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Hezekiah’s Illness(A)
20 At that time Hezekiah became so sick he ·almost died [was about to die]. The prophet Isaiah son of Amoz went to see him and told him, “·This is what the Lord says [T Thus says the Lord]: ·Make arrangements [L Set your house in order] because you are going to die. You will not recover.”
2 Hezekiah turned toward the wall and prayed to the Lord, 3 “Lord, please remember that I have always ·obeyed [L walked before] you. I have ·given myself completely to you [served you wholeheartedly] and have done ·what you said was right [L right in the eyes/sight of the Lord].” Then Hezekiah ·cried loudly [wept bitterly].
4 Before Isaiah had left the middle courtyard, the Lord spoke his word to Isaiah: 5 “Go back and tell Hezekiah, the ·leader [ruler; prince] of my people: ‘This is what the Lord, the God of your ·ancestor [father] David, says: I have heard your prayer and seen your tears, so I will heal you. Three days from now you will go up to the ·Temple [L house] of the Lord. 6 I will add fifteen years to your life. I will ·save [rescue; T deliver] you and this city from [L the hand of] the king of Assyria; I will ·protect [defend] the city for my sake and for the sake of my servant David.’”
7 Then Isaiah said, “Make a ·paste [ointment; poultice] from figs.” So they made it and put it on Hezekiah’s boil, and he got well.
8 Hezekiah had asked Isaiah, “What will be the sign that the Lord will heal me and that I will go up to the ·Temple [L house] of the Lord on the third day?”
9 Isaiah said, “The Lord will do what he ·says [promises]. This is the sign from the Lord to show you: Do you want the shadow to go forward ten steps or back ten steps?”
10 Hezekiah answered, “It’s ·easy [normal] for the shadow to ·go forward [lengthen] ten steps. Instead, let it go back ten steps.”
11 Then Isaiah the prophet called to the Lord, and the Lord brought the shadow ten steps back up the ·stairway [or dial; C the shadows moved either on outside stairs or on a sundial] of Ahaz that it had gone down.
Messengers from Babylon(B)
12 At that time Merodach-baladan son of Baladan was king of Babylon. He sent ·letters [greetings] and a gift to Hezekiah, because he had heard that Hezekiah ·was [had been] sick. 13 Hezekiah ·listened to [received] the messengers, ·so [and] he showed them what was in his storehouses: the silver, gold, spices, ·expensive perfumes [precious oils], his ·swords and shields [armory], and all his ·wealth [treasures]. He showed them everything in his ·palace [L house] and his kingdom.
14 Then Isaiah the prophet went to King Hezekiah and asked him, “What did these men say? Where did they come from?”
Hezekiah said, “They came from a faraway country—from Babylon.”
15 So Isaiah asked him, “What did they see in your ·palace [L house]?”
Hezekiah said, “They saw everything in my ·palace [L house]. I showed them all my ·wealth [L treasuries; store houses].”
16 Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, “Listen to the words of the Lord: 17 ‘·In the future to you [The time/day is coming when] everything in your ·palace [L house] and everything your ·ancestors [fathers] have stored up until this day will be ·taken away [carried off] to Babylon. Nothing will be left,’ says the Lord. 18 ‘Some of your own ·children [sons], those ·who will be born to you [you will father], will be taken away. And they will become ·servants [eunuchs] in the palace of the king of Babylon.’”
19 Hezekiah told Isaiah, “These words from the Lord that you have spoken are good.” He said this because he thought, “Why not? There will be peace and security in my lifetime.”
20 Everything else Hezekiah did—all his ·victories [achievements; power], his work on the pool, his work on the tunnel to bring water into the city—·is [L is it not…?] written in the book of the ·history [chronicles; annals; 1:18] of the kings of Judah. 21 Then Hezekiah ·died [L lay down/T slept with his fathers/ancestors], and his son Manasseh became king in his place.
Manasseh King of Judah(C)
21 Manasseh was twelve years old when he became king, and he ·was king [reigned] fifty-five years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Hephzibah. 2 He did ·what the Lord said was wrong [L evil in the eyes/sight of the Lord]. He did the ·hateful things [detestable/abominable practices] the other nations had done—the nations that the Lord had ·forced [driven] out of the land ahead of the ·Israelites [L sons/T children of Israel]. 3 Manasseh’s father, Hezekiah, had destroyed the ·places where gods were worshiped [L high places; 12:3], but Manasseh rebuilt them. He built altars for Baal, and he made an Asherah ·idol [pole; C a sacred tree or pole dedicated to the goddess Asherah; 13:6] as Ahab king of Israel had done. Manasseh also worshiped all the ·stars of the sky [hosts of heaven] and served them. 4 The Lord had said about the ·Temple [L house], “I will ·be worshiped [L put my name] in Jerusalem,” but Manasseh built altars [C pagan] in the ·Temple [L house] of the Lord. 5 He built altars to worship the ·stars [hosts of heaven] in the two courtyards of the ·Temple [L house] of the Lord. 6 He ·made his own son pass through fire [sacrificed his son in the fire; 16:3]. He practiced ·magic [sorcery; soothsaying] and ·told the future by explaining signs and dreams [divination], and he ·got advice from [consulted] mediums and ·fortune-tellers [psychics; spiritualists]. He did ·many things the Lord said were wrong [L much evil in the eyes/sight of the Lord], which ·made the Lord angry [aroused/provoked the Lord to anger].
7 Manasseh carved an Asherah ·idol [pole; C a sacred tree or pole dedicated to the goddess Asherah; 13:6] and put it in the ·Temple [L house]. The Lord had said to David and his son Solomon about the ·Temple [L house], “I will ·be worshiped [L put my name] forever in this ·Temple [L house] and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen from all the tribes of Israel. 8 I will never again make the ·Israelites [L feet of Israel to] wander out of the land I gave their ·ancestors [fathers]. But they must ·obey [observe; do] everything I have commanded them and all the ·teachings [law; L torah] my servant Moses gave them.” 9 But the people did not listen. Manasseh led them to do more evil than the nations the Lord had destroyed ahead of the ·Israelites [L sons/T children of Israel].
10 The Lord said through his servants the prophets, 11 “Manasseh king of Judah has done these ·hateful things [detestable/abominable practices]. He has done more ·evil [wickedness] than the Amorites before him. He also has led Judah to sin with his idols. 12 So this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘I will bring ·so much trouble [such disaster/calamity] on Jerusalem and Judah that anyone who hears about it will ·be shocked [L have tingling ears]. 13 I will stretch over Jerusalem the measuring line used for Samaria , and the plumb line used against Ahab’s ·family [L house] will be used on Jerusalem. I will wipe out Jerusalem as a person wipes a dish and turns it upside down. 14 I will ·throw away the rest of my people who are left [abandon/forsake/reject the remnant of my inheritance/heritage]. I will ·give them [hand them over; deliver them] to their enemies, and they will be ·robbed by all [the plunder and spoil of] their enemies, 15 because my people did ·what I said was wrong [L evil in my eyes/sight]. They have ·made me angry [aroused/provoked my anger] from the day their ·ancestors [fathers] left Egypt until ·now [today].’”
16 Manasseh also ·killed [murdered] many innocent people, filling Jerusalem from one end to the other with their blood. This was besides the sin he led Judah to do; he led Judah to do ·what the Lord said was wrong [L evil in the eyes/sight of the Lord].
17 The other things Manasseh did as king, even the sin he did, ·are [L are they not…?] written in the book of the ·history [chronicles; annals; 1:18] of the kings of Judah. 18 Manasseh ·died [L lay down/T slept with his fathers/ancestors] and was buried in the garden of his own ·palace [L house], the garden of Uzza. Then Manasseh’s son Amon became king in his place.
Amon King of Judah(D)
19 Amon was twenty-two years old when he became king, and he was king for two years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Meshullemeth daughter of Haruz, who was from Jotbah. 20 Amon did ·what the Lord said was wrong [L evil in the eyes/sight of the Lord], as his father Manasseh had done. 21 He ·lived [followed; L walked] in the same way his father had ·lived [followed; L walked]: he ·worshiped [served] the idols his father had ·worshiped [served], and he ·bowed down before [worshiped] them. 22 Amon ·rejected [abandoned; forsook] the Lord, the God of his ·ancestors [fathers], and did not ·follow [walk in] the ways of the Lord.
23 Amon’s officers ·made plans [conspired; plotted] against him and killed him in his ·palace [L house]. 24 Then the people of the land killed all those who had ·made plans [conspired; plotted] to kill King Amon, and they made his son Josiah king in his place.
25 Everything else Amon did ·is [L is it not…?] written in the book of the ·history [chronicles; annals; 1:18] of the kings of Judah. 26 He was buried in his grave in the garden of Uzza, and his son Josiah became king in his place.
Josiah King of Judah(E)
22 Josiah was eight years old when he became king, and he ·ruled [reigned] thirty-one years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Jedidah daughter of Adaiah, who was from Bozkath. 2 Josiah did ·what the Lord said was right [L right in the eyes/sight of the Lord]. He ·lived [L walked] as his ·ancestor [father] David had ·lived [L walked], and he did not ·stop doing what was right [turn aside/deviate to the right or to the left].
18 The next day Paul went with us to visit James, and all the elders [14:23] were there. 19 Paul greeted them and ·told [recounted for] them ·everything [or in detail what; or one by one the things] God had done among the ·other nations [Gentiles] through ·him [L his ministry/service]. 20 When they heard this, they ·praised [gave glory to] God. Then they said to ·Paul [L him], “Brother, you can see that many thousands of ·our people [L the Jews] have become believers [2:41, 47; 4:4]. And they ·think it is very important to obey [L are passionate about; are zealots for] ·the law of Moses [L the Law]. 21 They have ·heard [been informed] about your teaching, that you tell ·our people [L the Jews] who live among the ·nations [Gentiles] to ·leave the law of Moses [L forsake/abandon Moses]. They have heard that you tell them not to circumcise their children and not to ·obey [observe; L walk in] our ·customs [or traditional way of life]. 22 What [L then; therefore] should we do? They will [L surely] ·learn [hear] that you have come. 23 So ·we will tell you what to do [L do what we say]: Four of our men have made a ·promise to God [L vow]. 24 Take these men with you and share in their ·cleansing ceremony [ritual purification]. Pay their expenses so they can shave their heads [C a ritual that indicates the end of a Nazirite’s vows; Num. 6:13–20]. Then ·it will prove to everyone [L everyone will know] that what they have heard about you is not true and that you ·follow [L indeed keep/observe] the law of Moses in your own life. 25 We have already sent a letter [L with our judgment/decision] to the Gentile believers [C the decision of the council of Jerusalem; 15:6–21]. The letter said: ‘Do not eat food that has been offered to idols, or blood, or animals that have been strangled. Do not take part in sexual sin [15:20].’”
26 The next day Paul took the four men and shared in the ·cleansing ceremony [ritual purification] with them. Then he went to the Temple and announced the time when the days of the ·cleansing ceremony [ritual purification] would be finished and an ·offering [sacrifice] would be ·given [offered] for each of the men.
27 When the seven days were almost over [C the period of time for purification; Num. 19:12], some of ·his people [L the Jews] from [C the province of] Asia saw Paul at the Temple. They ·caused all the people to be upset [stirred up/incited the whole crowd] and grabbed Paul. 28 They shouted, “·People of Israel [L Men, Israelites], help us! This is the man who goes everywhere teaching against our people [C Israel], against ·the law of Moses [L the Law], and against this ·Temple [L place]. Now he has brought some Greeks into the Temple and has ·made this holy place unclean [defiled this holy place]!” 29 (They said this because they had seen Trophimus [20:4; 2 Tim. 4:20], ·a man from Ephesus [L the Ephesian], with Paul in ·Jerusalem [L the city]. They ·thought [supposed; assumed] that Paul had brought him into the Temple [C God-fearing Gentiles were only allowed in the outer courtyard, known as the “court of the Gentiles”].)
30 ·All the people in Jerusalem [L The whole city] became ·upset [aroused]. Together they ·ran [or rushed together; came running], took Paul, and dragged him out of the Temple. The Temple doors were closed immediately. 31 While they were trying to kill ·Paul [L him], the ·commander of the Roman army in Jerusalem [L tribune/commander of the regiment; C a tribune (Greek: chiliarch) oversaw about a thousand soldiers] ·learned [received the report] that ·there was trouble in the whole city [L all Jerusalem was in confusion/an uproar]. 32 Immediately he took some ·officers and soldiers [L soldiers and centurions; C centurions oversaw about a hundred soldiers] and ran to the place where the crowd was gathered. When the people saw ·them [L the tribune and the soldiers], they stopped beating Paul. 33 The ·commander [tribune] went to Paul and arrested him. He told his soldiers to ·bind [shackle] Paul with two chains. Then he ·asked [inquired about] who he was and what he had done wrong. 34 Some in the crowd were yelling one thing, and some were yelling another. Because of all this ·confusion and shouting [uproar; noise; tumult], the commander could not learn ·what had happened [the truth/facts]. So he ordered the soldiers to take Paul to the ·army building [barracks; C probably the Roman garrison known as the Antonia fortress, overlooking the temple from the north]. 35 When ·Paul [L he] came to the steps [C leading up to the Antonia fortress], the soldiers had to carry him because ·the people were ready to hurt him [L of the violence of the mob/crowd]. 36 [L For] The whole mob was following them, shouting, “·Kill [or Away with] him!”
Praise the Lord with Music
150 Praise the Lord!
Praise God in his ·Temple [L holy place; or holiness];
praise him in his ·mighty heaven [L strong firmament; Gen. 1:7].
2 Praise him for his strength;
praise him for his [L abundant] greatness.
3 Praise him with trumpet blasts;
praise him with harps and lyres.
4 Praise him with tambourines and dancing;
praise him with stringed instruments and flutes.
5 Praise him with loud cymbals;
praise him with crashing cymbals.
6 Let everything that breathes praise the Lord.
Praise the Lord!
9 A person who doesn’t work hard
is ·just like someone who destroys things [L a brother to a destroyer].
10 The name of the Lord is like a strong tower;
·those who do right [the righteous] can run to him for ·safety [refuge].
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