M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
King Ahaziah of Judah(A)
22 Some Arabs had led a raid and killed all of King Jehoram's sons except Ahaziah, the youngest. So now the people of Jerusalem made Ahaziah king as his father's successor. 2-3 Ahaziah became king at the age of twenty-two,[a] and he ruled in Jerusalem for one year. Ahaziah also followed the example of King Ahab's family, since his mother Athaliah—the daughter of King Ahab and granddaughter of King Omri of Israel—gave him advice that led him into evil. 4 He sinned against the Lord, because after his father's death other members of King Ahab's family became his advisers, and they led to his downfall. 5 Following their advice, he joined King Joram of Israel in a war against King Hazael of Syria. The armies clashed at Ramoth in Gilead, and Joram was wounded in battle. 6 He returned to the city of Jezreel to recover from his wounds, and Ahaziah went there to visit him.
7 God used this visit to Joram to bring about Ahaziah's downfall. While Ahaziah was there, he and Joram were confronted by a man named Jehu son of Nimshi, whom the Lord had chosen to destroy the dynasty of Ahab. 8 As Jehu was carrying out God's sentence on the dynasty, he came across a group made up of Judean leaders and of Ahaziah's nephews that had accompanied Ahaziah on his visit. Jehu killed them all. 9 A search was made for Ahaziah, and he was found hiding in Samaria. They took him to Jehu and put him to death. But they did bury his body out of respect for his grandfather King Jehoshaphat, who had done all he could to serve the Lord.
No member of Ahaziah's family was left who could rule the kingdom.
Queen Athaliah of Judah(B)
10 As soon as King Ahaziah's mother Athaliah learned of her son's murder, she gave orders for all the members of the royal family of Judah to be killed. 11 Ahaziah had a half sister, Jehosheba, who was married to a priest named Jehoiada. She secretly rescued one of Ahaziah's sons, Joash, took him away from the other princes who were about to be murdered and hid him and a nurse in a bedroom at the Temple. By keeping him hidden, she saved him from death at the hands of Athaliah. 12 For six years he remained there in hiding, while Athaliah ruled as queen.
The Revolt against Athaliah(C)
23 After waiting six years Jehoiada the priest decided that it was time to take action. He made a pact with five army officers: Azariah son of Jeroham, Ishmael son of Jehohanan, Azariah son of Obed, Maaseiah son of Adaiah, and Elishaphat son of Zichri. 2 They traveled to all the cities of Judah and brought back with them to Jerusalem the Levites and all the heads of the clans.
3 (D)They all gathered in the Temple, and there they made a covenant with Joash, the king's son. Jehoiada said to them, “Here is the son of the late king. He is now to be king, as the Lord promised that King David's descendants would be. 4 This is what we will do. When the priests and Levites come on duty on the Sabbath, one third of them will guard the Temple gates, 5 another third will guard the royal palace, and the rest will be stationed at the Foundation Gate. All the people will assemble in the Temple courtyard. 6 No one is to enter the Temple buildings except the priests and the Levites who are on duty. They may enter, because they are consecrated, but the rest of the people must obey the Lord's instructions and stay outside. 7 The Levites are to stand guard around the king, with their swords drawn, and are to stay with the king wherever he goes. Anyone who tries to enter the Temple is to be killed.”
8 The Levites and the people of Judah carried out Jehoiada's instructions. The men were not dismissed when they went off duty on the Sabbath, so the commanders had available both those coming on duty and those going off. 9 Jehoiada gave the officers the spears and shields that had belonged to King David and had been kept in the Temple. 10 He stationed the men with drawn swords all around the front of the Temple, to protect the king. 11 Then Jehoiada led Joash out, placed the crown on his head, and gave him a copy of the laws governing kingship. And so he was made king. Jehoiada the priest and his sons anointed Joash, and everyone shouted, “Long live the king!”
12 Athaliah heard the people cheering for the king, so she hurried to the Temple, where the crowd had gathered. 13 There she saw the new king at the Temple entrance, standing by the column reserved for kings and surrounded by the army officers and the trumpeters. All the people were shouting joyfully and blowing trumpets, and the Temple musicians with their instruments were leading the celebration. She tore her clothes in distress and shouted, “Treason! Treason!”
14 Jehoiada did not want Athaliah killed in the Temple area, so he called out the army officers and said, “Take her out between the rows of guards, and kill anyone who tries to rescue her.”
15 They seized her, took her to the palace, and there at the Horse Gate they killed her.
Jehoiada's Reforms(E)
16 The priest Jehoiada had King Joash and the people join him in making a covenant that they would be the Lord's people. 17 Then they all went to the temple of Baal and tore it down. They smashed the altars and idols there and killed Mattan, the priest of Baal, in front of the altars. 18 Jehoiada put the priests and Levites in charge of the work of the Temple. They were to carry out the duties assigned to them by King David and to burn the sacrifices offered to the Lord in accordance with the Law of Moses. They were also in charge of the music and the celebrations. 19 Jehoiada also put guards on duty at the Temple gates to keep out anyone who was ritually unclean.
20 The army officers, the leading citizens, the officials, and all the rest of the people joined Jehoiada in a procession that brought the king from the Temple to the palace. They entered by the main gate, and the king took his place on the throne. 21 All the people were filled with happiness, and the city was quiet, now that Athaliah had been killed.
The Angel and the Little Scroll
10 Then I saw another mighty angel coming down out of heaven. He was wrapped in a cloud and had a rainbow around his head; his face was like the sun, and his legs were like columns of fire. 2 He had a small scroll open in his hand. He put his right foot on the sea and his left foot on the land, 3 and called out in a loud voice that sounded like the roar of lions. After he had called out, the seven thunders answered with a roar. 4 As soon as they spoke, I was about to write. But I heard a voice speak from heaven, “Keep secret what the seven thunders have said; do not write it down!”
5 (A)Then the angel that I saw standing on the sea and on the land raised his right hand to heaven 6 and took a vow in the name of God, who lives forever and ever, who created heaven, earth, and the sea, and everything in them. The angel said, “There will be no more delay! 7 But when the seventh angel blows his trumpet, then God will accomplish his secret plan, as he announced to his servants, the prophets.”
8 (B)Then the voice that I had heard speaking from heaven spoke to me again, saying, “Go and take the open scroll which is in the hand of the angel standing on the sea and on the land.”
9 I went to the angel and asked him to give me the little scroll. He said to me, “Take it and eat it; it will turn sour in your stomach, but in your mouth it will be sweet as honey.”
10 I took the little scroll from his hand and ate it, and it tasted sweet as honey in my mouth. But after I swallowed it, it turned sour in my stomach. 11 Then I was told, “Once again you must proclaim God's message about many nations, races, languages, and kings.”
The Vision of the Four Chariots
6 I had another vision. This time I saw four chariots coming out from between two bronze mountains. 2 (A)The first chariot was pulled by red horses, the second by black horses, 3 (B)the third by white horses, and the fourth by dappled horses. 4 Then I asked the angel, “Sir, what do these chariots mean?”
5 (C)He answered, “These are the four winds; they have just come from the presence of the Lord of all the earth.”
6 The chariot pulled by the black horses was going north to Babylonia, the white horses were going to the west, and the dappled horses were going to the country in the south. 7 As the dappled horses came out, they were impatient to go and inspect the earth. The angel said, “Go and inspect the earth!”—and they did. 8 Then the angel cried out to me, “The horses that went north to Babylonia have quieted the Lord's anger.”
The Command to Crown Joshua
9 The Lord gave me this message. 10 He said, “Take the gifts given by the exiles Heldai, Tobijah, and Jedaiah, and go at once to the home of Josiah son of Zephaniah. All of them have returned from exile in Babylonia. 11 Make a crown out of the silver and gold they have given, and put it on the head of the High Priest, Joshua son of Jehozadak. 12 (D)Tell him that the Lord Almighty says, ‘The man who is called The Branch will flourish where he is and rebuild the Lord's Temple. 13 He is the one who will build it and receive the honor due a king, and he will rule his people. A priest will stand by his throne, and they will work together in peace and harmony.’ 14 The crown will be a memorial in the Lord's Temple in honor of Heldai,[a] Tobijah, Jedaiah, and Josiah.”[b]
15 Men who live far away will come and help to rebuild the Temple of the Lord. And when it is rebuilt, you will know that the Lord Almighty sent me to you. This will all happen if you fully obey the commands of the Lord your God.
Jesus Heals a Man Born Blind
9 As Jesus was walking along, he saw a man who had been born blind. 2 His disciples asked him, “Teacher, whose sin caused him to be born blind? Was it his own or his parents' sin?”
3 Jesus answered, “His blindness has nothing to do with his sins or his parents' sins. He is blind so that God's power might be seen at work in him. 4 As long as it is day, we must do the work of him who sent me; night is coming when no one can work. 5 (A)While I am in the world, I am the light for the world.”
6 After he said this, Jesus spat on the ground and made some mud with the spittle; he rubbed the mud on the man's eyes 7 and told him, “Go and wash your face in the Pool of Siloam.” (This name means “Sent.”) So the man went, washed his face, and came back seeing.
8 His neighbors, then, and the people who had seen him begging before this, asked, “Isn't this the man who used to sit and beg?”
9 Some said, “He is the one,” but others said, “No he isn't; he just looks like him.”
So the man himself said, “I am the man.”
10 “How is it that you can now see?” they asked him.
11 He answered, “The man called Jesus made some mud, rubbed it on my eyes, and told me to go to Siloam and wash my face. So I went, and as soon as I washed, I could see.”
12 “Where is he?” they asked.
“I don't know,” he answered.
The Pharisees Investigate the Healing
13 Then they took to the Pharisees the man who had been blind. 14 The day that Jesus made the mud and cured him of his blindness was a Sabbath. 15 The Pharisees, then, asked the man again how he had received his sight. He told them, “He put some mud on my eyes; I washed my face, and now I can see.”
16 Some of the Pharisees said, “The man who did this cannot be from God, for he does not obey the Sabbath law.”
Others, however, said, “How could a man who is a sinner perform such miracles as these?” And there was a division among them.
17 So the Pharisees asked the man once more, “You say he cured you of your blindness—well, what do you say about him?”
“He is a prophet,” the man answered.
18 The Jewish authorities, however, were not willing to believe that he had been blind and could now see, until they called his parents 19 and asked them, “Is this your son? You say that he was born blind; how is it, then, that he can now see?”
20 His parents answered, “We know that he is our son, and we know that he was born blind. 21 But we do not know how it is that he is now able to see, nor do we know who cured him of his blindness. Ask him; he is old enough, and he can answer for himself!” 22 His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jewish authorities, who had already agreed that anyone who said he believed that Jesus was the Messiah would be expelled from the synagogue. 23 That is why his parents said, “He is old enough; ask him!”
24 A second time they called back the man who had been born blind, and said to him, “Promise before God that you will tell the truth! We know that this man who cured you is a sinner.”
25 “I do not know if he is a sinner or not,” the man replied. “One thing I do know: I was blind, and now I see.”
26 “What did he do to you?” they asked. “How did he cure you of your blindness?”
27 “I have already told you,” he answered, “and you would not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Maybe you, too, would like to be his disciples?”
28 They insulted him and said, “You are that fellow's disciple; but we are Moses' disciples. 29 We know that God spoke to Moses; as for that fellow, however, we do not even know where he comes from!”
30 The man answered, “What a strange thing that is! You do not know where he comes from, but he cured me of my blindness! 31 We know that God does not listen to sinners; he does listen to people who respect him and do what he wants them to do. 32 Since the beginning of the world nobody has ever heard of anyone giving sight to a person born blind. 33 Unless this man came from God, he would not be able to do a thing.”
34 They answered, “You were born and brought up in sin—and you are trying to teach us?” And they expelled him from the synagogue.
Spiritual Blindness
35 When Jesus heard what had happened, he found the man and asked him, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?”
36 The man answered, “Tell me who he is, sir, so that I can believe in him!”
37 Jesus said to him, “You have already seen him, and he is the one who is talking with you now.”
38 “I believe, Lord!” the man said, and knelt down before Jesus.
39 Jesus said, “I came to this world to judge, so that the blind should see and those who see should become blind.”
40 Some Pharisees who were there with him heard him say this and asked him, “Surely you don't mean that we are blind, too?”
41 Jesus answered, “If you were blind, then you would not be guilty; but since you claim that you can see, this means that you are still guilty.”
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.