Hezekiah Seeks Isaiah’s Counsel

19 When King Hezekiah heard their report, he tore his clothes, covered himself with sackcloth,(A) and went into the Lord’s temple.(B) He sent Eliakim, who was in charge of the palace, Shebna the court secretary,(C) and the leading priests, who were covered with sackcloth,(D) to the prophet Isaiah(E) son of Amoz. They said to him, “This is what Hezekiah says: ‘Today is a day of distress, rebuke, and disgrace, for children have come to the point of birth,(F) but there is no strength to deliver them. Perhaps the Lord your God(G) will hear(H) all the words of the royal spokesman, whom his master the king of Assyria sent to mock the living God, and will rebuke(I) him for the words that the Lord your God has heard. Therefore, offer a prayer for the surviving remnant.’”(J)

So the servants of King Hezekiah went to Isaiah, who said to them, “Tell your master, ‘The Lord says this: Don’t be afraid(K) because of the words you have heard, with which the king of Assyria’s attendants(L) have blasphemed(M) me. I am about to put a spirit in him, and he will hear a rumor and return to his own land,(N) where I will cause him to fall by the sword.’”(O)

Sennacherib’s Departing Threat

When(P) the royal spokesman heard that the king of Assyria had pulled out of Lachish,(Q) he left and found him fighting against Libnah.(R) The king had heard concerning King Tirhakah of Cush, “Look, he has set out to fight against you.” So he again sent messengers to Hezekiah, saying, 10 “Say this to King Hezekiah of Judah: ‘Don’t let your God, on whom you rely,(S) deceive you by promising that Jerusalem will not be handed over to the king of Assyria.(T) 11 Look, you have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all the countries: They completely destroyed them. Will you be rescued? 12 Did the gods of the nations(U) that my predecessors destroyed rescue them—nations such as Gozan,(V) Haran,(W) Rezeph, and the Edenites(X) in Telassar? 13 Where is the king of Hamath, the king of Arpad, the king of the city of[a] Sepharvaim, Hena, or Ivvah?’” (Y)

Hezekiah’s Prayer

14 Hezekiah took(Z) the letter(AA) from the messengers’ hands, read it, then went up to the Lord’s temple, and spread it out before the Lord.(AB) 15 Then Hezekiah prayed before the Lord:

Lord God of Israel, enthroned between the cherubim,(AC) you are God—you alone—of all the kingdoms of the earth. You made the heavens and the earth.(AD) 16 Listen closely, Lord, and hear; open your eyes, Lord, and see.(AE) Hear the words that Sennacherib has sent to mock the living God.(AF) 17 Lord, it is true that the kings of Assyria have devastated the nations and their lands.(AG) 18 They have thrown their gods into the fire, for they were not gods but made by human hands—wood and stone.(AH) So they have destroyed them. 19 Now, Lord our God, please save us from his power so that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that you, Lord, are God—you alone.(AI)

God’s Answer through Isaiah

20 Then(AJ) Isaiah son of Amoz sent a message to Hezekiah: “The Lord, the God of Israel says, ‘I have heard your prayer(AK) to me about King Sennacherib of Assyria.’(AL) 21 This is the word the Lord has spoken against him:

Virgin Daughter Zion(AM)
despises you and scorns you;
Daughter Jerusalem
shakes her head behind your back.(AN)
22 Who is it you mocked and blasphemed?(AO)
Against whom have you raised your voice
and lifted your eyes in pride?
Against the Holy One of Israel!(AP)
23 You have mocked the Lord[b] through[c] your messengers.(AQ)
You have said, ‘With my many chariots(AR)
I have gone up to the heights of the mountains,
to the far recesses of Lebanon.
I cut down its tallest cedars,
its choice cypress trees.
I came to its farthest outpost,
its densest forest.
24 I dug wells
and drank water in foreign lands.
I dried up all the streams of Egypt(AS)
with the soles of my feet.’

25 Have you not heard?(AT)
I designed it long ago;
I planned it in days gone by.
I have now brought it to pass,(AU)
and you have crushed fortified cities
into piles of rubble.
26 Their inhabitants have become powerless,
dismayed, and ashamed.
They are plants of the field,
tender grass,
grass on the rooftops,(AV)
blasted by the east wind.[d]

27 But I know your sitting down,(AW)
your going out and your coming in,
and your raging against me.
28 Because your raging against me
and your arrogance have reached my ears,
I will put my hook in your nose(AX)
and my bit in your mouth;
I will make you go back
the way you came.

29 “This will be the sign(AY) for you: This year you will eat what grows on its own, and in the second year what grows from that. But in the third year sow and reap, plant vineyards and eat their fruit. 30 The surviving remnant(AZ) of the house of Judah will again take root downward and bear fruit upward. 31 For a remnant will go out from Jerusalem, and survivors, from Mount Zion.(BA) The zeal of the Lord of Armies will accomplish this.(BB)

32 Therefore, this is what the Lord says about the king of Assyria:
He will not enter this city,
shoot an arrow here,
come before it with a shield,
or build up a siege ramp against it.(BC)
33 He will go back
the way he came,
and he will not enter this city.

This is the Lord’s declaration.

34 I will defend this city and rescue it
for my sake and for the sake of my servant David.”(BD)

Defeat and Death of Sennacherib

35 That night the angel of the Lord went out and struck down one hundred eighty-five thousand in the camp of the Assyrians. When the people got up the next morning—there were all the dead bodies!(BE) 36 So King Sennacherib of Assyria broke camp and left. He returned home and lived in Nineveh.(BF)

37 One day, while he was worshiping in the temple of his god Nisroch, his sons Adrammelech(BG) and Sharezer struck him down with the sword and escaped to the land of Ararat.(BH) Then his son Esar-haddon(BI) became king in his place.

Footnotes

  1. 19:13 Or king of Lair,
  2. 19:23 Many mss read Lord
  3. 19:23 Lit by the hand of
  4. 19:26 DSS; MT reads blasted before standing grain; Is 37:27

The Nature of the Son

Long ago God spoke(A) to our ancestors by the prophets(B) at different times and in different ways.(C) In these last days,(D) he has spoken to us by his Son. God has appointed him heir of all things(E) and made the universe[a](F) through him. The Son is the radiance[b] of God’s glory and the exact expression[c] of his nature,(G) sustaining all things by his powerful word.(H) After making purification for sins,[d] he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high.[e](I) So he became superior to the angels, just as the name he inherited is more excellent than theirs.(J)

The Son Superior to Angels

For to which of the angels did he ever say,

You are my Son;
today I have become your Father,[f][g]

or again,

I will be his Father,
and he will be my Son?[h](K)

Again, when he[i] brings his firstborn into the world,(L) he says,

And let all God’s angels worship him.[j](M)

And about the angels he says:

He makes his angels winds,[k]
and his servants[l] a fiery flame,[m](N)

but to[n] the Son:

Your throne, God,
is forever and ever,
and the scepter of your kingdom
is a scepter of justice.(O)
You have loved righteousness
and hated lawlessness;
this is why God, your God,
has anointed you
with the oil of joy(P)
beyond your companions.[o][p]

10 And:

In the beginning, Lord,
you established the earth,
and the heavens are the works of your hands;(Q)
11 they will perish, but you remain.
They will all wear out like clothing;(R)
12 you will roll them up like a cloak,[q]
and they will be changed like clothing.
But you are the same,
and your years will never end.[r](S)

13 Now to which of the angels has he ever said:

Sit at my right hand
until I make your enemies your footstool?[s](T)

14 Are they not all ministering spirits sent out to serve those who are going to inherit salvation?(U)

Footnotes

  1. 1:2 Lit ages
  2. 1:3 Or reflection
  3. 1:3 Or representation, or copy, or reproduction
  4. 1:3 Other mss read for our sins by himself
  5. 1:3 Or he sat down on high at the right hand of the Majesty
  6. 1:5 Or have begotten you
  7. 1:5 Ps 2:7
  8. 1:5 2Sm 7:14; 1Ch 17:13
  9. 1:6 Or When he again
  10. 1:6 Dt 32:43 LXX; Ps 97:7
  11. 1:7 Or spirits
  12. 1:7 Or ministers
  13. 1:7 Ps 104:4
  14. 1:8 Or about
  15. 1:9 Or associates
  16. 1:8–9 Ps 45:6–7
  17. 1:12 Other mss omit like a cloak
  18. 1:10–12 Ps 102:25–27
  19. 1:13 Ps 110:1

God’s Case against Jacob’s Heirs

12 Ephraim chases[a] the wind(A)
and pursues the east wind.(B)
He continually multiplies lies and violence.
He makes a covenant with Assyria,(C)
and olive oil is carried to Egypt.(D)

The Lord also has a dispute with Judah.
He is about to punish Jacob according to his conduct;(E)
he will repay him based on his actions.
In the womb he grasped his brother’s heel,(F)
and as an adult he wrestled with God.(G)
Jacob struggled with the angel and prevailed;
he wept and sought his favor.(H)
He found him at Bethel,(I)
and there he spoke with him.[b](J)
The Lord is the God of Armies;
the Lord is his name.(K)
But you must return to your God.(L)
Maintain love and justice,(M)
and always put your hope in God.(N)

A merchant loves to extort(O)
with dishonest scales in his hands.(P)
But Ephraim thinks,
“How rich I have become;(Q)
I made it all myself.
In all my earnings,
no one can find any iniquity in me(R)
that I can be punished for!” [c]

Judgment on Apostate Israel

I have been the Lord your God
ever since[d] the land of Egypt.(S)
I will make you live in tents again,(T)
as in the festival days.
10 I will speak through the prophets(U)
and grant many visions;
I will give parables through the prophets.(V)
11 Since Gilead is full of evil,(W)
they will certainly come to nothing.
They sacrifice bulls in Gilgal;(X)
even their altars will be like piles of rocks(Y)
on the furrows of a field.

Further Indictment of Jacob’s Heirs

12 Jacob fled to the territory of Aram.(Z)
Israel worked to earn a wife;(AA)
he tended flocks for a wife.(AB)
13 The Lord brought Israel from Egypt by a prophet,(AC)
and Israel was tended by a prophet.

14 Ephraim has provoked bitter anger,(AD)
so his Lord will leave his bloodguilt on him(AE)
and repay him for his contempt.(AF)

Footnotes

  1. 12:1 Or grazes on, or tends
  2. 12:4 LXX, Syr; MT reads us
  3. 12:8 Lit iniquity which is sin
  4. 12:9 LXX reads God who brought you out of

Psalm 135

The Lord Is Great

Hallelujah!
Praise the name of the Lord.
Give praise, you servants of the Lord(A)
who stand in the house of the Lord,
in the courts of the house of our God.(B)
Praise the Lord, for the Lord is good;
sing praise to his name, for it is delightful.(C)
For the Lord has chosen Jacob for himself,
Israel as his treasured possession.(D)

For I know that the Lord is great;
our Lord is greater than all gods.(E)
The Lord does whatever he pleases
in heaven and on earth,
in the seas and all the depths.(F)
He causes the clouds to rise from the ends of the earth.
He makes lightning for the rain
and brings the wind from his storehouses.(G)

He struck down the firstborn of Egypt,
both people and animals.(H)
He sent signs and wonders against you, Egypt,
against Pharaoh and all his officials.(I)
10 He struck down many nations
and slaughtered mighty kings:(J)
11 Sihon king of the Amorites,
Og king of Bashan,
and all the kings of Canaan.(K)
12 He gave their land as an inheritance,
an inheritance to his people Israel.(L)

13 Lord, your name endures forever,
your reputation, Lord,
through all generations.(M)
14 For the Lord will vindicate his people
and have compassion on his servants.(N)

15 The idols of the nations are of silver and gold,
made by human hands.(O)
16 They have mouths but cannot speak,(P)
eyes, but cannot see.
17 They have ears but cannot hear;
indeed, there is no breath in their mouths.(Q)
18 Those who make them are just like them,
as are all who trust in them.(R)

19 House of Israel, bless the Lord!(S)
House of Aaron, bless the Lord!(T)
20 House of Levi, bless the Lord!
You who revere the Lord, bless the Lord!(U)
21 Blessed be the Lord from Zion;(V)
he dwells in Jerusalem.(W)
Hallelujah!

Psalm 136

God’s Love Is Eternal

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good.(X)
His faithful love endures forever.
Give thanks to the God of gods.
His faithful love endures forever.
Give thanks to the Lord of lords.(Y)
His faithful love endures forever.
He alone does great wonders.(Z)
His faithful love endures forever.
He made the heavens skillfully.(AA)
His faithful love endures forever.
He spread the land on the waters.(AB)
His faithful love endures forever.
He made the great lights:(AC)
His faithful love endures forever.
the sun to rule by day,
His faithful love endures forever.
the moon and stars to rule by night.(AD)
His faithful love endures forever.
10 He struck the firstborn of the Egyptians(AE)
His faithful love endures forever.
11 and brought Israel out from among them
His faithful love endures forever.
12 with a strong hand and outstretched arm.(AF)
His faithful love endures forever.
13 He divided the Red Sea(AG)
His faithful love endures forever.
14 and led Israel through,(AH)
His faithful love endures forever.
15 but hurled Pharaoh and his army into the Red Sea.(AI)
His faithful love endures forever.
16 He led his people in the wilderness.(AJ)
His faithful love endures forever.
17 He struck down great kings
His faithful love endures forever.
18 and slaughtered famous kings—
His faithful love endures forever.
19 Sihon king of the Amorites
His faithful love endures forever.
20 and Og king of Bashan—
His faithful love endures forever.
21 and gave their land as an inheritance,
His faithful love endures forever.
22 an inheritance to Israel his servant.(AK)
His faithful love endures forever.
23 He remembered us in our humiliation(AL)
His faithful love endures forever.
24 and rescued us from our foes.(AM)
His faithful love endures forever.
25 He gives food to every creature.(AN)
His faithful love endures forever.
26 Give thanks to the God of heaven!(AO)
His faithful love endures forever.

Bible Gateway Recommends

CSB Firefighter's Bible, Burgundy LeatherTouch
CSB Firefighter's Bible, Burgundy LeatherTouch
Retail: $24.99
Our Price: $18.99
Save: $6.00 (24%)
5.0 of 5.0 stars
CSB Explorer Bible for Kids--hardcover
CSB Explorer Bible for Kids--hardcover
Retail: $34.99
Our Price: $18.99
Save: $16.00 (46%)
5.0 of 5.0 stars
CSB Everyday Study Bible--soft leather-look, navy blue with cross
CSB Everyday Study Bible--soft leather-look, navy blue with cross
Retail: $34.99
Our Price: $24.99
Save: $10.00 (29%)
4.5 of 5.0 stars
CSB Tony Evans Study Bible, Burgundy Bonded Leather
CSB Tony Evans Study Bible, Burgundy Bonded Leather
Retail: $79.99
Our Price: $23.99
Save: $56.00 (70%)
5.0 of 5.0 stars
CSB Church Bible (Value Pew Bible) Black
CSB Church Bible (Value Pew Bible) Black
Retail: $12.99
Our Price: $6.49
Save: $6.50 (50%)