M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Hezekiah Becomes Sick
20 In those days Hezekiah became very sick. He was about to die. Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz, went to him. Isaiah told Hezekiah, “The Lord says, ‘Put everything in order. Make out your will. You are going to die soon. You will not get well again.’ ”
2 Hezekiah turned his face toward the wall. He prayed to the Lord. He said, 3 “Lord, please remember how faithful I’ve been to you. I’ve lived the way you wanted me to. I’ve served you with all my heart. I’ve done what is good in your sight.” And Hezekiah wept bitterly.
4 Isaiah was leaving the middle courtyard. Before he had left it, a message came to him from the Lord. He said, 5 “Go back and speak to Hezekiah. He is the ruler of my people. Tell him, ‘The Lord, the God of King David, says, “I have heard your prayer. I have seen your tears. And I will heal you. On the third day from now you will go up to my temple. 6 I will add 15 years to your life. And I will save you and this city from the power of the king of Assyria. I will guard this city. I will do it for myself. And I will do it for my servant David.” ’ ”
7 Then Isaiah said, “Press some figs together. Spread them on a piece of cloth.” So that’s what they did. Then they applied it to Hezekiah’s boil. And he got well again.
8 Hezekiah had said to Isaiah, “You say the Lord will heal me. You say that I’ll go up to his temple on the third day from now. What will the sign be to prove he’ll really do that?”
9 Isaiah answered, “The Lord will do what he has promised. Here is his sign to you. Do you want the shadow the sun makes to go forward ten steps? Or do you want it to go back ten steps?”
10 “It’s easy for the shadow to go forward ten steps,” said Hezekiah. “So have it go back ten steps.”
11 Then Isaiah the prophet called out to the Lord. And the Lord made the shadow go back ten steps. It went back the ten steps it had gone down on the stairway Ahaz had made.
Messengers Come From Babylon to Hezekiah
12 At that time Marduk-Baladan, the king of Babylon, sent Hezekiah letters and a gift. He had heard that Hezekiah had been sick. Marduk-Baladan was the son of Baladan. 13 Hezekiah received the messengers. He showed them everything in his storerooms. He showed them the silver and gold. He showed them the spices and the fine olive oil. He showed them where he kept his weapons. And he showed them all his treasures. In fact, he showed them everything in his palace and in his whole kingdom.
14 Then Isaiah the prophet went to King Hezekiah. He asked him, “What did those men say? Where did they come from?”
“They came from a land far away,” Hezekiah said. “They came from Babylon.”
15 The prophet asked, “What did they see in your palace?”
“They saw everything in my palace,” Hezekiah said. “I showed them all my treasures.”
16 Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, “Listen to the Lord’s message. He says, 17 ‘You can be sure the time will come when everything in your palace will be carried off to Babylon. Everything the kings before you have stored up until this day will be taken away. There will not be anything left,’ says the Lord. 18 ‘Some of the members of your family line will be taken away. They will be your own flesh and blood. They will include the children who will be born into your family line in years to come. And they will serve the king of Babylon in his palace.’ ”
19 “The message the Lord has spoken through you is good,” Hezekiah replied. He thought, “There will be peace and safety while I’m still living.”
20 The other events of the rule of Hezekiah are written down. That includes how he made the pool and the tunnel. He used them to bring water into Jerusalem. Everything he accomplished is written in the official records of the kings of Judah. 21 Hezekiah joined the members of his family who had already died. Hezekiah’s son Manasseh became the next king after him.
A Warning to Pay Attention
2 So we must pay the most careful attention to what we have heard. Then we will not drift away from it. 2 Even the message God spoke through angels had to be obeyed. Every time people broke the Law, they were punished. Every time they didn’t obey, they were punished. 3 Then how will we escape if we don’t pay attention to God’s great salvation? The Lord first announced this salvation. Those who heard him gave us the message about it. 4 God showed that this message is true by signs and wonders. He showed that it’s true by different kinds of miracles. God also showed that this message is true by the gifts of the Holy Spirit. God gave them out as it pleased him.
Jesus Was Made Fully Human
5 God has not put angels in charge of the world that is going to come. We are talking about that world. 6 There is a place where someone has spoken about this. He said,
“What are human beings that you think about them?
What is a son of man that you take care of him?
7 You made them a little lower than the angels.
You placed on them a crown of glory and honor.
8 You have put everything under their control.” (Psalm 8:4–6)
So God has put everything under his Son. Everything is under his control. We do not now see everything under his control. 9 But we do see Jesus already given a crown of glory and honor. He was made lower than the angels for a little while. He suffered death. By the grace of God, he tasted death for everyone. That is why he was given his crown.
10 God has made everything. He is now bringing his many sons and daughters to share in his glory. It is only right that Jesus is the one to lead them into their salvation. That’s because God made him perfect by his sufferings. 11 And Jesus, who makes people holy, and the people he makes holy belong to the same family. So Jesus is not ashamed to call them his brothers and sisters. 12 He says,
“I will announce your name to my brothers and sisters.
I will sing your praises among those who worship you.” (Psalm 22:22)
13 Again he says,
“I will put my trust in him.” (Isaiah 8:17)
And again he says,
“Here I am. Here are the children God has given me.” (Isaiah 8:18)
14 Those children have bodies made out of flesh and blood. So Jesus became human like them in order to die for them. By doing this, he could break the power of the devil. The devil is the one who rules over the kingdom of death. 15 Jesus could set people free who were afraid of death. All their lives they were held as slaves by that fear. 16 It is certainly Abraham’s children that he helps. He doesn’t help angels. 17 So he had to be made like people, fully human in every way. Then he could serve God as a kind and faithful high priest. And then he could pay for the sins of the people by dying for them. 18 He himself suffered when he was tempted. Now he is able to help others who are being tempted.
The Lord Is Angry With Israel
13 When the tribe of Ephraim spoke,
the other tribes trembled with fear.
Ephraim was honored in Israel.
But its people sinned by worshiping Baal.
So they were as good as dead.
2 Now they sin more and more.
They use their silver
to make statues of gods for themselves.
The statues come from their own clever ideas.
Skilled workers make all of them.
The people pray to these gods.
They offer human sacrifices to them.
They kiss the gods that look like calves.
3 So these people will vanish like the morning mist.
They will soon disappear like the early dew.
They will be like straw
that the wind blows around on a threshing floor.
They will be like smoke
that escapes through a window.
4 The Lord says,
“People of Israel, I have been the Lord your God
ever since you came out of Egypt.
You must not worship any god but me.
You must not have any savior except me.
5 I took care of you in the desert.
It was a land of burning heat.
6 I fed them until they were satisfied.
Then they became proud.
They forgot all about me.
7 So I will leap on them like a lion.
I will hide and wait
beside the road like a leopard.
8 I will attack them like a bear
that is robbed of her cubs.
I will rip them wide open.
Like a lion I will eat them up.
Like a wild animal I will tear them apart.
9 “Israel, you will be destroyed.
I helped you. But you turned against me.
10 Where is your king?
Wasn’t he supposed to save you?
Where are the rulers in all your towns?
You said, ‘Give us a king and princes.’
11 So I became angry and gave you a king.
Then I took him away from you.
12 Ephraim’s guilt is piling up.
I am keeping a record of all their sins.
13 They will suffer pain like a woman having a baby.
They are like foolish children.
It is time for them to be born.
But they don’t have the sense to come out of their mother’s body.
14 “I will set these people free from the power of the grave.
I will save them from death.
Death, where are your plagues?
Grave, where is your power to destroy?
“I will no longer pity Ephraim.
15 Even though they are doing well among the other tribes,
trouble will come to them.
I will send a hot and dry wind from the east.
It will blow in from the desert.
Their springs will not have any water.
Their wells will dry up.
All their treasures
will be taken out of their storerooms.
16 The people of Samaria must pay for their sins.
They have refused to obey me.
They will be killed by swords.
Their little children will be smashed on the ground.
Their pregnant women will be ripped wide open.”
137 We were sitting by the rivers of Babylon.
We wept when we remembered what had happened to Zion.
2 On the nearby poplar trees
we hung up our harps.
3 Those who held us as prisoners asked us to sing.
Those who enjoyed hurting us ordered us to sing joyful songs.
They said, “Sing one of the songs of Zion to us!”
4 How can we sing the songs of the Lord
while we are in another land?
5 Jerusalem, if I forget you,
may my right hand never be able to play the harp again.
6 If I don’t remember you,
may my tongue stick to the roof of my mouth so I can’t sing.
May it happen if I don’t consider Jerusalem
to be my greatest joy.
7 Lord, remember what the people of Edom did
on the day Jerusalem fell.
“Tear it down!” they cried.
“Tear it down to the ground!”
8 People of Babylon, you are sentenced to be destroyed.
Happy is the person who pays you back
according to what you have done to us.
9 Happy is the person who grabs your babies
and smashes them against the rocks.
A psalm of David.
138 Lord, I will praise you with all my heart.
In front of those who think they are gods
I will sing praise to you.
2 I will bow down facing your holy temple.
I will praise your name,
because you are always loving and faithful.
You have honored your holy word
even more than your own fame.
3 When I called out to you, you answered me.
You made me strong and brave.
4 Lord, may all the kings on earth praise you
when they hear about what you have decided.
5 Lord, may they sing about what you have done,
because your glory is great.
6 Though the Lord is high above all, he cares for the lowly.
Though he is in heaven above, he sees them on earth below.
7 Trouble is all around me,
but you keep me alive.
You reach out your hand to put a stop to the anger of my enemies.
With your powerful right hand you save me.
8 Lord, you will show that I was right to trust you.
Lord, your faithful love continues forever.
You have done so much for us, so don’t stop now.
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