M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Hezekiah Talks With Isaiah the Prophet
19 When King Hezekiah heard this, he tore his clothes to show he was upset. Then he put on sackcloth and went to the Lord’s Temple.
2 Hezekiah sent Eliakim the palace manager, Shebna the royal secretary, and the elders of the priests to the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz. They wore the special clothes that showed they were sad and upset. 3 They said to Isaiah, “King Hezekiah has commanded that today will be a special day for sorrow and sadness. It will be a very sad day, like the time a child should be born, but is not strong enough to come from its mother’s womb. 4 The commander’s master, the king of Assyria, has sent him to say bad things about the living God. Maybe the Lord your God will hear all those things and answer them. Maybe the Lord your God will show how wrong the enemy is! So pray for the people who are still left alive.”
5 King Hezekiah’s officers went to Isaiah. 6 Isaiah said to them, “Give this message to your master, Hezekiah: The Lord says, ‘Don’t be afraid of what you heard from the commanders. Don’t believe what those “boys” from the king of Assyria said to make fun of me. 7 Look, I will send a spirit against the king of Assyria. He will get a report warning him about a danger, so he will return to his own country. And I will cut him down with a sword in his own country.’”
The Assyrian Army Leaves Jerusalem
8 The commander heard that the king of Assyria had left Lachish. He found him at Libnah, fighting against that city. 9 Then the king of Assyria heard a report that said, “Tirhakah,[a] the king of Ethiopia, has come to fight against you.”
So the king of Assyria sent messengers to Hezekiah again. 10 He told them, “Tell King Hezekiah of Judah these things:
‘Don’t be fooled by the god you trust when he says Jerusalem will not be defeated by the king of Assyria. 11 You have heard what the kings of Assyria did to all the other countries. We completely destroyed them! Will you be saved? No! 12 Did the gods of those nations save their people? No, my ancestors destroyed them all. They destroyed Gozan, Haran, Rezeph, and the people of Eden living in Tel Assar. 13 Where is the king of Hamath? The king of Arpad? The king of the city of Sepharvaim? The kings of Hena and Ivvah?’”
Hezekiah Prays to the Lord
14 Hezekiah received the letters from the messengers and read them. Then he went up to the Lord’s Temple and laid the letters out in front of the Lord. 15 Hezekiah prayed before the Lord and said, “Lord, God of Israel, you sit as King above the Cherub angels. You alone are the God who rules all the kingdoms on earth. You made heaven and earth. 16 Lord, please listen to me. Lord, open your eyes and look at this message. Hear the words that Sennacherib sent to insult the living God. 17 It is true, Lord. The kings of Assyria did destroy all those nations. 18 They did throw the gods of those nations into the fire. But they were not real gods. They were only wood and stone—statues that people made. That is why the kings of Assyria could destroy them. 19 But you are the Lord our God, so please save us from the king of Assyria. Then all the other nations will know that you, Lord, are the only God.”
God Answers Hezekiah
20 Then Isaiah son of Amoz sent this message to Hezekiah. Isaiah said, “The Lord, the God of Israel, says this: You prayed to me about the message that came from King Sennacherib of Assyria. I have heard you.
21 “This is the Lord’s message against Sennacherib:
‘The virgin daughter Zion[b] does not think you are important.
She makes fun of you.
Daughter Jerusalem shakes her head at you
and laughs behind your back.
22 But who did you insult and make fun of?
Who did you speak against?
You were against the Holy One of Israel.
You acted like you were better than he was!
23 You sent your messengers to insult the Lord.
You said, “I came with my many chariots to the high mountains deep inside Lebanon.
I cut down the tallest cedar trees and the best fir trees of Lebanon.
I went to its highest mountains, its thickest forests.
24 I dug wells, and drank water from new places.
I dried up the rivers of Egypt
and walked on the land there.”
25 That is what you said, but haven’t you heard what I said?
I planned it long ago;
from ancient times I planned it.
And now I have made it happen.
I let you tear down the strong cities
and change them into piles of rocks.
26 The people in the cities had no power.
They were afraid and confused.
They were about to be cut down
like grass and plants in the field.
They were like grass growing on the housetops,
dying before it grows tall.
27 I know all about your battles;
I know when you rested,
when you went out to war,
and when you came home.
I also know when you got upset at me.
28 Yes, you were upset at me.
I heard your proud insults.
So I will put my hook in your nose
and my bit in your mouth.
Then I will turn you around
and lead you back the way you came.’”
The Lord’s Message for Hezekiah
29 Then the Lord said, “I will give you a sign to show that these words are true. You were not able to plant seeds this year, so next year you will eat grain that grows wild from the previous year’s crop. But in the third year, you will eat grain from seeds that you planted. You will harvest your crops and have plenty to eat. You will plant grapevines and eat their fruit. You will plant vineyards and eat the grapes from them. 30 The people from the family of Judah who have escaped and are left alive will be like plants that send their roots deep into the ground and produce fruit above the ground. 31 That is because a few people will come out of Jerusalem alive. There will be survivors coming from Mount Zion. The strong love[c] of the Lord All-Powerful will do this.
32 “So the Lord says this about the king of Assyria:
‘He will not come into this city
or shoot an arrow at this city.
He will not bring his shields up against this city
or build up a hill of dirt to attack its walls.
33 He will go back the way he came,
and he will not come into this city.
The Lord says this.
34 I will protect this city and save it.
I will do this for myself and for my servant David.’”
The Assyrian Army Is Destroyed
35 That night the angel of the Lord went out and killed 185,000 people in the Assyrian camp. When the others got up in the morning, they saw all the dead bodies.
36 So King Sennacherib of Assyria left and went back to Nineveh where he stayed. 37 One day Sennacherib was in the temple of his god Nisroch, worshiping him. His sons Adrammelech and Sharezer killed him with a sword and ran away to Ararat. So his son Esarhaddon became the new king of Assyria.
God Has Spoken Through His Son
1 In the past God spoke to our people through the prophets. He spoke to them many times and in many different ways. 2 And now in these last days, God has spoken to us again through his Son. He made the whole world through his Son. And he has chosen his Son to have all things. 3 The Son shows the glory of God. He is a perfect copy of God’s nature, and he holds everything together by his powerful command. The Son made people clean from their sins. Then he sat down at the right side[a] of God, the Great One in heaven. 4 The Son became much greater than the angels, and God gave him a name that is much greater than any of their names.
5 God never said this to any of the angels:
“You are my Son.
Today I have become your Father.” (A)
God also never said about an angel,
“I will be his Father,
and he will be my son.” (B)
6 And then, when God presents his firstborn Son to the world,[b] he says,
“Let all God’s angels worship him.”[c]
7 This is what God said about the angels:
8 But this is what he said about his Son:
“God, your kingdom will last forever and ever.
You use your authority for justice.
9 You love what is right and hate what is wrong.
So God, your God, has chosen you,
giving you more honor and joy than anyone like you.” (D)
10 God also said,
“O Lord, in the beginning you made the earth,
and your hands made the sky.
11 These things will disappear, but you will stay.
They will all wear out like old clothes.
12 You will fold them up like a coat,
and they will be changed like clothes.
But you never change,
and your life will never end.” (E)
13 And God never said this to an angel:
14 All the angels are spirits who serve God and are sent to help those who will receive salvation.
The Lord Is Against Israel
12 Ephraim is wasting its time; Israel “chases the wind” all day long. The people tell more and more lies and steal more and more. They have made agreements with Assyria, and they are carrying their olive oil to Egypt.
2 The Lord says, “I have a complaint against Israel.[a] Jacob must be punished for the bad things he did. 3 While Jacob was still in his mother’s womb, he began to trick his brother.[b] Jacob was a strong young man, and at that time he fought with God. 4 Jacob wrestled with God’s angel and won.[c] He cried and asked for a favor. That happened at Bethel. There he spoke to us. 5 Yes, Yahweh is the God of the armies.[d] His name is Yahweh. 6 So come back to your God. Be loyal to him. Do the right thing, and always trust in your God!
7 “Jacob is a tricky merchant.[e] He even cheats his friend! Even his scales[f] lie. 8 Ephraim said, ‘I am rich! I have found true riches! No one will learn about my crimes. No one will learn about my sins.’
9 “But I am still the Lord your God, as I was when you left the land of Egypt. I will make you live in tents, as you do during the Festival of Shelters.[g] 10 I spoke to the prophets and gave them many visions. I gave the prophets many ways to teach my lessons to you. 11 But the people in Gilead have sinned. There are many terrible idols in that place. They offer sacrifices to bulls at Gilgal. They have many altars. There are rows and rows of altars—like the rows of dirt in a plowed field.
12 “Jacob ran away to the land of Aram. There Israel worked for a wife. He kept sheep to get another wife. 13 But the Lord used a prophet and brought Israel out of Egypt. He used a prophet and kept Israel safe. 14 But Ephraim made the Lord very angry. Ephraim killed many people, so he will be punished for his crimes. His Lord will make him bear his shame.”
135 Praise the Lord!
Praise the name of the Lord!
Praise him, you servants of the Lord,
2 you who serve in the Lord’s Temple,
in the courtyard of the Temple of our God.
3 Praise the Lord, because he is good.
Praise his name, because it brings such joy!
4 The Lord chose Jacob to be his own.
Yes, he chose Israel to be his own people.
5 I know the Lord is great!
Our Lord is greater than all the gods!
6 The Lord does whatever he wants,
in heaven and on earth, in the seas and the deep oceans.
7 He brings the clouds from the other side of the earth.
He sends the lightning and the rain,
and he opens the doors to release the winds.
8 He destroyed the firstborn males of the people in Egypt and their animals.
9 He did great wonders and miracles in Egypt.
He used them against Pharaoh and his officials.
10 He defeated many nations
and killed powerful kings.
11 He defeated Sihon, king of the Amorites,
Og, king of Bashan,
and all the kingdoms in Canaan.
12 Then he gave their land to Israel, his people.
13 Lord, your name will be famous forever!
Lord, people will remember you forever and ever.
14 The Lord defends his people;
he is kind to his servants.
15 The gods of other nations are only gold and silver idols
that people have made.
16 They have mouths, but cannot speak.
They have eyes, but cannot see.
17 They have ears, but cannot hear.
They have mouths, but no breath.
18 Those who make idols and trust in them
will become just like the idols they have made.
19 Family of Israel, praise the Lord!
Aaron’s family, praise the Lord!
20 Levi’s family, praise the Lord!
All you who worship the Lord, praise the Lord!
21 The Lord should be praised from Zion,
from Jerusalem, his home.
Praise the Lord!
136 Praise the Lord because he is good.
His faithful love will last forever.
2 Praise the God of gods!
His faithful love will last forever.
3 Praise the Lord of lords!
His faithful love will last forever.
4 Praise him who alone does wonderful miracles!
His faithful love will last forever.
5 Praise the one who used wisdom to make the skies!
His faithful love will last forever.
6 He spread the land over the sea.
His faithful love will last forever.
7 He made the great lights.
His faithful love will last forever.
8 He made the sun to rule the day.
His faithful love will last forever.
9 He made the moon and stars to rule the night.
His faithful love will last forever.
10 He killed the firstborn males in Egypt, both men and animals.
His faithful love will last forever.
11 He took Israel out of Egypt.
His faithful love will last forever.
12 He used his powerful arms and strong hands.
His faithful love will last forever.
13 He split the Red Sea into two parts.
His faithful love will last forever.
14 He led Israel through the sea.
His faithful love will last forever.
15 He drowned Pharaoh and his army in the Red Sea.
His faithful love will last forever.
16 He led his people through the desert.
His faithful love will last forever.
17 He defeated powerful kings.
His faithful love will last forever.
18 He defeated strong kings.
His faithful love will last forever.
19 He defeated Sihon king of the Amorites.
His faithful love will last forever.
20 He defeated Og king of Bashan.
His faithful love will last forever.
21 He gave their land to Israel.
His faithful love will last forever.
22 He gave it as a gift to Israel, his servant.
His faithful love will last forever.
23 He remembered us when we were defeated.
His faithful love will last forever.
24 He saved us from our enemies.
His faithful love will last forever.
25 He provides food for all living things.
His faithful love will last forever.
26 Praise the God of heaven!
His faithful love will last forever.
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International