft of your mother, Jezebel, are too vast to measure!
23 Joram quickly realized that Jehu intended to attack, so he immediately turned his chariot around, quickly rode away, and yelled out to Ahaziah.
Joram: We’ve been betrayed, Ahaziah! Quickly, ride away!
24 But Jehu pulled his bowstring back as far as he could. He released an arrow that struck Joram between his shoulder blades, piercing straight through his heart. Joram fell over in his chariot.
Jehu (to his officer, Bidkar): 25 Pick up his body, and throw him into the field of Naboth the Jezreelite on the eastern slope of the Jezreel hill. I have just remembered that while you and I were riding after his father, Ahab, the Eternal revealed a prophecy concerning him: 26 “I have seen the past and witnessed Naboth’s blood and that of his sons as well. I will one day pay you back in this land,” spoke the Eternal. So go now, pick up Joram’s body, and throw him into Naboth’s field, just as He has said.
27 Ahaziah (Judah’s king) witnessed all of this from a distance, and he rode away by the path to Beth-haggan. Jehu went after him.
Jehu (calling out): Send an arrow toward his chariot, and kill him too!
They shot him at Ibleam as he was driving up toward Gur. But he did not die there. He continued on to Megiddo, where he took his last breath.
28 Ahaziah’s servants transported him to Jerusalem in a chariot. They buried him with his fathers in the city of David. 29 During the 11th year of Joram (Ahab’s son), Ahaziah inherited the throne over Judah.
30 When Jehu arrived in Jezreel, Jezebel was informed of his arrival. She put on her best make-up and fixed her hair, and she stuck her head out her window. 31 While Jehu rode through the gate, she taunted him.
Jezebel: Is everything okay, traitor?[a] Is everything all right, you murderer of your master?
Jehu (looking up at her window): 32 Is anyone in this city on my side? Anyone?
A few officers, who were eunuchs, peered down at him.
Jehu: 33 Seize her, and throw her out the window!
They did as he instructed and threw her out the window. Her blood splattered everywhere—on the ground, on the wall, on the horses. He rode his horse over her and pounded her into the ground.
34 He then went inside to eat and drink. After he had his fill, he gave instructions.
Jehu: Go take care of the mess outside. Give the accursed woman a proper burial. After all, she was a royal daughter.
35 They went out to clean up the mess and bury her body; but when they got there, they found a most haunting sight. All that remained was her skull, her feet, and the palms of her hands. 36 They went back and told Jehu this news, and he explained it to them.
Jehu: This is the Eternal’s message which He gave through the prophet Elijah the Tishbite: “Jezebel will be devoured by dogs in the land of Jezreel.[b] 37 Her body will be so gruesome that it will be like a pile of dung on the surface of a field in the land of Jezreel. No one will recognize the remains. No one will be able to say, ‘This is Jezebel.’”
6 Tell all who labor under the yoke of slavery to treat their masters with honor and respect, whether or not their masters deserve it. This will keep God’s name and doctrine from being smeared. 2 If their masters are believers, then they should not be insolent toward them just because they are your brothers and sisters. Actually they should be even more determined to serve them because the gains from their good works benefit those who are faithful and loved.
Timothy, teach these instructions, and appeal to those under your ministry to live by them. 3 If others are teaching otherwise and bringing unhealthy conversations to the community, if they are not sticking to the sound words in the teaching of our Lord Jesus the Anointed, if they are not teaching godly principles— 4 then they are swollen with conceit, filled with self-importance, and without any proper understanding. They probably have a gross infatuation with controversy and will endlessly debate meanings of words. That kind of talk leads to envy, discord, slander, and evil mistrust; 5 and these people constantly bicker because they are depraved in their minds and bereft of the truth. They think somehow that godliness is the way to get ahead. 6 This is ironic because godliness, along with contentment, does put us ahead but not in the ways some imagine. 7 You see we came into this world with nothing, and nothing is going with us on the way out! 8 So as long as we are clothed and fed, we should be happy. 9 But those who chase riches are constantly falling into temptation and snares. They are regularly caught by their own stupid and harmful desires, dragged down and pulled under into ruin and destruction. 10 For the love of money—and what it can buy—is the root of all sorts of evil. Some already have wandered away from the true faith because they craved what it had to offer; but when reaching for the prize, they found their hands and hearts pierced with many sorrows.
11 Timothy, don’t let this happen to you—run away from these things! You are a man of God. Your quest is for justice, godliness, faithfulness, love, perseverance, and gentleness.
Paul asks this young leader to shepherd a divided congregation through one problem after another. He points to a time when Jesus will arrive to set this world straight.
12 Fight the good fight of the faith! Cling to the eternal life you were called to when you confessed the good confession before witnesses. 13 Before God—the life-giving Creator of all things—and Jesus the Anointed, our Liberating King, who made the good confession to Pontius Pilate, I urge you: 14 keep His commandment. Have a spotless, indisputable record until our Lord Jesus the Anointed appears to set this world straight. 15 In His own perfect time, He will come—blessed is the only Sovereign, the King of kings, and the Lord of lords. 16 He alone possesses immortality; He makes His home in matchless, blinding, brilliant light that no one can approach—no mortal has ever even seen Him, and no human can. So let it be that all honor and eternal power are His. Amen.
17 Here’s what you say to those wealthy in regard to this age: “Don’t become high and mighty or place all your hope on a gamble for riches; instead, fix your hope on God, the One who richly provides everything for our enjoyment.” 18 Tell them to use their wealth for good things; be rich in good works! If they are willing to give generously and share everything, 19 then they will send ahead a great treasure for themselves and build their futures on a solid foundation. As a result, they will surely take hold of eternal life.
20 O Timothy, protect what was entrusted to you! Walk away from all the godless, empty voices out there, and turn aside from objections and arguments that arise from false knowledge. 21 (By professing such knowledge, some are missing the mark when it comes to true faith.)
May God’s grace be with you.
1 The words in this book are the words of the Eternal One, which were told to Hosea (Beeri’s son) when Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah were kings of Judah; and when Jeroboam (Joash’s son) was king of Israel.
2 This is the word the Eternal spoke through Hosea first.
Eternal One (to Hosea): Go and marry a woman who is a prostitute and have children who come from this unfaithfulness. This will represent how the land of Israel has abandoned Me and become a prostitute to other masters!
3 So Hosea married a woman named Gomer (Diblaim’s daughter). She became pregnant and gave birth to his son.
Eternal One: 4 I want you to name this boy Jezreel because I’m just about to punish Jehu’s dynasty for all the blood Jehu shed at the city of Jezreel.[a] I will bring an end to the monarchy in Israel. 5 Here’s how I’m going to do it: I’ll destroy their army and break their bow when they fight the Assyrians in the valley of Jezreel.
This judgment is for the crime of slaughtering Ahab’s family at the city of Jezreel by Jehu when he made himself king, and the punish ment includes Jehu’s great-grandson, King Jeroboam.
6 Gomer became pregnant again, and this time she had a girl.
Eternal One: I want you to name her Shown No Mercy,[b] because I’m not going to show any more mercy to the people of Israel. I won’t forgive them anymore. 7 But I will have mercy on the people of Judah. Even though they could never win in battle with their own weapons—bows and swords, horses and cavalry—I’m going to save them personally.
8 After Gomer finished nursing Shown No Mercy, she became pregnant again and had another boy.
Eternal One: 9 I want you to name him Not My People,[c] because these people aren’t Mine anymore, and I am not their God.
10 But things won’t always be this way. Someday there’ll be so many people in Israel that they’ll be like the grains of sand at the seashore—too many to count! It shall turn out that in the very place where it was said to them, “You are not My people,” they will be called “Children of the living God.”[d] 11 The people of Judah and the people of Israel will return from exile and gather together as one nation again, and they’ll agree on only one leader for all of them. It will be a great day when they go up from the land and “Jezreel” is a reality.
Yodh
73 Your strong hands formed me and established me;
give me understanding so I can learn Your commands.
74 Let those who fear You see me and rejoice
because I hope in Your word.
75 I know, O Eternal One, Your rulings are right,
and when You humbled me, You did so out of faithfulness.
76 Now let Your unfailing love be my comfort,
in keeping with Your promise to Your servant.
77 Shower me with Your compassion so that I may live
because I find great joy in Your law.
78 Let the proud be humiliated,
for they sabotage me with a lie;
still I will fix my mind on Your directives.
79 Let those who fear You and know Your testimonies
come back and find me.
80 Let my heart be whole, my record according to what You require
so that I will not be humiliated.
Kaph
81 My soul is exhausted awaiting Your rescue
yet I keep hoping in Your word.
82 My eyes are strained as I look for what You promised,
saying, “When will You come to comfort me?”
83 Even though I have shriveled up like a wineskin left in the smoke,
I still remember what You require.
84 How long must Your servant wait?
When will You carry out justice and punish those who persecute me?
85 Those proud souls do not live according to Your commands,
and they have dug pits to entrap me.
86 Indeed, all Your commands are trustworthy,
but my enemies have harassed me with their lies; help me!
87 They have nearly ended my life on earth,
but as for me, I never abandoned Your statutes.
88 According to Your unfailing love, spare my life
so that I can live according to the decrees of Your mouth.
Lamedh
89 Forever, O Eternal One,
Your word stands in heaven, firm and resolute.
90 Your faithfulness endures to every generation;
You founded the earth, and it remains.
91 Everything remains today in keeping with Your laws,
for all things exist to serve You.
92 If I had not found joy in Your guidance,
then I would have died from my misery.
93 I will never forget Your precepts,
for through them You have given me life.
94 I belong to You, Lord; save me
because I have taken care to live by Your principles.
95 The wicked lie in wait, anxious to kill me;
I will set my mind on Your statutes.
96 I have seen the limit of all perfection,
but Your commands are all-encompassing.
The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.