M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
26 The people of Judah now crowned sixteen-year-old Uzziah as their new king. 2 After his father’s death, he rebuilt the city of Eloth and restored it to Judah. 3 In all, he reigned fifty-two years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Jecoliah, from Jerusalem. 4 He followed in the footsteps of his father Amaziah and was, in general, a good king in the Lord’s sight.
5 While Zechariah was alive Uzziah was always eager to please God. Zechariah was a man who had special revelations from God. And as long as the king followed the paths of God, he prospered, for God blessed him.
6 He declared war on the Philistines and captured the city of Gath and broke down its walls, also those of Jabneh and Ashdod. Then he built new cities in the Ashdod area and in other parts of the Philistine country. 7 God helped him not only with his wars against the Philistines but also in his battles with the Arabs of Gur-baal and in his wars with the Meunites. 8 The Ammonites paid annual tribute to him, and his fame spread even to Egypt, for he was very powerful.
9 He built fortified towers in Jerusalem at the Corner Gate, and the Valley Gate, and at the turning of the wall. 10 He also constructed forts in the Negeb and made many water reservoirs, for he had great herds of cattle out in the valleys and on the plains. He was a man who loved the soil and had many farms and vineyards, both on the hillsides and in the fertile valleys.
11 He organized his army into regiments to which men were drafted under quotas set by Jeiel, the secretary of the army, and his assistant, Maaseiah. The commander-in-chief was General Hananiah. 12 Twenty-six hundred brave clan leaders commanded these regiments. 13 The army consisted of 307,500 men, all elite troops. 14 Uzziah issued to them shields, spears, helmets, coats of mail, bows, and sling stones. 15 And he produced engines of war manufactured in Jerusalem, invented by brilliant men to shoot arrows and huge stones from the towers and battlements. So he became very famous, for the Lord helped him wonderfully until he was very powerful.
16 But at that point he became proud—and corrupt. He sinned against the Lord his God by entering the forbidden sanctuary of the Temple and personally burning incense upon the altar. 17-18 Azariah the High Priest went in after him with eighty other priests, all brave men, and demanded that he get out.
“It is not for you, Uzziah, to burn incense,” they declared. “That is the work of the priests alone, the sons of Aaron who are consecrated to this work. Get out, for you have trespassed, and the Lord is not going to honor you for this!”
19 Uzziah was furious and refused to set down the incense burner he was holding. But look! Suddenly—leprosy appeared on his forehead! 20 When Azariah and the others saw it, they rushed him out; in fact, he himself was as anxious to get out as they were to get him out because the Lord had struck him.
21 So King Uzziah was a leper until the day of his death and lived in isolation, cut off from his people and from the Temple. His son Jotham became vice-regent, in charge of the king’s affairs and of the judging of the people of the land.
22 The other details of Uzziah’s reign from first to last are recorded by the prophet Isaiah (son of Amoz). 23 When Uzziah died, he was buried in the royal cemetery even though he was a leper, and his son Jotham became the new king.
13 And now, in my vision, I saw a strange Creature rising up out of the sea. It had seven heads and ten horns, and ten crowns upon its horns. And written on each head were blasphemous names, each one defying and insulting God. 2 This Creature looked like a leopard but had bear’s feet and a lion’s mouth! And the Dragon gave him his own power and throne and great authority.
3 I saw that one of his heads seemed wounded beyond recovery—but the fatal wound was healed! All the world marveled at this miracle and followed the Creature in awe. 4 They worshiped the Dragon for giving him such power, and they worshiped the strange Creature. “Where is there anyone as great as he?” they exclaimed. “Who is able to fight against him?”
5 Then the Dragon encouraged the Creature to speak great blasphemies against the Lord; and gave him authority to control the earth for forty-two months. 6 All that time he blasphemed God’s Name and his temple and all those living in heaven. 7 The Dragon gave him power to fight against God’s people[a] and to overcome them, and to rule over all nations and language groups throughout the world. 8 And all mankind—whose names were not written down before the founding of the world in the slain Lamb’s Book of Life[b]—worshiped the evil Creature.
9 Anyone who can hear, listen carefully: 10 The people of God who are destined for prison will be arrested and taken away; those destined for death will be killed.[c] But do not be dismayed, for here is your opportunity for endurance and confidence.
11 Then I saw another strange animal, this one coming up out of the earth, with two little horns like those of a lamb but a fearsome voice like the Dragon’s. 12 He exercised all the authority of the Creature whose death-wound had been healed, whom he required all the world to worship. 13 He did unbelievable miracles such as making fire flame down to earth from the skies while everyone was watching. 14 By doing these miracles, he was deceiving people everywhere. He could do these marvelous things whenever the first Creature was there to watch him. And he ordered the people of the world to make a great statue of the first Creature, who was fatally wounded and then came back to life. 15 He was permitted to give breath to this statue and even make it speak! Then the statue ordered that anyone refusing to worship it must die!
16 He required everyone—great and small, rich and poor, slave and free—to be tattooed with a certain mark on the right hand or on the forehead. 17 And no one could get a job or even buy in any store without the permit of that mark, which was either the name of the Creature or the code number of his name. 18 Here is a puzzle that calls for careful thought to solve it. Let those who are able, interpret this code: the numerical values of the letters in his name add to 666![d]
9 This is the message concerning God’s curse on the lands of Hadrach and Damascus, for the Lord is closely watching all mankind, as well as Israel.[a]
2 “Doomed is Hamath, near Damascus, and Tyre and Sidon too, shrewd though they be. 3 Though Tyre has armed herself to the hilt and become so rich that silver is like dirt to her, and fine gold like dust in the streets, 4 yet the Lord will dispossess her and hurl her fortifications into the sea; and she shall be set on fire and burned to the ground.
5 “Ashkelon will see it happen and be filled with fear; Gaza will huddle in desperation, and Ekron will shake with terror, for their hopes that Tyre would stop the enemies’ advance will all be dashed. Gaza will be conquered, her king killed, and Ashkelon will be completely destroyed.
6 “Foreigners will take over the city of Ashdod, the rich city of the Philistines. 7 I will yank her idolatry out of her mouth and pull from her teeth her sacrifices that she eats with blood. Everyone left will worship God and be adopted into Israel as a new clan: the Philistines of Ekron will intermarry with the Jews, just as the Jebusites did so long ago. 8 And I will surround my Temple like a guard to keep invading armies from entering Israel. I am closely watching their movements, and I will keep them away; no foreign oppressors will again overrun my people’s land.
9 “Rejoice greatly, O my people! Shout with joy! For look—your King is coming! He is the Righteous One, the Victor! Yet he is lowly, riding on a donkey’s colt! 10 I will disarm all peoples of the earth, including my people in Israel, and he shall bring peace among the nations. His realm shall stretch from sea to sea, from the river to the ends of the earth.[b]
11 “I have delivered you from death in a waterless pit because of the covenant I made with you, sealed with blood. 12 Come to the place of safety, all you prisoners, for there is yet hope! I promise right now, I will repay you two mercies for each of your woes! 13 Judah, you are my bow! Ephraim, you are my arrow! Both of you will be my sword, like the sword of a mighty soldier brandished against the sons of Greece.”
14 The Lord shall lead his people as they fight! His arrows shall fly like lightning; the Lord God shall sound the trumpet call and go out against his enemies like a whirlwind off the desert from the south. 15 He will defend his people, and they will subdue their enemies, treading them beneath their feet. They will taste victory and shout with triumph. They will slaughter their foes, leaving horrible carnage everywhere. 16-17 The Lord their God will save his people in that day, as a Shepherd caring for his sheep. They shall shine in his land as glittering jewels in a crown. How wonderful and beautiful all shall be! The abundance of grain and grapes will make the young men and girls flourish; they will be radiant with health and happiness.
12 Six days before the Passover ceremonies began, Jesus arrived in Bethany where Lazarus was—the man he had brought back to life. 2 A banquet was prepared in Jesus’ honor. Martha served, and Lazarus sat at the table with him. 3 Then Mary took a jar of costly perfume made from essence of nard, and anointed Jesus’ feet with it and wiped them with her hair. And the house was filled with fragrance.
4 But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples—the one who would betray him—said, 5 “That perfume was worth a fortune. It should have been sold and the money given to the poor.” 6 Not that he cared for the poor, but he was in charge of the disciples’ funds and often dipped into them for his own use!
7 Jesus replied, “Let her alone. She did it in preparation for my burial. 8 You can always help the poor, but I won’t be with you very long.”
9 When the ordinary people of Jerusalem heard of his arrival, they flocked to see him and also to see Lazarus—the man who had come back to life again. 10 Then the chief priests decided to kill Lazarus too, 11 for it was because of him that many of the Jewish leaders had deserted and believed in Jesus as their Messiah.
12 The next day, the news that Jesus was on the way to Jerusalem swept through the city, and a huge crowd of Passover visitors 13 took palm branches and went down the road to meet him, shouting, “The Savior! God bless the King of Israel! Hail to God’s Ambassador!”
14 Jesus rode along on a young donkey, fulfilling the prophecy that said: 15 “Don’t be afraid of your King, people of Israel, for he will come to you meekly, sitting on a donkey’s colt!”
16 (His disciples didn’t realize at the time that this was a fulfillment of prophecy; but after Jesus returned to his glory in heaven, then they noticed how many prophecies of Scripture had come true before their eyes.)
17 And those in the crowd who had seen Jesus call Lazarus back to life were telling all about it. 18 That was the main reason why so many went out to meet him—because they had heard about this mighty miracle.
19 Then the Pharisees said to each other, “We’ve lost. Look—the whole world has gone after him!”
20 Some Greeks who had come to Jerusalem to attend the Passover 21 paid a visit to Philip,[a] who was from Bethsaida, and said, “Sir, we want to meet Jesus.” 22 Philip told Andrew about it, and they went together to ask Jesus.
23-24 Jesus replied that the time had come for him to return to his glory in heaven, and that “I must fall and die like a kernel of wheat that falls into the furrows of the earth. Unless I die I will be alone—a single seed. But my death will produce many new wheat kernels—a plentiful harvest of new lives. 25 If you love your life down here—you will lose it. If you despise your life down here—you will exchange it for eternal glory.
26 “If these Greeks[b] want to be my disciples, tell them to come and follow me, for my servants must be where I am. And if they follow me, the Father will honor them. 27 Now my soul is deeply troubled. Shall I pray, ‘Father, save me from what lies ahead’? But that is the very reason why I came! 28 Father, bring glory and honor to your name.”
Then a voice spoke from heaven saying, “I have already done this, and I will do it again.” 29 When the crowd heard the voice, some of them thought it was thunder, while others declared an angel had spoken to him.
30 Then Jesus told them, “The voice was for your benefit, not mine. 31 The time of judgment for the world has come—and the time when Satan,[c] the prince of this world, shall be cast out. 32 And when I am lifted up on the cross,[d] I will draw everyone to me.” 33 He said this to indicate how he was going to die.
34 “Die?” asked the crowd. “We understood that the Messiah would live forever and never die. Why are you saying he will die? What Messiah are you talking about?”
35 Jesus replied, “My light will shine out for you just a little while longer. Walk in it while you can, and go where you want to go before the darkness falls, for then it will be too late for you to find your way. 36 Make use of the Light while there is still time; then you will become light bearers.”[e]
After saying these things, Jesus went away and was hidden from them.
37 But despite all the miracles he had done, most of the people would not believe he was the Messiah. 38 This is exactly what Isaiah the prophet had predicted: “Lord, who will believe us? Who will accept God’s mighty miracles as proof?”[f] 39 But they couldn’t believe, for as Isaiah also said: 40 “God[g] has blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts so that they can neither see nor understand nor turn to me to heal them.” 41 Isaiah was referring to Jesus when he made this prediction, for he had seen a vision of the Messiah’s glory.
42 However, even many of the Jewish leaders believed him to be the Messiah but wouldn’t admit it to anyone because of their fear that the Pharisees would excommunicate them from the synagogue; 43 for they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God.
44 Jesus shouted to the crowds, “If you trust me, you are really trusting God. 45 For when you see me, you are seeing the one who sent me. 46 I have come as a Light to shine in this dark world, so that all who put their trust in me will no longer wander in the darkness. 47 If anyone hears me and doesn’t obey me, I am not his judge—for I have come to save the world and not to judge it. 48 But all who reject me and my message will be judged at the Day of Judgment by the truths I have spoken. 49 For these are not my own ideas, but I have told you what the Father said to tell you. 50 And I know his instructions lead to eternal life; so whatever he tells me to say, I say!”
The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.