Isaiah 37-40
1 Thus it came to pass, when King Hezekiah heard this, he tore his clothes, covered himself with sackcloth, and went into the house of the Lord. 2 Then he sent Eliakim the steward, Shebna the scribe, and the elders of the priests, covered with sackcloth, to Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz. 3 So they said to him, “Thus says Hezekiah: ‘This day is a day of affliction, disgrace, rebuke, and wrath; for the pangs of childbirth have come, but there is no strength to give birth. 4 May the Lord your God hear the words of the Rabshakeh, whom the king of the Assyrians sent to denounce the living God, and to insult Him with words which the Lord your God heard. Therefore you shall pray to the Lord your God for the remnant that is left.’ ” 5 So the servants of King Hezekiah came to Isaiah, 6 and Isaiah said to them, “Thus shall you say to your lord: ‘The Lord says this, “Do not be afraid of the words you heard, whereby the ambassadors of the king of the Assyrians denounced Me. 7 Behold, I will send a spirit upon him, and he shall hear a rumor and return to his land. Then he will fall by the sword in his own land.” ’ ”
8 So Rabshakeh returned and found the king warring against Libnah. Then the king of the Assyrians heard that 9 Tirhakah king of the Ethiopians had come out to make war against him. So when he heard it, he returned and sent messengers to Hezekiah, saying, 10 “Thus you shall speak to Hezekiah king of Judah, saying, ‘Do not let your God in whom you trust deceive you, saying, “Jerusalem shall not be given into the hand of the king of the Assyrians.” 11 You heard what the kings of the Assyrians did to all lands by destroying them. 12 Did the gods of the nations deliver those my fathers destroyed—Gozan and Haran and Rezeph in the country of Telassar? 13 Where are the kings of Hamath and Arpad, and the kings of the city of Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivah?’ ” 14 So Hezekiah received the scroll from the messengers and opened it before the Lord. 15 Then Hezekiah prayed to the Lord, saying, 16 “O Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, the One who sits between the cherubim, You alone are the God of all the kingdoms of the world. You made heaven and earth. 17 Hear, O Lord, and open Your eyes, O Lord, and see the words Sennacherib sent to denounce the living God. 18 For it is true, the kings of the Assyrians laid waste the inhabited earth and their countries, 19 and cast their idols into the fire; for they were not gods, but works of men’s hands—wood and stone. Therefore they destroyed them. 20 But now, O Lord our God, save us from their hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know You alone are God.”
21 Then Isaiah the son of Amoz sent to Hezekiah and said to him, “The Lord God of Israel says this: ‘I heard what you prayed to Me against Sennacherib king of the Assyrians. 22 This is the word God has spoken concerning him: “The virgin daughter of Zion has despised and laughed you to scorn. The daughter of Jerusalem has shaken her head at you. 23 Whom have you denounced and provoked? Or against whom have you raised your voice? You have lifted your eyes on high against the Holy One of Israel. 24 By your messengers, you have insulted the Lord, for you said, ‘By the multitude of my chariots I came to the height of the mountains, to the limits of Lebanon. I cut down its tall cedars and its choice cypress trees, and entered the height of its forest region. 25 I built a bridge, and dried up the waters and every pool of water.’ 26 Did you not hear long ago the things I did? From ancient times I appointed them, but now have manifested my purpose to desolate nations in their strongholds and those who dwell in strong cities. 27 I weakened their hands, and they withered; and they became like dry grass on the housetops and like weeds. 28 Now then, I know your resting place, your going out and your coming in. 29 Your great rage and bitterness has come up to Me. Therefore I will put a hook in your nose and a bridle in your lips, and I will turn you back by the way you came.’ ” 30 This shall be a sign to you: You shall eat this year what you sowed, and the second year what is left over; also in the third year sow and reap; plant vineyards and eat the fruit of them. 31 So the remnant in the house of Judah shall again take root downward and bear fruit upward. 32 For out of Jerusalem a remnant shall go forth, and those saved from Mount Zion. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform these things. 33 Therefore, thus says the Lord concerning the king of the Assyrians: ‘He shall not come into this city, nor shoot an arrow there, nor come before it with shield, nor build a siege mound against it. 34 By the way he came, by the same shall he return,’ says the Lord. 35 ‘I will protect this city, to save it for My own sake and for My servant David’s sake.’ ”
36 Then the Angel of the Lord went out and killed in the camp of the Assyrians one hundred and eighty-five thousand; and when people arose early in the morning, they discovered all the dead bodies. 37 Then Sennacherib king of the Assyrians departed and returned to Nineveh, and dwelt there. 38 Now it came to pass, as he was worshiping in the house of Nisroch his god, his sons Adrammelech and Sharezer struck him down with the sword, then escaped into the land of Ararat; and Esarhaddon his son reigned in his place.
1 In those days Hezekiah was sick and near death. Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz, went to him and said, “Thus says the Lord: ‘Set your house in order, for you shall die and not live.’ ” 2 Then Hezekiah turned his face toward the wall, and prayed to the Lord, 3 and said, “Remember now, O Lord, I pray, how I have walked before You in truth and with a true heart, and did what is pleasing in Your sight.” So Hezekiah wept loudly. 4 Then the word of the Lord came to Isaiah, saying, 5 “Go and tell Hezekiah, ‘Thus says the Lord, the God of David your father: “I heard your prayer, I see your tears. Behold, I will add fifteen years to your life. 6 I will deliver you and this city from the hand of the king of the Assyrians, and I will protect this city. 7 Now this shall be the sign to you from the Lord, that God will do this thing: 8 I will turn back the shadow on the ten steps of your father’s house—the steps on which the sun goes down.” ’ ” So the sun’s shadow that went down on the ten steps turned back.
9 The prayer of Hezekiah king of Judah when he was sick and recovered from his sickness: 10 “I said at the end of my days near the gates of Hades, ‘I shall leave behind the remainder of my years.’ 11 I said, ‘I shall no longer see the salvation of my God upon the earth; I shall no longer see a man among my kindred.’ 12 I left behind what remained of my life. It went away and departed from me like one who takes down a tent. My breath became in me like the web of a weaver when she draws near to cut it. 13 On that day I was given as to a lion until morning. So He broke my bones, for from day until night I was given over. 14 Like a swallow, so shall I cry; I will mourn like a dove. My eyes fail from looking to the height of heaven toward the Lord, who delivered me 15 and removed the pain of my soul. 16 O Lord, it was told You concerning this, and You revived my breath; and I was comforted and lived. 17 For You chose my soul that it should not perish, and You cast all my sins behind me. 18 For those in Hades shall not praise You, neither will the dead bless You; nor shall those in Hades hope for Your mercy. 19 The living shall praise You as I do. For from this day forward, I shall cause children to declare Your righteousness, O Lord of my salvation, 20 and I shall not cease to bless You with the psaltery all the days of my life before the house of God.”
21 Now Isaiah said to Hezekiah, “Take a cake of figs, mash them, and apply them as a plaster, and you shall recover.” 22 Then Hezekiah said, “This is the sign that I shall go up to the house of the Lord God.”
1 At that time, Merodach the son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent letters, ambassadors, and gifts to Hezekiah, for he heard he was sick and almost died, but had recovered. 2 Hezekiah was very glad they came, and he showed them the house of his treasures—the oil of myrrh, the fragrant incense, the ointment, the silver and the gold—and all the treasure houses with their vessels, and everything found among his treasures. There was nothing in his house he did not show them. 3 Then Isaiah the prophet went to King Hezekiah, and said to him, “What did these men say, and from where did they come to you?” So Hezekiah said, “They came to me from a far country, from Babylon.” 4 Then he said, “What did they see in your house?” So Hezekiah answered, “They saw everything in my house; there is nothing in my house they did not see, even among my treasures.” 5 Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, “Hear the word of the Lord of hosts: 6 ‘Behold, the days are coming,’ says the Lord, ‘when everything in your house and everything your fathers accumulated until this day shall be carried to Babylon; nothing shall be left.’ 7 God also said they shall take away some of your sons whom you begot, and make them eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.” 8 So Hezekiah said to Isaiah, “The Lord’s word you spoke is good. Let there indeed be peace and righteousness in my days.”
1 “Comfort, yes, comfort My people,” says God. 2 “O priests, speak to the heart of Jerusalem, comfort her, for her humiliation is ended, her sin is pardoned; for she received from the Lord’s hand double for her sins.” 3 The voice of one crying in the wilderness: “Prepare the way of the Lord; make straight the paths of our God. 4 Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill humbled; the crooked places shall be made straight, and the rough places into plains. 5 The glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see the salvation of God; for the Lord has spoken.” 6 The voice said, “Cry out.” So I said, “What shall I cry?” “All flesh is grass, and all man’s glory is like the flower of the field. 7 The grass withers, the flower fades, 8 but the word of our God abides forever.’ 9 O you who bring good tidings to Zion, go into the high mountain; O you who bring good tidings to Jerusalem, lift up your voice with strength; lift it up, be not afraid. Say to the cities of Judah, “Behold your God.” 10 Behold, the Lord is coming with strength, and His arm is with authority. Behold, His reward is with Him, and His work before Him. 11 He will feed His flock like a shepherd and gather the lambs with His arm; and He will comfort those with young.
12 Who measured the water in His hand, and heaven with a span, and all the earth with a handful? Who weighed the mountains in scales and the vales in a balance? 13 Who knows the Lord’s mind, and who was His counselor; who advises Him? 14 Or with whom does He take counsel, who instructs Him, and who teaches Him judgment and shows Him the way of understanding? 15 The nations are as a drop in a bucket and are counted as the balance of a scale; and they are counted as spittle. 16 Lebanon is not sufficient to burn, nor its four-footed animals sufficient for a whole burnt offering. 17 All nations are as nothing and are counted as nothing. 18 To whom then will you liken the Lord, and to what likeness will you compare Him? 19 Has the workman made an image, or has the goldsmith overspread it with gold, gilding it, making a likeness of Him? 20 For the workman chooses wood that will not rot, and skillfully seeks to prepare a carved image that will not totter. 21 Will you not know? Will you not hear? Has it not been told you from the beginning? Do you not know the foundations of the earth? 22 It is He who possesses the circle of the earth, and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers. It is He who stretches out heaven like a vault, and spreads them out like a tent to dwell in. 23 He makes the rulers He establishes to rule to be as nothing; He makes the earth as nothing. 24 Scarcely shall they be planted, scarcely shall they be sown, scarcely shall their stock take root in the earth, when He shall also blow on them and they will wither, and the whirlwind will take them away like stubble. 25 “Now then, to whom will you liken Me, that I should be exalted?” says the Holy One. 26 Lift up your eyes on high, and see. Who displayed these things? He who brings forth their host by number; He who calls them all by name. From the greatness of His glory to the strength of His might, nothing escapes Your notice.
27 For why do you say, O Jacob, and speak, O Israel, saying, “My way is hidden from God, and my God took away my judgment and departed”? 28 So then, have you not known? Have you not heard? The everlasting God, the God who created the ends of the earth, neither hungers nor is weary. His understanding is unsearchable. 29 He gives strength to the hungry, and sorrow to those who do not grieve. 30 Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the elect shall be without strength. 31 But those who wait on God shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not hunger.
Psalm 104:28–45
28 He sent darkness, and it grew dark;
And they rebelled against His words.
29 He turned their waters into blood,
And He killed their fish.
30 Their land produced frogs
In the chambers of their kings.
31 He spoke and the dog-fly came,
And gnats in all their borders.
32 He gave them hail for rain;
Fire burned up their land;
33 And He smote their vineyards and their fig trees,
And He shattered every tree in their domain.
34 He spoke, and the locust came,
And the caterpillar without number,
35 And ate up all the grass in their land,
And devoured the fruit of their land.
36 And He smote all the firstborn in their land,
The firstling of all their labor.
37 He led them out with silver and gold,
And there was not among their tribes one who was feeble.
38 Egypt was gladdened by their exodus,
For fear of them fell upon them.
39 He spread a cloud as a cover for them,
And a fire to give them light at night.
40 They asked, and the quails came,
And He filled them with the bread of heaven.
41 He split the rock, and the waters flowed;
The rivers ran in the waterless places.
42 For He remembered His holy word
Which He gave to His servant Abraham.
43 He brought out His people with exceeding joy,
And His chosen ones with gladness.
44 And He gave them the lands of the nations,
And they inherited the labors of the peoples,
45 So they might keep His ordinances,
And seek out His law.
Proverbs 22:27–31
27 Do not be a companion to an angry man
And do not associate with a quick-tempered friend,
28 Lest you learn his ways
And receive a snare for your soul.
29 Do not give yourself as surety because you respect a person,
For if you do not have the wherewithal to make compensation,
They will take your bed out from under you.
30 Do not remove the eternal landmarks your fathers established.
31 An observant man and one astute in his business
Should be present with kings,
And he should not be present with slothful men.
Hebrews 1
1 God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets,
2 has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds;
3 who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,
4 having become so much better than the angels, as He has by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they.
The Son Exalted Above Angels
5 For to which of the angels did He ever say:
“You are My Son,
Today I have begotten You”?
And again:
“I will be to Him a Father,
And He shall be to Me a Son”?
6 But when He again brings the firstborn into the world, He says:
“Let all the angels of God worship Him.”
7 And of the angels He says:
“Who makes His angels spirits
And His ministers a flame of fire.”
8 But to the Son He says:
“Your throne, O God, is forever and ever;
A scepter of righteousness is the scepter of Your kingdom.
9 You have loved righteousness and hated lawlessness;
Therefore God, Your God, has anointed You
With the oil of gladness more than Your companions.”
10 And:
“You, Lord, in the beginning laid the foundation of the earth,
And the heavens are the work of Your hands.
11 They will perish, but You remain;
And they will all grow old like a garment;
12 Like a cloak You will fold them up,
And they will be changed.
But You are the same,
And Your years will not fail.”
13 But to which of the angels has He ever said:
“Sit at My right hand,
Till I make Your enemies Your footstool”?
14 Are they not all ministering spirits sent forth to minister for those who will inherit salvation?