Isaiah 35-36

New International Version

Joy of the Redeemed

35 The desert^(A) and the parched land will be glad;
    the wilderness will rejoice and blossom.^(B)
Like the crocus,^(C) ²it will burst into bloom;
    it will rejoice greatly and shout for joy.^(D)
The glory of Lebanon^(E) will be given to it,
    the splendor of Carmel^(F) and Sharon;^(G)
they will see the glory^(H) of the Lord,
    the splendor of our God.^(I)

³Strengthen the feeble hands,
    steady the knees^(J) that give way;
⁴say^(K) to those with fearful hearts,^(L)
    “Be strong, do not fear;^(M)
your God will come,^(N)
    he will come with vengeance;^(O)
with divine retribution
    he will come to save^(P) you.”

⁵Then will the eyes of the blind be opened^(Q)
    and the ears of the deaf^(R) unstopped.
⁶Then will the lame^(S) leap like a deer,^(T)
    and the mute tongue^(U) shout for joy.^(V)
Water will gush forth in the wilderness
    and streams^(W) in the desert.
⁷The burning sand will become a pool,
    the thirsty ground^(X) bubbling springs.^(Y)
In the haunts where jackals^(Z) once lay,
    grass and reeds^(AA) and papyrus will grow.

⁸And a highway^(AB) will be there;
    it will be called the Way of Holiness;^(AC)
    it will be for those who walk on that Way.
The unclean^(AD) will not journey on it;
    wicked fools will not go about on it.
⁹No lion^(AE) will be there,
    nor any ravenous beast;^(AF)
    they will not be found there.
But only the redeemed^(AG) will walk there,
¹⁰    and those the Lord has rescued^(AH) will return.
They will enter Zion with singing;^(AI)
    everlasting joy^(AJ) will crown their heads.
Gladness^(AK) and joy will overtake them,
    and sorrow and sighing will flee away.^(AL)

Sennacherib Threatens Jerusalem^(AM)

36 In the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah’s^(AN) reign, Sennacherib^(AO) king of Assyria attacked all the fortified cities of Judah and captured them.^(AP) ²Then the king of Assyria sent his field commander with a large army from Lachish^(AQ) to King Hezekiah at Jerusalem. When the commander stopped at the aqueduct of the Upper Pool, on the road to the Launderer’s Field,^(AR) ³Eliakim^(AS) son of Hilkiah the palace administrator,^(AT) Shebna^(AU) the secretary,^(AV) and Joah^(AW) son of Asaph the recorder^(AX) went out to him.

⁴The field commander said to them, “Tell Hezekiah:

“‘This is what the great king, the king of Assyria, says: On what are you basing this confidence of yours? ⁵You say you have counsel and might for war—but you speak only empty words. On whom are you depending, that you rebel^(AY) against me? ⁶Look, I know you are depending^(AZ) on Egypt,^(BA) that splintered reed^(BB) of a staff, which pierces the hand of anyone who leans on it! Such is Pharaoh king of Egypt to all who depend on him. ⁷But if you say to me, “We are depending^(BC) on the Lord our God”—isn’t he the one whose high places and altars Hezekiah removed,^(BD) saying to Judah and Jerusalem, “You must worship before this altar”?^(BE)

⁸“‘Come now, make a bargain with my master, the king of Assyria: I will give you two thousand horses^(BF)—if you can put riders on them! ⁹How then can you repulse one officer of the least of my master’s officials, even though you are depending on Egypt^(BG) for chariots^(BH) and horsemen^[a]?^(BI) ¹⁰Furthermore, have I come to attack and destroy this land without the Lord? The Lord himself told^(BJ) me to march against this country and destroy it.’”

¹¹Then Eliakim, Shebna and Joah^(BK) said to the field commander, “Please speak to your servants in Aramaic,^(BL) since we understand it. Don’t speak to us in Hebrew in the hearing of the people on the wall.”

¹²But the commander replied, “Was it only to your master and you that my master sent me to say these things, and not to the people sitting on the wall—who, like you, will have to eat their own excrement and drink their own urine?^(BM)”

¹³Then the commander stood and called out in Hebrew,^(BN) “Hear the words of the great king, the king of Assyria!^(BO) ¹⁴This is what the king says: Do not let Hezekiah deceive^(BP) you. He cannot deliver you! ¹⁵Do not let Hezekiah persuade you to trust in the Lord when he says, ‘The Lord will surely deliver^(BQ) us; this city will not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria.’^(BR)

¹⁶“Do not listen to Hezekiah. This is what the king of Assyria says: Make peace with me and come out to me. Then each of you will eat fruit from your own vine and fig tree^(BS) and drink water from your own cistern,^(BT) ¹⁷until I come and take you to a land like your own^(BU)—a land of grain and new wine,^(BV) a land of bread and vineyards.

¹⁸“Do not let Hezekiah mislead you when he says, ‘The Lord will deliver us.’ Have the gods of any nations ever delivered their lands from the hand of the king of Assyria? ¹⁹Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad?^(BW) Where are the gods of Sepharvaim?^(BX) Have they rescued Samaria^(BY) from my hand? ²⁰Who of all the gods^(BZ) of these countries have been able to save their lands from me? How then can the Lord deliver Jerusalem from my hand?”^(CA)

²¹But the people remained silent and said nothing in reply, because the king had commanded, “Do not answer him.”^(CB)

²²Then Eliakim^(CC) son of Hilkiah the palace administrator, Shebna the secretary and Joah son of Asaph the recorder^(CD) went to Hezekiah, with their clothes torn,^(CE) and told him what the field commander had said.

Footnotes

Isaiah 36:9 Or charioteers

Psalm 109:6-13

New International Version

⁶Appoint someone evil to oppose my enemy;
    let an accuser^(A) stand at his right hand.
⁷When he is tried, let him be found guilty,^(B)
    and may his prayers condemn^(C) him.
⁸May his days be few;^(D)
    may another take his place^(E) of leadership.
⁹May his children be fatherless
    and his wife a widow.^(F)
¹⁰May his children be wandering beggars;^(G)
    may they be driven^[a] from their ruined homes.
¹¹May a creditor^(H) seize all he has;
    may strangers plunder^(I) the fruits of his labor.^(J)
¹²May no one extend kindness to him
    or take pity^(K) on his fatherless children.
¹³May his descendants be cut off,^(L)
    their names blotted out^(M) from the next generation.

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Footnotes

Psalm 109:10 Septuagint; Hebrew sought

Proverbs 25:27-28

New International Version

²⁷It is not good to eat too much honey,^(A)
nor is it honorable to search out matters that are too deep.^(B)

²⁸Like a city whose walls are broken through
is a person who lacks self-control.

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2 Corinthians 13

New International Version

Final Warnings

13 This will be my third visit to you.^(A) “Every matter must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.”^[a]^(B) ²I already gave you a warning when I was with you the second time. I now repeat it while absent:^(C) On my return I will not spare^(D) those who sinned earlier^(E) or any of the others, ³since you are demanding proof that Christ is speaking through me.^(F) He is not weak in dealing with you, but is powerful among you. ⁴For to be sure, he was crucified in weakness,^(G) yet he lives by God’s power.^(H) Likewise, we are weak^(I) in him, yet by God’s power we will live with him^(J) in our dealing with you.

⁵Examine yourselves^(K) to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves.^(L) Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you^(M)—unless, of course, you fail the test? ⁶And I trust that you will discover that we have not failed the test. ⁷Now we pray to God that you will not do anything wrong—not so that people will see that we have stood the test but so that you will do what is right even though we may seem to have failed. ⁸For we cannot do anything against the truth, but only for the truth. ⁹We are glad whenever we are weak^(N) but you are strong;^(O) and our prayer is that you may be fully restored.^(P) ¹⁰This is why I write these things when I am absent, that when I come I may not have to be harsh^(Q) in my use of authority—the authority the Lord gave me for building you up, not for tearing you down.^(R)

Final Greetings

¹¹Finally, brothers and sisters,^(S) rejoice! Strive for full restoration, encourage one another, be of one mind, live in peace.^(T) And the God of love^(U) and peace^(V) will be with you.

¹²Greet one another with a holy kiss.^(W) ¹³All God’s people here send their greetings.^(X)

¹⁴May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ,^(Y) and the love of God,^(Z) and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit^(AA) be with you all.