Book of Common Prayer

A song of David.

Hezekiah’s Illness

20 At that time Hezekiah became sick and almost died. The prophet Isaiah son of Amoz went to see him and told him, “The Lord says, ‘You will die soon, so you should tell your family what they should do when you die. You will not get well.’”

² Hezekiah turned his face to the wall that faced the Temple and began praying to the Lord. ³ “Lord, remember that I have sincerely served you with all my heart. I have done what you say is good.” Then Hezekiah cried very hard.

⁴ Before Isaiah had left the middle courtyard, he received this message from the Lord, ⁵ “Go back and speak to Hezekiah, the leader of my people. Tell him, ‘This is what the Lord, the God of your ancestor David, says: I heard your prayer and I saw your tears, so I will heal you. On the third day you will go up to the Temple of the Lord. ⁶ I will add 15 years to your life. I will save you and this city from the king of Assyria. I will protect this city. I will do this for myself and because of the promise I made to my servant David.’”

⁷ Then Isaiah said, “Crush figs together and put them on your sore; you will get well.”

So they took the mixture of figs and put it on Hezekiah’s sore place, and he got well.

⁸ Hezekiah asked Isaiah, “What will be the sign that the Lord will heal me, and that I will go up to the Temple of the Lord on the third day?”

⁹ Isaiah said, “Which do you want? Should the shadow go forward ten steps or go back ten steps?^[a] This is the sign for you from the Lord to show that the Lord will do what he said he would do.”

¹⁰ Hezekiah answered, “It is an easy thing for the shadow to go down ten steps. No, make the shadow go back ten steps.”

¹¹ Then Isaiah prayed, and the Lord made the shadow move back ten steps. It went back up the steps that it had already been on.

Messengers From Babylon

¹² At that time Merodach Baladan son of Baladan was king of Babylon. He sent letters and a gift to Hezekiah when he heard that Hezekiah had been sick. ¹³ Hezekiah listened to the messengers and then showed them all the valuable things he owned. He showed them the silver, the gold, the spices, the expensive perfume, and the building where he stored the weapons. He showed them everything in his treasuries, in his palace, and in his kingdom.

¹⁴ Then Isaiah the prophet came to King Hezekiah and asked him, “What did these men say? Where did they come from?”

Hezekiah said, “These men came from a faraway country, from Babylon.”

¹⁵ Isaiah said, “What did they see in your palace?”

Hezekiah answered, “They saw everything I own. I showed them all my wealth.”

¹⁶ Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, “Listen to this message from the Lord. ¹⁷ The time is coming when everything in your palace and everything your ancestors have saved until today will be carried away to Babylon. Nothing will be left! The Lord said this. ¹⁸ The Babylonians will take your sons, and your sons will become officers^[b] in the palace of the king of Babylon.”

¹⁹ Then Hezekiah told Isaiah, “This message from the Lord is good.” (Hezekiah said this because he thought, “There will be real peace and security during my lifetime.”)

²⁰ All the great things that Hezekiah did, including his work on the pool and the aqueduct to bring water into the city, are written in the book, The History of the Kings of Judah. ²¹ Hezekiah died and was buried with his ancestors. And his son Manasseh became the new king after him.

More Trouble for the Believers

12 During this same time, King Herod began to do harm to some of those who were part of the church. ² He ordered James, the brother of John, to be killed with a sword. ³ Herod saw that many of the Jews liked this, so he decided to arrest Peter too. This happened during the Festival of Unleavened Bread. ⁴ He arrested Peter and put him in jail, where he was guarded by a group of 16 soldiers. Herod planned to bring Peter before the people, but he wanted to wait until after the Passover festival. ⁵ So Peter was kept in jail, but the church was constantly praying to God for him.

Peter Is Led Out of the Jail

⁶ One night, Peter, bound with two chains, was sleeping between two of the soldiers. More soldiers were guarding the door of the jail. Herod was planning to bring Peter out before the people the next day. ⁷ Suddenly an angel of the Lord was standing there, and the room was filled with light. The angel tapped Peter on the side and woke him up. The angel said, “Hurry, get up!” The chains fell off Peter’s hands. ⁸ The angel said, “Get dressed and put on your sandals.” Peter did as he was told. Then the angel said, “Put on your coat and follow me.”

⁹ So the angel went out and Peter followed. He did not know if the angel was really doing this. He thought he might be seeing a vision. ¹⁰ Peter and the angel went past the first guard and the second guard. Then they came to the iron gate that separated them from the city. The gate opened for them by itself. After they went through the gate and walked about a block, the angel suddenly left.

¹¹ Peter realized then what had happened. He thought, “Now I know that the Lord really sent his angel to me. He rescued me from Herod and from everything those Jews thought would happen to me.”

¹² When Peter realized this, he went to the home of Mary, the mother of John, who was also called Mark. Many people were gathered there and were praying. ¹³ Peter knocked on the outside door. A servant girl named Rhoda came to answer it. ¹⁴ She recognized Peter’s voice, and she was very happy. She even forgot to open the door. She ran inside and told the group, “Peter is at the door!” ¹⁵ The believers said to her, “You are crazy!” But she continued to say that it was true. So they said, “It must be Peter’s angel.”

¹⁶ But Peter continued to knock. When the believers opened the door, they saw him. They were amazed. ¹⁷ Peter made a sign with his hand to tell them to be quiet. He explained to them how the Lord led him out of the jail. He said, “Tell James and the other brothers what happened.” Then he left and went to another place.

Jesus Brings a Woman’s Son Back to Life

¹¹ The next day Jesus and his followers went to a town called Nain. A big crowd was traveling with them. ¹² When Jesus came near the town gate, he saw some people carrying a dead body. It was the only son of a woman who was a widow. Walking with her were many other people from the town. ¹³ When the Lord saw the woman, he felt very sorry for her and said, “Don’t cry.” ¹⁴ He walked to the open coffin and touched it. The men who were carrying the coffin stopped. Jesus spoke to the dead son: “Young man, I tell you, get up!” ¹⁵ Then the boy sat up and began to talk, and Jesus gave him back to his mother.

¹⁶ Everyone was filled with fear. They began praising God and said, “A great prophet is here with us!” and “God is taking care of his people.”

¹⁷ This news about Jesus spread all over Judea and to all the other places around there.