M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan

Hezekiah Reforms Religious Life

31 After the festival ended, all the people of Israel went to every city in Judah and broke the stone pillars, cut down the symbols of the goddess Asherah, and destroyed the altars and the pagan places of worship. They did the same thing throughout the rest of Judah, and the territories of Benjamin, Ephraim, and Manasseh; then they all returned home.

² King Hezekiah reestablished the organization of the priests and Levites, under which they each had specific duties. These included offering the burnt offerings and the fellowship offerings, taking part in the Temple worship, and giving praise and thanks in the various parts of the Temple. ^3 (A)From his own flocks and herds he provided animals for the burnt offerings each morning and evening, and for those offered on the Sabbath, at the New Moon Festival, and at the other festivals which are required by the Law of the Lord.

^4 (B)In addition, the king told the people of Jerusalem to bring the offerings to which the priests and the Levites were entitled, so that they could give all their time to the requirements of the Law of the Lord. ⁵ As soon as the order was given, the people of Israel brought gifts of their finest grain, wine, olive oil, honey, and other farm produce, and they also brought the tithes^[a] of everything they had. ⁶ All the people who lived in the cities of Judah brought tithes of their cattle and sheep, and they also brought large quantities of gifts which they dedicated to the Lord their God. ⁷ The gifts started arriving in the third month and continued to pile up for the next four months. ⁸ When King Hezekiah and his officials saw how much had been given, they praised the Lord and praised his people Israel. ⁹ The king spoke to the priests and the Levites about these gifts, ¹⁰ and Azariah the High Priest, a descendant of Zadok, said to him, “Since the people started bringing their gifts to the Temple, there has been enough to eat and a large surplus besides. We have all this because the Lord has blessed his people.”

¹¹ On the king's orders they prepared storerooms in the Temple area ¹² and put all the gifts and tithes in them for safekeeping. They placed a Levite named Conaniah in charge and made his brother Shimei his assistant. ¹³ Ten Levites were assigned to work under them: Jehiel, Azaziah, Nahath, Asahel, Jerimoth, Jozabad, Eliel, Ismachiah, Mahath, and Benaiah. All this was done under the authority of King Hezekiah and Azariah the High Priest. ¹⁴ Kore son of Imnah, a Levite who was chief guard at the East Gate of the Temple, was in charge of receiving the gifts offered to the Lord and of distributing them. ¹⁵ In the other cities where priests lived, he was faithfully assisted in this by other Levites: Eden, Miniamin, Jeshua, Shemaiah, Amariah, and Shecaniah. They distributed the food equally to their fellow Levites according to what their duties were, ¹⁶ and not by clans. They gave a share to all males thirty^[b] years of age or older who had daily responsibilities in the Temple in accordance with their positions. ¹⁷ The priests were assigned their duties by clans, and the Levites twenty years of age or older were assigned theirs by work groups. ¹⁸ They were all registered together with their wives, children, and other dependents, because they were required to be ready to perform their sacred duties at any time. ¹⁹ Among the priests who lived in the cities assigned to Aaron's descendants or in the pasture lands belonging to these cities, there were responsible men who distributed the food to all the males in the priestly families and to everyone who was on the rolls of the Levite clans.

²⁰ Throughout all Judah, King Hezekiah did what was right and what was pleasing to the Lord his God. ²¹ He was successful, because everything he did for the Temple or in observance of the Law, he did in a spirit of complete loyalty and devotion to his God.

The Famous Prostitute

17 ^(A)Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came to me and said, “Come, and I will show you how the famous prostitute is to be punished, that great city that is built near many rivers. ^2 (B)The kings of the earth practiced sexual immorality with her, and the people of the world became drunk from drinking the wine of her immorality.”

^3 (C)The Spirit took control of me, and the angel carried me to a desert. There I saw a woman sitting on a red beast that had names insulting to God written all over it; the beast had seven heads and ten horns. ^4 (D)The woman was dressed in purple and scarlet, and covered with gold ornaments, precious stones, and pearls. In her hand she held a gold cup full of obscene and filthy things, the result of her immorality. ⁵ On her forehead was written a name that has a secret meaning: “Great Babylon, the mother of all prostitutes and perverts in the world.” ⁶ And I saw that the woman was drunk with the blood of God's people and the blood of those who were killed because they had been loyal to Jesus.

When I saw her, I was completely amazed. ⁷ “Why are you amazed?” the angel asked me. “I will tell you the secret meaning of the woman and of the beast that carries her, the beast with seven heads and ten horns. ^8 (E)That beast was once alive, but lives no longer; it is about to come up from the abyss and will go off to be destroyed. The people living on earth whose names have not been written before the creation of the world in the book of the living, will all be amazed as they look at the beast. It was once alive; now it no longer lives, but it will reappear.

⁹ “This calls for wisdom and understanding. The seven heads are seven hills, on which the woman sits. They are also seven kings: ¹⁰ five of them have fallen, one still rules, and the other one has not yet come; when he comes, he must rule only a little while. ¹¹ And the beast that was once alive, but lives no longer, is itself an eighth king who is one of the seven and is going off to be destroyed.

^12 (F)“The ten horns you saw are ten kings who have not yet begun to rule, but who will be given authority to rule as kings for one hour with the beast. ¹³ These ten all have the same purpose, and they give their power and authority to the beast. ¹⁴ They will fight against the Lamb; but the Lamb, together with his called, chosen, and faithful followers, will defeat them, because he is Lord of lords and King of kings.”

¹⁵ The angel also said to me, “The waters you saw, on which the prostitute sits, are nations, peoples, races, and languages. ¹⁶ The ten horns you saw and the beast will hate the prostitute; they will take away everything she has and leave her naked; they will eat her flesh and destroy her with fire. ¹⁷ For God has placed in their hearts the will to carry out his purpose by acting together and giving to the beast their power to rule until God's words come true.

¹⁸ “The woman you saw is the great city that rules over the kings of the earth.”

² At that time I will remove the names of the idols from the land, and no one will remember them any more. I will get rid of anyone who claims to be a prophet and will take away the desire to worship idols. ³ Then if anyone still insists on prophesying, his own father and mother will tell him that he must be put to death, because he claimed to speak the Lord's word, but spoke lies instead. When he prophesies, his own father and mother will stab him to death. ⁴ When that time comes, no prophet will be proud of his visions or act like a prophet or wear a prophet's coarse garment in order to deceive people. ⁵ Instead, he will say, ‘I am not a prophet. I am a farmer—I have farmed the land all my life.’ ⁶ Then if someone asks him, ‘What are those wounds on your chest?’ he will answer, ‘I got them at a friend's house.’”

The Command to Kill God's Shepherd

^7 (A)The Lord Almighty says, “Wake up, sword, and attack the shepherd^[a] who works for me! Kill him, and the sheep will be scattered. I will attack my people ⁸ and throughout the land two-thirds of the people will die. ⁹ And I will test the third that survives and will purify them as silver is purified by fire. I will test them as gold is tested. Then they will pray to me, and I will answer them. I will tell them that they are my people, and they will confess that I am their God.”

16 “I have told you this, so that you will not give up your faith. ² You will be expelled from the synagogues, and the time will come when those who kill you will think that by doing this they are serving God. ³ People will do these things to you because they have not known either the Father or me. ⁴ But I have told you this, so that when the time comes for them to do these things, you will remember what I told you.

The Work of the Holy Spirit

“I did not tell you these things at the beginning, for I was with you. ⁵ But now I am going to him who sent me, yet none of you asks me where I am going. ⁶ And now that I have told you, your hearts are full of sadness. ⁷ But I am telling you the truth: it is better for you that I go away, because if I do not go, the Helper will not come to you. But if I do go away, then I will send him to you. ⁸ And when he comes, he will prove to the people of the world that they are wrong about sin and about what is right and about God's judgment. ⁹ They are wrong about sin, because they do not believe in me; ¹⁰ they are wrong about what is right, because I am going to the Father and you will not see me any more; ¹¹ and they are wrong about judgment, because the ruler of this world has already been judged.

¹² “I have much more to tell you, but now it would be too much for you to bear. ^13 (A)When, however, the Spirit comes, who reveals the truth about God, he will lead you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own authority, but he will speak of what he hears and will tell you of things to come. ¹⁴ He will give me glory, because he will take what I say and tell it to you. ¹⁵ All that my Father has is mine; that is why I said that the Spirit will take what I give him and tell it to you.

Sadness and Gladness

¹⁶ “In a little while you will not see me any more, and then a little while later you will see me.”

¹⁷ Some of his disciples asked among themselves, “What does this mean? He tells us that in a little while we will not see him, and then a little while later we will see him; and he also says, ‘It is because I am going to the Father.’ ¹⁸ What does this ‘a little while’ mean? We don't know what he is talking about!”

¹⁹ Jesus knew that they wanted to question him, so he said to them, “I said, ‘In a little while you will not see me, and then a little while later you will see me.’ Is this what you are asking about among yourselves? ²⁰ I am telling you the truth: you will cry and weep, but the world will be glad; you will be sad, but your sadness will turn into gladness. ²¹ When a woman is about to give birth, she is sad because her hour of suffering has come; but when the baby is born, she forgets her suffering, because she is happy that a baby has been born into the world. ²² That is how it is with you: now you are sad, but I will see you again, and your hearts will be filled with gladness, the kind of gladness that no one can take away from you.

²³ “When that day comes, you will not ask me for anything. I am telling you the truth: the Father will give you whatever you ask of him in my name.^{[a] 24} Until now you have not asked for anything in my name; ask and you will receive, so that your happiness may be complete.

Victory over the World

²⁵ “I have used figures of speech to tell you these things. But the time will come when I will not use figures of speech, but will speak to you plainly about the Father. ²⁶ When that day comes, you will ask him in my name; and I do not say that I will ask him on your behalf, ²⁷ for the Father himself loves you. He loves you because you love me and have believed that I came from God. ²⁸ I did come from the Father, and I came into the world; and now I am leaving the world and going to the Father.”

²⁹ Then his disciples said to him, “Now you are speaking plainly, without using figures of speech. ³⁰ We know now that you know everything; you do not need to have someone ask you questions. This makes us believe that you came from God.”

³¹ Jesus answered them, “Do you believe now? ³² The time is coming, and is already here, when all of you will be scattered, each of you to your own home, and I will be left all alone. But I am not really alone, because the Father is with me. ³³ I have told you this so that you will have peace by being united to me. The world will make you suffer. But be brave! I have defeated the world!”