M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Isaiah Sends Encouragement to Hezekiah
19 It happened that when King Hezekiah heard, he tore his clothes and covered himself with sackcloth and went to the temple of Yahweh. 2 He sent Eliakim who was over the palace, Shebna the secretary, the elders, and the priests, all clothed in sackcloth, to Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz. 3 They said to him, “Thus says Hezekiah, ‘A day of distress, rebuke, and disgrace is this day, for the children are about to be born,[a] but there is no strength to bear them. 4 Perhaps Yahweh your God will hear all of the words of the chief commander whom his master the king of Assyria has sent to insult the living God, and he will rebuke the words which Yahweh your God has heard. Therefore lift up a prayer for the remainder who are left.’” 5 So the servants of King Hezekiah came to Isaiah, 6 and Isaiah said to them, “Thus you must say to your master, ‘Thus says Yahweh, “You must not be afraid because the face of the words which you have heard, with which the servants of the king of Assyria have reviled me. 7 Look, I am putting in him a spirit. He will hear a rumor and return to his land. Then I will cause him to fall by the sword in his land.”’”
The Assyrians Defy God
8 When the chief commander returned, he found the king of Assyria fighting against Libnah, for he had heard that he had departed from Lachish. 9 He heard about Tirhakah, the king of Cush, saying, “Look, he has set out to fight with you,” so he again sent messengers to Hezekiah, saying, 10 “Thus you shall say to Hezekiah the king of Judah, ‘Let not your God whom you are trusting deceive you, by his saying, “Jerusalem shall not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria!” 11 Look, you have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all the lands, by utterly destroying them, and shall you be delivered? 12 Did the gods of the nations that my predecessors[b] destroyed deliver them? Not Gozan, Haran, Rezeph, nor the children of Eden who were in Tel Assar. 13 Where are the king of Hamath, the king of Arpad, the king of the city of Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivvah?’”
Hezekiah Prays to Yahweh
14 Hezekiah took the letters from the hand of the messengers and read them. Then he went up to the temple of Yahweh, and Hezekiah spread them out before the presence of Yahweh. 15 Then Hezekiah prayed before the face of Yahweh and said, “O Yahweh, God of Israel who lives above the cherubim. You are God, you alone, of all the kingdoms of the world; you have made the heavens and the earth. 16 Incline your ears and hear; open, O Yahweh, your eyes and see and hear the words of Sennacherib which he has sent to insult the living God. 17 Truly, O Yahweh, the kings of Assyria have utterly destroyed the nations and their land. 18 He has hurled their gods in the fire because they are not gods, but the work of the hands of a human made of wood and stone, so they destroyed them. 19 So then, O Yahweh our God, rescue us, please, from his hand, that all of the kingdoms of the earth may know that you, O Yahweh, you alone are God!”
Isaiah Brings a Prophetic Response
20 Then Isaiah the son of Amoz sent to Hezekiah, saying, “Thus says Yahweh the God of Israel, ‘What you have prayed to me about Sennacherib king of Assyria I have heard. 21 This is the word that Yahweh has spoken concerning him:
She despises you, she scorns you,
the virgin daughter of Zion.
Behind you the daughter of Jerusalem
shakes her head.
22 Whom have you mocked and reviled?
And against whom have you have raised your voice
and have haughtily lifted your eyes?
Against the Holy One of Israel!
23 By the hand of your messengers you have mocked the Lord,
and you have said,
‘With my many chariots I have gone up
to the height of the mountains.
To the remote areas of Lebanon,
I have felled the tallest of its cedars,
the choicest of its cypresses.
I have entered the place of overnight lodging.
Even to the edge of forest of its fertile land.
24 I dug wells and I drank foreign water,
and I dried up with the sole of my steps
all the canals of Egypt.’
25 Have you not heard?
From long ago I have determined it,
from the days of old I have planned it,
and now I am bringing it to pass.
It shall be turned into a pile of rocks;
fortified cities are ruined.
26 Their inhabitants, short of hand, shall be dismayed;
and they shall be ashamed.
They have become green plants of the open field,
and tender grass,
green grass of the roof
and blight before the standing grain.
27 Your sitting, your going out, and your coming in I know,
and your raging against me.
28 Because you are raging against me,
and your arrogance has come up in my ears,
I will put my nose ring in your nose
and my bridle in your mouth.
And I will turn you back
on the way that you have come.
29 “‘This will be the sign for you: Eat the volunteer plants for the year, and in the second year, the volunteer plants that spring up from that. But in the third year, sow and reap, plant vineyards and eat their fruit. 30 The remainder of the house of Judah which survives will again take root below and bear fruit above. 31 For from Jerusalem a remnant shall go out and survivors from Mount Zion; the zeal of Yahweh will do this.
32 “‘Therefore thus says Yahweh to the king of Assyria, “He shall not come to this city, nor shall he shoot an arrow there, nor shall he bring a small shield near her, nor shall he cast a siege ramp against her. 33 By the way that he came to her he shall return; but to this city, he shall not come,” declares Yahweh. 34 And I will defend this city to save her for my sake and for the sake of David my servant.’”
An Angel Neutralizes the Assyrian Army
35 It happened in that night that an angel of Yahweh went out, and he struck down one hundred and eighty-five thousand in the camp of Assyria. When they got up early in the morning, look! All of them were dead corpses. 36 Then Sennacherib king of Assyria set out and went and returned and lived in Nineveh. 37 It happened that he was worshiping in the temple of Nisroch his god, and Adrammelech and Sharezer[c] struck him with the sword. Then they escaped into the land of Ararat, and Esarhaddon his son became king in his place.
God’s Full and Final Revelation in the Son
1 Although[a] God spoke long ago in many parts[b] and in many ways to the fathers by the prophets, 2 in these last days he has spoken to us by a Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, through whom also he made the world,[c] 3 who is the radiance of his glory and the representation of his essence, sustaining all things by the word of power.[d] When he[e] had made purification for sins through him, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, 4 having become by so much better than the angels, by as much as he has inherited a more excellent name than theirs.
The Son Superior to the Angels
5 For to which of the angels did he ever say,
“You are my son,
today I have begotten you,”[f]
and again,
6 And again, when he brings the firstborn into the world, he says,
“And let all the angels of God worship him.”[j]
7 And concerning the angels he says,
“The one who makes his angels winds,
and his servants a flame of fire,”[k]
8 but concerning the Son,
“Your throne, O God, is forever and ever[l],
and the scepter of righteous is the scepter of your kingdom.
9 You have loved righteousness and hated lawlessness;
because of this God, your God, has anointed you
with the olive oil of joy more than your companions.[m]
10 And,
“You, Lord, laid the foundation of the earth in the beginning,
and the heavens are the works of your hands;
11 they will perish, but you continue,
and they will all become old like a garment,
12 and like a robe you will roll them up,
and like a garment they will be changed;
but you are the same, and your years will not run out.”[n]
13 But to which of the angels has he ever said,
“Sit down at my right hand,
until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.”[o]
14 Are they not all spirits engaged in special service, sent on assignment for the sake of those who are going to inherit salvation?
12 Ephraim herds the wind[a]
and is pursuing the east wind all day long;
he multiplies deception and violence
and he[b] makes a treaty with Assyria,[c]
and oil is brought to Egypt.
2 Yahweh has a quarrel[d] with Judah
and will punish Jacob according to his ways
and repay him according to his deeds.
3 In the womb he deceived his brother,
and in his manhood he struggled with God.
4 He struggled with the angel and prevailed;
he pleaded for his mercy.
He met him at Bethel,
and there he spoke with him.[e]
5 Yahweh the God of hosts,
Yahweh is his renowned name!
6 But you, you must return to your God;
keep love and justice,
and wait continually for your God.
7 The trader, in his hand are scales of deceit;[f]
he loves to oppress.
8 And Ephraim said, “Surely, I am rich,
I gained[g] wealth for myself;
in all my toil they have not found guilt in me
that is sin.
9 But I am Yahweh your God
since[h] the land of Egypt;
I will make you live in tents again,
like the days of the appointed festival.
10 I spoke to the prophets;
I myself multiplied revelations[i]
and through the hand of the prophets I will destroy.
11 If in Gilead there is evil,
surely they will come to nothing.
In Gilgal they sacrifice bulls,
also their altars will be like stone heaps
on furrows of the field.
12 Jacob fled to the open field of Aram,[j]
and Israel served for a wife,
and for a wife he watched over sheep.
13 And by a prophet Yahweh brought
Israel up from Egypt,
and by a prophet
he[k] was watched over.
14 Ephraim has caused bitter provocation,
and his Lord will hold him responsible for his crimes[l]
and pay back to him his insults.
Praise to God for His Power and Redemption
135 Praise Yah![a] Praise the name of Yahweh.
Praise him, O servants of Yahweh,
2 who stand in the house[b] of Yahweh,
in the courts of the house[c] of our God.
3 Praise Yah,[d] for Yahweh is good.
Sing praises concerning his name, for it is pleasant.
4 For Yah has chosen Jacob for himself,
Israel as his special possession.
5 For I know that Yahweh is great,
and our Lord is greater than all gods.
6 All that Yahweh desires, he does,
in heaven and on earth,
in the seas and all the depths.
7 He causes clouds to rise from the edge of the earth;
he makes lightnings for the rain;
he brings out the wind from his storehouses.
8 Who struck the firstborn of Egypt,
both of humans[e] and animals.[f]
9 He sent signs and wonders into your midst, O Egypt,
against Pharaoh and all his servants.
10 Who struck many nations
and killed mighty kings—
11 Sihon the king of the Amorites,
and Og the king of Bashan,
and all the kingdoms of Canaan—
12 and he gave their land as an inheritance,
an inheritance for his people Israel.
13 O Yahweh, your name endures forever,
your renown[g] throughout all generations,[h]
14 for Yahweh will plead the cause of his people
and will have compassion on his servants.
15 The idols of the nations are silver and gold,
the work of the hands of humankind.
16 They have mouths, but cannot speak;
they have eyes, but cannot see;
17 they have ears, but cannot hear;
there is not even breath in their mouths.
18 Those who make them become like them,
as does everyone who trusts in them.
19 O house of Israel, bless Yahweh.
O house of Aaron, bless Yahweh.
20 O house of Levi, bless Yahweh.
You who fear Yahweh, bless Yahweh.
21 Blessed be Yahweh from Zion,
who dwells in Jerusalem. Praise Yah![i]
Praise to God for His Creation and Deliverance
136 Give thanks to Yahweh, for he is good,
for his loyal love endures forever.
2 Give thanks to the God of gods,
for his loyal love endures forever.
3 Give thanks to the Lord of lords,
for his loyal love endures forever.
4 To him who alone does great wonders,
for his loyal love endures forever.
5 To him who made the heavens with skill,[j]
for his loyal love endures forever.
6 To him who spread out the earth above the waters,
for his loyal love endures forever.
7 To him who made the great lights,
for his loyal love endures forever.
8 The sun to rule the day,
for his loyal love endures forever.
9 The moon and stars to rule the night,
for his loyal love endures forever.
10 To him who struck Egypt through their firstborn,
for his loyal love endures forever.
11 And he brought Israel out from among them,
for his loyal love endures forever.
12 With a strong hand and an outstretched arm,
for his loyal love endures forever.
13 To him who divided the Red Sea[k] in two,
for his loyal love endures forever.
14 And he let Israel cross over through the midst of it,
for his loyal love endures forever.
15 But he tossed Pharaoh and his army into the Red Sea,[l]
for his loyal love endures forever.
16 To him who led his people through the wilderness,
for his loyal love endures forever.
17 To him who struck great kings,
for his loyal love endures forever.
18 And he killed mighty kings,
for his loyal love endures forever.
19 Sihon the king of the Amorites,
for his loyal love endures forever.
20 And Og the king of Bashan,
for his loyal love endures forever.
21 And he gave their land as an inheritance,
for his loyal love endures forever.
22 An inheritance to Israel his servant,
for his loyal love endures forever.
23 Who remembered us in our low estate,
for his loyal love endures forever.
24 And he rescued us from our enemies,
for his loyal love endures forever.
25 The one who gives food to all flesh,
for his loyal love endures forever.
26 Give thanks to the God of heaven,
for his loyal love endures forever.
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