M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
King Amaziah of Judah(A)
14 In the second year of the reign of Jehoash son of Jehoahaz as king of Israel, Amaziah son of Joash became king of Judah 2 at the age of twenty-five, and he ruled in Jerusalem for twenty-nine years. His mother was Jehoaddin from Jerusalem. 3 He did what was pleasing to the Lord, but he was not like his ancestor King David; instead, he did what his father Joash had done. 4 He did not tear down the pagan places of worship, and the people continued to offer sacrifices and burn incense there.
5 As soon as Amaziah was firmly in power, he executed the officials who had killed his father, the king. 6 (B)However, he did not kill their children but followed what the Lord had commanded in the Law of Moses: “Parents are not to be put to death for crimes committed by their children, and children are not to be put to death for crimes committed by their parents; people are to be put to death only for a crime they themselves have committed.”
7 Amaziah killed ten thousand Edomite soldiers in Salt Valley; he captured the city of Sela in battle and called it Joktheel, the name it still has.
8 Then Amaziah sent messengers to King Jehoash of Israel, challenging him to fight.[a] 9 But King Jehoash sent back the following reply: “Once a thorn bush on the Lebanon Mountains sent a message to a cedar: ‘Give your daughter in marriage to my son.’ A wild animal passed by and trampled the bush down. 10 Now Amaziah, you have defeated the Edomites, and you are filled with pride. Be satisfied with your fame and stay at home. Why stir up trouble that will only bring disaster on you and your people?”
11 But Amaziah refused to listen, so King Jehoash marched out with his men and fought against him at Beth Shemesh in Judah. 12 Amaziah's army was defeated, and all his soldiers fled to their homes. 13 Jehoash took Amaziah prisoner, advanced on Jerusalem, and tore down the city wall from Ephraim Gate to the Corner Gate, a distance of two hundred yards. 14 He took all the silver and gold he could find, all the Temple equipment and all the palace treasures, and carried them back to Samaria. He also took hostages with him.
15 Everything else that Jehoash did, including his bravery in the war against King Amaziah of Judah, is recorded in The History of the Kings of Israel. 16 Jehoash died and was buried in the royal tombs in Samaria, and his son Jeroboam II succeeded him as king.
The Death of King Amaziah of Judah(C)
17 King Amaziah of Judah lived fifteen years after the death of King Jehoash of Israel. 18 Everything else that Amaziah did is recorded in The History of the Kings of Judah.
19 There was a plot in Jerusalem to assassinate Amaziah, so he fled to the city of Lachish, but his enemies followed him there and killed him. 20 His body was carried back to Jerusalem on a horse and was buried in the royal tombs in David's City. 21 The people of Judah then crowned his sixteen-year-old son Uzziah as king. 22 Uzziah reconquered and rebuilt Elath after his father's death.
King Jeroboam II of Israel
23 In the fifteenth year of the reign of Amaziah son of Joash as king of Judah, Jeroboam son of Jehoash became king of Israel, and he ruled in Samaria for forty-one years. 24 He sinned against the Lord, following the wicked example of his predecessor King Jeroboam son of Nebat, who led Israel into sin. 25 (D)He reconquered all the territory that had belonged to Israel, from Hamath Pass in the north to the Dead Sea in the south. This was what the Lord, the God of Israel, had promised through his servant the prophet Jonah son of Amittai from Gath Hepher.
26 The Lord saw the terrible[b] suffering of the Israelites; there was no one at all to help them. 27 But it was not the Lord's purpose to destroy Israel completely and forever, so he rescued them through King Jeroboam II.
28 Everything else that Jeroboam II did, his brave battles, and how he restored Damascus and Hamath to Israel,[c] are all recorded in The History of the Kings of Israel. 29 Jeroboam died and was buried in the royal tombs, and his son Zechariah succeeded him as king.
4 In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and because he is coming to rule as King, I solemnly urge you 2 to preach the message, to insist upon proclaiming it (whether the time is right or not), to convince, reproach, and encourage, as you teach with all patience. 3 The time will come when people will not listen to sound doctrine, but will follow their own desires and will collect for themselves more and more teachers who will tell them what they are itching to hear. 4 They will turn away from listening to the truth and give their attention to legends. 5 But you must keep control of yourself in all circumstances; endure suffering, do the work of a preacher of the Good News, and perform your whole duty as a servant of God.
6 As for me, the hour has come for me to be sacrificed; the time is here for me to leave this life. 7 I have done my best in the race, I have run the full distance, and I have kept the faith.[a] 8 And now there is waiting for me the victory prize of being put right with God, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give me on that Day—and not only to me, but to all those who wait with love for him to appear.
Personal Words
9 Do your best to come to me soon. 10 (A)Demas fell in love with this present world and has deserted me, going off to Thessalonica. Crescens went to Galatia, and Titus to Dalmatia. 11 (B)Only Luke is with me. Get Mark and bring him with you, because he can help me in the work. 12 (C)I sent Tychicus to Ephesus. 13 (D)When you come, bring my coat that I left in Troas with Carpus; bring the books too, and especially the ones made of parchment.
14 (E)Alexander the metalworker did me great harm; the Lord will reward him according to what he has done. 15 Be on your guard against him yourself, because he was violently opposed to our message.
16 No one stood by me the first time I defended myself; all deserted me. May God not count it against them! 17 But the Lord stayed with me and gave me strength, so that I was able to proclaim the full message for all the Gentiles to hear; and I was rescued from being sentenced to death. 18 And the Lord will rescue me from all evil and take me safely into his heavenly Kingdom. To him be the glory forever and ever! Amen.
Final Greetings
19 (F)I send greetings to Priscilla and Aquila and to the family of Onesiphorus. 20 (G)Erastus stayed in Corinth, and I left Trophimus in Miletus, because he was sick. 21 Do your best to come before winter.
Eubulus, Pudens, Linus, and Claudia send their greetings, and so do all the other Christians.
22 The Lord be with your spirit.
God's grace be with you all.
7 “Whenever I want to heal my people Israel and make them prosperous again, all I can see is their wickedness and the evil they do. They cheat one another; they break into houses and steal; they rob people in the streets. 2 It never enters their heads that I will remember all this evil; but their sins surround them, and I cannot avoid seeing them.”
Conspiracy in the Palace
3 The Lord says, “People deceive the king and his officers by their evil plots. 4 They are all treacherous and disloyal. Their hatred smolders like the fire in an oven, which is not stirred by the baker until the dough is ready to bake. 5 On the day of the king's celebration they made the king and his officials drunk and foolish with wine. 6 Yes, they burned[a] like an oven with their plotting. All night their anger smoldered, and in the morning it burst into flames.
7 “In the heat of their anger they murdered their rulers. Their kings have been assassinated one after another, but no one prays to me for help.”
Israel and the Nations
8 The Lord says, “The people of Israel are like a half-baked loaf of bread. They rely on the nations around them 9 and do not realize that this reliance on foreigners has robbed them of their strength. Their days are numbered, but they don't even know it. 10 The arrogance of the people of Israel cries out against them. In spite of everything that has happened, they have not returned to me, the Lord their God. 11 Israel flits around like a silly pigeon; first her people call on Egypt for help, and then they run to Assyria! 12 But I will spread out a net and catch them like birds as they go by. I will punish them for the evil they have done.[b]
13 “They are doomed! They have left me and rebelled against me. They will be destroyed. I wanted to save them, but their worship of me was false. 14 They have not prayed to me sincerely, but instead they throw themselves down and wail as the heathen do. When they pray for grain and wine, they gash themselves like pagans. What rebels they are! 15 Even though I was the one who brought them up and made them strong, they plotted against me. 16 They keep on turning away from me to a god that is powerless.[c] They are as unreliable as a crooked bow. Because their leaders talk arrogantly, they will die a violent death, and the Egyptians will laugh.”
A Prayer for Help
120 When I was in trouble, I called to the Lord,
and he answered me.
2 Save me, Lord,
from liars and deceivers.
3 You liars, what will God do to you?
How will he punish you?
4 With a soldier's sharp arrows,
with red-hot coals!
5 Living among you is as bad as living in Meshech
or among the people of Kedar.[a]
6 I have lived too long
with people who hate peace!
7 When I speak of peace,
they are for war.
The Lord Our Protector
121 I look to the mountains;
where will my help come from?
2 My help will come from the Lord,
who made heaven and earth.
3 He will not let you fall;
your protector is always awake.
4 The protector of Israel
never dozes or sleeps.
5 The Lord will guard you;
he is by your side to protect you.
6 The sun will not hurt you during the day,
nor the moon during the night.
7 The Lord will protect you from all danger;
he will keep you safe.
8 He will protect you as you come and go
now and forever.
In Praise of Jerusalem[b]
122 I was glad when they said to me,
“Let us go to the Lord's house.”
2 And now we are here,
standing inside the gates of Jerusalem!
3 Jerusalem is a city restored
in beautiful order and harmony.
4 This is where the tribes come,
the tribes of Israel,
to give thanks to the Lord
according to his command.
5 Here the kings of Israel
sat to judge their people.
6 Pray for the peace of Jerusalem:
“May those who love you prosper.
7 May there be peace inside your walls
and safety in your palaces.”
8 For the sake of my relatives and friends
I say to Jerusalem, “Peace be with you!”
9 For the sake of the house of the Lord our God
I pray for your prosperity.
Good News Translation® (Today’s English Version, Second Edition) © 1992 American Bible Society. All rights reserved. For more information about GNT, visit www.bibles.com and www.gnt.bible.