Old/New Testament
Jerusalem Will Be Saved
19 When King Hezekiah heard the message, he tore his clothes. And he put on rough cloth to show how sad he was. Then he went into the Temple of the Lord. 2 Hezekiah sent Eliakim, Shebna and the older priests to Isaiah. Eliakim was the palace manager, and Shebna was the royal assistant. The men were all wearing the rough cloth when they came to Isaiah. He was a prophet, the son of Amoz. 3 These men told Isaiah, “This is what Hezekiah says: Today is a day of sorrow and punishment and disgrace. It is sad, as when a child should be born, but the mother is not strong enough to give birth to it. 4 The king of Assyria sent his field commander to make fun of the living God. Maybe the Lord your God will hear what the commander said. Maybe the Lord your God will punish him for what he said. So pray for the few people of Israel who are left alive.”
5 When Hezekiah’s officers came to Isaiah, 6 he said to them, “Tell your master this: The Lord says, ‘Don’t be afraid of what you have heard. Don’t be frightened by the words the servants of the king of Assyria said against me. 7 Listen! I am going to put a spirit in the king of Assyria. He will hear a report that will make him return to his own country. And I will cause him to die by the sword there.’”
8 The field commander heard that the king of Assyria had left Lachish. So the commander left and found the king fighting against the city of Libnah.
9 The king received a report that Tirhakah was coming to attack him. Tirhakah was the Cushite king of Egypt. When the king of Assyria heard this, he sent messengers to Hezekiah. The king said: 10 “Say this to Hezekiah king of Judah: Don’t be fooled by the god you trust. Don’t believe him when he says Jerusalem will not be defeated by the king of Assyria. 11 You have heard what the kings of Assyria have done. They have completely defeated every country. Do not think you will be saved. 12 The gods of those people did not save them. My ancestors destroyed them. My ancestors defeated the cities of Gozan, Haran and Rezeph. They defeated the people of Eden living in Tel Assar. 13 Where are the kings of Hamath and Arpad? Where is the king of the city of Sepharvaim? Where are the kings of Hena and Ivvah?”
Hezekiah Prays to the Lord
14 Hezekiah received the letter from the messengers and read it. Then he went up to the Temple of the Lord. Hezekiah spread the letter out before the Lord. 15 And he prayed to the Lord: “Lord, God of Israel, your throne is between the gold creatures with wings! Only you are God of all the kingdoms of the earth. You made the heavens and the earth. 16 Hear, Lord, and listen. Open your eyes, Lord, and see. Listen to the word Sennacherib has said to insult the living God. 17 It is true, Lord. The kings of Assyria have destroyed these countries and their lands. 18 These kings have thrown the gods of these nations into the fire. But they were only wood and rock statues that men made. So the kings have destroyed them. 19 Now, Lord our God, save us from the king’s power. Then all the kingdoms of the earth will know that you, Lord, are the only God.”
God Answers Hezekiah
20 Then Isaiah son of Amoz sent a message to Hezekiah. Isaiah said, “The Lord, the God of Israel, says this: I have heard your prayer to me about Sennacherib king of Assyria. 21 So this is what the Lord has said against Sennacherib:
‘The people of Jerusalem
hate you and make fun of you.
The people of Jerusalem
laugh at you as you run away.
22 You have insulted me and spoken against me.
You have raised your voice against me.
You have a proud look on your face.
You disobey me, the Holy One of Israel!
23 You have used your messengers to insult the Lord.
You have said, “I have many chariots.
With them I have gone to the tops of the mountains.
I have climbed the highest mountains of Lebanon.
I have cut down its tallest cedars.
I have cut down its best pine trees.
I have reached its farthest places.
I have gone to its best forests.
24 I have dug wells in foreign countries.
I have drunk water there.
By the soles of my feet,
I have dried up all the rivers of Egypt.”
25 “‘King of Assyria, surely you have heard.
Long ago I, the Lord, planned these things.
Long ago I planned them.
Now I have made them happen.
I allowed you to turn those strong, walled cities
into piles of rocks.
26 The people living in those cities were weak.
They were frightened and put to shame.
They were like grass in the field.
They were like tender, young grass.
They were like grass that grows on the housetop.
It is burned by the wind before it can grow.
27 “‘I know when you rest and when you come and go.
I know how you speak against me.
28 You speak strongly against me.
And I have heard your proud words.
So I will put my hook in your nose.
And I will put my bit in your mouth.
Then I will force you to leave my country
the same way that you came.’
29 “Then the Lord said, ‘Hezekiah, I will give you this sign:
This year you will eat the grain that grows wild.
And the second year you will eat what grows wild from that.
But in the third year, plant grain and harvest it.
Plant vineyards and eat their fruit.
30 Some of the people in the family of Judah
will be saved.
Like plants that take root,
they will grow strong and have many children.
31 A few people will come out of Jerusalem alive.
There will be a few from Mount Zion who will live.
The strong love of the Lord of heaven’s armies
will cause this to happen.’
32 “So this is what the Lord says about the king of Assyria:
‘He will not enter this city.
He will not even shoot an arrow here.
He will not fight against it with shields.
He will not build a ramp to attack the city walls.
33 He will return to his country the same way he came.
He will not enter this city,’
says the Lord.
34 The Lord says, ‘I will defend and save this city.
I will do this for myself and for David, my servant.’”
35 That night the angel of the Lord went out. He killed 185,000 men in the Assyrian camp. The people got up early the next morning. And they saw all the dead bodies! 36 So Sennacherib king of Assyria left. He went back to Nineveh and stayed there.
37 One day Sennacherib was worshiping in the temple of his god Nisroch. While he was there, his sons Adrammelech and Sharezer killed him with a sword. Then they escaped to the land of Ararat. So Sennacherib’s son Esarhaddon became king of Assyria.
Hezekiah’s Illness
20 At that time Hezekiah became very sick. He was almost dead. The prophet Isaiah son of Amoz went to see him. Isaiah told him, “This is what the Lord says: You are going to die. So you should give your last orders to everyone. You will not get well.”
2 Hezekiah turned toward the wall and prayed to the Lord. He said, 3 “Lord, please remember that I have always obeyed you. I have given myself completely to you. I have done what you said was right.” And Hezekiah cried loudly.
4 Before Isaiah had left the middle courtyard, the Lord spoke his word to Isaiah: 5 “Go back and tell Hezekiah, the leader of my people: ‘This is what the Lord, the God of your ancestor David, says: I have heard your prayer. And I have seen your tears. So I will heal you. Three days from now you will go up to the Temple of the Lord. 6 I will add 15 years to your life. I will save you and this city from the king of Assyria. And I will protect the city for myself and for my servant David.’”
7 Then Isaiah said, “Make a paste from figs.” So they made it and put it on Hezekiah’s boil. And he got well.
8 Hezekiah asked Isaiah, “What will be the sign that the Lord will heal me? What is the sign that I will go up to the Temple of the Lord on the third day?”
9 Isaiah said, “The Lord will do what he says. This is the sign from the Lord to show you: Do you want the shadow to go forward ten steps? Or do you want it to go back ten steps?”
10 Hezekiah answered, “It’s easy for the shadow to go forward ten steps. Instead, let it go back ten steps.”
11 Then Isaiah the prophet called to the Lord. And the Lord brought the shadow back ten steps. It went back up the stairway of Ahaz that it had gone down.
Messengers from Babylon
12 At that time Merodach-Baladan, son of Baladan, was king of Babylon. He sent letters and a gift to Hezekiah. He did this because he had heard that Hezekiah had been sick. 13 Hezekiah was happy to see the messengers. So he showed them what was in his storehouses: the silver, gold, spices and expensive perfumes. He showed them his swords and shields. He showed them all his wealth. He showed them everything in his palace and his kingdom.
14 Then Isaiah the prophet went to King Hezekiah. Isaiah asked him, “What did these men say? Where did they come from?”
Hezekiah said, “They came from a faraway country. They came to me from Babylon.”
15 So Isaiah asked him, “What did they see in your palace?”
Hezekiah said, “They saw everything in my palace. I showed them all my wealth.”
16 Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, “Listen to the words of the Lord: 17 ‘In the future everything in your palace will be taken away to Babylon. Everything your ancestors have stored up until this day will be taken away. Nothing will be left,’ says the Lord. 18 ‘Some of your own children will be taken away. Those who will be born to you will be taken away. And they will become eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.’”
19 Hezekiah told Isaiah, “These words from the Lord are good.” He said this because he thought, “There will be peace and security while I am king.”
20 Everything else Hezekiah did is written down. All his victories and his work on the pool are written down. And his work on the tunnel to bring water into the city is recorded. They are all written in the book of the history of the kings of Judah. 21 Then Hezekiah died. And his son Manasseh became king in his place.
Manasseh King of Judah
21 Manasseh was 12 years old when he became king. And he was king 55 years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Hephzibah. 2 He did what the Lord said was wrong. He did the hated things the other nations had done. And the Lord had forced these nations out of the land ahead of the Israelites. 3 Manasseh’s father, Hezekiah, had destroyed the places where false gods were worshiped. But Manasseh rebuilt them. He built altars for Baal. And he made an Asherah idol as Ahab king of Israel had done. Manasseh worshiped all the stars of heaven and served them. 4 The Lord had said about the Temple, “I will be worshiped in Jerusalem.” But Manasseh built altars in the Temple of the Lord. 5 He built altars to worship the stars in the two courtyards of the Temple of the Lord. 6 He burned his own son as a sacrifice. He practiced magic and told the future by explaining signs and dreams. He got advice from mediums and fortune-tellers. He did many things that the Lord said were wrong. And this made the Lord angry.
7 Manasseh carved an Asherah idol and put it in the Temple. The Lord had spoken to David and his son Solomon about the Temple. He had said, “I will be worshiped in this Temple and in Jerusalem forever. I have chosen Jerusalem from all the tribes of Israel. 8 I will never again make the Israelites wander out of the land I gave their ancestors. But they must obey everything I have commanded them. And they must obey all the teachings my servant Moses gave them.” 9 But the people did not listen. Manasseh led them to do wrong. They did more evil than the nations the Lord had destroyed ahead of the Israelites.
10 The Lord spoke through his servants the prophets. He said, 11 “Manasseh king of Judah has done these hated things. He has done more evil than the Amorites before him. Manasseh also has caused Judah to sin with his idols. 12 So this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘I will bring much trouble on Jerusalem and Judah. Anyone who hears about it will be shocked. 13 I will stretch the measuring line of Samaria over Jerusalem. And the plumb line used against Ahab’s family will be used on Jerusalem. I will wipe out Jerusalem as a man wipes a dish. He wipes it and turns it upside down. 14 I will go away from the rest of my people who are left. I will give them to their enemies. They will be robbed by all their enemies. 15 My people did what I said was wrong. They have made me angry from the day their ancestors left Egypt until now.’”
16 Manasseh also killed many innocent people. He filled Jerusalem from one end to the other with their blood. This was besides the sin he caused Judah to do. He caused Judah to do what the Lord said was wrong.
17 The other things Manasseh did as king are written down, even the sin he did. They are in the book of the history of the kings of Judah. 18 Manasseh died and was buried in the garden of his own palace. It is the garden of Uzza. Then Manasseh’s son Amon became king in his place.
Amon King of Judah
19 Amon was 22 years old when he became king. He was king for two years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Meshullemeth daughter of Haruz. She was from Jotbah. 20 Amon did what the Lord said was wrong. He did as his father Manasseh had done. 21 Amon lived in the same way his father had lived. He worshiped the idols his father had worshiped. And he bowed down before them. 22 Amon rejected the Lord, the God of his ancestors. He did not follow the ways of the Lord.
23 Amon’s officers made plans against him and killed him in his palace. 24 Then the people of Judah killed all those who had made plans to kill King Amon. And they made his son Josiah king in his place.
25 Everything else Amon did is written down. It is in the book of the history of the kings of Judah. 26 He was buried in his grave in the garden of Uzza. And his son Josiah became king in his place.
Jesus and a Samaritan Woman
4 The Pharisees heard that Jesus was making and baptizing more followers than John. 2 (But really Jesus himself did not baptize people. His followers did the baptizing.) Jesus knew that the Pharisees had heard about him. 3 So he left Judea and went back to Galilee. 4 On the way he had to go through the country of Samaria.
5 In Samaria Jesus came to the town called Sychar. This town is near the field that Jacob gave to his son Joseph. 6 Jacob’s well was there. Jesus was tired from his long trip. So he sat down beside the well. It was about noon. 7 A Samaritan woman came to the well to get some water. Jesus said to her, “Please give me a drink.” 8 (This happened while Jesus’ followers were in town buying some food.)
9 The woman said, “I am surprised that you ask me for a drink. You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan.” (Jews are not friends with Samaritans.[a])
10 Jesus said, “You don’t know what God gives. And you don’t know who asked you for a drink. If you knew, you would have asked me, and I would have given you living water.”
11 The woman said, “Sir, where will you get that living water? The well is very deep, and you have nothing to get water with. 12 Are you greater than Jacob, our father? Jacob is the one who gave us this well. He drank from it himself. Also, his sons and flocks drank from this well.”
13 Jesus answered, “Every person who drinks this water will be thirsty again. 14 But whoever drinks the water I give will never be thirsty again. The water I give will become a spring of water flowing inside him. It will give him eternal life.”
15 The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water. Then I will never be thirsty again. And I will not have to come back here to get more water.”
16 Jesus told her, “Go get your husband and come back here.”
17 The woman answered, “But I have no husband.”
Jesus said to her, “You are right to say you have no husband. 18 Really you have had five husbands. But the man you live with now is not your husband. You told the truth.”
19 The woman said, “Sir, I can see that you are a prophet. 20 Our fathers worshiped on this mountain. But you Jews say that Jerusalem is the place where people must worship.”
21 Jesus said, “Believe me, woman. The time is coming when you will not have to be in Jerusalem or on this mountain to worship the Father. 22 You Samaritans worship what you don’t understand. We Jews understand what we worship. Salvation comes from the Jews. 23 The time is coming when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth. That time is now here. And these are the kinds of worshipers the Father wants. 24 God is spirit. Those who worship God must worship in spirit and truth.”
25 The woman said, “I know that the Messiah is coming.” (Messiah is the One called Christ.) “When the Messiah comes, he will explain everything to us.”
26 Then Jesus said, “He is talking to you now. I am he.”
27 Just then his followers came back from town. They were surprised because they saw Jesus talking with a woman. But none of them asked, “What do you want?” or “Why are you talking with her?”
28 Then the woman left her water jar and went back to town. She said to the people, 29 “A man told me everything I have ever done. Come see him. Maybe he is the Christ!” 30 So the people left the town and went to see Jesus.
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.