2 Kings 18
Holman Christian Standard Bible
Judah’s King Hezekiah
18 In the third year of Israel’s King Hoshea(A) son of Elah, Hezekiah(B) son of Ahaz became king of Judah. 2 He was 25 years old when he became king and reigned 29 years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Abi[a] daughter of Zechariah. 3 He did what was right in the Lord’s sight just as his ancestor David had done.(C) 4 He removed the high places, shattered the sacred pillars, and cut down the Asherah poles.(D) He broke into pieces the bronze snake that Moses made,(E) for the Israelites burned incense to it up to that time. He called it Nehushtan.[b]
5 Hezekiah trusted in the Lord God of Israel;(F) not one of the kings of Judah was like him, either before him or after him.(G) 6 He remained faithful to Yahweh(H) and did not turn from following Him but kept the commands the Lord had commanded Moses.
7 The Lord was with him, and wherever he went he prospered.(I) He rebelled against the king of Assyria and did not serve him.(J) 8 He defeated the Philistines as far as Gaza and its borders,(K) from watchtower(L) to fortified city.
Review of Israel’s Fall
9 In the fourth year of King Hezekiah, which was the seventh year of Israel’s King Hoshea son of Elah, Shalmaneser king of Assyria marched against Samaria and besieged it.(M) 10 The Assyrians captured it at the end of three years. In the sixth year of Hezekiah, which was the ninth year of Israel’s King Hoshea, Samaria was captured. 11 The king of Assyria deported the Israelites to Assyria and put them in Halah and by the Habor, Gozan’s river, and in the cities of the Medes,(N) 12 because they did not listen to the voice of the Lord their God but violated His covenant—all He had commanded Moses the servant of the Lord. They did not listen, and they did not obey.(O)
Sennacherib’s Invasion
13 In the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah, Sennacherib king of Assyria attacked all the fortified cities of Judah and captured them.(P) 14 So Hezekiah king of Judah sent word to the king of Assyria at Lachish,(Q) saying, “I have done wrong;(R) withdraw from me. Whatever you demand from me, I will pay.” The king of Assyria demanded 11 tons[c] of silver and one ton[d] of gold from King Hezekiah of Judah. 15 So Hezekiah gave him all the silver found in the Lord’s temple and in the treasuries of the king’s palace.
16 At that time Hezekiah stripped the gold from the doors of the Lord’s sanctuary and from the doorposts he had overlaid and gave it to the king of Assyria.(S)
17 Then the king of Assyria sent the Tartan,(T) the Rab-saris, and the Rabshakeh, along with a massive army, from Lachish to King Hezekiah at Jerusalem.(U) They advanced and came to Jerusalem, and[e] they took their position by the aqueduct of the upper pool, which is by the highway to the Fuller’s Field.(V) 18 Then they called for the king, but Eliakim(W) son of Hilkiah, who was in charge of the palace, Shebnah(X) the court secretary, and Joah son of Asaph, the court historian, came out to them.(Y)
The Rabshakeh’s Speech
19 Then(Z) the Rabshakeh said to them, “Tell Hezekiah this is what the great king, the king of Assyria, says: ‘What are you relying on?[f](AA) 20 You think mere words are strategy and strength for war. What are you now relying on so that you have rebelled against me?(AB) 21 Look, you are now trusting in Egypt, that splintered reed of a staff(AC) that will enter and pierce the hand of anyone who leans on it.(AD) This is how Pharaoh king of Egypt is to all who trust in him. 22 Suppose you say to me: We trust in the Lord our God. Isn’t He the One whose high places and altars Hezekiah has removed,(AE) saying to Judah and to Jerusalem: You must worship at this altar in Jerusalem?’
23 “So now make a bargain with my master the king of Assyria. I’ll give you 2,000 horses if you’re able to supply riders for them! 24 How then can you drive back a single officer(AF) among the least of my master’s servants and trust in Egypt for chariots and for horsemen? 25 Have I attacked this place to destroy it without the Lord’s approval?(AG) The Lord said to me, ‘Attack this land and destroy it.’”
26 Then Eliakim son of Hilkiah, Shebnah, and Joah said to the Rabshakeh, “Please speak to your servants in Aramaic,(AH) since we understand it. Don’t speak with us in Hebrew[g] within earshot of the people on the wall.”
27 But the Rabshakeh said to them, “Has my master sent me only to your master and to you to speak these words? Hasn’t he also sent me to the men who sit on the wall, destined with you to eat their own excrement and drink their own urine?”(AI)
28 The Rabshakeh stood and called out loudly in Hebrew.[h] Then he spoke: “Hear the word of the great king, the king of Assyria. 29 This is what the king says: ‘Don’t let Hezekiah deceive(AJ) you; he can’t deliver you from my hand.(AK) 30 Don’t let Hezekiah persuade you to trust in the Lord by saying: Certainly the Lord will deliver us! This city will not be handed over to the king of Assyria.’(AL)
31 “Don’t listen to Hezekiah, for this is what the king of Assyria says: ‘Make peace[i] with me and surrender to me. Then every one of you may eat from his own vine and his own fig tree,(AM) and every one may drink water from his own cistern 32 until I come and take you away to a land like your own land—a land of grain and new wine, a land of bread and vineyards, a land of olive trees and honey(AN)—so that you may live(AO) and not die. But don’t listen to Hezekiah when he misleads you, saying: The Lord will deliver us. 33 Has any of the gods of the nations ever delivered(AP) his land from the power of the king of Assyria? 34 Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivvah?[j] Have they delivered Samaria from my hand?(AQ) 35 Who among all the gods of the lands has delivered his land from my power? So will the Lord deliver Jerusalem?’”(AR)
36 But the people kept silent; they didn’t say anything, for the king’s command was, “Don’t answer him.” 37 Then Eliakim son of Hilkiah, who was in charge of the palace, Shebna the court secretary, and Joah son of Asaph, the court historian,(AS) came to Hezekiah with their clothes torn(AT) and reported to him the words of the Rabshakeh.
Footnotes
- 2 Kings 18:2 = Abijah in 2Ch 29:1
- 2 Kings 18:4 = A bronze thing
- 2 Kings 18:14 Lit 300 talents
- 2 Kings 18:14 Lit 30 talents
- 2 Kings 18:17 LXX, Syr, Vg; MT reads and came and
- 2 Kings 18:19 Lit What is this trust which you trust
- 2 Kings 18:26 Lit Judahite
- 2 Kings 18:28 Lit Judahite
- 2 Kings 18:31 Lit a blessing
- 2 Kings 18:34 Some LXX mss, Old Lat read Sepharvaim? Where are the gods of the land of Samaria?
Amos 4
Holman Christian Standard Bible
Social and Spiritual Corruption
4 Listen to this message, you cows of Bashan(A)
who are on the hill of Samaria,
women who oppress the poor
and crush the needy,(B)
who say to their husbands,
“Bring us something to drink.”(C)
2 The Lord God has sworn(D) by His holiness:(E)
Look, the days are coming[a]
when you will be taken away with hooks,(F)
every last one of you with fishhooks.(G)
3 You will go through breaches in the wall,(H)
each woman straight ahead,
and you will be driven along toward Harmon.
This is the Lord’s declaration.
4 Come to Bethel and rebel;
rebel even more at Gilgal!(I)
Bring your sacrifices every morning,(J)
your tenths every three days.
5 Offer leavened bread as a thank offering,(K)
and loudly proclaim your freewill offerings,(L)
for that is what you Israelites love to do!(M)
This is the Lord’s declaration.
God’s Discipline and Israel’s Apostasy
6 I gave you absolutely nothing to eat[b](N)
in all your cities,
a shortage of food in all your communities,
yet you did not return to Me.(O)
This is the Lord’s declaration.
7 I also withheld the rain from you(P)
while there were still three months until harvest.
I sent rain on one city
but no rain on another.(Q)
One field received rain
while a field with no rain withered.(R)
8 Two or three cities staggered
to another city to drink water(S)
but were not satisfied,(T)
yet you did not return(U) to Me.
This is the Lord’s declaration.
9 I struck you with blight and mildew;(V)
the locust devoured(W)
your many gardens and vineyards,
your fig trees and olive trees,(X)
yet you did not return to Me.(Y)
This is the Lord’s declaration.
10 I sent plagues like those of Egypt;(Z)
I killed your young men with the sword,(AA)
along with your captured horses.(AB)
I caused the stench of your camp
to fill your nostrils,(AC)
yet you did not return to Me.(AD)
This is the Lord’s declaration.
11 I overthrew some of you
as I[c] overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah,(AE)
and you were like a burning stick
snatched from a fire,(AF)
yet you did not return to Me(AG)—
this is the Lord’s declaration.
12 Therefore, Israel, that is what I will do to you,
and since I will do that to you,
Israel, prepare to meet your God!(AH)
13 He is here:
the One who forms the mountains,(AI)
creates the wind,(AJ)
and reveals His[d] thoughts to man,(AK)
the One who makes the dawn out of darkness
and strides on the heights of the earth.(AL)
Yahweh, the God of Hosts, is His name.(AM)
1 Peter 2
Holman Christian Standard Bible
The Living Stone and a Holy People
2 So rid yourselves of(A) all malice, all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and all slander.(B) 2 Like newborn infants, desire the pure spiritual milk,(C) so that you may grow by it for your salvation,[a] 3 since you have tasted(D) that the Lord is good.(E)[b] 4 Coming to Him, a living stone—rejected by men but chosen and valuable to God— 5 you yourselves, as living stones, are being built into a spiritual house for a holy priesthood to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God(F) through Jesus Christ. 6 For it is contained in Scripture:
Look! I lay a stone in Zion,(G)
a chosen and honored[c] cornerstone,[d](H)
and the one who believes in Him
will never be put to shame[f]
7 So honor will come to you who believe, but for the unbelieving,
8 and
They stumble because they disobey the message; they were destined(L) for this.
9 But you are a chosen race,[k](M)[l] a royal priesthood,(N)[m]
a holy nation,(O)[n] a people for His possession,(P)[o]
so that you may proclaim the praises[p](Q)[q]
of the One who called you out of darkness
into His marvelous light.(R)
10 Once you were not a people,
but now you are God’s people;
you had not received mercy,(S)
but now you have received mercy.
A Call to Good Works
11 Dear friends, I urge you as strangers and temporary residents(T) to abstain(U) from fleshly(V) desires that war against you.[r](W) 12 Conduct(X) yourselves honorably among the Gentiles,[s] so that in a case where they speak against you as those who do what is evil, they will, by observing your good works, glorify God on the day of visitation.[t](Y)
13 Submit(Z) to every human authority[u] because of the Lord, whether to the Emperor[v] as the supreme authority(AA) 14 or to governors as those sent out by him to punish those who do what is evil and to praise those who do what is good. 15 For it is God’s will(AB) that you silence the ignorance(AC) of foolish people by doing good. 16 As God’s slaves,(AD) live as free people, but don’t use your freedom as a way to conceal evil.(AE) 17 Honor everyone. Love(AF) the brotherhood.(AG) Fear God.(AH) Honor the Emperor.[w]
Submission of Slaves to Masters
18 Household slaves, submit with all fear(AI) to your masters,(AJ) not only to the good and gentle but also to the cruel.[x](AK) 19 For it brings favor[y] if, mindful of God’s will,[z][aa] someone endures grief from suffering unjustly. 20 For what credit is there if you sin and are punished, and you endure it? But when you do what is good and suffer,(AL) if you endure it, this brings favor with God.
21 For you were called to this,
because Christ also suffered(AM) for you,
leaving you an example,(AN)
so that you should follow(AO) in His steps.
22 He did not commit sin,(AP)
and no deceit(AQ) was found in His mouth;(AR)[ab]
23 when He was reviled,
He did not revile in return;
when He was suffering,
He did not threaten
but entrusted Himself to the One who judges(AS) justly.
24 He Himself bore our sins(AT)
in His body(AU) on the tree,(AV)
so that, having died to sins,(AW)
we might live for righteousness;(AX)
you have been healed by His wounds.(AY)[ac]
25 For you were like sheep going astray,(AZ)[ad]
but you have now returned
to the Shepherd(BA) and Guardian[ae] of your souls.
Footnotes
- 1 Peter 2:2 Other mss omit in your salvation
- 1 Peter 2:3 Ps 34:8
- 1 Peter 2:6 Or valuable
- 1 Peter 2:6 Lit head of the corner
- 1 Peter 2:6 Or be disappointed
- 1 Peter 2:6 Is 28:16 LXX
- 1 Peter 2:7 Ps 118:22
- 1 Peter 2:8 Or a stone causing stumbling
- 1 Peter 2:8 Or a rock to trip over
- 1 Peter 2:8 Is 8:14
- 1 Peter 2:9 Or generation, or nation
- 1 Peter 2:9 Dt 7:6; 10:15; Is 43:20 LXX
- 1 Peter 2:9 Ex 19:6; 23:22 LXX; Is 61:6
- 1 Peter 2:9 Ex 19:6; 23:22 LXX
- 1 Peter 2:9 Ex 19:5; 23:22 LXX; Dt 4:20; 7:6; Is 43:21 LXX
- 1 Peter 2:9 Or the mighty deeds
- 1 Peter 2:9 Is 42:12; 43:21
- 1 Peter 2:11 Or against the soul
- 1 Peter 2:12 Or among the nations, or among the pagans
- 1 Peter 2:12 The day when God intervenes in human history, either in grace or in judgment
- 1 Peter 2:13 Or creature
- 1 Peter 2:13 Lit king
- 1 Peter 2:17 Lit king
- 1 Peter 2:18 Or unscrupulous; lit crooked
- 1 Peter 2:19 Other mss add with God
- 1 Peter 2:19 Other mss read if, because of a good conscience
- 1 Peter 2:19 Lit if, because of conscience toward God
- 1 Peter 2:22 Is 53:9
- 1 Peter 2:24 Is 53:5
- 1 Peter 2:25 Is 53:6
- 1 Peter 2:25 Or Overseer
Psalm 119:129-136
Holman Christian Standard Bible
פ Pe
129 Your decrees are wonderful;(A)
therefore I obey them.(B)
130 The revelation of Your words(C) brings light
and gives understanding to the inexperienced.(D)
131 I open my mouth and pant(E)
because I long for Your commands.
132 Turn to me and be gracious to me,(F)
as is Your practice toward those who love Your name.
133 Make my steps steady through Your promise;(G)
don’t let any sin dominate me.(H)
134 Redeem me from human oppression,(I)
and I will keep Your precepts.
135 Show favor to Your servant,(J)
and teach me Your statutes.(K)
136 My eyes pour out streams of tears(L)
because people do not follow Your instruction.
Proverbs 26:1-5
Holman Christian Standard Bible
26 Like snow in summer and rain at harvest,(A)
honor is inappropriate for a fool.(B)
2 Like a flitting sparrow or a fluttering swallow,(C)
an undeserved curse goes nowhere.(D)
3 A whip for the horse, a bridle for the donkey,(E)
and a rod for the backs of fools.(F)
4 Don’t answer a fool according to his foolishness(G)
or you’ll be like him yourself.
5 Answer a fool according to his foolishness(H)
or he’ll become wise in his own eyes.(I)
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