ISAIAH 38

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Hezekiah’s Sickness and Recovery  38:1 In those days Hezekiah became sick and was at the point of death. And Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz came to him, and said to him, “Thus says the Lord: Set your house in order, for you shall die, you shall not recover.” 2 Then Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the Lord, 3 and said, “Please, O Lord, remember how I have walked before you in faithfulness and with a whole heart, and have done what is good in your sight.” And Hezekiah wept bitterly.
    4 Then the word of the Lord came to Isaiah: 5 “Go and say to Hezekiah, Thus says the Lord, the God of David your father: I have heard your prayer; I have seen your tears. Behold, I will add fifteen years to your life. 6 I will deliver you and this city out of the hand of the king of Assyria, and will defend this city.
    7 “This shall be the sign to you from the Lord, that the Lord will do this thing that he has promised: 8 Behold, I will make the shadow cast by the declining sun on the dial of Ahaz turn back ten steps.” So the sun turned back on the dial the ten steps by which it had declined. 9 A writing of Hezekiah king of Judah, after he had been sick and had recovered from his sickness:
10

I said, In the middle of my days

I must depart;

I am consigned to the gates of Sheol

for the rest of my years. 11

I said, I shall not see the Lord,

the Lord in the land of the living;

I shall look on man no more

among the inhabitants of the world. 12

My dwelling is plucked up and removed from me

like a shepherd’s tent;

like a weaver I have rolled up my life;

he cuts me off from the loom;

from day to night you bring me to an end; 13

I calmed myself until morning;

like a lion he breaks all my bones;

from day to night you bring me to an end.
14

Like a swallow or a crane I chirp;

I moan like a dove.

My eyes are weary with looking upward.

O Lord, I am oppressed; be my pledge of safety! 15

What shall I say? For he has spoken to me,

and he himself has done it.

I walk slowly all my years

because of the bitterness of my soul.
16

O Lord, by these things men live,

and in all these is the life of my spirit.

Oh restore me to health and make me live! 17

Behold, it was for my welfare

that I had great bitterness;

but in love you have delivered my life

from the pit of destruction,

for you have cast all my sins

behind your back. 18

For Sheol does not thank you;

death does not praise you;

those who go down to the pit do not hope

for your faithfulness. 19

The living, the living, he thanks you,

as I do this day;

the father makes known to the children

your faithfulness.
20

The Lord will save me,

and we will play my music on stringed instruments

all the days of our lives,

at the house of the Lord.
    21 Now Isaiah had said, “Let them take a cake of figs and apply it to the boil, that he may recover.” 22 Hezekiah also had said, “What is the sign that I shall go up to the house of the Lord?”

ISAIAH 39

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Envoys from Babylon  39:1 At that time Merodach-baladan the son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent envoys with letters and a present to Hezekiah, for he heard that he had been sick and had recovered. 2 And Hezekiah welcomed them gladly. And he showed them his treasure house, the silver, the gold, the spices, the precious oil, his whole armory, all that was found in his storehouses. There was nothing in his house or in all his realm that Hezekiah did not show them. 3 Then Isaiah the prophet came to King Hezekiah, and said to him, “What did these men say? And from where did they come to you?” Hezekiah said, “They have come to me from a far country, from Babylon.” 4 He said, “What have they seen in your house?” Hezekiah answered, “They have seen all that is in my house. There is nothing in my storehouses that I did not show them.”
    5 Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, “Hear the word of the Lord of hosts: 6 Behold, the days are coming, when all that is in your house, and that which your fathers have stored up till this day, shall be carried to Babylon. Nothing shall be left, says the Lord. 7 And some of your own sons, who will come from you, whom you will father, shall be taken away, and they shall be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.” 8 Then Hezekiah said to Isaiah, “The word of the Lord that you have spoken is good.” For he thought, “There will be peace and security in my days.”

PROVERBS 22

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22:1

A good name is to be chosen rather than great riches,

and favor is better than silver or gold. 2

The rich and the poor meet together;

the Lord is the Maker of them all. 3

The prudent sees danger and hides himself,

but the simple go on and suffer for it. 4

The reward for humility and fear of the Lord

is riches and honor and life. 5

Thorns and snares are in the way of the crooked;

whoever guards his soul will keep far from them. 6

Train up a child in the way he should go;

even when he is old he will not depart from it. 7

The rich rules over the poor,

and the borrower is the slave of the lender. 8

Whoever sows injustice will reap calamity,

and the rod of his fury will fail. 9

Whoever has a bountiful eye will be blessed,

for he shares his bread with the poor. 10

Drive out a scoffer, and strife will go out,

and quarreling and abuse will cease. 11

He who loves purity of heart,

and whose speech is gracious, will have the king as his friend. 12

The eyes of the Lord keep watch over knowledge,

but he overthrows the words of the traitor. 13

The sluggard says, “There is a lion outside!

I shall be killed in the streets!” 14

The mouth of forbidden women is a deep pit;

he with whom the Lord is angry will fall into it. 15

Folly is bound up in the heart of a child,

but the rod of discipline drives it far from him. 16

Whoever oppresses the poor to increase his own wealth,

or gives to the rich, will only come to poverty. Words of the Wise17

Incline your ear, and hear the words of the wise,

and apply your heart to my knowledge, 18

for it will be pleasant if you keep them within you,

if all of them are ready on your lips. 19

That your trust may be in the Lord,

I have made them known to you today, even to you. 20

Have I not written for you thirty sayings

of counsel and knowledge, 21

to make you know what is right and true,

that you may give a true answer to those who sent you?
22

Do not rob the poor, because he is poor,

or crush the afflicted at the gate, 23

for the Lord will plead their cause

and rob of life those who rob them. 24

Make no friendship with a man given to anger,

nor go with a wrathful man, 25

lest you learn his ways

and entangle yourself in a snare. 26

Be not one of those who give pledges,

who put up security for debts. 27

If you have nothing with which to pay,

why should your bed be taken from under you? 28

Do not move the ancient landmark

that your fathers have set. 29

Do you see a man skillful in his work?

He will stand before kings;

he will not stand before obscure men.

PSALM 110

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Sit at My Right HandA Psalm of David.
110:1

The Lord says to my Lord:

“Sit at my right hand,

until I make your enemies your footstool.”
2

The Lord sends forth from Zion

your mighty scepter.

Rule in the midst of your enemies! 3

Your people will offer themselves freely

on the day of your power,

in holy garments;

from the womb of the morning,

the dew of your youth will be yours. 4

The Lord has sworn

and will not change his mind,

“You are a priest forever

after the order of Melchizedek.”
5

The Lord is at your right hand;

he will shatter kings on the day of his wrath. 6

He will execute judgment among the nations,

filling them with corpses;

he will shatter chiefs

over the wide earth. 7

He will drink from the brook by the way;

therefore he will lift up his head.

PSALM 111

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Great Are the Lord’s Works111:1

Praise the Lord!

I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart,

in the company of the upright, in the congregation. 2

Great are the works of the Lord,

studied by all who delight in them. 3

Full of splendor and majesty is his work,

and his righteousness endures forever. 4

He has caused his wondrous works to be remembered;

the Lord is gracious and merciful. 5

He provides food for those who fear him;

he remembers his covenant forever. 6

He has shown his people the power of his works,

in giving them the inheritance of the nations. 7

The works of his hands are faithful and just;

all his precepts are trustworthy; 8

they are established forever and ever,

to be performed with faithfulness and uprightness. 9

He sent redemption to his people;

he has commanded his covenant forever.

Holy and awesome is his name! 10

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom;

all those who practice it have a good understanding.

His praise endures forever!