2 KINGS 19

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Isaiah Reassures Hezekiah  19:1 As soon as King Hezekiah heard it, he tore his clothes and covered himself with sackcloth and went into the house of the Lord. 2 And he sent Eliakim, who was over the household, and Shebna the secretary, and the senior priests, covered with sackcloth, to the prophet Isaiah the son of Amoz. 3 They said to him, “Thus says Hezekiah, This day is a day of distress, of rebuke, and of disgrace; children have come to the point of birth, and there is no strength to bring them forth. 4 It may be that the Lord your God heard all the words of the Rabshakeh, whom his master the king of Assyria has sent to mock the living God, and will rebuke the words that the Lord your God has heard; therefore lift up your prayer for the remnant that is left.” 5 When the servants of King Hezekiah came to Isaiah, 6 Isaiah said to them, “Say to your master, ‘Thus says the Lord: Do not be afraid because of the words that you have heard, with which the servants of the king of Assyria have reviled me. 7 Behold, I will put a spirit in him, so that he shall hear a rumor and return to his own land, and I will make him fall by the sword in his own land.’” Sennacherib Defies the Lord8 The Rabshakeh returned, and found the king of Assyria fighting against Libnah, for he heard that the king had left Lachish. 9 Now the king heard concerning Tirhakah king of Cush, “Behold, he has set out to fight against you.” So he sent messengers again to Hezekiah, saying, 10 “Thus shall you speak to Hezekiah king of Judah: ‘Do not let your God in whom you trust deceive you by promising that Jerusalem will not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria. 11 Behold, you have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all lands, devoting them to destruction. And shall you be delivered? 12 Have the gods of the nations delivered them, the nations that my fathers destroyed, Gozan, Haran, Rezeph, and the people of Eden who were in Telassar? 13 Where is the king of Hamath, the king of Arpad, the king of the city of Sepharvaim, the king of Hena, or the king of Ivvah?’” Hezekiah’s Prayer14 Hezekiah received the letter from the hand of the messengers and read it; and Hezekiah went up to the house of the Lord and spread it before the Lord. 15 And Hezekiah prayed before the Lord and said: “O Lord, the God of Israel, enthroned above the cherubim, you are the God, you alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth; you have made heaven and earth. 16 Incline your ear, O Lord, and hear; open your eyes, O Lord, and see; and hear the words of Sennacherib, which he has sent to mock the living God. 17 Truly, O Lord, the kings of Assyria have laid waste the nations and their lands 18 and have cast their gods into the fire, for they were not gods, but the work of men’s hands, wood and stone. Therefore they were destroyed. 19 So now, O Lord our God, save us, please, from his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that you, O Lord, are God alone.” Isaiah Prophesies Sennacherib’s Fall20 Then Isaiah the son of Amoz sent to Hezekiah, saying, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: Your prayer to me about Sennacherib king of Assyria I have heard. 21 This is the word that the Lord has spoken concerning him:

“She despises you, she scorns you—

the virgin daughter of Zion;

she wags her head behind you—

the daughter of Jerusalem.
22

“Whom have you mocked and reviled?

Against whom have you raised your voice

and lifted your eyes to the heights?

Against the Holy One of Israel! 23

By your messengers you have mocked the Lord,

and you have said, ‘With my many chariots

I have gone up the heights of the mountains,

to the far recesses of Lebanon;

I felled its tallest cedars,

its choicest cypresses;

I entered its farthest lodging place,

its most fruitful forest. 24

I dug wells

and drank foreign waters,

and I dried up with the sole of my foot

all the streams of Egypt.’
25

“Have you not heard

that I determined it long ago?

I planned from days of old

what now I bring to pass,

that you should turn fortified cities

into heaps of ruins, 26

while their inhabitants, shorn of strength,

are dismayed and confounded,

and have become like plants of the field

and like tender grass,

like grass on the housetops,

blighted before it is grown.
27

“But I know your sitting down

and your going out and coming in,

and your raging against me. 28

Because you have raged against me

and your complacency has come into my ears,

I will put my hook in your nose

and my bit in your mouth,

and I will turn you back on the way

by which you came.
    29 “And this shall be the sign for you: this year eat what grows of itself, and in the second year what springs of the same. Then in the third year sow and reap and plant vineyards, and eat their fruit. 30 And the surviving remnant of the house of Judah shall again take root downward and bear fruit upward. 31 For out of Jerusalem shall go a remnant, and out of Mount Zion a band of survivors. The zeal of the Lord will do this.
    32 “Therefore thus says the Lord concerning the king of Assyria: He shall not come into this city or shoot an arrow there, or come before it with a shield or cast up a siege mound against it. 33 By the way that he came, by the same he shall return, and he shall not come into this city, declares the Lord. 34 For I will defend this city to save it, for my own sake and for the sake of my servant David.”
    35 And that night the angel of the Lord went out and struck down 185,000 in the camp of the Assyrians. And when people arose early in the morning, behold, these were all dead bodies. 36 Then Sennacherib king of Assyria departed and went home and lived at Nineveh. 37 And as he was worshiping in the house of Nisroch his god, Adrammelech and Sharezer, his sons, struck him down with the sword and escaped into the land of Ararat. And Esarhaddon his son reigned in his place.

2 KINGS 20

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Hezekiah’s Illness and Recovery  20:1 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, saying, 3 “Now, O Lord, please 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 And before Isaiah had gone out of the middle court, the word of the Lord came to him: 5 “Turn back, and say to Hezekiah the leader of my people, Thus says the Lord, the God of David your father: I have heard your prayer; I have seen your tears. Behold, I will heal you. On the third day you shall go up to the house of the Lord, 6 and I will add fifteen years to your life. I will deliver you and this city out of the hand of the king of Assyria, and I will defend this city for my own sake and for my servant David’s sake.” 7 And Isaiah said, “Bring a cake of figs. And let them take and lay it on the boil, that he may recover.”
    8 And Hezekiah said to Isaiah, “What shall be the sign that the Lord will heal me, and that I shall go up to the house of the Lord on the third day?” 9 And Isaiah said, “This shall be the sign to you from the Lord, that the Lord will do the thing that he has promised: shall the shadow go forward ten steps, or go back ten steps?” 10 And Hezekiah answered, “It is an easy thing for the shadow to lengthen ten steps. Rather let the shadow go back ten steps.” 11 And Isaiah the prophet called to the Lord, and he brought the shadow back ten steps, by which it had gone down on the steps of Ahaz. Hezekiah and the Babylonian Envoys12 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 Hezekiah had been sick. 13 And Hezekiah welcomed them, and he showed them all his treasure house, the silver, the gold, the spices, the precious oil, his 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. 14 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?” And Hezekiah said, “They have come from a far country, from Babylon.” 15 He said, “What have they seen in your house?” And Hezekiah answered, “They have seen all that is in my house; there is nothing in my storehouses that I did not show them.”
    16 Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, “Hear the word of the Lord: 17 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. 18 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.” 19 Then Hezekiah said to Isaiah, “The word of the Lord that you have spoken is good.” For he thought, “Why not, if there will be peace and security in my days?”
    20 The rest of the deeds of Hezekiah and all his might and how he made the pool and the conduit and brought water into the city, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah? 21 And Hezekiah slept with his fathers, and Manasseh his son reigned in his place.

PROVERBS 15

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15:1

A soft answer turns away wrath,

but a harsh word stirs up anger. 2

The tongue of the wise commends knowledge,

but the mouths of fools pour out folly. 3

The eyes of the Lord are in every place,

keeping watch on the evil and the good. 4

A gentle tongue is a tree of life,

but perverseness in it breaks the spirit. 5

A fool despises his father’s instruction,

but whoever heeds reproof is prudent. 6

In the house of the righteous there is much treasure,

but trouble befalls the income of the wicked. 7

The lips of the wise spread knowledge;

not so the hearts of fools. 8

The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord,

but the prayer of the upright is acceptable to him. 9

The way of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord,

but he loves him who pursues righteousness. 10

There is severe discipline for him who forsakes the way;

whoever hates reproof will die. 11

Sheol and Abaddon lie open before the Lord;

how much more the hearts of the children of man! 12

A scoffer does not like to be reproved;

he will not go to the wise. 13

A glad heart makes a cheerful face,

but by sorrow of heart the spirit is crushed. 14

The heart of him who has understanding seeks knowledge,

but the mouths of fools feed on folly. 15

All the days of the afflicted are evil,

but the cheerful of heart has a continual feast. 16

Better is a little with the fear of the Lord

than great treasure and trouble with it. 17

Better is a dinner of herbs where love is

than a fattened ox and hatred with it. 18

A hot-tempered man stirs up strife,

but he who is slow to anger quiets contention. 19

The way of a sluggard is like a hedge of thorns,

but the path of the upright is a level highway. 20

A wise son makes a glad father,

but a foolish man despises his mother. 21

Folly is a joy to him who lacks sense,

but a man of understanding walks straight ahead. 22

Without counsel plans fail,

but with many advisers they succeed. 23

To make an apt answer is a joy to a man,

and a word in season, how good it is! 24

The path of life leads upward for the prudent,

that he may turn away from Sheol beneath. 25

The Lord tears down the house of the proud

but maintains the widow’s boundaries. 26

The thoughts of the wicked are an abomination to the Lord,

but gracious words are pure. 27

Whoever is greedy for unjust gain troubles his own household,

but he who hates bribes will live. 28

The heart of the righteous ponders how to answer,

but the mouth of the wicked pours out evil things. 29

The Lord is far from the wicked,

but he hears the prayer of the righteous. 30

The light of the eyes rejoices the heart,

and good news refreshes the bones. 31

The ear that listens to life-giving reproof

will dwell among the wise. 32

Whoever ignores instruction despises himself,

but he who listens to reproof gains intelligence. 33

The fear of the Lord is instruction in wisdom,

and humility comes before honor.

PSALM 70

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O Lord, Do Not DelayTo the choirmaster. Of David, for the memorial offering.
70:1

Make haste, O God, to deliver me!

O Lord, make haste to help me! 2

Let them be put to shame and confusion

who seek my life!

Let them be turned back and brought to dishonor

who delight in my hurt! 3

Let them turn back because of their shame

who say, “Aha, Aha!”
4

May all who seek you

rejoice and be glad in you!

May those who love your salvation

say evermore, “God is great!” 5

But I am poor and needy;

hasten to me, O God!

You are my help and my deliverer;

O Lord, do not delay!