Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

David wrote this psalm.

The king's song^[a]

⁹ When Hezekiah had been king for four years, Shalmaneser, the king of Assyria, took his army to attack Samaria. That was when Hoshea had been king of Israel for seven years. The Assyrian army made their camp around the city of Samaria. ¹⁰ After three years, the Assyrian army took the city. So that happened in the sixth year that Hezekiah ruled Judah. It was the ninth year that King Hoshea ruled over Israel.

¹¹ The king of Assyria took the Israelites as prisoners to Assyria. He caused them to live in Halah, at Gozan beside the River Habor and in the towns in Media. ¹² This happened because they had not obeyed the Lord their God. They had not obeyed the covenant that he had made with them. They did not accept the teaching that Moses, the Lord's servant, had commanded them to obey.

Sennacherib attacks Judah

¹³ When Hezekiah had ruled Judah for 14 years, King Sennacherib of Assyria attacked Judah with his army. He took all the strong cities in Judah for himself. ¹⁴ So King Hezekiah of Judah sent a message to the king of Assyria, who was in Lachish. Hezekiah said, ‘What I did was wrong. Please take your army out of Judah. Then I will pay you everything that you ask me to pay.’ The king of Assyria told King Hezekiah that he must pay ten tons of silver and one ton of gold. ¹⁵ So Hezekiah gave Sennacherib all the silver that was stored in the Lord's temple and in the palace. ¹⁶ At the same time, Hezekiah removed the gold that he had used to cover the doors of the Lord's temple. He also took the gold off the wood at the sides of the doors. He gave all that gold to the king of Assyria.

Sennacherib warns the people of Jerusalem

¹⁷ King Sennacherib of Assyria sent his three most important officers from Lachish to Jerusalem, to speak to King Hezekiah. The three officers took a large army with them.

They arrived in Jerusalem. They went and stood at the stream of water that came from the higher pool. It was on the road to the field where people washed clothes.

¹⁸ They told King Hezekiah to come to them. These three people went out to meet them:

How Timothy can be a good servant of Christ

⁶ You must explain these things to the believers and teach them God's true message. If you do that, you will be a good servant of Christ Jesus. Continue to study the message about Jesus that you have already learned. That will help you to be strong. ⁷ But you must refuse to listen to false stories. Stories like that are not from God and only silly people believe them. Instead, learn to live well in a way that makes God happy. ⁸ People say this: ‘If a person works to make his body strong and healthy, that will help him a little. But if a person works to live in a way that makes God happy, that will help him much more. It will help that person in his life now on earth. It will also help him in his future life with God in heaven.’ ⁹ We know that those words are true. Everyone should agree with them. ¹⁰ So that is why we work to serve God well. We continue to work, even when we have trouble. We do this because we believe that God will help us. He is the one who lives for ever and who saves all people. Certainly, he saves those who are believers.

¹¹ Teach people to do these things. ¹² You are still a young man, but everyone should respect you as the leader in the church. Show the believers how they should live. Be a good example to them in these ways:

¹³ Until I come, be careful to read the Bible aloud to people. Teach them to understand and to obey the message about Christ. ¹⁴ Remember the gift that God's Holy Spirit has given to you. You received that gift when the group of church leaders put their hands on you.^[a] They spoke messages from God about how you would serve him. So do not stop using that gift from God.

¹⁵ Be careful to do all these things well. Then everyone will see that you are serving God better and better. ¹⁶ Think carefully about how you live, and about the message that you teach. Continue to teach God's true message. Then God will save not only you, but also those people who listen to you.