Book of Common Prayer

Thanksgiving for Victory

Praise to God the King

A song of praise. Of David.

Hezekiah’s Illness

20 At that time Hezekiah became very sick. He was almost dead. The prophet Isaiah son of Amoz went to see him. Isaiah told him, “This is what the Lord says: You are going to die. So you should give your last orders to everyone. You will not get well.”

² Hezekiah turned toward the wall and prayed to the Lord. He said, ³ “Lord, please remember that I have always obeyed you. I have given myself completely to you. I have done what you said was right.” And Hezekiah cried loudly.

⁴ Before Isaiah had left the middle courtyard, the Lord spoke his word to Isaiah: ⁵ “Go back and tell Hezekiah, the leader of my people: ‘This is what the Lord, the God of your ancestor David, says: I have heard your prayer. And I have seen your tears. So I will heal you. Three days from now 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. And I will protect the city for myself and for my servant David.’”

⁷ Then Isaiah said, “Make a paste from figs.” So they made it and put it on Hezekiah’s boil. And he got well.

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

⁹ Isaiah said, “The Lord will do what he says. This is the sign from the Lord to show you: Do you want the shadow to go forward ten steps? Or do you want it to go back ten steps?”

¹⁰ Hezekiah answered, “It’s easy for the shadow to go forward ten steps. Instead, let it go back ten steps.”

¹¹ Then Isaiah the prophet called to the Lord. And the Lord brought the shadow back ten steps. It went back up the stairway of Ahaz that it had gone down.

Messengers from Babylon

¹² At that time Merodach-Baladan, son of Baladan, was king of Babylon. He sent letters and a gift to Hezekiah. He did this because he had heard that Hezekiah had been sick. ¹³ Hezekiah was happy to see the messengers. So he showed them what was in his storehouses: the silver, gold, spices and expensive perfumes. He showed them his swords and shields. He showed them all his wealth. He showed them everything in his palace and his kingdom.

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

Hezekiah said, “They came from a faraway country. They came to me from Babylon.”

¹⁵ So Isaiah asked him, “What did they see in your palace?”

Hezekiah said, “They saw everything in my palace. I showed them all my wealth.”

¹⁶ Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, “Listen to the words of the Lord: ¹⁷ ‘In the future everything in your palace will be taken away to Babylon. Everything your ancestors have stored up until this day will be taken away. Nothing will be left,’ says the Lord. ¹⁸ ‘Some of your own children will be taken away. Those who will be born to you will be taken away. And they will become eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.’”

¹⁹ Hezekiah told Isaiah, “These words from the Lord are good.” He said this because he thought, “There will be peace and security while I am king.”

²⁰ Everything else Hezekiah did is written down. All his victories and his work on the pool are written down. And his work on the tunnel to bring water into the city is recorded. They are all written in the book of the history of the kings of Judah. ²¹ Then Hezekiah died. And his son Manasseh became king in his place.

Herod Agrippa Hurts the Church

12 During that same time King Herod began to do terrible things to some who belonged to the church. ² He ordered James, the brother of John, to be killed by the sword. ³ Herod saw that the Jews liked this, so he decided to arrest Peter, too. (This happened during the time of the Feast of Unleavened Bread.)

⁴ After Herod arrested Peter, he put him in jail and handed him over to be guarded by 16 soldiers. Herod planned to bring Peter before the people for trial after the Passover Feast. ⁵ So Peter was kept in jail. But the church kept on praying to God for him.

Peter Leaves the Jail

⁶ The night before Herod was to bring him to trial, Peter was sleeping. He was between two soldiers, bound with two chains. Other soldiers were guarding the door of the jail. ⁷ Suddenly, an angel of the Lord stood there. A light shined in the room. The angel touched Peter on the side and woke him up. The angel said, “Hurry! Get up!” And the chains fell off Peter’s hands. ⁸ The angel said to him, “Get dressed and put on your sandals.” And so Peter did this. Then the angel said, “Put on your coat and follow me.” ⁹ So the angel went out, and Peter followed him. Peter did not know if what the angel was doing was real. He thought he might be seeing a vision. ¹⁰ They went past the first and the second guard. They came to the iron gate that separated them from the city. The gate opened itself for them. They went through the gate and walked down a street. And the angel suddenly left him.

¹¹ Then Peter realized what had happened. He thought, “Now I know that the Lord really sent his angel to me. He rescued me from Herod and from all the things the Jewish people thought would happen.”

¹² When he realized this, he went to the home of Mary. She was the mother of John. (John was also called Mark.) Many people were gathered there, 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 They said to her, “You are crazy!” But she kept on saying that it was true. So they said, “It must be Peter’s angel.”

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

Jesus Brings a Man Back to Life

¹¹ The next day Jesus went to a town called Nain. His followers and a large crowd were traveling with him. ¹² When he came near the town gate, he saw a funeral. A mother, who was a widow, had lost her only son. A large crowd from the town was with the mother while her son was being carried out. ¹³ When the Lord saw her, he felt very sorry for her. Jesus said to her, “Don’t cry.” ¹⁴ He went up to the coffin and touched it. The men who were carrying it stopped. Jesus said, “Young man, I tell you, get up!” ¹⁵ And the son sat up and began to talk. Then Jesus gave him back to his mother.

¹⁶ All the people were amazed. They began praising God. They said, “A great prophet has come to us! God is taking care of his people.”

¹⁷ This news about Jesus spread through all Judea and into all the places around there.