2 Kings 19:9-21

New International Version

⁹Now Sennacherib received a report that Tirhakah, the king of Cush,^[a] was marching out to fight against him. So he again sent messengers to Hezekiah with this word: ¹⁰“Say to Hezekiah king of Judah: Do not let the god you depend^(A) on deceive^(B) you when he says, ‘Jerusalem will not be given into the hands of the king of Assyria.’ ¹¹Surely you have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all the countries, destroying them completely. And will you be delivered? ¹²Did the gods of the nations that were destroyed by my predecessors deliver^(C) them—the gods of Gozan,^(D) Harran,^(E) Rezeph and the people of Eden who were in Tel Assar? ¹³Where is the king of Hamath or the king of Arpad? Where are the kings of Lair, Sepharvaim, Hena and Ivvah?”^(F)

Hezekiah’s Prayer^(G)

¹⁴Hezekiah received the letter^(H) from the messengers and read it. Then he went up to the temple of the Lord and spread it out before the Lord. ¹⁵And Hezekiah prayed to the Lord: “Lord, the God of Israel, enthroned between the cherubim,^(I) you alone^(J) are God over all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and earth. ¹⁶Give ear,^(K) Lord, and hear;^(L) open your eyes,^(M) Lord, and see; listen to the words Sennacherib has sent to ridicule the living God.

¹⁷“It is true, Lord, that the Assyrian kings have laid waste these nations and their lands. ¹⁸They have thrown their gods into the fire and destroyed them, for they were not gods^(N) but only wood and stone, fashioned by human hands.^(O) ¹⁹Now, Lord our God, deliver^(P) us from his hand, so that all the kingdoms^(Q) of the earth may know^(R) that you alone, Lord, are God.”

Isaiah Prophesies Sennacherib’s Fall^(S)^(T)

²⁰Then Isaiah son of Amoz sent a message to Hezekiah: “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: I have heard^(U) your prayer concerning Sennacherib king of Assyria. ²¹This is the word that the Lord has spoken against^(V) him:

“‘Virgin Daughter^(W) Zion
despises^(X) you and mocks^(Y) you.
Daughter Jerusalem
tosses her head^(Z) as you flee.

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Footnotes

2 Kings 19:9 That is, the upper Nile region

2 Kings 19:31-36

New International Version

³¹For out of Jerusalem will come a remnant,^(A)
and out of Mount Zion a band of survivors.^(B)

“The zeal^(C) of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this.

³²“Therefore this is what the Lord says concerning the king of Assyria:

“‘He will not enter this city
    or shoot an arrow here.
He will not come before it with shield
    or build a siege ramp against it.
³³By the way that he came he will return;^(D)
    he will not enter this city,
declares the Lord.
³⁴I will defend^(E) this city and save it,
    for my sake and for the sake of David^(F) my servant.’”

³⁵That night the angel of the Lord^(G) went out and put to death a hundred and eighty-five thousand in the Assyrian camp. When the people got up the next morning—there were all the dead bodies!^(H) ³⁶So Sennacherib king of Assyria broke camp and withdrew.^(I) He returned to Nineveh^(J) and stayed there.

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Psalm 48

New International Version

Psalm 48^[a]

A song. A psalm of the Sons of Korah.

¹Great is the Lord,^(A) and most worthy of praise,^(B)
in the city of our God,^(C) his holy mountain.^(D)

²Beautiful^(E) in its loftiness,
    the joy of the whole earth,
like the heights of Zaphon^[b]^(F) is Mount Zion,^(G)
    the city of the Great King.^(H)
³God is in her citadels;^(I)
    he has shown himself to be her fortress.^(J)

⁴When the kings joined forces,
    when they advanced together,^(K)
⁵they saw her and were astounded;
    they fled in terror.^(L)
⁶Trembling seized^(M) them there,
    pain like that of a woman in labor.^(N)
⁷You destroyed them like ships of Tarshish^(O)
    shattered by an east wind.^(P)

⁸As we have heard,
    so we have seen
in the city of the Lord Almighty,
    in the city of our God:
God makes her secure
    forever.^[c]^(Q)

⁹Within your temple, O God,
    we meditate^(R) on your unfailing love.^(S)
¹⁰Like your name,^(T) O God,
    your praise reaches to the ends of the earth;^(U)
    your right hand is filled with righteousness.
¹¹Mount Zion rejoices,
    the villages of Judah are glad
    because of your judgments.^(V)

¹²Walk about Zion, go around her,
    count her towers,^(W)
¹³consider well her ramparts,^(X)
    view her citadels,^(Y)
that you may tell of them
    to the next generation.^(Z)

¹⁴For this God is our God for ever and ever;
he will be our guide^(AA) even to the end.

Footnotes

Psalm 48:1 In Hebrew texts 48:1-14 is numbered 48:2-15.
Psalm 48:2 Zaphon was the most sacred mountain of the Canaanites.
Psalm 48:8 The Hebrew has Selah (a word of uncertain meaning) here.

Matthew 7:6

New International Version

⁶“Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces.

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Matthew 7:6 in all English translations

Matthew 7:12-14

New International Version

¹²So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you,^(A) for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.^(B)

The Narrow and Wide Gates

¹³“Enter through the narrow gate.^(C) For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. ¹⁴But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.

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