Sennacherib Threatens Jerusalem

36 In the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah, King Sennacherib of Assyria came up against all the fortified cities of Judah and captured them.^{(A) 2} The king of Assyria sent the Rabshakeh with a great army from Lachish to King Hezekiah at Jerusalem. He stood by the conduit of the upper pool on the highway to the fuller’s field.^{(B) 3} And there came out to him Eliakim son of Hilkiah, who was in charge of the palace, and Shebna the secretary, and Joah son of Asaph, the recorder.^(C)

⁴ The Rabshakeh said to them, “Say to Hezekiah: Thus says the great king, the king of Assyria: On what do you base this reliance of yours?^{(D) 5} Do you think that mere words are strategy and power for war? On whom, then, do you now rely, that you have rebelled against me?^{(E) 6} See, you are relying on Egypt, that broken reed of a staff, which will pierce the hand of anyone who leans on it. Such is Pharaoh king of Egypt to all who rely on him.^{(F) 7} But if you say to me, ‘We rely on the Lord our God,’ [[is it not he whose high places and altars Hezekiah has removed, saying to Judah and to Jerusalem, ‘You shall worship before this altar’?]]^{[a](G) 8} Come now, make a wager with my master the king of Assyria: I will give you two thousand horses, if you are able on your part to set riders on them. ⁹ How then can you repulse a single captain among the least of my master’s servants, when you rely on Egypt for chariots and for horsemen?^(H)

Salutation

1 Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy,

To the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ:

Grace to you and peace.

The Thessalonians’ Faith and Example

² We always give thanks to God for all of you and mention you in our prayers, constantly^{(A) 3} remembering before our God and Father your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. ⁴ For we know, brothers and sisters beloved by God, that he has chosen you, ⁵ because our message of the gospel came to you not in word only but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction; just as you know what kind of persons we proved to be among you for your sake.^{(B) 6} And you became imitators of us and of the Lord, for in spite of persecution you received the word with joy from the Holy Spirit,^{(C) 7} so that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia. ⁸ For the word of the Lord has sounded forth from you not only in Macedonia and Achaia but in every place your faith in God has become known, so that we have no need to speak about it.^{(D) 9} For they report about us what kind of welcome we had among you and how you turned to God from idols to serve a living and true God^{(E) 10} and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead—Jesus, who rescues us from the coming wrath.^(F)

The Parable of the Rich Fool

¹³ Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the family inheritance with me.” ¹⁴ But he said to him, “Friend, who set me to be a judge or arbitrator over you?”^{(A) 15} And he said to them, “Take care! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of possessions.”^{(B) 16} Then he told them a parable: “The land of a rich man produced abundantly. ¹⁷ And he thought to himself, ‘What should I do, for I have no place to store my crops?’ ¹⁸ Then he said, ‘I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. ¹⁹ And I will say to my soul, Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.’^{(C) 20} But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life is being demanded of you. And the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’^{(D) 21} So it is with those who store up treasures for themselves but are not rich toward God.”^(E)

Do Not Worry

²² He said to his disciples, “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat, or about your body, what you will wear. ²³ For life is more than food and the body more than clothing. ²⁴ Consider the ravens: they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds!^{(F) 25} And which of you by worrying can add a single hour to your span of life?^{[a](G) 26} If then you are not able to do so small a thing as that, why do you worry about the rest? ²⁷ Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin,^[b] yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these.^{(H) 28} But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will he clothe you, you of little faith! ²⁹ And do not keep seeking what you are to eat and what you are to drink, and do not keep worrying. ³⁰ For it is the nations^[c] of the world that seek all these things, and your Father knows that you need them.^{(I) 31} Instead, seek his^[d] kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well.