The Daily Audio Bible
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32 After these faithful acts, Sennacherib, king of Assyria, came and entered into Judah and besieged the strong cities and thought to win them for himself.
2 When Hezekiah saw that Sennacherib had come, and that his purpose was to fight against Jerusalem,
3 he took counsel with his princes and his nobles to stop the water of the fountains outside the city. And they helped him.
4 So, many of the people assembled themselves and stopped all the fountains and the river that ran through the midst of the country, saying, “Why should the kings of Assyria come and find abundant water?”
5 And he took courage and rebuilt the entire broken wall and erected towers and another outside wall and repaired Millo in the City of David and made many weapons and shields.
6 And he set captains of war over the people and assembled them to him in the broad place of the gate of the city and spoke encouragement to them, saying,
7 “Be strong and courageous! Do not fear or be afraid of the king of Assyria, or of all the multitude that is with him! For there are more with us than are with him!
8 “With him is an arm of flesh! But with us is the LORD our God, to help us and to fight our battles!” Then the people were sustained by the words of Hezekiah, king of Judah.
9 After this, Sennacherib, king of Assyria, sent his servants to Jerusalem (while he and all his dominion with him were besieging Lachish) to Hezekiah, king of Judah, and to all Judah who were at Jerusalem, saying,
10 “Thus says Sennacherib, the king of Assyria, ‘In what do you trust, that you would remain in Jerusalem during a siege?
11 ‘Does not Hezekiah entice you to give yourselves over to death by famine and by thirst, saying, “The LORD our God shall deliver us out of the hand of the king of Assyria?”
12 ‘Has not the same Hezekiah taken away his high places and his altars and commanded Judah and Jerusalem, saying, “You shall worship before one Altar and burn incense upon it?”
13 ‘Do you not know what I and my fathers have done to all the people of other countries? Were the gods of the nations of other lands able to deliver their land out of my hand?
14 ‘Who is He — among all the gods of those nations that my fathers have destroyed that could not deliver their people out of my hand — that your God should be able to deliver you out of my hand?
15 ‘Now therefore, do not let Hezekiah deceive you or seduce you in this way or believe him. For none of all the gods of any nation or kingdom was able to deliver his people out of my hand, and out of the hand of my fathers. How much less shall your gods deliver you out of my hand?’”
16 And his servants spoke even more against the LORD God and against His servant Hezekiah.
17 He wrote also letters blaspheming the LORD God of Israel and speaking against Him, saying, “As the gods of the nations of other countries could not deliver their people out of my hand, so shall the God of Hezekiah not deliver His people out of my hand.”
18 Then they cried with a loud voice in the Jews’ language to the people of Jerusalem who were on the wall, to scare them and to astonish them, so that they might take the city.
19 Thus they spoke against the God of Jerusalem, as against the gods of the people of the earth, the works of man’s hands.
20 But Hezekiah the king and the Prophet Isaiah, the son of Amoz, prayed against this and cried to Heaven.
21 And the LORD sent an Angel which destroyed all the valiant men and the princes and captains of the army of the king of Assyria. So, he returned with shame to his own land. And when he had come into the house of his god, those of his own offspring killed him there with the sword.
22 So, the LORD saved Hezekiah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem from the hand of Sennacherib, king of Assyria, and from the hand of all others and guided them on every side.
23 And many brought offerings to the LORD to Jerusalem, and presents to Hezekiah, king of Judah, so that he was magnified in the sight of all nations thereafter.
24 In those days, Hezekiah was sick to the death and prayed to the LORD, Who spoke to him and gave him a sign.
25 But Hezekiah did not repay according to the reward bestowed upon him; for his heart was lifted up. And wrath came upon him, and upon Judah and Jerusalem.
26 Nevertheless, Hezekiah humbled himself (after his heart had been lifted up), he and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. And the wrath of the LORD did not come upon them in the days of Hezekiah.
27 Hezekiah also had abundant riches and honor. And he acquired treasures of silver, and of gold, and of precious stones, and of sweet odors, and of shields, and of all pleasant vessels,
28 and of store houses for the increase of wheat and wine and oil, and stalls for all beasts, and rows for the stables.
29 And he made cities for himself and had possession of sheep and oxen in abundance. For God had given him a large amount of substance.
30 This same Hezekiah also stopped the upper water springs of Gihon and led them straight underneath toward the City of David, westward. So, Hezekiah prospered in all his works.
31 But because of the ambassadors of the princes of Babel, who sent to him to inquire of the wonder that was done in the land, God left him to test him, to know all that was in his heart.
32 Concerning the rest of the acts of Hezekiah, and his goodness, behold, they are written in the vision of Isaiah the Prophet, the son of Amoz, in the book of the Kings of Judah and Israel.
33 So, Hezekiah slept with his fathers. And they buried him in the highest sepulcher of the sons of David. And all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem honored him at his death. And Manasseh, his son, reigned in his place.
33 Manasseh was twelve years old when he began to reign. And he reigned for fifty-five years in Jerusalem.
2 And he did evil in the sight of the LORD, like the abominations of the heathen whom the LORD had cast out before the children of Israel.
3 For he went back and built the high places which Hezekiah his father had broken down. And he set up altars for Baal and made groves and worshipped all the host of the heaven and served them.
4 Also, he built altars in the House of the LORD, of which the LORD had said, “In Jerusalem shall My Name be forever.”
5 And he built altars for all the host of heaven in the two courts of the House of the LORD.
6 And he made his sons pass through the fire in the valley of Ben-hinnom. He gave himself to witchcraft and to charming and to sorcery. And he used mediums and soothsayers. He did very much evil in the sight of the LORD to anger Him.
7 He also put the carved image which he had made in the House of God, of which God had said to David and to Solomon, his son, “In this House and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen before all the tribes of Israel, I will put My Name forever.
8 “I will no longer remove the foot of Israel out of the land which I have appointed for your fathers, so that they consider and do all that I have Commanded them, according to the Law and Statutes and Judgments by the hand of Moses.”
9 So, Manasseh made Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem err, to do worse than the heathen whom the LORD had destroyed before the children of Israel.
10 And the LORD spoke to Manasseh and to his people; but they would not pay attention.
11 Therefore, the LORD brought the captains of the army of the king of Assyria upon them, who took Manasseh in fetters and bound him in chains and carried him to Babel.
12 And when he was in tribulation, he prayed to the LORD his God, and humbled himself greatly before the God of his fathers,
13 and prayed to him. And God was moved by him, and heard his prayer, and brought him back to Jerusalem, into his kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that the LORD was God.
23 But now, seeing I no longer have a place in these regions, and have longed to come to you for many years,
24 I will come to you when I take my journey into Spain. For I hope to see you on my journey, and to be brought on my way there by you, after I have first enjoyed your company for a while.
25 But now I go to Jerusalem, to minister to the Saints.
26 For it has pleased them of Macedonia and Achaia to make a certain contribution to the poor Saints who are at Jerusalem.
27 It has pleased them. And indeed, they are their debtors. For if the Gentiles have been partakers of their spiritual things, their duty is to minister to them also, in material things.
28 Therefore, once I have performed this, and have sealed their fruit, I will pass by you into Spain.
29 And I know when I come, that I shall come to you with abundance of the blessing of the Gospel of Christ.
30 Also brothers, I beg you for our Lord Jesus Christ’s sake, and for the love of the Spirit, that you would strive with me by prayers to God for me,
31 that I may be delivered from those who are disobedient in Judea; and that my service which I have to do at Jerusalem may be accepted by the Saints.
32 So that I may come to you with joy, by the will of God, and may be refreshed with you.
33 Now, the God of peace be with you all. Amen.
16 I commend to you Phoebe, our sister, who is a servant of the Church of Cenchrea;
2 that you receive her in the Lord (as it becomes Saints) and that you assist her in whatever matter she has need of you. For she has given hospitality to many, and to me also.
3 Greet Priscilla, and Aquila, my fellow helpers in Christ Jesus.
4 (who have laid down their own neck for my life; unto whom not I only give thanks, but also all the Churches of the Gentiles.)
5 Likewise, greet the Church that is in their house. Salute my beloved Epaenetus, who is the firstfruits of Achaia in Christ.
6 Greet Mary, who has worked hard for us.
7 Salute Andronicus and Junia, my cousins and fellow prisoners, who are notable among the Apostles, and were in Christ before me.
8 Greet Amplias, my beloved in the Lord.
9 Salute Urbanus, our fellow helper in Christ; and Stachys, my beloved.
16 Turn Your face to me; and have mercy upon me. For I am desolate and poor.
17 The sorrows of my heart are enlarged. Draw me out of my troubles.
18 Look upon my affliction, and my travail, and forgive all my sins.
19 Behold my enemies, for they are many; and they hate me with cruel hatred.
20 Keep my soul and deliver me. Let me not be confounded; for I trust in You.
21 Let my uprightness and equity preserve me; for my hope is in You.
22 Deliver Israel, O God, out of all its troubles. A Psalm of David.
16 Take the garment of him who is surety for a stranger; and a pledge from him for a foreigner.
17 The bread of deceit is sweet to a man. But afterward, his mouth shall be filled with gravel.
18 Establish your thoughts by counsel; and by counsel make war.
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