M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan

31 After all this was over, all Isra’el who were there went out to the cities of Y’hudah and smashed the standing-stones, chopped down the sacred poles, and broke down the high places and altars throughout Y’hudah, Binyamin, Efrayim and M’nasheh, until they had destroyed them all. Then all the people of Isra’el returned to their own cities, each to his own possession.

² Hizkiyahu re-established the divisions of the cohanim and L’vi’im in accordance with the way the divisions had been before, with each man assigned his task, both the cohanim and the L’vi’im, for burnt offerings and for peace offerings, to serve, to give thanks and to praise at the gates of Adonai’s camp. ³ He determined a portion of the king’s property to be given for the burnt offerings, that is, for the morning and evening burnt offerings and for burnt offerings on Shabbats, Rosh-Hodesh and the designated times, as prescribed by the Torah of Adonai. ⁴ He also ordered the people living in Yerushalayim to contribute the portion meant for the cohanim and L’vi’im, so that they would be submitting themselves to the Torah of Adonai. ⁵ As soon as the order was issued, the people of Isra’el gave in abundance from the firstfruits of the grain, wine, olive oil, honey and other agricultural produce; they brought the required tenth and more. ⁶ The people of Isra’el and Y’hudah living in the cities of Y’hudah also brought the required tenth of oxen and sheep and the required tenth of consecrated gifts that had been dedicated to Adonai their God, and piled them in heaps. ⁷ They began accumulating these heaps in the third month and completed them in the seventh month. ⁸ When Hizkiyahu and the leaders came and saw the heaps, they blessed Adonai and his people Isra’el. ⁹ When Hizkiyahu asked the cohanim and L’vi’im about the heaps, ¹⁰ ‘Azaryahu the chief cohen, from the house of Tzadok, answered him, “Ever since the people began bringing offerings into the house of Adonai, we have had enough to eat and plenty left over; for Adonai has blessed his people, and what is left over is this massive supply.”

¹¹ Then Hizkiyahu ordered storerooms prepared in the house of Adonai. After preparing them, ¹² they faithfully brought in the offerings, the required tenths and the consecrated things. Konanyahu the Levi was put in charge of them, with Shim‘i his brother as his assistant. ¹³ Hizkiyahu the king and ‘Azaryahu the ruler of the house of God appointed Yechi’el, ‘Azazyahu, Nachat, ‘Asah’el, Yerimot, Yozavad, Eli’el, Yismachyah, Machat and B’nayahu as supervisors to serve under Konanyah and Shim‘i his brother. ¹⁴ Kore the son of Yimnah the Levi, gatekeeper at the East Gate, was responsible for the voluntary offerings to God; he had to distribute the offerings made to Adonai and the especially holy gifts. ¹⁵ Under him were ‘Eden, Minyamin, Yeshua, Sh’ma‘yahu, Amaryahu and Sh’khanyahu, in the cities of the cohanim, faithfully making the distributions to their kinsmen by divisions, to great and small alike. ¹⁶ Every male three years and older entitled to enter the house of Adonai was given his daily share for performing his duties according to his division, regardless of how he was recorded in the genealogies. ¹⁷ Likewise, those recorded in the genealogies of the cohanim by clans received shares, as did the L’vi’im twenty years and older who were performing their duties in their assigned divisions. ¹⁸ When shares were assigned, all their little ones, wives, sons and daughters were also recorded in the genealogies, throughout the entire community; for in their faithfulness to this task they consecrated themselves. ¹⁹ Finally, shares were assigned to the descendants of Aharon, the cohanim, who lived in the pasture-lands surrounding their cities — in each city they were mentioned by name. Thus portions were distributed to all the males among the cohanim and to all whose genealogies showed that they belonged to the L’vi’im.

²⁰ This is what Hizkiyahu did throughout all Y’hudah. He accomplished things that were good, right and faithful before Adonai his God. ²¹ Every project that he undertook in order to seek his God, whether in the service of the house of God or in connection with the Torah and the mitzvot, he did with all his heart; and so he succeeded.

17 Then came one of the angels with the seven bowls; and he said to me, “Come, I will show you the judgment of the great whore who is sitting by many waters. ² The kings of the earth went whoring with her, and the people living on earth have become drunk from the wine of her whoring.” ³ He carried me off in the Spirit to a desert, and I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast filled with blasphemous names and having seven heads and ten horns. ⁴ The woman was dressed in purple and scarlet and glittered with gold, precious stones and pearls. In her hand was a gold cup filled with the obscene and filthy things produced by her whoring. ⁵ On her forehead was written a name with a hidden meaning,

BAVEL THE GREAT

MOTHER OF WHORES AND OF

THE EARTH’S OBSCENITIES

⁶ I saw the woman drunk from the blood of God’s people, that is, from the blood of the people who testify about Yeshua.

On seeing her, I was altogether astounded. ⁷ Then the angel said to me, “Why are you astounded? I will tell you the hidden meaning of the woman and of the beast with seven heads and ten horns that was carrying her. ⁸ The beast you saw once was, now is not, and will come up from the Abyss; but it is on its way to destruction. The people living on earth whose names have not been written in the Book of Life since the founding of the world will be astounded to see the beast that once was, now is not, but is to appear. ⁹ This calls for a mind with wisdom: the seven heads are seven hills on which the woman is sitting; also they are seven kings — ¹⁰ five have fallen, one is living now and the other is yet to come; and when he does come, he must remain only a little while. ¹¹ The beast which once was and now is not is an eighth king; it comes from the seven and is on its way to destruction. ¹² The ten horns you saw are ten kings who have not yet begun to rule, but they receive power as kings for one hour, along with the beast. ¹³ They have one mind, and they hand over their power and authority to the beast. ¹⁴ They will go to war against the Lamb, but the Lamb will defeat them, because he is Lord of lords and King of kings, and those who are called, chosen and faithful will overcome along with him.”

¹⁵ Then he said to me, “The waters that you saw, where the whore is sitting, are peoples, crowds, nations and languages. ¹⁶ As for the ten horns that you saw and the beast, they will hate the whore, bring her to ruin, leave her naked, eat her flesh and consume her with fire. ¹⁷ For God put it in their hearts to do what will fulfill his purpose, that is, to be of one mind and give their kingdom to the beast until God’s words have accomplished their intent. ¹⁸ And the woman you saw is the great city that rules over the kings of the earth.”

² “When that day comes,” says Adonai-Tzva’ot, “I will cut off the very names of the idols from the land, so that no one even remembers them any more. I will also expel the [false] prophets and the spirit of uncleanness from the land; ³ so that if anyone continues to prophesy, his own father and mother who brought him into the world will tell him, ‘You cannot continue to live, because you are speaking lies in the name of Adonai’; then his own father and mother who brought him into the world will stab him to death. ⁴ When that day comes, each one of the prophets will be shamed by his vision when he prophesies. He will stop wearing a hair cloak to deceive people; ⁵ and instead, he will say, ‘I’m no prophet, I just work the soil; since my youth I’ve only wanted to be an ordinary man.’ ⁶ If someone asks him, ‘Then what are these gashes between your shoulders?’ he will answer, ‘I got hurt at my friends’ house.’

16 “I have told you these things so that you won’t be caught by surprise. ² They will ban you from the synagogue; in fact, the time will come when anyone who kills you will think he is serving God! ³ They will do these things because they have understood neither the Father nor me. ⁴ But I have told you this, so that when the time comes for it to happen, you will remember that I told you. I didn’t tell you this at first, because I was with you. ⁵ But now I am going to the One who sent me.

“Not one of you is asking me, ‘Where are you going?’ ⁶ Instead, because I have said these things to you, you are overcome with grief. ⁷ But I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away; for if I don’t go away, the comforting Counselor will not come to you. However, if I do go, I will send him to you.

⁸ “When he comes, he will show that the world is wrong about sin, about righteousness and about judgment — ⁹ about sin, in that people don’t put their trust in me; ¹⁰ about righteousness, in that I am going to the Father and you will no longer see me; ¹¹ about judgment, in that the ruler of this world has been judged.

¹² “I still have many things to tell you, but you can’t bear them now. ¹³ However, when the Spirit of Truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth; for he will not speak on his own initiative but will say only what he hears. He will also announce to you the events of the future. ¹⁴ He will glorify me, because he will receive from what is mine and announce it to you. ¹⁵ Everything the Father has is mine; this is why I said that he receives from what is mine and will announce it to you.

¹⁶ “In a little while, you will see me no more; then, a little while later, you will see me.” ¹⁷ At this, some of the talmidim said to one another, “What is this that he’s telling us, ‘In a little while, you won’t see me; then, a little while later, you will see me’? and, ‘I am going to the Father’?” ¹⁸ They went on saying, “What is this ‘little while’? We don’t understand what he’s talking about.”

¹⁹ Yeshua knew that they wanted to ask him, so he said to them, “Are you asking each other what I meant by saying, ‘In a little while, you won’t see me; and then, a little while later, you will see me’? ²⁰ Yes, it’s true. I tell you that you will sob and mourn, and the world will rejoice; you will grieve, but your grief will turn to joy. ²¹ When a woman is giving birth, she is in pain; because her time has come. But when the baby is born, she forgets her suffering out of joy that a child has come into the world. ²² So you do indeed feel grief now, but I am going to see you again. Then your hearts will be full of joy, and no one will take your joy away from you.

²³ “When that day comes, you won’t ask anything of me! Yes, indeed! I tell you that whatever you ask from the Father, he will give you in my name. ²⁴ Till now you haven’t asked for anything in my name. Keep asking, and you will receive, so that your joy may be complete.

²⁵ “I have said these things to you with the help of illustrations; however, a time is coming when I will no longer speak indirectly but will talk about the Father in plain language. ²⁶ When that day comes, you will ask in my name. I am not telling you that I will pray to the Father on your behalf, ²⁷ for the Father himself loves you, because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God.

²⁸ “I came from the Father and have come into the world; again, I am leaving the world and returning to the Father.”

²⁹ The talmidim said to him, “Look, you’re talking plainly right now, you’re not speaking indirectly at all. ³⁰ Now we know that you know everything, and that you don’t need to have people put their questions into words. This makes us believe that you came from God.”

³¹ Yeshua answered, “Now you do believe. ³² But a time is coming — indeed it has come already — when you will be scattered, each one looking out for himself; and you will leave me all alone. Yet I am not alone; because the Father is with me.

³³ “I have said these things to you so that, united with me, you may have shalom. In the world, you have tsuris. But be brave! I have conquered the world!”