Book of Common Prayer

Thanksgiving for the Lord’s Saving Goodness.

The Lord Exalted for His Goodness.

A Psalm of Praise, of David.

Hezekiah’s Illness and Recovery

20 ^(A)In those days Hezekiah became ^[a]mortally ill. And Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz, came to him and said to him, “This is what the Lord says: ‘^(B)Set your house in order, for you are going to die and not live.’” ² Then he turned his face to the wall and prayed to the Lord, saying, ³ “Please, Lord, just ^(C)remember ^(D)how I have walked before You wholeheartedly and in truth, and have done what is good in Your sight!” And ^(E)Hezekiah wept ^[b]profusely. ⁴ And even before Isaiah had left the middle courtyard, the word of the Lord came to him, saying, ⁵ “Return and say to ^(F)Hezekiah the leader of My people, ‘This is what the Lord, the God of your father David says: “^(G)I have heard your prayer, ^(H)I have seen your tears; behold, I am going to heal you. On the third day you shall go up to the house of the Lord. ⁶ And I will add fifteen years to your ^[c]life, and I will save you and this city from the hand of the king of Assyria; and ^(I)I will protect this city for My own sake and for My servant David’s sake.”’” ⁷ Then Isaiah said, “Take a cake of figs.” And they took it and placed it on the inflamed spot, and he recovered.

⁸ Now Hezekiah said to Isaiah, “What will be the sign that the Lord will heal me, and that I will go up to the house of the Lord on the third day?” ⁹ Isaiah said, “^(J)This shall be the sign to you from the Lord, that the Lord will perform the word that He has spoken: shall the shadow go forward ten steps or go back ten steps?” ¹⁰ So Hezekiah said, “It is easy for the shadow to decline ten steps; no, but have the shadow turn backward ten steps.” ¹¹ Then Isaiah the prophet called out to the Lord, and ^(K)He brought the shadow on the ^[d]stairway back ten steps by which it had gone down on the ^[e]stairway of Ahaz.

Hezekiah Shows Babylon His Treasures

^12 (L)At that time ^[f]Berodach-baladan, a son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent letters and a gift to Hezekiah, because he heard that Hezekiah had been sick. ¹³ And Hezekiah listened to ^[g]them, and showed them ^(M)all his treasure house, the silver, the gold, the balsam oil, the ^[h]scented oil, the house of his armor, and everything that was found in his treasuries. There was nothing in his house nor in all his realm that Hezekiah did not show them. ¹⁴ Then Isaiah the prophet came to King Hezekiah and said to him, “What did these men say, and from where have they come to you?” And Hezekiah said, “They have come from a far country, from Babylon.” ¹⁵ Isaiah said, “What have they seen in your house?” So Hezekiah ^[i]answered, “They have seen everything that is in my house; there is nothing among my treasuries that I have not shown them.”

¹⁶ Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, “Hear the word of the Lord: ¹⁷ ‘Behold, the days are coming when ^(N)everything that is in your house, and what your fathers have stored up to this day, will be carried to Babylon; nothing will be left,’ says the Lord. ¹⁸ ‘And some ^(O)of your sons who will come from you, whom you will father, will be taken away; and they will become ^(P)officials in the palace of the king of Babylon.’” ¹⁹ Then Hezekiah said to Isaiah, “The word of the Lord which you have spoken is ^(Q)good.” For he ^[j]thought, “Is it not good, if there will be peace and ^[k]security in my days?”

^20 (R)Now the rest of the acts of Hezekiah and all his might, and how he ^(S)constructed the pool and the conduit and brought water into the city, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah? ^21 (T)So Hezekiah ^[l]lay down with his fathers, and his son Manasseh became king in his place.

Peter’s Arrest and Deliverance

12 Now about that time ^[a]Herod the king laid hands on some who belonged to the church, to do them harm. ² And he ^(A)had James the brother of John ^(B)executed with a sword. ³ When he saw that it ^(C)pleased the Jews, he proceeded to arrest Peter as well. (Now these were ^[b](D)the days of Unleavened Bread.) ⁴ When he had arrested him, he put him in prison, turning him over to four ^[c](E)squads of soldiers to guard him, intending only after ^(F)the Passover to bring him before the people. ⁵ So Peter was kept in the prison, but prayer for him was being made to God ^[d]intensely by the church.

⁶ On ^[e]the very night when Herod was about to bring him forward, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, ^(G)bound with two chains, and guards in front of the door were watching over the prison. ⁷ And behold, ^(H)an angel of the Lord suddenly ^(I)stood near Peter, and a light shone in the cell; and he struck Peter’s side and woke him, saying, “Get up quickly.” And ^(J)his chains fell off his hands. ⁸ And the angel said to him, “Put on your belt and ^[f]strap on your sandals.” And he did so. And he *said to him, “Wrap your cloak around you and follow me.” ⁹ And he went out and continued to follow, and yet he did not know that what was being done by the angel was real, but thought he was seeing ^(K)a vision. ¹⁰ Now when they had passed the first and second guard, they came to the iron gate that leads into the city, which ^(L)opened for them by itself; and they went out and went along one street, and immediately the angel departed from him. ¹¹ When Peter ^(M)came ^[g]to himself, he said, “Now I know for sure that ^(N)the Lord has sent forth His angel and rescued me from the hand of Herod and from all ^[h]that the Jewish people were expecting.” ¹² And when he realized this, he went to the house of Mary, the mother of ^(O)John, who was also called Mark, where many were gathered together and ^(P)were praying. ¹³ When he knocked at the door of the gate, ^(Q)a slave woman named Rhoda came to answer. ¹⁴ When she recognized Peter’s voice, ^(R)because of her joy she did not open the gate, but ran in and announced that Peter was standing in front of the gate. ¹⁵ They said to her, “You are out of your mind!” But she kept insisting that it was so. They said, “It is ^(S)his angel.” ¹⁶ But Peter continued knocking; and when they had opened the door, they saw him and were amazed. ¹⁷ But ^(T)motioning to them with his hand to be silent, he described to them how the Lord had led him out of the prison. And he said, “Report these things to ^[i](U)James and ^(V)the brothers.” Then he left and went to another place.

¹¹ Soon afterward Jesus went to a city called Nain; and His disciples were going along with Him, ^[a]accompanied by a large crowd. ¹² Now as He approached the gate of the city, ^[b]a dead man was being carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow; and a sizeable crowd from the city was with her. ¹³ When ^(A)the Lord saw her, He felt compassion for her and said to her, “Do not go on weeping.” ¹⁴ And He came up and touched the coffin; and the bearers came to a halt. And He said, “Young man, I say to you, arise!” ¹⁵ And the dead man sat up and began to speak. And Jesus gave him back to his mother. ^16 (B)Fear gripped them all, and they began ^(C)glorifying God, saying, “A great ^(D)prophet has appeared among us!” and, “God has ^[c]visited His people!” ^17 (E)And this report about Him spread throughout Judea and in all the surrounding region.