Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Security of Those Who Trust in the Lord, and Insecurity of the Wicked.
A Psalm of David.
37 (A)Do not fret because of evildoers,
Be not (B)envious toward wrongdoers.
2 For they will (C)wither quickly like the grass
And (D)fade like the green herb.
3 (E)Trust in the Lord and do good;
(F)Dwell in the land and [a](G)cultivate faithfulness.
4 (H)Delight yourself in the Lord;
And He will (I)give you the desires of your heart.
5 (J)Commit your way to the Lord,
Trust also in Him, and He will do it.
6 He will bring forth (K)your righteousness as the light
And your judgment (L)as the noonday.
7 [b]Rest in the Lord and (M)wait [c]patiently for Him;
(N)Do not fret because of him who (O)prospers in his way,
Because of the man who carries out wicked schemes.
8 Cease from anger and (P)forsake wrath;
Do not fret; it leads only to evildoing.
9 For (Q)evildoers will be cut off,
But those who wait for the Lord, they will (R)inherit the land.
Sennacherib Defies God
8 Then Rabshakeh returned and found the king of Assyria fighting against (A)Libnah, for he had heard that [a]the king had left (B)Lachish. 9 When he heard them say concerning Tirhakah king of [b]Cush, “Behold, he has come out to fight against you,” he sent messengers again to Hezekiah saying, 10 “Thus you shall say to Hezekiah king of [c]Judah, ‘Do not (C)let your God in whom you trust deceive you saying, “(D)Jerusalem will not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria.” 11 Behold, you have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all the lands, destroying them completely. So will you be [d]spared? 12 (E)Did the gods of [e]those nations which my fathers destroyed deliver them, even (F)Gozan and (G)Haran and Rezeph and (H)the sons of Eden who were in Telassar? 13 (I)Where is the king of Hamath, the king of Arpad, the king of the city of Sepharvaim, and of Hena and Ivvah?’”
Hezekiah’s Prayer
14 Then (J)Hezekiah took the [f]letter from the hand of the messengers and read it, and he went up to the house of the Lord and [g]spread it out before the Lord. 15 Hezekiah prayed before the Lord and said, “O Lord, the God of Israel, (K)who are [h]enthroned above the cherubim, (L)You are the God, You alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and earth. 16 (M)Incline Your ear, O Lord, and hear; (N)open Your eyes, O Lord, and see; and listen to the words of Sennacherib, which he has sent (O)to reproach the living God. 17 Truly, O Lord, the kings of Assyria have devastated the nations and their lands 18 and have cast their gods into the fire, (P)for they were not gods but the work of men’s hands, wood and stone. So they have destroyed them. 19 Now, O Lord our God, I pray, deliver us from his hand (Q)that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that You alone, O (R)Lord, are God.”
God’s Answer through Isaiah
20 Then Isaiah the son of Amoz sent to Hezekiah saying, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘Because you have prayed to Me about Sennacherib king of Assyria, (S)I have heard you.’
35 (A)Then it happened that night that the angel of the Lord went out and struck 185,000 in the camp of the Assyrians; and when [a]men rose early in the morning, behold, all of them were [b]dead. 36 So (B)Sennacherib king of Assyria departed and returned home, and lived at (C)Nineveh. 37 It came about as he was worshiping in the house of Nisroch his god, that [c](D)Adrammelech and Sharezer killed him with the sword; and they escaped into (E)the land of Ararat. And (F)Esarhaddon his son became king in his place.
Message to Pergamum
12 “And to the angel of the church in (A)Pergamum write:
The One who has (B)the sharp two-edged sword says this:
13 ‘I know where you dwell, where (C)Satan’s throne is; and you hold fast My name, and did not deny (D)My faith even in the days of Antipas, My (E)witness, My (F)faithful one, who was killed among you, (G)where Satan dwells. 14 But (H)I have a few things against you, because you have there some who hold the (I)teaching of Balaam, who kept teaching Balak to put a stumbling block before the sons of Israel, (J)to eat things sacrificed to idols and to commit acts of immorality. 15 So you also have some who in the same way hold the teaching of the (K)Nicolaitans. 16 Therefore (L)repent; or else (M)I am coming to you quickly, and I will make war against them with (N)the sword of My mouth. 17 (O)He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. (P)To him who overcomes, to him I will give some of the hidden (Q)manna, and I will give him a white stone, and a (R)new name written on the stone (S)which no one knows but he who receives it.’
Message to Thyatira
18 “And to the angel of the church in (T)Thyatira write:
(U)The Son of God, (V)who has [a]eyes like a flame of fire, and His feet are like burnished bronze, says this:
19 ‘(W)I know your deeds, and your love and faith and service and [b]perseverance, and that your [c]deeds of late are greater than [d]at first. 20 But (X)I have this against you, that you tolerate the woman (Y)Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess, and she teaches and leads My bond-servants astray so that they (Z)commit acts of immorality and eat things sacrificed to idols. 21 (AA)I gave her time to repent, and she (AB)does not want to repent of her immorality. 22 Behold, I will throw her [e]on a bed of sickness, and those who (AC)commit adultery with her into great tribulation, unless they repent of [f]her deeds. 23 And I will kill her children with [g]pestilence, and all the churches will know that I am He who (AD)searches the [h]minds and hearts; and (AE)I will give to each one of you according to your deeds. 24 But I say to you, the rest who are in (AF)Thyatira, who do not hold this teaching, who have not known the (AG)deep things of Satan, as they call them—I (AH)place no other burden on you. 25 Nevertheless (AI)what you have, hold fast (AJ)until I come. 26 (AK)He who overcomes, and he who keeps My deeds (AL)until the end, (AM)to him I will give authority over the [i]nations; 27 and he shall [j](AN)rule them with a rod of iron, (AO)as the vessels of the potter are broken to pieces, as I also have received authority from My Father; 28 and I will give him (AP)the morning star. 29 (AQ)He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.