2 Kings 17-19
New King James Version
Hoshea Reigns in Israel
17 In the twelfth year of Ahaz king of Judah, (A)Hoshea the son of Elah became king of Israel in Samaria, and he reigned nine years. 2 And he did evil in the sight of the Lord, but not as the kings of Israel who were before him. 3 (B)Shalmaneser king of Assyria came up against him; and Hoshea (C)became his vassal, and paid him tribute money. 4 And the king of Assyria uncovered a conspiracy by Hoshea; for he had sent messengers to So, king of Egypt, and brought no tribute to the king of Assyria, as he had done year by year. Therefore the king of Assyria shut him up, and bound him in prison.
Israel Carried Captive to Assyria(D)
5 Now (E)the king of Assyria went throughout all the land, and went up to Samaria and besieged it for three years. 6 (F)In the ninth year of Hoshea, the king of Assyria took Samaria and (G)carried Israel away to Assyria, (H)and placed them in Halah and by the Habor, the River of Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes.
7 For (I)so it was that the children of Israel had sinned against the Lord their God, who had brought them up out of the land of Egypt, from under the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt; and they had (J)feared other gods, 8 and (K)had walked in the statutes of the nations whom the Lord had cast out from before the children of Israel, and of the kings of Israel, which they had made. 9 Also the children of Israel secretly did against the Lord their God things that were not right, and they built for themselves [a]high places in all their cities, (L)from watchtower to fortified city. 10 (M)They set up for themselves sacred pillars and (N)wooden images[b] (O)on every high hill and under every green tree. 11 There they burned incense on all the high places, like the nations whom the Lord had carried away before them; and they did wicked things to provoke the Lord to anger, 12 for they served idols, (P)of which the Lord had said to them, (Q)“You shall not do this thing.”
13 Yet the Lord testified against Israel and against Judah, by all of His (R)prophets, (S)every seer, saying, (T)“Turn from your evil ways, and keep My commandments and My statutes, according to all the law which I commanded your fathers, and which I sent to you by My servants the prophets.” 14 Nevertheless they would not hear, but (U)stiffened their necks, like the necks of their fathers, who (V)did not believe in the Lord their God. 15 And they (W)rejected His statutes (X)and His covenant that He had made with their fathers, and His testimonies which He had testified against them; they followed (Y)idols, (Z)became idolaters, and went after the nations who were all around them, concerning whom the Lord had charged them that they should (AA)not do like them. 16 So they left all the commandments of the Lord their God, (AB)made for themselves a molded image and two calves, (AC)made a wooden image and worshiped all the (AD)host of heaven, (AE)and served Baal. 17 (AF)And they caused their sons and daughters to pass through the fire, (AG)practiced witchcraft and soothsaying, and (AH)sold themselves to do evil in the sight of the Lord, to provoke Him to anger. 18 Therefore the Lord was very angry with Israel, and removed them from His sight; there was none left (AI)but the tribe of Judah alone.
19 Also (AJ)Judah did not keep the commandments of the Lord their God, but walked in the statutes of Israel which they made. 20 And the Lord rejected all the descendants of Israel, afflicted them, and (AK)delivered them into the hand of plunderers, until He had cast them from His (AL)sight. 21 For (AM)He tore Israel from the house of David, and (AN)they made Jeroboam the son of Nebat king. Then Jeroboam drove Israel from following the Lord, and made them commit a great sin. 22 For the children of Israel walked in all the sins of Jeroboam which he did; they did not depart from them, 23 until the Lord removed Israel out of His sight, (AO)as He had said by all His servants the prophets. (AP)So Israel was carried away from their own land to Assyria, as it is to this day.
Assyria Resettles Samaria
24 (AQ)Then the king of Assyria brought people from Babylon, Cuthah, (AR)Ava, Hamath, and from Sepharvaim, and placed them in the cities of Samaria instead of the children of Israel; and they took possession of Samaria and dwelt in its cities. 25 And it was so, at the beginning of their dwelling there, that they did not fear the Lord; therefore the Lord sent lions among them, which killed some of them. 26 So they spoke to the king of Assyria, saying, “The nations whom you have removed and placed in the cities of Samaria do not know the rituals of the God of the land; therefore He has sent lions among them, and indeed, they are killing them because they do not know the rituals of the God of the land.” 27 Then the king of Assyria commanded, saying, “Send there one of the priests whom you brought from there; let him go and dwell there, and let him teach them the rituals of the God of the land.” 28 Then one of the priests whom they had carried away from Samaria came and dwelt in Bethel, and taught them how they should fear the Lord.
29 However every nation continued to make gods of its own, and put them (AS)in the shrines on the high places which the Samaritans had made, every nation in the cities where they dwelt. 30 The men of (AT)Babylon made Succoth Benoth, the men of Cuth made Nergal, the men of Hamath made Ashima, 31 (AU)and the Avites made Nibhaz and Tartak; and the Sepharvites (AV)burned their children in fire to Adrammelech and Anammelech, the gods of Sepharvaim. 32 So they feared the Lord, (AW)and from every class they appointed for themselves priests of the [c]high places, who sacrificed for them in the shrines of the high places. 33 (AX)They feared the Lord, yet served their own gods—according to the rituals of the nations from among whom they were carried away.
34 To this day they continue practicing the former rituals; they do not fear the Lord, nor do they follow their statutes or their ordinances, or the law and commandment which the Lord had commanded the children of Jacob, (AY)whom He named Israel, 35 with whom the Lord had made a covenant and charged them, saying: (AZ)“You shall not fear other gods, nor (BA)bow down to them nor serve them nor sacrifice to them; 36 but the Lord, who (BB)brought you up from the land of Egypt with great power and (BC)an outstretched arm, (BD)Him you shall fear, Him you shall worship, and to Him you shall offer sacrifice. 37 And the statutes, the ordinances, the law, and the commandment which He wrote for you, (BE)you shall be careful to observe forever; you shall not fear other gods. 38 And the covenant that I have made with you, (BF)you shall not forget, nor shall you fear other gods. 39 But the Lord your God you shall fear; and He will deliver you from the hand of all your enemies.” 40 However they did not obey, but they followed their former rituals. 41 (BG)So these nations feared the Lord, yet served their carved images; also their children and their children’s children have continued doing as their fathers did, even to this day.
Hezekiah Reigns in Judah(BH)
18 Now it came to pass in the third year of (BI)Hoshea the son of Elah, king of Israel, that (BJ)Hezekiah the son of Ahaz, king of Judah, began to reign. 2 He was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was (BK)Abi[d] the daughter of Zechariah. 3 And he did what was right in the sight of the Lord, according to all that his father David had done.
4 (BL)He removed the [e]high places and broke the sacred pillars, cut down the [f]wooden image and broke in pieces the (BM)bronze serpent that Moses had made; for until those days the children of Israel burned incense to it, and called it [g]Nehushtan. 5 He (BN)trusted in the Lord God of Israel, (BO)so that after him was none like him among all the kings of Judah, nor who were before him. 6 For he (BP)held fast to the Lord; he did not depart from following Him, but kept His commandments, which the Lord had commanded Moses. 7 The Lord (BQ)was with him; he (BR)prospered wherever he went. And he (BS)rebelled against the king of Assyria and did not serve him. 8 (BT)He [h]subdued the Philistines, as far as Gaza and its territory, (BU)from watchtower to fortified city.
9 Now (BV)it came to pass in the fourth year of King Hezekiah, which was the seventh year of Hoshea the son of Elah, king of Israel, that Shalmaneser king of Assyria came up against Samaria and besieged it. 10 And at the end of three years they took it. In the sixth year of Hezekiah, that is, (BW)the ninth year of Hoshea king of Israel, Samaria was taken. 11 (BX)Then the king of Assyria carried Israel away captive to Assyria, and put them (BY)in Halah and by the Habor, the River of Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes, 12 because they (BZ)did not obey the voice of the Lord their God, but transgressed His covenant and all that Moses the servant of the Lord had commanded; and they would neither hear nor do them.
13 And (CA)in the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah, Sennacherib king of Assyria came up against all the fortified cities of Judah and took them. 14 Then Hezekiah king of Judah sent to the king of Assyria at Lachish, saying, “I have done wrong; turn away from me; whatever you impose on me I will pay.” And the king of Assyria assessed Hezekiah king of Judah three hundred talents of silver and thirty talents of gold. 15 So Hezekiah (CB)gave him all the silver that was found in the house of the Lord and in the treasuries of the king’s house. 16 At that time Hezekiah stripped the gold from the doors of the temple of the Lord, and from the pillars which Hezekiah king of Judah had overlaid, and gave [i]it to the king of Assyria.
Sennacherib Boasts Against the Lord(CC)
17 Then the king of Assyria sent the [j]Tartan, the [k]Rabsaris, and the [l]Rabshakeh from Lachish, with a great army against Jerusalem, to King Hezekiah. And they went up and came to Jerusalem. When they had come up, they went and stood by the (CD)aqueduct from the upper pool, (CE)which was on the highway to the Fuller’s Field. 18 And when they had called to the king, (CF)Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, who was over the household, Shebna the [m]scribe, and Joah the son of Asaph, the recorder, came out to them. 19 Then the Rabshakeh said to them, “Say now to Hezekiah, ‘Thus says the great king, the king of Assyria: (CG)“What confidence is this in which you trust? 20 You speak of having plans and power for war; but they are [n]mere words. And in whom do you trust, that you rebel against me? 21 (CH)Now look! You are trusting in the staff of this broken reed, Egypt, on which if a man leans, it will go into his hand and pierce it. So is Pharaoh king of Egypt to all who trust in him. 22 But if you say to me, ‘We trust in the Lord our God,’ is it not He (CI)whose [o]high places and whose altars Hezekiah has taken away, and said to Judah and Jerusalem, ‘You shall worship before this altar in Jerusalem’?” ’ 23 Now therefore, I urge you, give a pledge to my master the king of Assyria, and I will give you two thousand horses—if you are able on your part to put riders on them! 24 How then will you repel one captain of the least of my master’s servants, and put your trust in Egypt for chariots and horsemen? 25 Have I now come up without the Lord against this place to destroy it? The Lord said to me, ‘Go up against this land, and destroy it.’ ”
26 (CJ)Then Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, Shebna, and Joah said to the Rabshakeh, “Please speak to your servants in (CK)Aramaic, for we understand it; and do not speak to us in [p]Hebrew in the hearing of the people who are on the wall.”
27 But the Rabshakeh said to them, “Has my master sent me to your master and to you to speak these words, and not to the men who sit on the wall, who will eat and drink their own waste with you?”
28 Then the Rabshakeh stood and called out with a loud voice in [q]Hebrew, and spoke, saying, “Hear the word of the great king, the king of Assyria! 29 Thus says the king: (CL)‘Do not let Hezekiah deceive you, for he shall not be able to deliver you from his hand; 30 nor let Hezekiah make you trust in the Lord, saying, “The Lord will surely deliver us; this city shall not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria.” ’ 31 Do not listen to Hezekiah; for thus says the king of Assyria: ‘Make peace with me [r]by a present and come out to me; and every one of you eat from his own (CM)vine and every one from his own fig tree, and every one of you drink the waters of his own cistern; 32 until I come and take you away to a land like your own land, (CN)a land of grain and new wine, a land of bread and vineyards, a land of olive groves and honey, that you may live and not die. But do not listen to Hezekiah, lest he persuade you, saying, “The Lord will deliver us.” 33 (CO)Has any of the gods of the nations at all delivered its land from the hand of the king of Assyria? 34 Where are the gods of (CP)Hamath and Arpad? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim and Hena and (CQ)Ivah? Indeed, have they delivered Samaria from my hand? 35 Who among all the gods of the lands have delivered their countries from my hand, (CR)that the Lord should deliver Jerusalem from my hand?’ ”
36 But the people held their peace and answered him not a word; for the king’s commandment was, “Do not answer him.” 37 Then Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, who was over the household, Shebna the scribe, and Joah the son of Asaph, the recorder, came to Hezekiah (CS)with their clothes torn, and told him the words of the Rabshakeh.
Isaiah Assures Deliverance(CT)
19 And (CU)so it was, when King Hezekiah heard it, that he tore his clothes, covered himself with (CV)sackcloth, and went into the house of the Lord. 2 Then he sent Eliakim, who was over the household, Shebna the scribe, and the elders of the priests, covered with sackcloth, to Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz. 3 And they said to him, “Thus says Hezekiah: ‘This day is a day of trouble, and rebuke, and blasphemy; for the children have come to birth, but there is no strength to [s]bring them forth. 4 (CW)It may be that the Lord your God will hear all the words of the Rabshakeh, whom his master the king of Assyria has sent to (CX)reproach the living God, and will (CY)rebuke the words which the Lord your God has heard. Therefore lift up your prayer for the remnant that is left.’ ”
5 So the servants of King Hezekiah came to Isaiah. 6 (CZ)And Isaiah said to them, “Thus you shall say to your master, ‘Thus says the Lord: “Do not be (DA)afraid of the words which you have heard, with which the (DB)servants of the king of Assyria have blasphemed Me. 7 Surely I will send (DC)a spirit upon him, and he shall hear a rumor and return to his own land; and I will cause him to fall by the sword in his own land.” ’ ”
Sennacherib’s Threat and Hezekiah’s Prayer(DD)
8 Then the Rabshakeh returned and found the king of Assyria warring against Libnah, for he heard that he had departed (DE)from Lachish. 9 And (DF)the king heard concerning Tirhakah king of Ethiopia, “Look, he has come out to make war with you.” So he again sent messengers to Hezekiah, saying, 10 “Thus you shall speak to Hezekiah king of Judah, saying: ‘Do not let your God (DG)in whom you trust deceive you, saying, “Jerusalem shall not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria.” 11 Look! You have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all lands by utterly destroying them; and shall you be delivered? 12 (DH)Have the gods of the nations delivered those whom my fathers have destroyed, Gozan and Haran and Rezeph, and the people of (DI)Eden who were in Telassar? 13 (DJ)Where is the king of Hamath, the king of Arpad, and the king of the city of Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivah?’ ”
14 (DK)And 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 Then Hezekiah prayed before the Lord, and said: “O Lord God of Israel, the One (DL)who dwells between the cherubim, (DM)You are God, You alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and earth. 16 (DN)Incline Your ear, O Lord, and hear; (DO)open Your eyes, O Lord, and see; and hear the words of Sennacherib, (DP)which he has sent to reproach the living God. 17 Truly, 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 (DQ)not gods, but (DR)the work of men’s hands—wood and stone. Therefore they destroyed them. 19 Now therefore, O Lord our God, I pray, save us from his hand, (DS)that all the kingdoms of the earth may (DT)know that You are the Lord God, You alone.”
The Word of the Lord Concerning Sennacherib(DU)
20 Then Isaiah the son of Amoz sent to Hezekiah, saying, “Thus says the Lord God of Israel: (DV)‘Because you have prayed to Me against Sennacherib king of Assyria, (DW)I have heard.’ 21 This is the word which the Lord has spoken concerning him:
‘The virgin, (DX)the daughter of Zion,
Has despised you, laughed you to scorn;
The daughter of Jerusalem
(DY)Has shaken her head behind your back!
22 ‘Whom have you reproached and blasphemed?
Against whom have you raised your voice,
And lifted up your eyes on high?
Against (DZ)the Holy One of Israel.
23 (EA)By your messengers you have reproached the Lord,
And said: (EB)“By the multitude of my chariots
I have come up to the height of the mountains,
To the limits of Lebanon;
I will cut down its tall cedars
And its choice cypress trees;
I will enter the extremity of its borders,
To its fruitful forest.
24 I have dug and drunk strange water,
And with the soles of my feet I have (EC)dried up
All the brooks of defense.”
25 ‘Did you not hear long ago
How (ED)I made it,
From ancient times that I formed it?
Now I have brought it to pass,
That (EE)you should be
For crushing fortified cities into heaps of ruins.
26 Therefore their inhabitants had little power;
They were dismayed and confounded;
They were as the grass of the field
And the green herb,
As (EF)the grass on the housetops
And grain blighted before it is grown.
27 ‘But (EG)I know your dwelling place,
Your going out and your coming in,
And your rage against Me.
28 Because your rage against Me and your tumult
Have come up to My ears,
Therefore (EH)I will put My hook in your nose
And My bridle in your lips,
And I will turn you back
(EI)By the way which you came.
29 ‘This shall be a (EJ)sign to you:
‘You shall eat this year such as grows [t]of itself,
And in the second year what springs from the same;
Also in the third year sow and reap,
Plant vineyards and eat the fruit of them.
30 (EK)And the remnant who have escaped of the house of Judah
Shall again take root downward,
And bear fruit upward.
31 For out of Jerusalem shall go a remnant,
And those who escape from Mount Zion.
(EL)The zeal of the Lord [u]of hosts will do this.’
32 “Therefore thus says the Lord concerning the king of Assyria:
‘He shall (EM)not come into this city,
Nor shoot an arrow there,
Nor come before it with shield,
Nor build a siege mound against it.
33 By the way that he came,
By the same shall he return;
And he shall not come into this city,’
Says the Lord.
34 ‘For (EN)I will (EO)defend this city, to save it
For My own sake and (EP)for My servant David’s sake.’ ”
Sennacherib’s Defeat and Death(EQ)
35 And (ER)it came to pass on a certain night that the [v]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, there were the corpses—all dead. 36 So Sennacherib king of Assyria departed and went away, returned home, and remained at (ES)Nineveh. 37 Now it came to pass, as he was worshiping in the temple of Nisroch his god, that his sons (ET)Adrammelech and Sharezer (EU)struck him down with the sword; and they escaped into the land of Ararat. Then (EV)Esarhaddon his son reigned in his place.
Footnotes
- 2 Kings 17:9 Places for pagan worship
- 2 Kings 17:10 Heb. Asherim, Canaanite deities
- 2 Kings 17:32 Places for pagan worship
- 2 Kings 18:2 Abijah, 2 Chr. 29:1ff.
- 2 Kings 18:4 Places for pagan worship
- 2 Kings 18:4 Heb. Asherah, a Canaanite goddess
- 2 Kings 18:4 Lit. Bronze Thing, also similar to Heb. nahash, serpent
- 2 Kings 18:8 Lit. struck
- 2 Kings 18:16 Lit. them
- 2 Kings 18:17 A title, probably Commander in Chief
- 2 Kings 18:17 A title, probably Chief Officer
- 2 Kings 18:17 A title, probably Chief of Staff or Governor
- 2 Kings 18:18 secretary
- 2 Kings 18:20 Lit. a word of the lips
- 2 Kings 18:22 Places for pagan worship
- 2 Kings 18:26 Lit. Judean
- 2 Kings 18:28 Lit. Judean
- 2 Kings 18:31 By paying tribute
- 2 Kings 19:3 give birth
- 2 Kings 19:29 Without cultivation
- 2 Kings 19:31 So with many Heb. mss. and ancient vss. (cf. Is. 37:32); MT omits of hosts
- 2 Kings 19:35 Or Angel
2 Chronicles 28-32
New King James Version
Ahaz Reigns in Judah(A)
28 Ahaz (B)was twenty years old when he became king, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem; and he did not do what was right in the sight of the Lord, as his father David had done. 2 For he walked in the ways of the kings of Israel, and made (C)molded images for (D)the Baals. 3 He burned incense in (E)the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, and burned (F)his children in the (G)fire, according to the abominations of the nations whom the Lord had (H)cast out before the children of Israel. 4 And he sacrificed and burned incense on the [a]high places, on the hills, and under every green tree.
Syria and Israel Defeat Judah(I)
5 Therefore (J)the Lord his God delivered him into the hand of the king of Syria. They (K)defeated him, and carried away a great multitude of them as captives, and brought them to Damascus. Then he was also delivered into the hand of the king of Israel, who defeated him with a great slaughter. 6 For (L)Pekah the son of Remaliah killed one hundred and twenty thousand in Judah in one day, all valiant men, (M)because they had forsaken the Lord God of their fathers. 7 Zichri, a mighty man of Ephraim, killed Maaseiah the king’s son, Azrikam the officer over the house, and Elkanah who was second to the king. 8 And the children of Israel carried away captive of their (N)brethren two hundred thousand women, sons, and daughters; and they also took away much [b]spoil from them, and brought the spoil to Samaria.
Israel Returns the Captives
9 But a (O)prophet of the Lord was there, whose name was Oded; and he went out before the army that came to Samaria, and said to them: “Look, (P)because the Lord God of your fathers was angry with Judah, He has delivered them into your hand; but you have killed them in a rage that (Q)reaches up to heaven. 10 And now you propose to force the children of Judah and Jerusalem to be your (R)male and female slaves; but are you not also guilty before the Lord your God? 11 Now hear me, therefore, and return the captives, whom you have taken captive from your brethren, (S)for the fierce wrath of the Lord is upon you.”
12 Then some of the heads of the children of Ephraim, Azariah the son of Johanan, Berechiah the son of Meshillemoth, Jehizkiah the son of Shallum, and Amasa the son of Hadlai, stood up against those who came from the war, 13 and said to them, “You shall not bring the captives here, for we already have offended the Lord. You intend to add to our sins and to our guilt; for our guilt is great, and there is fierce wrath against Israel.” 14 So the armed men left the captives and the [c]spoil before the leaders and all the assembly. 15 Then the men (T)who were designated by name rose up and took the captives, and from the [d]spoil they clothed all who were naked among them, dressed them and gave them sandals, (U)gave them food and drink, and anointed them; and they let all the feeble ones ride on donkeys. So they brought them to their brethren at Jericho, (V)the city of palm trees. Then they returned to Samaria.
Assyria Refuses to Help Judah(W)
16 (X)At the same time King Ahaz sent to the [e]kings of Assyria to help him. 17 For again the (Y)Edomites had come, attacked Judah, and carried away captives. 18 (Z)The Philistines also had invaded the cities of the lowland and of the South of Judah, and had taken Beth Shemesh, Aijalon, Gederoth, Sochoh with its villages, Timnah with its villages, and Gimzo with its villages; and they dwelt there. 19 For the Lord [f]brought Judah low because of Ahaz king of (AA)Israel, for he had (AB)encouraged moral decline in Judah and had been continually unfaithful to the Lord. 20 Also (AC)Tiglath-Pileser[g] king of Assyria came to him and distressed him, and did not assist him. 21 For Ahaz took part of the treasures from the house of the Lord, from the house of the king, and from the leaders, and he gave it to the king of Assyria; but he did not help him.
Apostasy and Death of Ahaz(AD)
22 Now in the time of his distress King Ahaz became increasingly unfaithful to the Lord. This is that King Ahaz. 23 For (AE)he sacrificed to the gods of Damascus which had defeated him, saying, “Because the gods of the kings of Syria help them, I will sacrifice to them (AF)that they may help me.” But they were the ruin of him and of all Israel. 24 So Ahaz gathered the articles of the house of God, cut in pieces the articles of the house of God, (AG)shut up the doors of the house of the Lord, and made for himself altars in every corner of Jerusalem. 25 And in every single city of Judah he made [h]high places to burn incense to other gods, and provoked to anger the Lord God of his fathers.
26 (AH)Now the rest of his acts and all his ways, from first to last, indeed they are written in the book of the kings of Judah and Israel. 27 So Ahaz [i]rested with his fathers, and they buried him in the city, in Jerusalem; but they (AI)did not bring him into the tombs of the kings of Israel. Then Hezekiah his son reigned in his place.
Hezekiah Reigns in Judah(AJ)
29 Hezekiah (AK)became king when he was twenty-five years old, and he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was [j]Abijah the daughter of Zechariah. 2 And he did what was right in the sight of the Lord, according to all that his father David had done.
Hezekiah Cleanses the Temple
3 In the first year of his reign, in the first month, he (AL)opened the doors of the house of the Lord and repaired them. 4 Then he brought in the priests and the Levites, and gathered them in the East Square, 5 and said to them: “Hear me, Levites! Now [k]sanctify yourselves, (AM)sanctify the house of the Lord God of your fathers, and carry out the rubbish from the holy place. 6 For our fathers have trespassed and done evil in the eyes of the Lord our God; they have forsaken Him, have (AN)turned their faces away from the [l]dwelling place of the Lord, and turned their backs on Him. 7 (AO)They have also shut up the doors of the vestibule, put out the lamps, and have not burned incense or offered burnt offerings in the holy place to the God of Israel. 8 Therefore the (AP)wrath of the Lord fell upon Judah and Jerusalem, and He has (AQ)given them up to trouble, to desolation, and to (AR)jeering, as you see with your (AS)eyes. 9 For indeed, because of this (AT)our fathers have fallen by the sword; and our sons, our daughters, and our wives are in captivity.
10 “Now it is in my heart to make (AU)a covenant with the Lord God of Israel, that His fierce wrath may turn away from us. 11 My sons, do not be negligent now, for the Lord has (AV)chosen you to stand before Him, to serve Him, and that you should minister to Him and burn incense.”
12 Then these Levites arose: (AW)Mahath the son of Amasai and Joel the son of Azariah, of the sons of the (AX)Kohathites; of the sons of Merari, Kish the son of Abdi and Azariah the son of Jehallelel; of the Gershonites, Joah the son of Zimmah and Eden the son of Joah; 13 of the sons of Elizaphan, Shimri and Jeiel; of the sons of Asaph, Zechariah and Mattaniah; 14 of the sons of Heman, Jehiel and Shimei; and of the sons of Jeduthun, Shemaiah and Uzziel.
15 And they gathered their brethren, (AY)sanctified[m] themselves, and went according to the commandment of the king, at the words of the Lord, (AZ)to cleanse the house of the Lord. 16 Then the priests went into the inner part of the house of the Lord to cleanse it, and brought out all the debris that they found in the temple of the Lord to the court of the house of the Lord. And the Levites took it out and carried it to the Brook (BA)Kidron.
17 Now they began to [n]sanctify on the first day of the first month, and on the eighth day of the month they came to the vestibule of the Lord. So they sanctified the house of the Lord in eight days, and on the sixteenth day of the first month they finished.
18 Then they went in to King Hezekiah and said, “We have cleansed all the house of the Lord, the altar of burnt offerings with all its articles, and the table of the showbread with all its articles. 19 Moreover all the articles which King Ahaz in his reign had (BB)cast aside in his transgression we have prepared and [o]sanctified; and there they are, before the altar of the Lord.”
Hezekiah Restores Temple Worship
20 Then King Hezekiah rose early, gathered the rulers of the city, and went up to the house of the Lord. 21 And they brought seven bulls, seven rams, seven lambs, and seven male goats for a (BC)sin offering for the kingdom, for the sanctuary, and for Judah. Then he commanded the priests, the sons of Aaron, to offer them on the altar of the Lord. 22 So they killed the bulls, and the priests received the blood and (BD)sprinkled it on the altar. Likewise they killed the rams and sprinkled the blood on the altar. They also killed the lambs and sprinkled the blood on the altar. 23 Then they brought out the male goats for the sin offering before the king and the assembly, and they laid their (BE)hands on them. 24 And the priests killed them; and they presented their blood on the altar as a sin offering (BF)to make an atonement for all Israel, for the king commanded that the burnt offering and the sin offering be made for all Israel.
25 (BG)And he stationed the Levites in the house of the Lord with cymbals, with stringed instruments, and with harps, (BH)according to the commandment of David, of (BI)Gad the king’s seer, and of Nathan the prophet; (BJ)for thus was the commandment of the Lord by His prophets. 26 The Levites stood with the instruments (BK)of David, and the priests with (BL)the trumpets. 27 Then Hezekiah commanded them to offer the burnt offering on the altar. And when the burnt offering began, (BM)the song of the Lord also began, with the trumpets and with the instruments of David king of Israel. 28 So all the assembly worshiped, the singers sang, and the trumpeters sounded; all this continued until the burnt offering was finished. 29 And when they had finished offering, (BN)the king and all who were present with him bowed and worshiped. 30 Moreover King Hezekiah and the leaders commanded the Levites to sing praise to the Lord with the words of David and of Asaph the seer. So they sang praises with gladness, and they bowed their heads and worshiped.
31 Then Hezekiah answered and said, “Now that you have consecrated yourselves to the Lord, come near, and bring sacrifices and (BO)thank offerings into the house of the Lord.” So the assembly brought in sacrifices and thank offerings, and as many as were of a (BP)willing heart brought burnt offerings. 32 And the number of the burnt offerings which the assembly brought was seventy bulls, one hundred rams, and two hundred lambs; all these were for a burnt offering to the Lord. 33 The consecrated things were six hundred bulls and three thousand sheep. 34 But the priests were too few, so that they could not skin all the burnt offerings; therefore (BQ)their brethren the Levites helped them until the work was ended and until the other priests had [p]sanctified themselves, (BR)for the Levites were (BS)more diligent in (BT)sanctifying themselves than the priests. 35 Also the burnt offerings were in abundance, with (BU)the fat of the peace offerings and with (BV)the drink offerings for every burnt offering.
So the service of the house of the Lord was set in order. 36 Then Hezekiah and all the people rejoiced that God had prepared the people, since the events took place so suddenly.
Hezekiah Keeps the Passover
30 And Hezekiah sent to all Israel and Judah, and also wrote letters to Ephraim and Manasseh, that they should come to the house of the Lord at Jerusalem, to keep the Passover to the Lord God of Israel. 2 For the king and his leaders and all the assembly in Jerusalem had agreed to keep the Passover in the second (BW)month. 3 For they could not keep it (BX)at [q]the regular time, (BY)because a sufficient number of priests had not consecrated themselves, nor had the people gathered together at Jerusalem. 4 And the matter pleased the king and all the assembly. 5 So they [r]resolved to make a proclamation throughout all Israel, from Beersheba to Dan, that they should come to keep the Passover to the Lord God of Israel at Jerusalem, since they had not done it for a long time in the prescribed manner.
6 Then the (BZ)runners went throughout all Israel and Judah with the letters from the king and his leaders, and spoke according to the command of the king: “Children of Israel, (CA)return to the Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel; then He will return to the remnant of you who have escaped from the hand of (CB)the kings of (CC)Assyria. 7 And do not be (CD)like your fathers and your brethren, who trespassed against the Lord God of their fathers, so that He (CE)gave them up to (CF)desolation, as you see. 8 Now do not be (CG)stiff-necked,[s] as your fathers were, but yield yourselves to the Lord; and enter His sanctuary, which He has sanctified forever, and serve the Lord your God, (CH)that the fierceness of His wrath may turn away from you. 9 For if you return to the Lord, your brethren and your children will be treated with (CI)compassion by those who lead them captive, so that they may come back to this land; for the Lord your God is (CJ)gracious and merciful, and will not turn His face from you if you (CK)return to Him.”
10 So the runners passed from city to city through the country of Ephraim and Manasseh, as far as Zebulun; but (CL)they laughed at them and mocked them. 11 Nevertheless (CM)some from Asher, Manasseh, and Zebulun humbled themselves and came to Jerusalem. 12 Also (CN)the hand of God was on Judah to give them singleness of heart to obey the command of the king and the leaders, (CO)at the word of the Lord.
13 Now many people, a very great assembly, gathered at Jerusalem to keep the Feast of (CP)Unleavened Bread in the second month. 14 They arose and took away the (CQ)altars that were in Jerusalem, and they took away all the incense altars and cast them into the Brook (CR)Kidron. 15 Then they slaughtered the Passover lambs on the fourteenth day of the second month. The priests and the Levites [t]were (CS)ashamed, and [u]sanctified themselves, and brought the burnt offerings to the house of the Lord. 16 They stood in their (CT)place [v]according to their custom, according to the Law of Moses the man of God; the priests sprinkled the blood received from the hand of the Levites. 17 For there were many in the assembly who had not [w]sanctified themselves; (CU)therefore the Levites had charge of the slaughter of the Passover lambs for everyone who was not clean, to sanctify them to the Lord. 18 For a multitude of the people, (CV)many from Ephraim, Manasseh, Issachar, and Zebulun, had not cleansed themselves, (CW)yet they ate the Passover contrary to what was written. But Hezekiah prayed for them, saying, “May the good Lord provide atonement for everyone 19 who (CX)prepares his heart to seek God, the Lord God of his fathers, though he is not cleansed according to the purification of the sanctuary.” 20 And the Lord listened to Hezekiah and healed the people.
21 So the children of Israel who were present at Jerusalem kept (CY)the Feast of Unleavened Bread seven days with great gladness; and the Levites and the priests praised the Lord day by day, singing to the Lord, accompanied by loud instruments. 22 And Hezekiah gave encouragement to all the Levites (CZ)who taught the good knowledge of the Lord; and they ate throughout the feast seven days, offering peace offerings and (DA)making confession to the Lord God of their fathers.
23 Then the whole assembly agreed to keep the feast (DB)another seven days, and they kept it another seven days with gladness. 24 For Hezekiah king of Judah (DC)gave to the assembly a thousand bulls and seven thousand sheep, and the leaders gave to the assembly a thousand bulls and ten thousand sheep; and a great number of priests (DD)sanctified[x] themselves. 25 The whole assembly of Judah rejoiced, also the priests and Levites, all the assembly that came from Israel, the sojourners (DE)who came from the land of Israel, and those who dwelt in Judah. 26 So there was great joy in Jerusalem, for since the time of (DF)Solomon the son of David, king of Israel, there had been nothing like this in Jerusalem. 27 Then the priests, the Levites, arose and (DG)blessed the people, and their voice was heard; and their prayer came up to (DH)His holy dwelling place, to heaven.
The Reforms of Hezekiah(DI)
31 Now when all this was finished, all Israel who were present went out to the cities of Judah and (DJ)broke the sacred pillars in pieces, cut down the wooden images, and threw down the [y]high places and the altars—from all Judah, Benjamin, Ephraim, and Manasseh—until they had utterly destroyed them all. Then all the children of Israel returned to their own cities, every man to his possession.
2 And Hezekiah appointed (DK)the divisions of the priests and the Levites according to their divisions, each man according to his service, the priests and Levites (DL)for burnt offerings and peace offerings, to serve, to give thanks, and to praise in the gates of the [z]camp of the Lord. 3 The king also appointed a [aa]portion of his (DM)possessions[ab] for the burnt offerings: for the morning and evening burnt offerings, the burnt offerings for the Sabbaths and the New Moons and the set feasts, as it is written in the (DN)Law of the Lord.
4 Moreover he commanded the people who dwelt in Jerusalem to contribute (DO)support[ac] for the priests and the Levites, that they might devote themselves to (DP)the Law of the Lord.
5 As soon as the commandment was circulated, the children of Israel brought in abundance (DQ)the firstfruits of grain and wine, oil and honey, and of all the produce of the field; and they brought in abundantly the (DR)tithe of everything. 6 And the children of Israel and Judah, who dwelt in the cities of Judah, brought the tithe of oxen and sheep; also the (DS)tithe of holy things which were consecrated to the Lord their God they laid in heaps.
7 In the third month they began laying them in heaps, and they finished in the seventh month. 8 And when Hezekiah and the leaders came and saw the heaps, they blessed the Lord and His people Israel. 9 Then Hezekiah questioned the priests and the Levites concerning the heaps. 10 And Azariah the chief priest, from the (DT)house of Zadok, answered him and said, (DU)“Since the people began to bring the offerings into the house of the Lord, we have had enough to eat and have plenty left, for the Lord has blessed His people; and what is left is this great (DV)abundance.”
11 Now Hezekiah commanded them to prepare (DW)rooms[ad] in the house of the Lord, and they prepared them. 12 Then they faithfully brought in the offerings, the tithes, and the dedicated things; (DX)Cononiah the Levite had charge of them, and Shimei his brother was the next. 13 Jehiel, Azaziah, Nahath, Asahel, Jerimoth, Jozabad, Eliel, Ismachiah, Mahath, and Benaiah were overseers under the hand of Cononiah and Shimei his brother, at the commandment of Hezekiah the king and Azariah the (DY)ruler of the house of God. 14 Kore the son of Imnah the Levite, the keeper of the East Gate, was over the (DZ)freewill offerings to God, to distribute the offerings of the Lord and the most holy things. 15 And under him were (EA)Eden, Miniamin, Jeshua, Shemaiah, Amariah, and Shecaniah, his faithful assistants in (EB)the cities of the priests, to distribute (EC)allotments to their brethren by divisions, to the great as well as the small.
16 Besides those males from three years old and up who were written in the genealogy, they distributed to everyone who entered the house of the Lord his daily portion for the work of his service, by his division, 17 and to the priests who were written in the genealogy according to their father’s house, and to the Levites (ED)from twenty years old and up according to their work, by their divisions, 18 and to all who were written in the genealogy—their little ones and their wives, their sons and daughters, the whole company of them—for in their faithfulness they [ae]sanctified themselves in holiness.
19 Also for the sons of Aaron the priests, who were in (EE)the fields of the common-lands of their cities, in every single city, there were men who were (EF)designated by name to distribute portions to all the males among the priests and to all who were listed by genealogies among the Levites.
20 Thus Hezekiah did throughout all Judah, and he (EG)did what was good and right and true before the Lord his God. 21 And in every work that he began in the service of the house of God, in the law and in the commandment, to seek his God, he did it with all his heart. So he (EH)prospered.
Sennacherib Boasts Against the Lord(EI)
32 After (EJ)these deeds of faithfulness, Sennacherib king of Assyria came and entered Judah; he encamped against the fortified cities, thinking to win them over to himself. 2 And when Hezekiah saw that Sennacherib had come, and that his purpose was to make war against Jerusalem, 3 he consulted with his leaders and [af]commanders to stop the water from the springs which were outside the city; and they helped him. 4 Thus many people gathered together who stopped all the (EK)springs and the brook that ran through the land, saying, “Why should the [ag]kings of Assyria come and find much water?” 5 And (EL)he strengthened himself, (EM)built up all the wall that was broken, raised it up to the towers, and built another wall outside; also he repaired [ah]the (EN)Millo in the City of David, and made [ai]weapons and shields in abundance. 6 Then he set military captains over the people, gathered them together to him in the open square of the city gate, and (EO)gave them encouragement, saying, 7 (EP)“Be strong and courageous; (EQ)do not be afraid nor dismayed before the king of Assyria, nor before all the multitude that is with him; for (ER)there are more with us than with him. 8 With him is an (ES)arm of flesh; but (ET)with us is the Lord our God, to help us and to fight our battles.” And the people were strengthened by the words of Hezekiah king of Judah.
9 (EU)After this Sennacherib king of Assyria sent his servants to Jerusalem (but he and all the forces with him laid siege against Lachish), to Hezekiah king of Judah, and to all Judah who were in Jerusalem, saying, 10 (EV)“Thus says Sennacherib king of Assyria: ‘In what do you trust, that you remain under siege in Jerusalem? 11 Does not Hezekiah persuade you to give yourselves over to die by famine and by thirst, saying, (EW)“The Lord our God will deliver us from the hand of the king of Assyria”? 12 (EX)Has not the same Hezekiah taken away His high places and His altars, and commanded Judah and Jerusalem, saying, “You shall worship before one altar and burn incense on (EY)it”? 13 Do you not know what I and my fathers have done to all the peoples of other lands? (EZ)Were the gods of the nations of those lands in any way able to deliver their lands out of my hand? 14 Who was there among all the gods of those nations that my fathers utterly destroyed that could deliver his people from my hand, that your God should be able to deliver you from my (FA)hand? 15 Now therefore, (FB)do not let Hezekiah deceive you or persuade you like this, and do not believe him; for no god of any nation or kingdom was able to deliver his people from my hand or the hand of my fathers. How much less will your God deliver you from my hand?’ ”
16 Furthermore, his servants spoke against the Lord God and against His servant Hezekiah.
17 He also wrote letters to revile the Lord God of Israel, and to speak against Him, saying, (FC)“As the gods of the nations of other lands have not delivered their people from my hand, so the God of Hezekiah will not deliver His people from my (FD)hand.” 18 (FE)Then they called out with a loud voice in [aj]Hebrew to the people of Jerusalem who were on the wall, to frighten them and trouble them, that they might take the city. 19 And they spoke against the God of Jerusalem, as against the gods of the people of the earth—(FF)the work of men’s hands.
Sennacherib’s Defeat and Death(FG)
20 (FH)Now because of this King Hezekiah and (FI)the prophet Isaiah, the son of Amoz, prayed and cried out to heaven. 21 (FJ)Then the Lord sent an angel who cut down every mighty man of valor, leader, and captain in the camp of the king of Assyria. So he returned (FK)shamefaced to his own land. And when he had gone into the temple of his god, some of his own offspring struck him down with the sword there.
22 Thus the Lord saved Hezekiah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem from the hand of Sennacherib the king of Assyria, and from the hand of all others, and [ak]guided them on every side. 23 And many brought gifts to the Lord at Jerusalem, and (FL)presents[al] to Hezekiah king of Judah, so that he was (FM)exalted in the sight of all nations thereafter.
Hezekiah Humbles Himself(FN)
24 (FO)In those days Hezekiah was sick and near death, and he prayed to the Lord; and He spoke to him and gave him a sign. 25 But Hezekiah (FP)did not repay according to the favor shown him, for (FQ)his heart was lifted up; (FR)therefore wrath was looming over him and over Judah and Jerusalem. 26 (FS)Then Hezekiah humbled himself for the pride of his heart, he and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that the wrath of the Lord did not come upon them (FT)in the days of Hezekiah.
Hezekiah’s Wealth and Honor(FU)
27 Hezekiah had very great riches and honor. And he made himself treasuries for silver, for gold, for precious stones, for spices, for shields, and for all kinds of desirable items; 28 storehouses for the harvest of grain, wine, and oil; and stalls for all kinds of livestock, and [am]folds for flocks. 29 Moreover he provided cities for himself, and possessions of flocks and herds in abundance; for (FV)God had given him very much property. 30 (FW)This same Hezekiah also stopped the water outlet of Upper Gihon, and [an]brought the water by tunnel to the west side of the City of David. Hezekiah (FX)prospered in all his works.
31 However, regarding the ambassadors of the princes of Babylon, whom they (FY)sent to him to inquire about the wonder that was done in the land, God withdrew from him, in order to (FZ)test him, that He might know all that was in his heart.
Death of Hezekiah
32 Now the rest of the acts of Hezekiah, and his goodness, indeed they are written in (GA)the vision of Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz, and in the (GB)book of the kings of Judah and Israel. 33 (GC)So Hezekiah [ao]rested with his fathers, and they buried him in the upper tombs of the sons of David; and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem (GD)honored him at his death. Then Manasseh his son reigned in his place.
Footnotes
- 2 Chronicles 28:4 Places for pagan worship
- 2 Chronicles 28:8 plunder
- 2 Chronicles 28:14 plunder
- 2 Chronicles 28:15 plunder
- 2 Chronicles 28:16 LXX, Syr., Vg. king (cf. v. 20)
- 2 Chronicles 28:19 humbled Judah
- 2 Chronicles 28:20 Heb. Tilgath-Pilneser
- 2 Chronicles 28:25 Places for pagan worship
- 2 Chronicles 28:27 Died and joined his ancestors
- 2 Chronicles 29:1 Abi, 2 Kin. 18:2
- 2 Chronicles 29:5 consecrate
- 2 Chronicles 29:6 Temple
- 2 Chronicles 29:15 consecrated
- 2 Chronicles 29:17 consecrate
- 2 Chronicles 29:19 consecrated
- 2 Chronicles 29:34 consecrated
- 2 Chronicles 30:3 The first month, Lev. 23:5; lit. that time
- 2 Chronicles 30:5 established a decree to
- 2 Chronicles 30:8 Rebellious
- 2 Chronicles 30:15 humbled themselves
- 2 Chronicles 30:15 set themselves apart
- 2 Chronicles 30:16 Or in their proper order
- 2 Chronicles 30:17 consecrated
- 2 Chronicles 30:24 consecrated
- 2 Chronicles 31:1 Places for pagan worship
- 2 Chronicles 31:2 Temple
- 2 Chronicles 31:3 share
- 2 Chronicles 31:3 property
- 2 Chronicles 31:4 the portion due
- 2 Chronicles 31:11 storerooms
- 2 Chronicles 31:18 consecrated
- 2 Chronicles 32:3 Lit. mighty men
- 2 Chronicles 32:4 So with MT, Vg.; Arab., LXX, Syr. king
- 2 Chronicles 32:5 Lit. The Landfill
- 2 Chronicles 32:5 javelins
- 2 Chronicles 32:18 Lit. Judean
- 2 Chronicles 32:22 LXX gave them rest; Vg. gave them treasures
- 2 Chronicles 32:23 Lit. precious things
- 2 Chronicles 32:28 So with LXX, Vg.; Arab., Syr. omit folds for flocks; MT flocks for sheepfolds
- 2 Chronicles 32:30 Lit. brought it straight to (cf. 2 Kin. 20:20)
- 2 Chronicles 32:33 Died and joined his ancestors
Psalm 46
New King James Version
God the Refuge of His People and Conqueror of the Nations
To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of the sons of Korah. A Song (A)for Alamoth.
46 God is our (B)refuge and strength,
(C)A[a] very present help in trouble.
2 Therefore we will not fear,
Even though the earth be removed,
And though the mountains be carried into the [b]midst of the sea;
3 (D)Though its waters roar and be troubled,
Though the mountains shake with its swelling. Selah
4 There is a (E)river whose streams shall make glad the (F)city of God,
The holy place of the [c]tabernacle of the Most High.
5 God is (G)in the midst of her, she shall not be [d]moved;
God shall help her, just [e]at the break of dawn.
6 (H)The nations raged, the kingdoms were moved;
He uttered His voice, the earth melted.
7 The (I)Lord of hosts is with us;
The God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah
8 Come, behold the works of the Lord,
Who has made desolations in the earth.
9 (J)He makes wars cease to the end of the earth;
(K)He breaks the bow and cuts the spear in two;
(L)He burns the chariot in the fire.
10 Be still, and know that I am God;
(M)I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth!
11 The Lord of hosts is with us;
The God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah
Footnotes
- Psalm 46:1 An abundantly available help
- Psalm 46:2 Lit. heart
- Psalm 46:4 dwelling places
- Psalm 46:5 shaken
- Psalm 46:5 Lit. at the turning of the morning
Isaiah 22-35
New King James Version
Proclamation Against Jerusalem
22 The [a]burden against the Valley of Vision.
What ails you now, that you have all gone up to the housetops,
2 You who are full of noise,
A [b]tumultuous city, (A)a joyous city?
Your slain men are not slain with the sword,
Nor dead in battle.
3 All your rulers have fled together;
They are captured by the archers.
All who are found in you are bound together;
They have fled from afar.
4 Therefore I said, “Look away from me,
(B)I will weep bitterly;
Do not labor to comfort me
Because of the plundering of the daughter of my people.”
5 (C)For it is a day of trouble and treading down and perplexity
(D)By the Lord God of hosts
In the Valley of Vision—
Breaking down the walls
And of crying to the mountain.
6 (E)Elam bore the quiver
With chariots of men and horsemen,
And (F)Kir uncovered the shield.
7 It shall come to pass that your choicest valleys
Shall be full of chariots,
And the horsemen shall set themselves in array at the gate.
8 (G)He removed the [c]protection of Judah.
You looked in that day to the armor (H)of the House of the Forest;
9 (I)You also saw the [d]damage to the city of David,
That it was great;
And you gathered together the waters of the lower pool.
10 You numbered the houses of Jerusalem,
And the houses you broke down
To fortify the wall.
11 (J)You also made a reservoir between the two walls
For the water of the old (K)pool.
But you did not look to its Maker,
Nor did you have respect for Him who fashioned it long ago.
12 And in that day the Lord God of hosts
(L)Called for weeping and for mourning,
(M)For baldness and for girding with sackcloth.
13 But instead, joy and gladness,
Slaying oxen and killing sheep,
Eating meat and (N)drinking wine:
(O)“Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die!”
14 (P)Then it was revealed in my hearing by the Lord of hosts,
“Surely for this iniquity there (Q)will be no atonement for you,
Even to your death,” says the Lord God of hosts.
The Judgment on Shebna
15 Thus says the Lord God of hosts:
“Go, proceed to this steward,
To (R)Shebna, who is over the house, and say:
16 ‘What have you here, and whom have you here,
That you have hewn a sepulcher here,
As he (S)who hews himself a sepulcher on high,
Who carves a tomb for himself in a rock?
17 Indeed, the Lord will throw you away violently,
O mighty man,
(T)And will surely seize you.
18 He will surely turn violently and toss you like a ball
Into a large country;
There you shall die, and there (U)your glorious chariots
Shall be the shame of your master’s house.
19 So I will drive you out of your office,
And from your position [e]he will pull you down.
20 ‘Then it shall be in that day,
That I will call My servant (V)Eliakim the son of Hilkiah;
21 I will clothe him with your robe
And strengthen him with your belt;
I will commit your responsibility into his hand.
He shall be a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem
And to the house of Judah.
22 The key of the house of David
I will lay on his (W)shoulder;
So he shall (X)open, and no one shall shut;
And he shall shut, and no one shall open.
23 I will fasten him as (Y)a peg in a secure place,
And he will become a glorious throne to his father’s house.
24 ‘They will hang on him all the glory of his father’s house, the offspring and the posterity, all vessels of small quantity, from the cups to all the pitchers. 25 In that day,’ says the Lord of hosts, ‘the peg that is fastened in the secure place will be removed and be cut down and fall, and the burden that was on it will be cut off; for the Lord has spoken.’ ”
Proclamation Against Tyre
23 The (Z)burden[f] against Tyre.
Wail, you ships of Tarshish!
For it is laid waste,
So that there is no house, no harbor;
From the land of [g]Cyprus it is revealed to them.
2 Be still, you inhabitants of the coastland,
You merchants of Sidon,
[h]Whom those who cross the sea have filled.
3 And on great waters the grain of Shihor,
The harvest of [i]the River, is her revenue;
And (AA)she is a marketplace for the nations.
4 Be ashamed, O Sidon;
For the sea has spoken,
The strength of the sea, saying,
“I do not labor, nor bring forth children;
Neither do I rear young men,
Nor bring up virgins.”
5 (AB)When the report reaches Egypt,
They also will be in agony at the report of Tyre.
6 Cross over to Tarshish;
Wail, you inhabitants of the coastland!
7 Is this your (AC)joyous city,
Whose antiquity is from ancient days,
Whose feet carried her far off to dwell?
8 Who has taken this counsel against Tyre, (AD)the crowning city,
Whose merchants are princes,
Whose traders are the honorable of the earth?
9 The Lord of hosts has (AE)purposed it,
To [j]bring to dishonor the (AF)pride of all glory,
To bring into contempt all the honorable of the earth.
10 Overflow through your land like [k]the River,
O daughter of Tarshish;
There is no more [l]strength.
11 He stretched out His hand over the sea,
He shook the kingdoms;
The Lord has given a commandment (AG)against Canaan
To destroy its strongholds.
12 And He said, “You will rejoice no more,
O you oppressed virgin daughter of Sidon.
Arise, (AH)cross over to Cyprus;
There also you will have no rest.”
13 Behold, the land of the (AI)Chaldeans,
This people which was not;
Assyria founded it for (AJ)wild beasts of the desert.
They set up its towers,
They raised up its palaces,
And brought it to ruin.
14 (AK)Wail, you ships of Tarshish!
For your strength is laid waste.
15 Now it shall come to pass in that day that Tyre will be forgotten seventy years, according to the days of one king. At the end of seventy years it will happen to Tyre as in the song of the harlot:
16 “Take a harp, go about the city,
You forgotten harlot;
Make sweet melody, sing many songs,
That you may be remembered.”
17 And it shall be, at the end of seventy years, that the Lord will deal with Tyre. She will return to her hire, and (AL)commit fornication with all the kingdoms of the world on the face of the earth. 18 Her gain and her pay (AM)will be set apart for the Lord; it will not be treasured nor laid up, for her gain will be for those who dwell before the Lord, to eat sufficiently, and for [m]fine clothing.
Impending Judgment on the Earth
24 Behold, the Lord makes the earth empty and makes it waste,
Distorts its surface
And scatters abroad its inhabitants.
2 And it shall be:
As with the people, so with the (AN)priest;
As with the servant, so with his master;
As with the maid, so with her mistress;
(AO)As with the buyer, so with the seller;
As with the lender, so with the borrower;
As with the creditor, so with the debtor.
3 The land shall be entirely emptied and utterly plundered,
For the Lord has spoken this word.
4 The earth mourns and fades away,
The world languishes and fades away;
The (AP)haughty[n] people of the earth languish.
5 (AQ)The earth is also defiled under its inhabitants,
Because they have (AR)transgressed the laws,
Changed the ordinance,
Broken the (AS)everlasting covenant.
6 Therefore (AT)the curse has devoured the earth,
And those who dwell in it are [o]desolate.
Therefore the inhabitants of the earth are (AU)burned,
And few men are left.
7 (AV)The new wine fails, the vine languishes,
All the merry-hearted sigh.
8 The mirth (AW)of the tambourine ceases,
The noise of the jubilant ends,
The joy of the harp ceases.
9 They shall not drink wine with a song;
Strong drink is bitter to those who drink it.
10 The city of confusion is broken down;
Every house is shut up, so that none may go in.
11 There is a cry for wine in the streets,
All joy is darkened,
The mirth of the land is gone.
12 In the city desolation is left,
And the gate is stricken with destruction.
13 When it shall be thus in the midst of the land among the people,
(AX)It shall be like the shaking of an olive tree,
Like the gleaning of grapes when the vintage is done.
14 They shall lift up their voice, they shall sing;
For the majesty of the Lord
They shall cry aloud from the sea.
15 Therefore (AY)glorify the Lord in the dawning light,
(AZ)The name of the Lord God of Israel in the coastlands of the sea.
16 From the ends of the earth we have heard songs:
“Glory to the righteous!”
But I said, [p]“I am ruined, ruined!
Woe to me!
(BA)The treacherous dealers have dealt treacherously,
Indeed, the treacherous dealers have dealt very treacherously.”
17 (BB)Fear and the pit and the snare
Are upon you, O inhabitant of the earth.
18 And it shall be
That he who flees from the noise of the fear
Shall fall into the pit,
And he who comes up from the midst of the pit
Shall be [q]caught in the snare;
For (BC)the windows from on high are open,
And (BD)the foundations of the earth are shaken.
19 (BE)The earth is violently broken,
The earth is split open,
The earth is shaken exceedingly.
20 The earth shall (BF)reel[r] to and fro like a drunkard,
And shall totter like a hut;
Its transgression shall be heavy upon it,
And it will fall, and not rise again.
21 It shall come to pass in that day
That the Lord will punish on high the host of exalted ones,
And on the earth (BG)the kings of the earth.
22 They will be gathered together,
As prisoners are gathered in the [s]pit,
And will be shut up in the prison;
After many days they will be punished.
23 Then the (BH)moon will be disgraced
And the sun ashamed;
For the Lord of hosts will (BI)reign
On (BJ)Mount Zion and in Jerusalem
And before His elders, gloriously.
Praise to God
25 O Lord, You are my God.
(BK)I will exalt You,
I will praise Your name,
(BL)For You have done wonderful things;
(BM)Your counsels of old are faithfulness and truth.
2 For You have made (BN)a city a ruin,
A fortified city a ruin,
A palace of foreigners to be a city no more;
It will never be rebuilt.
3 Therefore the strong people will (BO)glorify You;
The city of the [t]terrible nations will fear You.
4 For You have been a strength to the poor,
A strength to the needy in his distress,
(BP)A refuge from the storm,
A shade from the heat;
For the blast of the terrible ones is as a storm against the wall.
5 You will reduce the noise of aliens,
As heat in a dry place;
As heat in the shadow of a cloud,
The song of the terrible ones will be [u]diminished.
6 And in (BQ)this mountain
(BR)The Lord of hosts will make for (BS)all people
A feast of [v]choice pieces,
A feast of [w]wines on the lees,
Of fat things full of marrow,
Of well-refined wines on the lees.
7 And He will destroy on this mountain
The surface of the covering cast over all people,
And (BT)the veil that is spread over all nations.
8 He will (BU)swallow up death forever,
And the Lord God will (BV)wipe away tears from all faces;
The rebuke of His people
He will take away from all the earth;
For the Lord has spoken.
9 And it will be said in that day:
“Behold, this is our God;
(BW)We have waited for Him, and He will save us.
This is the Lord;
We have waited for Him;
(BX)We will be glad and rejoice in His salvation.”
10 For on this mountain the hand of the Lord will rest,
And (BY)Moab shall be trampled down under Him,
As straw is trampled down for the refuse heap.
11 And He will spread out His hands in their midst
As a swimmer reaches out to swim,
And He will bring down their (BZ)pride
Together with the trickery of their hands.
12 The (CA)fortress of the high fort of your walls
He will bring down, lay low,
And bring to the ground, down to the dust.
A Song of Salvation
26 In (CB)that day this song will be sung in the land of Judah:
“We have a strong city;
(CC)God will appoint salvation for walls and bulwarks.
2 (CD)Open the gates,
That the righteous nation which [x]keeps the truth may enter in.
3 You will keep him in perfect (CE)peace,
Whose mind is stayed on You,
Because he trusts in You.
4 Trust in the Lord forever,
(CF)For in Yah, the Lord, is [y]everlasting strength.
5 For He brings [z]down those who dwell on high,
(CG)The lofty city;
He lays it low,
He lays it low to the ground,
He brings it down to the dust.
6 The foot shall [aa]tread it down—
The feet of the poor
And the steps of the needy.”
7 The way of the just is uprightness;
(CH)O Most Upright,
You [ab]weigh the path of the just.
8 Yes, (CI)in the way of Your judgments,
O Lord, we have (CJ)waited for You;
The desire of our soul is for Your name
And for the remembrance of You.
9 (CK)With my soul I have desired You in the night,
Yes, by my spirit within me I will seek You early;
For when Your judgments are in the earth,
The inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness.
10 (CL)Let grace be shown to the wicked,
Yet he will not learn righteousness;
In (CM)the land of uprightness he will deal unjustly,
And will not behold the majesty of the Lord.
11 Lord, when Your hand is lifted up, (CN)they will not see.
But they will see and be ashamed
For [ac]their envy of people;
Yes, the fire of Your enemies shall devour them.
12 Lord, You will establish peace for us,
For You have also done all our works [ad]in us.
13 O Lord our God, (CO)masters besides You
Have had dominion over us;
But by You only we make mention of Your name.
14 They are dead, they will not live;
They are deceased, they will not rise.
Therefore You have punished and destroyed them,
And made all their memory to (CP)perish.
15 You have increased the nation, O Lord,
You have (CQ)increased the nation;
You are glorified;
You have expanded all the [ae]borders of the land.
16 Lord, (CR)in trouble they have visited You,
They poured out a prayer when Your chastening was upon them.
17 As (CS)a woman with child
Is in pain and cries out in her [af]pangs,
When she draws near the time of her delivery,
So have we been in Your sight, O Lord.
18 We have been with child, we have been in pain;
We have, as it were, [ag]brought forth wind;
We have not accomplished any deliverance in the earth,
Nor have (CT)the inhabitants of the world fallen.
19 (CU)Your dead shall live;
Together with [ah]my dead body they shall arise.
(CV)Awake and sing, you who dwell in dust;
For your dew is like the dew of herbs,
And the earth shall cast out the dead.
Take Refuge from the Coming Judgment
20 Come, my people, (CW)enter your chambers,
And shut your doors behind you;
Hide yourself, as it were, (CX)for a little moment,
Until the indignation is past.
21 For behold, the Lord (CY)comes out of His place
To punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity;
The earth will also disclose her [ai]blood,
And will no more cover her slain.
Israel Will Be Restored
27 In that day the Lord with His severe sword, great and strong,
Will punish Leviathan the fleeing serpent,
(CZ)Leviathan that twisted serpent;
And He will slay (DA)the reptile that is in the sea.
The Restoration of Israel
2 In that day (DB)sing to her,
(DC)“A vineyard of [aj]red wine!
3 (DD)I, the Lord, keep it,
I water it every moment;
Lest any hurt it,
I keep it night and day.
4 Fury is not in Me.
Who would set (DE)briers and thorns
Against Me in battle?
I would go through them,
I would burn them together.
5 Or let him take hold (DF)of My strength,
That he may (DG)make peace with Me;
And he shall make peace with Me.”
6 Those who come He shall cause (DH)to take root in Jacob;
Israel shall blossom and bud,
And fill the face of the world with fruit.
7 (DI)Has He struck [ak]Israel as He struck those who struck him?
Or has He been slain according to the slaughter of those who were slain by Him?
8 (DJ)In measure, by sending it away,
You contended with it.
(DK)He removes it by His rough wind
In the day of the east wind.
9 Therefore by this the iniquity of Jacob will be covered;
And this is all the fruit of taking away his sin:
When he makes all the stones of the altar
Like chalkstones that are beaten to dust,
[al]Wooden images and incense altars shall not stand.
10 Yet the fortified city will be (DL)desolate,
The habitation forsaken and left like a wilderness;
There the calf will feed, and there it will lie down
And consume its branches.
11 When its boughs are withered, they will be broken off;
The women come and set them on fire.
For (DM)it is a people of no understanding;
Therefore He who made them will (DN)not have mercy on them,
And (DO)He who formed them will show them no favor.
12 And it shall come to pass in that day
That the Lord will thresh,
From the channel of [am]the River to the Brook of Egypt;
And you will be (DP)gathered one by one,
O you children of Israel.
13 (DQ)So it shall be in that day:
(DR)The great trumpet will be blown;
They will come, who are about to perish in the land of Assyria,
And they who are outcasts in the land of (DS)Egypt,
And shall (DT)worship the Lord in the holy mount at Jerusalem.
Woe to Ephraim and Jerusalem
28 Woe to the crown of pride, to the drunkards of Ephraim,
Whose glorious beauty is a fading flower
Which is at the head of the [an]verdant valleys,
To those who are overcome with wine!
2 Behold, the Lord has a mighty and strong one,
(DU)Like a tempest of hail and a destroying storm,
Like a flood of mighty waters overflowing,
Who will bring them down to the earth with His hand.
3 The crown of pride, the drunkards of Ephraim,
Will be trampled underfoot;
4 And the glorious beauty is a fading flower
Which is at the head of the [ao]verdant valley,
Like the first fruit before the summer,
Which an observer sees;
He eats it up while it is still in his hand.
5 In that day the Lord of hosts will be
For a crown of glory and a diadem of beauty
To the remnant of His people,
6 For a spirit of justice to him who sits in judgment,
And for strength to those who turn back the battle at the gate.
7 But they also (DV)have erred through wine,
And through intoxicating drink are out of the way;
(DW)The priest and the prophet have erred through intoxicating drink,
They are swallowed up by wine,
They are out of the way through intoxicating drink;
They err in vision, they stumble in judgment.
8 For all tables are full of vomit and filth;
No place is clean.
9 “Whom(DX) will he teach knowledge?
And whom will he make to understand the message?
Those just weaned from milk?
Those just drawn from the breasts?
10 (DY)For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept,
Line upon line, line upon line,
Here a little, there a little.”
11 For with (DZ)stammering lips and another tongue
He will speak to this people,
12 To whom He said, “This is the (EA)rest with which
You may cause the weary to rest,”
And, “This is the refreshing”;
Yet they would not hear.
13 But the word of the Lord was to them,
“Precept upon precept, precept upon precept,
Line upon line, line upon line,
Here a little, there a little,”
That they might go and fall backward, and be broken
And snared and caught.
14 Therefore hear the word of the Lord, you scornful men,
Who rule this people who are in Jerusalem,
15 Because you have said, “We have made a covenant with death,
And with Sheol we are in agreement.
When the overflowing scourge passes through,
It will not come to us,
(EB)For we have made lies our refuge,
And under falsehood we have hidden ourselves.”
A Cornerstone in Zion
16 Therefore thus says the Lord God:
“Behold, I lay in Zion (EC)a stone for a foundation,
A tried stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation;
Whoever believes will not act hastily.
17 Also I will make justice the measuring line,
And righteousness the plummet;
The hail will sweep away the refuge of lies,
And the waters will overflow the hiding place.
18 Your covenant with death will be annulled,
And your agreement with Sheol will not stand;
When the overflowing scourge passes through,
Then you will be trampled down by it.
19 As often as it goes out it will take you;
For morning by morning it will pass over,
And by day and by night;
It will be a terror just to understand the report.”
20 For the bed is too short to stretch out on,
And the covering so narrow that one cannot wrap himself in it.
21 For the Lord will rise up as at Mount (ED)Perazim,
He will be angry as in the Valley of (EE)Gibeon—
That He may do His work, (EF)His awesome work,
And bring to pass His act, His [ap]unusual act.
22 Now therefore, do not be mockers,
Lest your bonds be made strong;
For I have heard from the Lord God of hosts,
(EG)A [aq]destruction determined even upon the whole earth.
Listen to the Teaching of God
23 Give ear and hear my voice,
Listen and hear my speech.
24 Does the plowman keep plowing all day to sow?
Does he keep turning his soil and breaking the clods?
25 When he has leveled its surface,
Does he not sow the black cummin
And scatter the cummin,
Plant the wheat in rows,
The barley in the appointed place,
And the [ar]spelt in its place?
26 For He instructs him in right judgment,
His God teaches him.
27 For the black cummin is not threshed with a threshing sledge,
Nor is a cartwheel rolled over the cummin;
But the black cummin is beaten out with a stick,
And the cummin with a rod.
28 Bread flour must be ground;
Therefore he does not thresh it forever,
Break it with his cartwheel,
Or crush it with his horsemen.
29 This also comes from the Lord of hosts,
(EH)Who is wonderful in counsel and excellent in [as]guidance.
Woe to Jerusalem
29 “Woe (EI)to [at]Ariel, to Ariel, the city (EJ)where David dwelt!
Add year to year;
Let feasts come around.
2 Yet I will distress Ariel;
There shall be heaviness and sorrow,
And it shall be to Me as Ariel.
3 I will encamp against you all around,
I will lay siege against you with a mound,
And I will raise siegeworks against you.
4 You shall be brought down,
You shall speak out of the ground;
Your speech shall be low, out of the dust;
Your voice shall be like a medium’s, (EK)out of the ground;
And your speech shall whisper out of the dust.
5 “Moreover the multitude of your (EL)foes
Shall be like fine dust,
And the multitude of the terrible ones
Like (EM)chaff that passes away;
Yes, it shall be (EN)in an instant, suddenly.
6 (EO)You will be punished by the Lord of hosts
With thunder and (EP)earthquake and great noise,
With storm and tempest
And the flame of devouring fire.
7 (EQ)The multitude of all the nations who fight against [au]Ariel,
Even all who fight against her and her fortress,
And distress her,
Shall be (ER)as a dream of a night vision.
8 (ES)It shall even be as when a hungry man dreams,
And look—he eats;
But he awakes, and his soul is still empty;
Or as when a thirsty man dreams,
And look—he drinks;
But he awakes, and indeed he is faint,
And his soul still craves:
So the multitude of all the nations shall be,
Who fight against Mount Zion.”
The Blindness of Disobedience
9 Pause and wonder!
Blind yourselves and be blind!
(ET)They are drunk, (EU)but not with wine;
They stagger, but not with intoxicating drink.
10 For (EV)the Lord has poured out on you
The spirit of deep sleep,
And has (EW)closed your eyes, namely, the prophets;
And He has covered your heads, namely, (EX)the seers.
11 The whole vision has become to you like the words of a [av]book (EY)that is sealed, which men deliver to one who is literate, saying, “Read this, please.”
(EZ)And he says, “I cannot, for it is sealed.”
12 Then the book is delivered to one who [aw]is illiterate, saying, “Read this, please.”
And he says, “I am not literate.”
13 Therefore the Lord said:
(FA)“Inasmuch as these people draw near with their mouths
And honor Me (FB)with their lips,
But have removed their hearts far from Me,
And their fear toward Me is taught by the commandment of men,
14 (FC)Therefore, behold, I will again do a marvelous work
Among this people,
A marvelous work and a wonder;
(FD)For the wisdom of their wise men shall perish,
And the understanding of their prudent men shall be hidden.”
15 (FE)Woe to those who seek deep to hide their counsel far from the Lord,
And their works are in the dark;
(FF)They say, “Who sees us?” and, “Who knows us?”
16 Surely you have things turned around!
Shall the potter be esteemed as the clay;
For shall the (FG)thing made say of him who made it,
“He did not make me”?
Or shall the thing formed say of him who formed it,
“He has no understanding”?
Future Recovery of Wisdom
17 Is it not yet a very little while
Till (FH)Lebanon shall be turned into a fruitful field,
And the fruitful field be esteemed as a forest?
18 (FI)In that day the deaf shall hear the words of the book,
And the eyes of the blind shall see out of obscurity and out of darkness.
19 (FJ)The humble also shall increase their joy in the Lord,
And (FK)the poor among men shall rejoice
In the Holy One of Israel.
20 For the [ax]terrible one is brought to nothing,
(FL)The scornful one is consumed,
And all who (FM)watch for iniquity are cut off—
21 Who make a man an offender by a word,
And (FN)lay a snare for him who reproves in the gate,
And turn aside the just (FO)by empty words.
22 Therefore thus says the Lord, (FP)who redeemed Abraham, concerning the house of Jacob:
“Jacob shall not now be (FQ)ashamed,
Nor shall his face now grow pale;
23 But when he sees his children,
(FR)The work of My hands, in his midst,
They will hallow My name,
And hallow the Holy One of Jacob,
And fear the God of Israel.
24 These also (FS)who erred in spirit will come to understanding,
And those who complained will learn doctrine.”
Futile Confidence in Egypt
30 “Woe to the rebellious children,” says the Lord,
(FT)“Who take counsel, but not of Me,
And who [ay]devise plans, but not of My Spirit,
(FU)That they may add sin to sin;
2 (FV)Who walk to go down to Egypt,
And (FW)have not asked My advice,
To strengthen themselves in the strength of Pharaoh,
And to trust in the shadow of Egypt!
3 (FX)Therefore the strength of Pharaoh
Shall be your shame,
And trust in the shadow of Egypt
Shall be your humiliation.
4 For his princes were at (FY)Zoan,
And his ambassadors came to Hanes.
5 (FZ)They were all ashamed of a people who could not benefit them,
Or be help or benefit,
But a shame and also a reproach.”
6 (GA)The [az]burden against the beasts of the South.
Through a land of trouble and anguish,
From which came the lioness and lion,
(GB)The viper and fiery flying serpent,
They will carry their riches on the backs of young donkeys,
And their treasures on the humps of camels,
To a people who shall not profit;
7 (GC)For the Egyptians shall help in vain and to no purpose.
Therefore I have called her
[ba]Rahab-Hem-Shebeth.
A Rebellious People
8 Now go, (GD)write it before them on a tablet,
And note it on a scroll,
That it may be for time to come,
Forever and ever:
9 That (GE)this is a rebellious people,
Lying children,
Children who will not hear the law of the Lord;
10 (GF)Who say to the seers, “Do not see,”
And to the prophets, “Do not prophesy to us right things;
(GG)Speak to us smooth things, prophesy deceits.
11 Get out of the way,
Turn aside from the path,
Cause the Holy One of Israel
To cease from before us.”
12 Therefore thus says the Holy One of Israel:
“Because you (GH)despise this word,
And trust in oppression and perversity,
And rely on them,
13 Therefore this iniquity shall be to you
(GI)Like a breach ready to fall,
A bulge in a high wall,
Whose breaking (GJ)comes suddenly, in an instant.
14 And (GK)He shall break it like the breaking of the potter’s vessel,
Which is broken in pieces;
He shall not spare.
So there shall not be found among its fragments
[bb]A shard to take fire from the hearth,
Or to take water from the cistern.”
15 For thus says the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel:
(GL)“In returning and rest you shall be saved;
In quietness and confidence shall be your strength.”
(GM)But you would not,
16 And you said, “No, for we will flee on horses”—
Therefore you shall flee!
And, “We will ride on swift horses”—
Therefore those who pursue you shall be swift!
17 (GN)One thousand shall flee at the threat of one,
At the threat of five you shall flee,
Till you are left as a [bc]pole on top of a mountain
And as a banner on a hill.
God Will Be Gracious
18 Therefore the Lord will wait, that He may be (GO)gracious to you;
And therefore He will be exalted, that He may have mercy on you.
For the Lord is a God of justice;
(GP)Blessed are all those who (GQ)wait for Him.
19 For the people (GR)shall dwell in Zion at Jerusalem;
You shall (GS)weep no more.
He will be very gracious to you at the sound of your cry;
When He hears it, He will (GT)answer you.
20 And though the Lord gives you
(GU)The bread of adversity and the water of [bd]affliction,
Yet (GV)your teachers will not be moved into a corner anymore,
But your eyes shall see your teachers.
21 Your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying,
“This is the way, walk in it,”
Whenever you (GW)turn to the right hand
Or whenever you turn to the left.
22 (GX)You will also defile the covering of your images of silver,
And the ornament of your molded images of gold.
You will throw them away as an unclean thing;
(GY)You will say to them, “Get away!”
23 (GZ)Then He will give the rain for your seed
With which you sow the ground,
And bread of the increase of the earth;
It will be [be]fat and plentiful.
In that day your cattle will feed
In large pastures.
24 Likewise the oxen and the young donkeys that work the ground
Will eat cured fodder,
Which has been winnowed with the shovel and fan.
25 There will be (HA)on every high mountain
And on every high hill
Rivers and streams of waters,
In the day of the (HB)great slaughter,
When the towers fall.
26 Moreover (HC)the light of the moon will be as the light of the sun,
And the light of the sun will be sevenfold,
As the light of seven days,
In the day that the Lord binds up the bruise of His people
And heals the stroke of their wound.
Judgment on Assyria
27 Behold, the name of the Lord comes from afar,
Burning with His anger,
And His burden is heavy;
His lips are full of indignation,
And His tongue like a devouring fire.
28 (HD)His breath is like an overflowing stream,
(HE)Which reaches up to the neck,
To sift the nations with the sieve of futility;
And there shall be (HF)a bridle in the jaws of the people,
Causing them to err.
29 You shall have a song
As in the night when a holy festival is kept,
And gladness of heart as when one goes with a flute,
To come into (HG)the mountain of the Lord,
To [bf]the Mighty One of Israel.
30 (HH)The Lord will cause His glorious voice to be heard,
And show the descent of His arm,
With the indignation of His anger
And the flame of a devouring fire,
With scattering, tempest, (HI)and hailstones.
31 For (HJ)through the voice of the Lord
Assyria will be [bg]beaten down,
As He strikes with the (HK)rod.
32 And in every place where the staff of punishment passes,
Which the Lord lays on him,
It will be with tambourines and harps;
And in battles of (HL)brandishing He will fight with it.
33 (HM)For Tophet was established of old,
Yes, for the king it is prepared.
He has made it deep and large;
Its pyre is fire with much wood;
The breath of the Lord, like a stream of brimstone,
Kindles it.
The Folly of Not Trusting God
31 Woe to those (HN)who go down to Egypt for help,
And (HO)rely on horses,
Who trust in chariots because they are many,
And in horsemen because they are very strong,
But who do not look to the Holy One of Israel,
(HP)Nor seek the Lord!
2 Yet He also is wise and will bring disaster,
And (HQ)will not [bh]call back His words,
But will arise against the house of evildoers,
And against the help of those who work iniquity.
3 Now the Egyptians are men, and not God;
And their horses are flesh, and not spirit.
When the Lord stretches out His hand,
Both he who helps will fall,
And he who is helped will fall down;
They all will perish (HR)together.
God Will Deliver Jerusalem
4 For thus the Lord has spoken to me:
(HS)“As a lion roars,
And a young lion over his prey
(When a multitude of shepherds is summoned against him,
He will not be afraid of their voice
Nor be disturbed by their noise),
So the Lord of hosts will come down
To fight for Mount Zion and for its hill.
5 (HT)Like birds flying about,
So will the Lord of hosts defend Jerusalem.
Defending, He will also deliver it;
Passing over, He will preserve it.”
6 Return to Him against whom the children of Israel have (HU)deeply revolted. 7 For in that day every man shall (HV)throw away his idols of silver and his idols of gold—(HW)sin, which your own hands have made for yourselves.
8 “Then Assyria shall (HX)fall by a sword not of man,
And a sword not of mankind shall (HY)devour him.
But he shall flee from the sword,
And his young men shall become forced labor.
9 (HZ)He shall cross over to his stronghold for fear,
And his princes shall be afraid of the banner,”
Says the Lord,
Whose fire is in Zion
And whose furnace is in Jerusalem.
A Reign of Righteousness
32 Behold, (IA)a king will reign in righteousness,
And princes will rule with justice.
2 A man will be as a hiding place from the wind,
And (IB)a [bi]cover from the tempest,
As rivers of water in a dry place,
As the shadow of a great rock in a weary land.
3 (IC)The eyes of those who see will not be dim,
And the ears of those who hear will listen.
4 Also the heart of the [bj]rash will (ID)understand knowledge,
And the tongue of the stammerers will be ready to speak plainly.
5 The foolish person will no longer be called [bk]generous,
Nor the miser said to be bountiful;
6 For the foolish person will speak foolishness,
And his heart will work (IE)iniquity:
To practice ungodliness,
To utter error against the Lord,
To keep the hungry unsatisfied,
And he will cause the drink of the thirsty to fail.
7 Also the schemes of the schemer are evil;
He devises wicked plans
To destroy the poor with (IF)lying words,
Even when the needy speaks justice.
8 But a [bl]generous man devises generous things,
And by generosity he shall stand.
Consequences of Complacency
9 Rise up, you women (IG)who are at ease,
Hear my voice;
You complacent daughters,
Give ear to my speech.
10 In a year and some days
You will be troubled, you complacent women;
For the vintage will fail,
The gathering will not come.
11 Tremble, you women who are at ease;
Be troubled, you complacent ones;
Strip yourselves, make yourselves bare,
And gird sackcloth on your waists.
12 People shall mourn upon their breasts
For the pleasant fields, for the fruitful vine.
13 (IH)On the land of my people will come up thorns and briers,
Yes, on all the happy homes in (II)the joyous city;
14 (IJ)Because the palaces will be forsaken,
The bustling city will be deserted.
The forts and towers will become lairs forever,
A joy of wild donkeys, a pasture of flocks—
15 Until (IK)the Spirit is poured upon us from on high,
And (IL)the wilderness becomes a fruitful field,
And the fruitful field is counted as a forest.
The Peace of God’s Reign
16 Then justice will dwell in the wilderness,
And righteousness remain in the fruitful field.
17 (IM)The work of righteousness will be peace,
And the effect of righteousness, quietness and assurance forever.
18 My people will dwell in a peaceful habitation,
In secure dwellings, and in quiet (IN)resting places,
19 (IO)Though hail comes down (IP)on the forest,
And the city is brought low in humiliation.
20 Blessed are you who sow beside all waters,
Who send out freely the feet of (IQ)the ox and the donkey.
A Prayer in Deep Distress
33 Woe to you (IR)who plunder, though you have not been plundered;
And you who deal treacherously, though they have not dealt treacherously with you!
(IS)When you cease plundering,
You will be (IT)plundered;
When you make an end of dealing treacherously,
They will deal treacherously with you.
2 O Lord, be gracious to us;
(IU)We have waited for You.
Be [bm]their arm every morning,
Our salvation also in the time of trouble.
3 At the noise of the tumult the people (IV)shall flee;
When You lift Yourself up, the nations shall be scattered;
4 And Your plunder shall be gathered
Like the gathering of the caterpillar;
As the running to and fro of locusts,
He shall run upon them.
5 (IW)The Lord is exalted, for He dwells on high;
He has filled Zion with justice and righteousness.
6 Wisdom and knowledge will be the stability of your times,
And the strength of salvation;
The fear of the Lord is His treasure.
7 Surely their valiant ones shall cry outside,
(IX)The ambassadors of peace shall weep bitterly.
8 (IY)The highways lie waste,
The traveling man ceases.
(IZ)He has broken the covenant,
[bn]He has despised the [bo]cities,
He regards no man.
9 (JA)The earth mourns and languishes,
Lebanon is shamed and shriveled;
Sharon is like a wilderness,
And Bashan and Carmel shake off their fruits.
Impending Judgment on Zion
10 “Now(JB) I will rise,” says the Lord;
“Now I will be exalted,
Now I will lift Myself up.
11 (JC)You shall conceive chaff,
You shall bring forth stubble;
Your breath, as fire, shall devour you.
12 And the people shall be like the burnings of lime;
(JD)Like thorns cut up they shall be burned in the fire.
13 Hear, (JE)you who are afar off, what I have done;
And you who are near, acknowledge My might.”
14 The sinners in Zion are afraid;
Fearfulness has seized the hypocrites:
“Who among us shall dwell with the devouring (JF)fire?
Who among us shall dwell with everlasting burnings?”
15 He who (JG)walks righteously and speaks uprightly,
He who despises the gain of oppressions,
Who gestures with his hands, refusing bribes,
Who stops his ears from hearing of bloodshed,
And (JH)shuts his eyes from seeing evil:
16 He will dwell on [bp]high;
His place of defense will be the fortress of rocks;
Bread will be given him,
His water will be sure.
The Land of the Majestic King
17 Your eyes will see the King in His (JI)beauty;
They will see the land that is very far off.
18 Your heart will meditate on terror:
(JJ)“Where is the scribe?
Where is he who weighs?
Where is he who counts the towers?”
19 (JK)You will not see a fierce people,
(JL)A people of obscure speech, beyond perception,
Of a [bq]stammering tongue that you cannot understand.
20 (JM)Look upon Zion, the city of our appointed feasts;
Your eyes will see (JN)Jerusalem, a quiet home,
A tabernacle that will not be taken down;
(JO)Not one of (JP)its stakes will ever be removed,
Nor will any of its cords be broken.
21 But there the majestic Lord will be for us
A place of broad rivers and streams,
In which no [br]galley with oars will sail,
Nor majestic ships pass by
22 (For the Lord is our (JQ)Judge,
The Lord is our (JR)Lawgiver,
(JS)The Lord is our King;
He will save us);
23 Your tackle is loosed,
They could not strengthen their mast,
They could not spread the sail.
Then the prey of great plunder is divided;
The lame take the prey.
24 And the inhabitant will not say, “I am sick”;
(JT)The people who dwell in it will be forgiven their iniquity.
Judgment on the Nations
34 Come (JU)near, you nations, to hear;
And heed, you people!
(JV)Let the earth hear, and all that is in it,
The world and all things that come forth from it.
2 For the indignation of the Lord is against all nations,
And His fury against all their armies;
He has utterly destroyed them,
He has given them over to the (JW)slaughter.
3 Also their slain shall be thrown out;
(JX)Their stench shall rise from their corpses,
And the mountains shall be melted with their blood.
4 (JY)All the host of heaven shall be dissolved,
And the heavens shall be rolled up like a scroll;
(JZ)All their host shall fall down
As the leaf falls from the vine,
And as (KA)fruit falling from a fig tree.
5 “For (KB)My sword shall be bathed in heaven;
Indeed it (KC)shall come down on Edom,
And on the people of My curse, for judgment.
6 The (KD)sword of the Lord is filled with blood,
It is made [bs]overflowing with fatness,
With the blood of lambs and goats,
With the fat of the kidneys of rams.
For (KE)the Lord has a sacrifice in Bozrah,
And a great slaughter in the land of Edom.
7 The wild oxen shall come down with them,
And the young bulls with the mighty bulls;
Their land shall be soaked with blood,
And their dust [bt]saturated with fatness.”
8 For it is the day of the Lord’s (KF)vengeance,
The year of recompense for the cause of Zion.
9 (KG)Its streams shall be turned into pitch,
And its dust into brimstone;
Its land shall become burning pitch.
10 It shall not be quenched night or day;
(KH)Its smoke shall ascend forever.
(KI)From generation to generation it shall lie waste;
No one shall pass through it forever and ever.
11 (KJ)But the [bu]pelican and the [bv]porcupine shall possess it,
Also the owl and the raven shall dwell in it.
And (KK)He shall stretch out over it
The line of confusion and the stones of emptiness.
12 They shall call its nobles to the kingdom,
But none shall be there, and all its princes shall be nothing.
13 And (KL)thorns shall come up in its palaces,
Nettles and brambles in its fortresses;
(KM)It shall be a habitation of jackals,
A courtyard for ostriches.
14 The wild beasts of the desert shall also meet with the [bw]jackals,
And the wild goat shall bleat to its companion;
Also [bx]the night creature shall rest there,
And find for herself a place of rest.
15 There the arrow snake shall make her nest and lay eggs
And hatch, and gather them under her shadow;
There also shall the hawks be gathered,
Every one with her mate.
16 “Search from (KN)the book of the Lord, and read:
Not one of these shall fail;
Not one shall lack her mate.
For My mouth has commanded it, and His Spirit has gathered them.
17 He has cast the lot for them,
And His hand has divided it among them with a measuring line.
They shall possess it forever;
From generation to generation they shall dwell in it.”
The Future Glory of Zion
35 The (KO)wilderness and the [by]wasteland shall be glad for them,
And the (KP)desert[bz] shall rejoice and blossom as the rose;
2 (KQ)It shall blossom abundantly and rejoice,
Even with joy and singing.
The glory of Lebanon shall be given to it,
The excellence of Carmel and Sharon.
They shall see the (KR)glory of the Lord,
The excellency of our God.
3 (KS)Strengthen the [ca]weak hands,
And make firm the [cb]feeble knees.
4 Say to those who are fearful-hearted,
“Be strong, do not fear!
Behold, your God will come with (KT)vengeance,
With the recompense of God;
He will come and (KU)save you.”
5 Then the (KV)eyes of the blind shall be opened,
And (KW)the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped.
6 Then the (KX)lame shall leap like a deer,
And the (KY)tongue of the dumb sing.
For (KZ)waters shall burst forth in the wilderness,
And streams in the desert.
7 The parched ground shall become a pool,
And the thirsty land springs of water;
In (LA)the habitation of jackals, where each lay,
There shall be grass with reeds and rushes.
8 A (LB)highway shall be there, and a road,
And it shall be called the Highway of Holiness.
(LC)The unclean shall not pass over it,
But it shall be for others.
Whoever walks the road, although a fool,
Shall not go astray.
9 (LD)No lion shall be there,
Nor shall any ravenous beast go up on it;
It shall not be found there.
But the redeemed shall walk there,
10 And the (LE)ransomed of the Lord shall return,
And come to Zion with singing,
With everlasting joy on their heads.
They shall obtain joy and gladness,
And (LF)sorrow and sighing shall flee away.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 22:1 oracle, prophecy
- Isaiah 22:2 boisterous
- Isaiah 22:8 Lit. covering
- Isaiah 22:9 Lit. breaches in the city walls
- Isaiah 22:19 LXX omits he will pull you down; Syr., Tg., Vg. I will pull you down
- Isaiah 23:1 oracle, prophecy
- Isaiah 23:1 Heb. Kittim, western lands, especially Cyprus
- Isaiah 23:2 So with MT, Vg.; LXX, Tg. Passing over the water; DSS Your messengers passing over the sea
- Isaiah 23:3 The Nile
- Isaiah 23:9 pollute
- Isaiah 23:10 The Nile
- Isaiah 23:10 restraint, lit. belt
- Isaiah 23:18 choice
- Isaiah 24:4 proud
- Isaiah 24:6 Or held guilty
- Isaiah 24:16 Lit. Leanness to me, leanness to me
- Isaiah 24:18 Lit. taken
- Isaiah 24:20 stagger
- Isaiah 24:22 dungeon
- Isaiah 25:3 terrifying
- Isaiah 25:5 humbled
- Isaiah 25:6 Lit. fat things
- Isaiah 25:6 wines matured on the sediment
- Isaiah 26:2 Or remains faithful
- Isaiah 26:4 Or Rock of Ages
- Isaiah 26:5 low
- Isaiah 26:6 trample
- Isaiah 26:7 Or make level
- Isaiah 26:11 Or Your zeal for the people
- Isaiah 26:12 Or for us
- Isaiah 26:15 Or ends
- Isaiah 26:17 sharp pains
- Isaiah 26:18 given birth to
- Isaiah 26:19 So with MT, Vg.; Syr., Tg. their dead bodies; LXX those in the tombs
- Isaiah 26:21 Or bloodshed
- Isaiah 27:2 So with MT (Kittel’s Biblia Hebraica), Bg., Vg.; MT (Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia), some Heb. mss., LXX delight; Tg. choice vineyard
- Isaiah 27:7 Lit. him
- Isaiah 27:9 Heb. Asherim, Canaanite deities
- Isaiah 27:12 The Euphrates
- Isaiah 28:1 Lit. valleys of fatness
- Isaiah 28:4 Lit. valley of fatness
- Isaiah 28:21 Lit. foreign
- Isaiah 28:22 Lit. complete end
- Isaiah 28:25 rye
- Isaiah 28:29 sound wisdom
- Isaiah 29:1 Jerusalem, lit. Lion of God
- Isaiah 29:7 Jerusalem
- Isaiah 29:11 scroll
- Isaiah 29:12 Lit. does not know books
- Isaiah 29:20 terrifying
- Isaiah 30:1 Lit. weave a web
- Isaiah 30:6 oracle, prophecy
- Isaiah 30:7 Lit. Rahab Sits Idle
- Isaiah 30:14 A piece of broken pottery
- Isaiah 30:17 A tree stripped of branches
- Isaiah 30:20 oppression
- Isaiah 30:23 rich
- Isaiah 30:29 Lit. the Rock
- Isaiah 30:31 Lit. shattered
- Isaiah 31:2 retract
- Isaiah 32:2 shelter
- Isaiah 32:4 hasty
- Isaiah 32:5 noble
- Isaiah 32:8 noble
- Isaiah 33:2 LXX omits their; Syr., Tg., Vg. our
- Isaiah 33:8 Tg. They have been removed from their cities
- Isaiah 33:8 So with MT, Vg.; DSS witnesses; LXX omits cities
- Isaiah 33:16 Lit. heights
- Isaiah 33:19 Unintelligible speech
- Isaiah 33:21 ship
- Isaiah 34:6 Lit. fat
- Isaiah 34:7 Lit. made fat
- Isaiah 34:11 Or owl
- Isaiah 34:11 Or hedgehog
- Isaiah 34:14 Lit. howling creatures
- Isaiah 34:14 Heb. lilith
- Isaiah 35:1 desert
- Isaiah 35:1 Heb. arabah
- Isaiah 35:3 Lit. sinking
- Isaiah 35:3 tottering or stumbling
Hebrews 12-13
New King James Version
The Race of Faith
12 Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, (A)let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and (B)let us run (C)with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 looking unto Jesus, the [a]author and [b]finisher of our faith, (D)who for the joy that was set before Him (E)endured the cross, despising the shame, and (F)has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
The Discipline of God(G)
3 (H)For consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, (I)lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls. 4 (J)You have not yet resisted to bloodshed, striving against sin. 5 And you have forgotten the exhortation which speaks to you as to sons:
(K)“My son, do not despise the [c]chastening of the Lord,
Nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him;
6 For (L)whom the Lord loves He chastens,
And scourges every son whom He receives.”
7 (M)If[d] you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons; for what (N)son is there whom a father does not chasten? 8 But if you are without chastening, (O)of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate and not sons. 9 Furthermore, we have had human fathers who corrected us, and we paid them respect. Shall we not much more readily be in subjection to (P)the Father of spirits and live? 10 For they indeed for a few days chastened us as seemed best to them, but He for our profit, (Q)that we may be partakers of His holiness. 11 Now no [e]chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields (R)the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.
Renew Your Spiritual Vitality(S)
12 Therefore (T)strengthen the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees, 13 and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be dislocated, but rather be healed.
14 (U)Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, (V)without which no one will see the Lord: 15 looking carefully lest anyone (W)fall short of the grace of God; lest any (X)root of bitterness springing up cause trouble, and by this many become defiled; 16 lest there be any (Y)fornicator or [f]profane person like Esau, (Z)who for one morsel of food sold his birthright. 17 For you know that afterward, when he wanted to inherit the blessing, he was (AA)rejected, for he found no place for repentance, though he sought it diligently with tears.
The Glorious Company
18 For you have not come [g]to (AB)the mountain that may be touched and that burned with fire, and to blackness and [h]darkness and tempest, 19 and the sound of a trumpet and the voice of words, so that those who heard it (AC)begged that the word should not be spoken to them anymore. 20 (For they could not endure what was commanded: (AD)“And if so much as a beast touches the mountain, it shall be stoned [i]or shot with an arrow.” 21 And so terrifying was the sight that Moses said, (AE)“I am exceedingly afraid and trembling.”)
22 But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to an innumerable company of angels, 23 to the [j]general assembly and church of (AF)the firstborn (AG)who are registered in heaven, to God (AH)the Judge of all, to the spirits of just men (AI)made perfect, 24 to Jesus (AJ)the Mediator of the new covenant, and to (AK)the blood of sprinkling that speaks better things (AL)than that of Abel.
Hear the Heavenly Voice
25 See that you do not refuse Him who speaks. For (AM)if they did not escape who refused Him who spoke on earth, much more shall we not escape if we turn away from Him who speaks from heaven, 26 whose voice then shook the earth; but now He has promised, saying, (AN)“Yet once more I [k]shake not only the earth, but also heaven.” 27 Now this, “Yet once more,” indicates the (AO)removal of those things that are being shaken, as of things that are made, that the things which cannot be shaken may remain.
28 Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace, by which we [l]may (AP)serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear. 29 For (AQ)our God is a consuming fire.
Concluding Moral Directions
13 Let (AR)brotherly love continue. 2 (AS)Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing (AT)some have unwittingly entertained angels. 3 (AU)Remember the prisoners as if chained with them—those who are mistreated—since you yourselves are in the body also.
4 (AV)Marriage is honorable among all, and the bed undefiled; (AW)but fornicators and adulterers God will judge.
5 Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, (AX)“I will never leave you nor forsake you.” 6 So we may boldly say:
(AY)“The Lord is my helper;
I will not fear.
What can man do to me?”
Concluding Religious Directions
7 Remember those who [m]rule over you, who have spoken the word of God to you, whose faith follow, considering the outcome of their conduct. 8 Jesus Christ is (AZ)the same yesterday, today, and forever. 9 Do not be carried [n]about with various and strange doctrines. For it is good that the heart be established by grace, not with foods which have not profited those who have been occupied with them.
10 We have an altar from which those who serve the tabernacle have no right to eat. 11 For the bodies of those animals, whose blood is brought into the sanctuary by the high priest for sin, are burned outside the camp. 12 Therefore Jesus also, that He might [o]sanctify the people with His own blood, suffered outside the gate. 13 Therefore let us go forth to Him, outside the camp, bearing (BA)His reproach. 14 For here we have no continuing city, but we seek the one to come. 15 (BB)Therefore by Him let us continually offer (BC)the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, (BD)the fruit of our lips, [p]giving thanks to His name. 16 (BE)But do not forget to do good and to share, for (BF)with such sacrifices God is well pleased.
17 (BG)Obey those who [q]rule over you, and be submissive, for (BH)they watch out for your souls, as those who must give account. Let them do so with joy and not with grief, for that would be unprofitable for you.
Prayer Requested
18 (BI)Pray for us; for we are confident that we have (BJ)a good conscience, in all things desiring to live honorably. 19 But I especially urge you to do this, that I may be restored to you the sooner.
Benediction, Final Exhortation, Farewell
20 Now may (BK)the God of peace (BL)who brought up our Lord Jesus from the dead, (BM)that great Shepherd of the sheep, (BN)through the blood of the everlasting covenant, 21 make you [r]complete in every good work to do His will, (BO)working in [s]you what is well pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.
22 And I appeal to you, brethren, bear with the word of exhortation, for I have written to you in few words. 23 Know that our brother Timothy has been set free, with whom I shall see you if he comes shortly.
24 Greet all those who [t]rule over you, and all the saints. Those from Italy greet you.
25 Grace be with you all. Amen.
Footnotes
- Hebrews 12:2 originator
- Hebrews 12:2 perfecter
- Hebrews 12:5 discipline
- Hebrews 12:7 NU, M It is for discipline that you endure; God
- Hebrews 12:11 discipline
- Hebrews 12:16 godless
- Hebrews 12:18 NU to that which
- Hebrews 12:18 NU gloom
- Hebrews 12:20 NU, M omit the rest of v. 20.
- Hebrews 12:23 festal gathering
- Hebrews 12:26 NU will shake
- Hebrews 12:28 M omits may
- Hebrews 13:7 lead
- Hebrews 13:9 NU, M away
- Hebrews 13:12 set apart
- Hebrews 13:15 Lit. confessing
- Hebrews 13:17 lead
- Hebrews 13:21 perfect
- Hebrews 13:21 NU, M us
- Hebrews 13:24 lead
James 1-5
New King James Version
Greeting to the Twelve Tribes
1 James, (A)a bondservant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ,
To the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad:
Greetings.
Profiting from Trials
2 My brethren, (B)count it all joy (C)when you fall into various trials, 3 (D)knowing that the testing of your faith produces [a]patience. 4 But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be [b]perfect and complete, lacking nothing. 5 (E)If any of you lacks wisdom, (F)let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and (G)it will be given to him. 6 (H)But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. 7 For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; 8 he is (I)a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.
The Perspective of Rich and Poor
9 Let the lowly brother glory in his exaltation, 10 but the rich in his humiliation, because (J)as a flower of the field he will pass away. 11 For no sooner has the sun risen with a burning heat than it withers the grass; its flower falls, and its beautiful appearance perishes. So the rich man also will fade away in his pursuits.
Loving God Under Trials
12 (K)Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been approved, he will receive (L)the crown of life (M)which the Lord has promised to those who love Him. 13 Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone. 14 But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. 15 Then, (N)when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, (O)brings forth death.
16 Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren. 17 (P)Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, (Q)with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning. 18 (R)Of His own will He brought us forth by the (S)word of truth, (T)that we might be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures.
Qualities Needed in Trials
19 [c]So then, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, (U)slow to speak, (V)slow to wrath; 20 for the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God.
Doers—Not Hearers Only
21 Therefore (W)lay aside all filthiness and [d]overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word, (X)which is able to save your souls.
22 But (Y)be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. 23 For (Z)if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; 24 for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. 25 But (AA)he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, (AB)this one will be blessed in what he does.
26 If anyone [e]among you thinks he is religious, and (AC)does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this one’s religion is useless. 27 (AD)Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: (AE)to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, (AF)and to keep oneself unspotted from the world.
Beware of Personal Favoritism
2 My brethren, do not hold the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, (AG)the Lord of glory, with (AH)partiality. 2 For if there should come into your assembly a man with gold rings, in [f]fine apparel, and there should also come in a poor man in [g]filthy clothes, 3 and you [h]pay attention to the one wearing the fine clothes and say to him, “You sit here in a good place,” and say to the poor man, “You stand there,” or, “Sit here at my footstool,” 4 have you not [i]shown partiality among yourselves, and become judges with evil thoughts?
5 Listen, my beloved brethren: (AI)Has God not chosen the poor of this world to be (AJ)rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom (AK)which He promised to those who love Him? 6 But (AL)you have dishonored the poor man. Do not the rich oppress you (AM)and drag you into the courts? 7 Do they not blaspheme that noble name by which you are (AN)called?
8 If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, (AO)“You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you do well; 9 but if you [j]show partiality, you commit sin, and are convicted by the law as (AP)transgressors. 10 For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet (AQ)stumble in one point, (AR)he is guilty of all. 11 For He who said, (AS)“Do not commit adultery,” also said, (AT)“Do not murder.” Now if you do not commit adultery, but you do murder, you have become a transgressor of the law. 12 So speak and so do as those who will be judged by (AU)the law of liberty. 13 For (AV)judgment is without mercy to the one who has shown (AW)no (AX)mercy. (AY)Mercy triumphs over judgment.
Faith Without Works Is Dead(AZ)
14 (BA)What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him? 15 (BB)If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, 16 and (BC)one of you says to them, “Depart in peace, be warmed and filled,” but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit? 17 Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.
18 But someone will say, “You have faith, and I have works.” (BD)Show me your faith without [k]your works, (BE)and I will show you my faith by [l]my works. 19 You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe—and tremble! 20 But do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is [m]dead? 21 Was not Abraham our father justified by works (BF)when he offered Isaac his son on the altar? 22 Do you see (BG)that faith was working together with his works, and by (BH)works faith was made [n]perfect? 23 And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, (BI)“Abraham believed God, and it was [o]accounted to him for righteousness.” And he was called (BJ)the friend of God. 24 You see then that a man is justified by works, and not by faith only.
25 Likewise, (BK)was not Rahab the harlot also justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out another way?
26 For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.
The Untamable Tongue
3 My brethren, (BL)let not many of you become teachers, (BM)knowing that we shall receive a stricter judgment. 2 For (BN)we all stumble in many things. (BO)If anyone does not stumble in word, (BP)he is a [p]perfect man, able also to bridle the whole body. 3 [q]Indeed, (BQ)we put bits in horses’ mouths that they may obey us, and we turn their whole body. 4 Look also at ships: although they are so large and are driven by fierce winds, they are turned by a very small rudder wherever the pilot desires. 5 Even so (BR)the tongue is a little member and (BS)boasts great things.
See how great a forest a little fire kindles! 6 And (BT)the tongue is a fire, a world of [r]iniquity. The tongue is so set among our members that it (BU)defiles the whole body, and sets on fire the course of [s]nature; and it is set on fire by [t]hell. 7 For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and creature of the sea, is tamed and has been tamed by mankind. 8 But no man can tame the tongue. It is an unruly evil, (BV)full of deadly poison. 9 With it we bless our God and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made (BW)in the [u]similitude of God. 10 Out of the same mouth proceed blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be so. 11 Does a spring send forth fresh water and bitter from the same opening? 12 Can a (BX)fig tree, my brethren, bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? [v]Thus no spring yields both salt water and fresh.
Heavenly Versus Demonic Wisdom
13 (BY)Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show by good conduct that his works are done in the meekness of wisdom. 14 But if you have (BZ)bitter envy and [w]self-seeking in your hearts, (CA)do not boast and lie against the truth. 15 (CB)This wisdom does not descend from above, but is earthly, sensual, demonic. 16 For (CC)where envy and self-seeking exist, confusion and every evil thing are there. 17 But (CD)the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, (CE)without partiality (CF)and without hypocrisy. 18 (CG)Now the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.
Pride Promotes Strife
4 Where do [x]wars and fights come from among you? Do they not come from your desires for pleasure (CH)that war in your members? 2 You lust and do not have. You murder and covet and cannot obtain. You fight and [y]war. [z]Yet you do not have because you do not ask. 3 (CI)You ask and do not receive, (CJ)because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures. 4 [aa]Adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know that (CK)friendship with the world is enmity with God? (CL)Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. 5 Or do you think that the Scripture says in vain, (CM)“The Spirit who dwells in us yearns jealously”?
6 But He gives more grace. Therefore He says:
(CN)“God resists the proud,
But gives grace to the humble.”
Humility Cures Worldliness
7 Therefore submit to God. (CO)Resist the devil and he will flee from you. 8 (CP)Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. (CQ)Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and (CR)purify your hearts, you double-minded. 9 (CS)Lament and mourn and weep! Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. 10 (CT)Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.
Do Not Judge a Brother
11 (CU)Do not speak evil of one another, brethren. He who speaks evil of a brother (CV)and judges his brother, speaks evil of the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge. 12 There is one [ab]Lawgiver, (CW)who is able to save and to destroy. (CX)Who[ac] are you to judge [ad]another?
Do Not Boast About Tomorrow
13 Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow [ae]we will go to such and such a city, spend a year there, buy and sell, and make a profit”; 14 whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? (CY)It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away. 15 Instead you ought to say, (CZ)“If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that.” 16 But now you boast in your arrogance. (DA)All such boasting is evil.
17 Therefore, (DB)to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin.
Rich Oppressors Will Be Judged
5 Come now, you (DC)rich, weep and howl for your miseries that are coming upon you! 2 Your (DD)riches [af]are corrupted, and (DE)your garments are moth-eaten. 3 Your gold and silver are corroded, and their corrosion will be a witness against you and will eat your flesh like fire. (DF)You have heaped up treasure in the last days. 4 Indeed (DG)the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, cry out; and (DH)the cries of the reapers have reached the ears of the Lord of [ag]Sabaoth. 5 You have lived on the earth in pleasure and [ah]luxury; you have [ai]fattened your hearts [aj]as in a day of slaughter. 6 You have condemned, you have murdered the just; he does not resist you.
Be Patient and Persevering
7 Therefore be patient, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, waiting patiently for it until it receives the early and latter rain. 8 You also be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord [ak]is at hand.
9 Do not [al]grumble against one another, brethren, lest you be [am]condemned. Behold, the Judge is standing at the door! 10 (DI)My brethren, take the prophets, who spoke in the name of the Lord, as an example of suffering and (DJ)patience. 11 Indeed (DK)we count them blessed who (DL)endure. You have heard of (DM)the perseverance of Job and seen (DN)the end intended by the Lord—that (DO)the Lord is very compassionate and merciful.
12 But above all, my brethren, (DP)do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or with any other oath. But let your “Yes” be “Yes,” and your “No,” “No,” lest you fall into [an]judgment.
Meeting Specific Needs(DQ)
13 Is anyone among you suffering? Let him (DR)pray. Is anyone cheerful? (DS)Let him sing psalms. 14 Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, (DT)anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. 15 And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up. (DU)And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. 16 [ao]Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. (DV)The effective, [ap]fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much. 17 Elijah was a man (DW)with a nature like ours, and (DX)he prayed earnestly that it would not rain; and it did not rain on the land for three years and six months. 18 And he prayed (DY)again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth produced its fruit.
Bring Back the Erring One
19 Brethren, if anyone among you wanders from the truth, and someone (DZ)turns him back, 20 let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way (EA)will save [aq]a soul from death and (EB)cover a multitude of sins.
Footnotes
- James 1:3 endurance or perseverance
- James 1:4 mature
- James 1:19 NU Know this or This you know
- James 1:21 abundance
- James 1:26 NU omits among you
- James 2:2 bright
- James 2:2 vile
- James 2:3 Lit. look upon
- James 2:4 differentiated
- James 2:9 Lit. receive the face
- James 2:18 NU omits your
- James 2:18 NU omits my
- James 2:20 NU useless
- James 2:22 complete
- James 2:23 credited
- James 3:2 mature
- James 3:3 NU Now if
- James 3:6 unrighteousness
- James 3:6 existence
- James 3:6 Gr. Gehenna
- James 3:9 likeness
- James 3:12 NU Neither can a salty spring produce fresh water.
- James 3:14 selfish ambition
- James 4:1 battles
- James 4:2 battle
- James 4:2 NU, M omit Yet
- James 4:4 NU omits Adulterers and
- James 4:12 NU adds and Judge
- James 4:12 NU, M But who
- James 4:12 NU a neighbor
- James 4:13 M let us
- James 5:2 have rotted
- James 5:4 Lit., in Heb., Hosts
- James 5:5 indulgence
- James 5:5 Lit. nourished
- James 5:5 NU omits as
- James 5:8 has drawn near
- James 5:9 Lit. groan
- James 5:9 NU, M judged
- James 5:12 M hypocrisy
- James 5:16 NU Therefore confess your sins
- James 5:16 supplication
- James 5:20 NU his soul
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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