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Hezekiah Seeks Isaiah’s Help
37 And (A)when King Hezekiah heard it, he tore his clothes, covered himself with sackcloth and entered the house of the Lord. 2 Then he sent (B)Eliakim who was over the household with (C)Shebna the scribe and the elders of the priests, covered with sackcloth, to (D)Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz. 3 They said to him, “Thus says Hezekiah, ‘This day is a (E)day of distress, rebuke and rejection; for (F)children have come to birth, and there is no strength to [a]deliver. 4 Perhaps the Lord your God will hear the words of Rabshakeh, whom his master the king of Assyria has sent to (G)reproach the living God, and will rebuke the words which the Lord your God has heard. Therefore, offer a prayer for (H)the remnant that is left.’”
5 So the servants of King Hezekiah came to Isaiah. 6 Isaiah said to them, “Thus you shall say to your master, ‘Thus says the Lord, “(I)Do not be afraid because of the words that you have heard, with which the servants of the king of Assyria have blasphemed Me. 7 Behold, I will put a spirit in him so that he will (J)hear a rumor and (K)return to his own land. And I will make him fall by the sword in his own land.”’”
8 Then Rabshakeh returned and found the king of Assyria fighting against (L)Libnah, for he had heard that [b]the king had left (M)Lachish. 9 When he (N)heard them say concerning Tirhakah king of [c](O)Cush, “He has come out to fight against you,” and when he heard it he sent messengers to Hezekiah, saying, 10 “Thus you shall say to Hezekiah king of [d]Judah, ‘(P)Do not let your God in whom you trust deceive you, saying, “Jerusalem will not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria.” 11 (Q)Behold, you have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all the lands, destroying them completely. So will you be [e]spared? 12 Did the gods of [f]those nations which my fathers have destroyed deliver them, even (R)Gozan and (S)Haran and Rezeph and the sons of Eden who were in Telassar? 13 Where is the king of Hamath, the king of Arpad, the king of the city of Sepharvaim, and of Hena and Ivvah?’”
Hezekiah’s Prayer in the Temple
14 Then Hezekiah took the [g]letter from the hand of the messengers and read it, and he went up to the house of the Lord and [h]spread it out before the Lord. 15 Hezekiah prayed to the Lord saying, 16 “O Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, (T)who is enthroned above the cherubim, You are the (U)God, You alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth. (V)You have made heaven and earth. 17 (W)Incline Your ear, O Lord, and hear; open Your eyes, O Lord, and see; and (X)listen to all the words of Sennacherib, who sent them to (Y)reproach the living God. 18 Truly, O Lord, the (Z)kings of Assyria have devastated all the countries and their lands, 19 and have cast their gods into the fire, for they were not gods but the (AA)work of men’s hands, wood and stone. So they have (AB)destroyed them. 20 Now, O Lord our God, (AC)deliver us from his hand that (AD)all the kingdoms of the earth may know that You alone, Lord, [i]are God.”
God Answers through Isaiah
21 Then (AE)Isaiah the son of Amoz sent word to Hezekiah, saying, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘Because you have prayed to Me about Sennacherib king of Assyria, 22 this is the word that the Lord has spoken against him:
“She has despised you and mocked you,
The (AF)virgin (AG)daughter of Zion;
She has (AH)shaken her head behind you,
The daughter of Jerusalem!
23 “Whom have you (AI)reproached and blasphemed?
And against whom have you raised your voice
And [j]haughtily (AJ)lifted up your eyes?
Against the (AK)Holy One of Israel!
24 “Through your servants you have reproached the Lord,
And you have said, ‘With my many chariots I came up to the heights of the mountains,
To the remotest parts of (AL)Lebanon;
And I cut down its tall (AM)cedars and its choice cypresses.
And I will go to its [k]highest peak, its thickest (AN)forest.
25 ‘I dug wells and drank waters,
And (AO)with the sole of my feet I dried up
All the rivers of [l]Egypt.’
26 “(AP)Have you not heard?
Long ago I did it,
From ancient times I (AQ)planned it.
Now (AR)I have brought it to pass,
That (AS)you should turn fortified cities into (AT)ruinous heaps.
27 “Therefore their inhabitants were short of strength,
They were dismayed and put to shame;
They were as the (AU)vegetation of the field and as the green herb,
As (AV)grass on the housetops [m]is scorched before it is grown up.
28 “But I (AW)know your sitting down
And your going out and your coming in
And your raging against Me.
29 “Because of your raging against Me
And because your [n](AX)arrogance has come up to My ears,
Therefore I will put My (AY)hook in your nose
And My (AZ)bridle in your lips,
And I will turn you back (BA)by the way which you came.
30 “Then this shall be the sign for you: [o]you will eat this year what (BB)grows of itself, in the second year what springs from the same, and in the third year sow, reap, plant vineyards and eat their fruit. 31 The (BC)surviving (BD)remnant of the house of Judah will again (BE)take root downward and bear fruit upward. 32 For out of Jerusalem will go forth a (BF)remnant and out of Mount Zion [p]survivors. The (BG)zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.”’
33 “Therefore, thus says the Lord concerning the king of Assyria, ‘He will not come to this city or shoot an arrow there; and he will not come before it with a shield, or throw up a (BH)siege ramp against it. 34 (BI)By the way that he came, by the same he will return, and he will not come to this city,’ declares the Lord. 35 ‘For I will (BJ)defend this city to save it (BK)for My own sake and for My servant David’s sake.’”
Assyrians Destroyed
36 Then the (BL)angel of the Lord went out and struck 185,000 in the camp of the Assyrians; and when [q]men arose early in the morning, behold, all of these were [r]dead. 37 So Sennacherib king of Assyria departed and [s]returned home and lived at (BM)Nineveh. 38 It came about as he was worshiping in the house of Nisroch his god, that Adrammelech and Sharezer his sons killed him with the sword; and they escaped into the land of (BN)Ararat. And (BO)Esarhaddon his son became king in his place.
Hezekiah Healed
38 (BP)In those days Hezekiah became [t]mortally ill. And (BQ)Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz came to him and said to him, “Thus says the Lord, ‘(BR)Set your house in order, for you shall die and not live.’” 2 Then Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the Lord, 3 and said, “(BS)Remember now, O Lord, I beseech You, how I have (BT)walked before You in truth and with a (BU)whole heart, and (BV)have done what is good in Your sight.” And Hezekiah (BW)wept [u]bitterly.
4 Then the word of the Lord came to Isaiah, saying, 5 “Go and say to Hezekiah, ‘Thus says the Lord, the God of your father David, “I have heard your prayer, I have seen your tears; behold, I will add (BX)fifteen years to your [v]life. 6 I will (BY)deliver you and this city from the hand of the king of Assyria; and I will defend this city.”’
7 “This shall be the (BZ)sign to you from the Lord, that the Lord will do this thing that He has spoken: 8 Behold, I will (CA)cause the shadow on the stairway, which has gone down with the sun on the stairway of Ahaz, to go back ten steps.” So the (CB)sun’s shadow went back ten steps on the stairway on which it had gone down.
9 A writing of Hezekiah king of Judah after his illness and [w]recovery:
10 I said, “(CC)In the middle of my [x]life
I am to enter the (CD)gates of Sheol;
I am to be (CE)deprived of the rest of my years.”
11 I said, “I will not see the Lord,
The Lord (CF)in the land of the living;
I will look on man no more among the inhabitants of the world.
12 “Like a shepherd’s (CG)tent my dwelling is pulled up and removed from me;
As a (CH)weaver I (CI)rolled up my life.
He (CJ)cuts me off from the loom;
From (CK)day until night You make an end of me.
13 “I composed my soul until morning.
(CL)Like a lion—so He (CM)breaks all my bones,
From (CN)day until night You make an end of me.
14 “(CO)Like a swallow, like a crane, so I twitter;
I (CP)moan like a dove;
My (CQ)eyes look wistfully to the heights;
O Lord, I am oppressed, be my (CR)security.
15 “(CS)What shall I say?
[y]For He has spoken to me, and He Himself has done it;
I will (CT)wander about all my years because of the (CU)bitterness of my soul.
16 “O Lord, (CV)by these things men live,
And in all these is the life of my spirit;
[z](CW)O restore me to health and (CX)let me live!
17 “Lo, for my own welfare I had great bitterness;
It is You who has [aa](CY)kept my soul from the pit of [ab]nothingness,
For You have (CZ)cast all my sins behind Your back.
18 “For (DA)Sheol cannot thank You,
Death cannot praise You;
Those who go down (DB)to the pit cannot hope for Your faithfulness.
19 “It is the (DC)living who give thanks to You, as I do today;
A (DD)father tells his sons about Your faithfulness.
20 “The Lord will surely save me;
So we will (DE)play my songs on stringed instruments
(DF)All the days of our life (DG)at the house of the Lord.”
21 Now (DH)Isaiah had said, “Let them take a cake of figs and apply it to the boil, that he may recover.” 22 Then Hezekiah had said, “What is the (DI)sign that I shall go up to the house of the Lord?”
Bear One Another’s Burdens
6 (A)Brethren, even if [a]anyone is caught in any trespass, you who are (B)spiritual, (C)restore such a one (D)in a spirit of gentleness; each one looking to yourself, so that you too will not be tempted. 2 (E)Bear one another’s burdens, and thereby fulfill (F)the law of Christ. 3 For (G)if anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself. 4 But each one must (H)examine his own work, and then he will have reason for (I)boasting in regard to himself alone, and not in regard to another. 5 For (J)each one will bear his own load.
6 (K)The one who is taught (L)the word is to share all good things with the one who teaches him. 7 (M)Do not be deceived, (N)God is not mocked; for (O)whatever a man sows, this he will also reap. 8 (P)For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap (Q)corruption, but (R)the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. 9 (S)Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we will reap if we (T)do not grow weary. 10 So then, [b](U)while we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, and especially to those who are of the (V)household of (W)the faith.
11 See with what large letters I [c]am writing to you (X)with my own hand. 12 Those who desire (Y)to make a good showing in the flesh try to (Z)compel you to be circumcised, simply so that they (AA)will not be persecuted [d]for the cross of Christ. 13 For those who [e]are circumcised do not even (AB)keep [f]the Law themselves, but they desire to have you circumcised so that they may (AC)boast in your flesh. 14 But (AD)may it never be that I would boast, (AE)except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, (AF)through [g]which the world has been crucified to me, and (AG)I to the world. 15 For (AH)neither is circumcision anything, nor uncircumcision, but a (AI)new [h]creation. 16 And those who will [i]walk by this rule, peace and mercy be upon them, and upon the (AJ)Israel of God.
17 From now on let no one cause trouble for me, for I bear on my body the (AK)brand-marks of Jesus.
18 (AL)The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be (AM)with your spirit, (AN)brethren. Amen.
God’s Abundant Favor to Earth and Man.
For the choir director. A Psalm of David. A Song.
65 There will be silence [a]before You, and praise in Zion, O God,
And to You the (A)vow will be performed.
2 O You who hear prayer,
To You (B)all [b]men come.
3 [c](C)Iniquities prevail against me;
As for our transgressions, You [d](D)forgive them.
4 How (E)blessed is the one whom You (F)choose and bring near to You
To dwell in Your courts.
We will be (G)satisfied with the goodness of Your house,
Your holy temple.
5 By (H)awesome deeds You answer us in righteousness, O (I)God of our salvation,
You who are the trust of all the (J)ends of the earth and of the farthest [e](K)sea;
6 Who (L)establishes the mountains by His strength,
Being (M)girded with might;
7 Who (N)stills the roaring of the seas,
The roaring of their waves,
And the (O)tumult of the peoples.
8 They who dwell in the (P)ends of the earth stand in awe of Your signs;
You make the [f]dawn and the sunset shout for joy.
9 You visit the earth and (Q)cause it to overflow;
You greatly (R)enrich it;
The [g](S)stream of God is full of water;
You prepare their (T)grain, for thus You prepare [h]the earth.
10 You water its furrows abundantly,
You [i]settle its ridges,
You soften it (U)with showers,
You bless its growth.
11 You have crowned the year [j]with Your [k](V)bounty,
And Your [l]paths (W)drip with fatness.
12 (X)The pastures of the wilderness drip,
And the (Y)hills gird themselves with rejoicing.
13 The meadows are (Z)clothed with flocks
And the valleys are (AA)covered with grain;
They (AB)shout for joy, yes, they sing.
24 The father of the righteous will greatly rejoice,
And (A)he who sires a wise son will be glad in him.
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.