Old/New Testament
Isaiah Encourages Hezekiah
19 When King Hezekiah heard Eliakim’s report,[a] he tore his clothes, put on a sackcloth covering, entered the Lord’s Temple, 2 and sent Eliakim the household supervisor, Shebna the scribe, and the elders of the priests—all of them covered in sackcloth—to Amoz’s son, the prophet Isaiah. 3 They announced to him:
“This is what Hezekiah says: ‘Today is a day of trouble, rebuke, and blasphemy,[b] because children are about to be born, but there is no strength to bring them to birth. 4 Perhaps the Lord your God will take note of everything that Rab-shakeh has said, whom his master the king of Assyria sent to taunt the living God, and then he will rebuke the words that the Lord your God has heard. Therefore offer a prayer for the survivors who remain.’”
5 That is how the King Hezekiah’s servants approached Isaiah.
6 In reply, Isaiah responded to them, “Here’s how you’re to report to your master:
‘This is what the Lord says: “Never be afraid of the words that you have heard by which the servants of the king of Assyria have blasphemed me. 7 Look! I’m going to cause an attitude[c] to grow within him so that he’ll hear a rumor and return to his own territory, where I’ll make him die by the sword in his own land!”’”
Sennacherib Defies God(A)
8 So Rab-shakeh returned and found the king of Assyria at war with Libnah, because Rab-shakeh had heard that the king had left Lachish. 9 When he heard that it was being said about King Tirhakah of Ethiopia,[d] “Look! He has come out to attack you!” he again sent messengers to Hezekiah.
The messengers were told, 10 “This is what you are to say to King Hezekiah of Judah: ‘Don’t let your God in whom you trust deceive you by telling you[e] “Jerusalem won’t be turned over to the control[f] of Assyria’s king.” 11 ‘Look! you’ve heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all the lands—they completely destroyed them! Will you be spared? 12 Did the gods of those nations whom my ancestors destroyed deliver them, including Gozan, Haran, Rezeph, and Eden’s descendants in Telassar? 13 Where is the king of Hamath, the king of Arpad, the king of the city of Sephar-vaim, the king of Hena, or the king of Ivvah?’”
Hezekiah’s Prayer for Help
14 Hezekiah took the messages from the couriers, read them, went up to the Lord’s Temple, and laid them out in the presence of the Lord. 15 Then Hezekiah prayed in the presence of the Lord, “Lord God of Israel! You live between the cherubim! You alone are the God of all the kingdoms of the earth. You have fashioned the heavens and the earth. 16 Turn[g] your ear, Lord, and listen! Open your eyes, Lord, and observe! Listen to the message sent by Sennacherib to insult the living God! 17 Truly, Lord, the kings of Assyria have devastated nations and their territories, 18 throwing their gods into the fire, since they weren’t gods but rather were the product of men’s handiwork—wood and stone. And so they destroyed them. 19 Now, Lord our God, I’m praying that you will deliver us from his control, so that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that you alone, Lord, are God!”
God’s Answer through Isaiah the Prophet
20 Then Amoz’s son Isaiah sent word to Hezekiah, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel says: ‘Because you have prayed to me about King Sennacherib of Assyria, I have listened.’”
21 “This is what the Lord has spoken against him:
‘She despises and mocks you,
this virgin daughter of Zion!
Behind your back she shakes her head,
this daughter of Jerusalem!
22 Who are you reproaching and blaspheming?
Against whom have you raised your voice?
And against whom[h] have you lifted up your eyes in arrogance?
Against the Holy One of Israel!
23 By your messengers you have insulted the Lord.
You have claimed,
“With my many chariots
I ascended the heights of the mountains,
including the remotest regions of Lebanon;
I cut down its tall cedars
and the best of its cypress trees.
I entered its most remote lodging place
and its most fruitful[i] forest.
24 I myself dug for and drank foreign water.
With the sole of my foot I dried up all the streams of Egypt!”
25 ‘Didn’t you hear?
I determined it years ago!
I planned this from ancient times,
and now I’ve brought it to pass,
to turn fortified cities
into piles of ruins
26 while their inhabitants, lacking strength,
stand dismayed and confused.
They were like vegetation out in the fields,
and like green herbs—
just as grass that grows on a housetop
dries out before it can grow.
27 ‘But when you sit down,
when you go out,
and when you come in,
I’m aware of it!
28 Because of your rage against me,
your complacency has reached my ears.
I’ll put my hook into your nostrils
and my bit into your mouth.
Then I’ll turn you back on the road
by which you came.’
29 “This will serve as a sign for you: you’ll eat this year from what grows by itself, in the second year what grows from that, and in the third year you’ll sow, reap, plant vineyards, and enjoy[j] their fruit. 30 Those who survive from Judah’s household will again put down deep roots and bear fruit extensively,[k] 31 because a remnant will go out from Jerusalem, and survivors from Mount Zion. The zeal of the Lord[l] will bring this about.”
32 “Therefore this is what the Lord says concerning the king of Assyria: ‘Not only will he not approach this city or shoot an arrow in its direction, he won’t approach it with so much as a shield, nor will he throw up a siege ramp against it. 33 He’ll return on the same route by which he came—he won’t come to this city,’ declares the Lord. 34 ‘I will defend this city and preserve it for my own reasons, and because of my servant David.’”
God Destroys the Assyrian Army(B)
35 That very night, the angel of the Lord went out to the camp of the Assyrian army and killed 185,000 men. Early the next morning, when the army of Israel[m] arose, all 185,000 soldiers[n] were dead. 36 As a result, King Sennacherib of Assyria left and returned to Nineveh where he lived. 37 Later on, as he was worshiping in the temple of his god Nisroch, Adrammelech[o] and Sharezer killed him with a sword and fled into the territory of Ararat. Then Sennacherib’s[p] son Esarhaddon became king in his place.
Hezekiah’s Sickness and Recovery(C)
20 During this time, Hezekiah became sick with a fatal illness, so Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz, approached him and told him, “This is what the Lord says: ‘Put your household in order, because you are dying. You will not survive.’”
2 So Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the Lord. 3 “Remember me, Lord,” he said, “how I have walked in your presence with integrity, with an undivided heart, and I have accomplished what is good in your sight.” And Hezekiah wept deeply.
4 Before Isaiah had left the middle court, this message from the Lord came to him. 5 “Return to Hezekiah,” he said, “and tell the Commander-in-Chief[q] of my people: ‘This is what the Lord, the God of your ancestor David, says: “I’ve heard your prayer and I’ve observed your tears. Look! I’m healing you. Three days from now, you’ll go visit the Lord’s Temple. 6 Furthermore, I’ll add fifteen years to your life. I’ll deliver you and this city from domination by[r] the king of Assyria, and I’ll defend this city for my own sake and for the sake of my servant David.”’”
7 Isaiah said, “Take a fig cake.” So some attendants[s] took it, laid it on Hezekiah’s[t] boil, and he recovered.
8 Now Hezekiah had asked Isaiah, “What is to be the sign that the Lord is healing me and that I’ll be going up to the Lord’s Temple three days from now?”
9 So Isaiah replied, “This will be your sign from the Lord that the Lord will do what he has promised. Shall the shadow go forward ten steps or go back ten steps?”
10 Hezekiah answered, “It’s an easy thing for a shadow to lengthen ten steps. So let the shadow go backward ten steps.”
11 So Isaiah cried out to the Lord, who brought the shadow back ten steps after it had gone down the stairway of Ahaz.
Hezekiah Shows His Treasure to the Babylonian Envoys
12 Some time later, Berodach-baladan,[u] the son of King Baladan of Babylon, sent letters and a gift to Hezekiah, because he had heard that Hezekiah had been ill. 13 Hezekiah listened to the entourage[v] and showed them his entire treasury, including the silver, gold, and spices, the precious oil, his armory, and everything that was inventoried in his treasuries. There was nothing in his household or in his holdings that Hezekiah did not show them.
14 Then Isaiah the prophet came to King Hezekiah and asked him, “What did these men have to say, and where did they come from?”
Hezekiah replied, “They came from a country far away—from Babylon.”
15 He asked, “What did they see in your household?”
Hezekiah answered, “They have seen everything. In my household there is nothing in my treasuries that I haven’t shown them.”
16 Then Isaiah replied to Hezekiah, “Listen to this message from the Lord: 17 ‘Watch out! The days are coming when everything that’s in your house—everything that your ancestors have saved up right to this day—will be carried off to Babylon. Nothing will be left,’ declares the Lord. 18 ‘Some of your descendants—your very own seed, whom you will father—will be carried away to become officials[w] in the palace of the king of Babylon.’”
19 At this, Hezekiah replied to Isaiah, “What you’ve spoken from the Lord is good,” because he had been thinking, “Why not, as long as there’s peace and security[x] in my lifetime…?”
20 Now the rest of Hezekiah’s actions, as well as his glorious deeds, including how he constructed the pool and the conduit to bring water into the city, are recorded in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah, are they not? 21 Hezekiah died, as did[y] his ancestors, and his son Manasseh became king in his place.
Manasseh Succeeds Hezekiah
21 Manasseh began to reign at the age of twelve, and he reigned for 55 years in Jerusalem. His mother was named Hephzibah. 2 He did what the Lord considered to be evil, following the despicable practices of the nations whom the Lord had expelled in full view of the people of Israel. 3 He rebuilt the high places that his father Hezekiah had destroyed. He erected altars for Baal, crafted an Asherah, just as King Ahab of Israel had done, and worshipped and served the stars of heaven. 4 He also built altars in the Lord’s Temple, about which the Lord had said, “In Jerusalem I will place my Name.” 5 He built two altars to every star in the heavens in the two courts of the Lord’s Temple. 6 He made his son into a burnt offering, practiced witchcraft, used divination, and consorted with mediums and spirit-channelers.[z] He practiced many things that the Lord considered to be evil and provoked him.
7 He also erected the carved image of Asherah that he had made inside the Temple about which the Lord had spoken to David and to his son Solomon, “I will put my Name forever in this Temple and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen from all of the tribes of Israel. 8 And I will not make Israel’s feet to wander anymore from the land that I have given to their ancestors, if they will only be careful to do everything that I have commanded them according to the entire Law that my servant Moses commanded them.” 9 But they would not listen. Manasseh led them astray to practice more evil than the nations whom the Lord had destroyed in the presence of the Israelis.
The Lord Rebukes Manasseh’s Idolatry
10 So the Lord announced through his prophets, 11 “Because King Manasseh of Judah has committed these despicable things, acting more sinfully than did all of the Amorites who preceded him, including making Judah sin with its idols, 12 therefore this is what the Lord God of Israel says: ‘Look! I’m going to bring such a[aa] disaster to Jerusalem and Judah that both ears of those who hear about it will ring. 13 I’ll stretch out over Jerusalem the measuring line that is Samaria and the plumb line that is Ahab’s dynasty. Then I’ll wipe Jerusalem like one wipes a dish, wiping it and turning it upside down! 14 I will abandon the survivors of my heritage and hand them over to their enemies. They will become war booty and spoil to all of their enemies, 15 because they have done what I consider to be evil and they have provoked me from the day their ancestors left Egypt right up to this day!’”
16 In addition to this, Manasseh shed lots of innocent blood—until he had filled Jerusalem from one end to another—besides his sin by which he caused Judah to sin by practicing what the Lord considered to be evil. 17 The rest of Manasseh’s deeds, including everything that he accomplished and the sin that he practiced, are recorded in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah, are they not? 18 Manasseh died, as did[ab] his ancestors, and he was buried in the garden at his home in the Garden of Uzza. His son Amon became king in his place.
Amon Reigns in Judah
19 Amon began to reign at the age of 22, and ruled for two years in Jerusalem. His mother was named Meshullemeth, the daughter of Haruz of Jotbah. 20 He practiced what the Lord considered to be evil, just as his father Manasseh had done, 21 because he completely adopted his father’s lifestyle, serving the same idols his father had served and worshipped. 22 As a result, he abandoned the Lord God of his ancestors and did not walk in the Lord’s way. 23 Later on, Amon’s staff conspired against him and killed the king inside his own home. 24 But afterward, the people of the land executed everyone who had conspired against King Amon, and the people of the land installed his son Josiah to be king in his place.
25 Now the rest of Amon’s activities that he undertook are recorded in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah, are they not? 26 He was buried in his own grave in the Garden of Uzza, and his son Josiah became king in his place.
Jesus Meets a Samaritan Woman
4 Now when Jesus[a] realized that the Pharisees had heard he was making and baptizing more disciples than John— 2 although it was not Jesus who did the baptizing but his disciples— 3 he left Judea and went back to Galilee. 4 Now it was necessary for him to go through Samaria. 5 So he came to a town in Samaria called Sychar, near the piece of land that Jacob had given to his son Joseph. 6 Jacob’s Well was also there, and Jesus, tired out by the journey, sat down by the well. It was about noon.[b]
7 A Samaritan woman came to draw water, and Jesus told her, “Please give me a drink,” 8 since his disciples had gone off into town to buy food.
9 The Samaritan woman asked him, “How can you, a Jew, ask for a drink from me, a Samaritan woman?” Because Jews do not have anything to do with Samaritans.[c]
10 Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who is saying to you, ‘Please give me a drink,’ you would have been the one to ask him, and he would have given you living water.”
11 The woman[d] told him, “Sir, you don’t have a bucket, and the well is deep. Where are you going to get this living water? 12 You’re not greater than our ancestor Jacob, who gave us the well and drank from it, along with his sons and his flocks, are you?”
13 Jesus answered her, “Everyone who drinks this water will become thirsty again. 14 But whoever drinks the water that I will give him will never become thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become a well of water for him, springing up to eternal life.”
15 The woman told him, “Sir, give me this water, so that I won’t get thirsty or have to keep coming here to draw water.”
16 He told her, “Go and call your husband, and come back here.”
17 The woman answered him, “I don’t have a husband.”
Jesus told her, “You are quite right in saying, ‘I don’t have a husband,’ 18 because you have had five husbands, and the man you have now is not your husband. What you have said is true.”
19 The woman told him, “Sir, I see that you are a prophet! 20 Our ancestors worshipped on this mountain. But you Jews[e] say that the place where people should worship is in Jerusalem.”
21 Jesus told her, “Believe me, dear lady,[f] the hour is coming when you Samaritans[g] will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. 22 You don’t know what you’re worshiping. We Jews[h] know what we’re worshiping, because salvation comes from the Jews. 23 Yet the time is coming, and is now here, when true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit[i] and truth. Indeed, the Father is looking for people like that to worship him. 24 God is spirit,[j] and those who worship him must worship in spirit[k] and truth.”
25 The woman told him, “I know that the Anointed One[l] is coming, who is being called ‘the Messiah’.[m] When that person comes, he will explain everything.”
26 “I AM,” Jesus replied, “the one who is speaking to you.”
27 At this point his disciples arrived, and they were astonished that he was talking to a woman. Yet no one said, “What do you want from her?”[n] or, “Why are you talking to her?” 28 Then the woman left her water jar and went back to town. She told people, 29 “Come, see a man who told me everything I’ve ever done! Could he possibly be the Messiah?”[o] 30 The people[p] left the town and started on their way to him.
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