Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

The Protection of the Righteous and the Destruction of the Wicked

Of David.^[a]

Hezekiah Reigns in Judah

18 It happened in the third year of Hoshea the son of Elah king of Israel, that Hezekiah the son of Ahaz king of Judah became king. ² He was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. The name of his mother was Abi, the daughter of Zechariah. ³ He did right in the eyes of Yahweh according to all that David his ancestor^[a] had done. ⁴ He removed the high places, and he smashed the stone pillars; he cut down the poles of Asherah worship and demolished the bronze serpent which Moses had made, for up to those days the Israelites^[b] were offering incense to it and called it Nehushtan. ⁵ He trusted in Yahweh the God of Israel; there was no one like him, before or after, among all the kings of Judah. ⁶ He held on to Yahweh; he did not depart from following him, and he kept his commands that Yahweh had commanded Moses. ⁷ Yahweh was with him; everywhere he went, he succeeded. He rebelled against the king of Assyria and did not serve him. ⁸ He attacked the Philistines up to Gaza and its territory from the watchtower up to the fortified city.

²⁸ Then the chief commander stood and called with a great voice in Judean, and he spoke and said, “Hear the word of the king, the great king of Assyria! ²⁹ Thus says the king, ‘Do not let Hezekiah deceive you, for he will not be able to rescue you from my^[a] hand. ³⁰ Do not let Hezekiah make you trust in Yahweh, saying, “Certainly Yahweh will rescue us, and this city shall not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria!”’ ³¹ Do not listen to Hezekiah; for thus says the king of Assyria, ‘Make with me a treaty of peace and come out to me that each may eat from his vine and each from his fig tree, and each may drink water from his cistern! ³² Until I come and take you to a land like your land, a land of grain and new wine, a land of bread and vineyards, a land of olive trees, olive oil, and honey, that you may live and not die! You must not listen to Hezekiah, for he has misled you by saying, “Yahweh will deliver us!” ³³ Did the gods of each of the nations ever rescue the land from the hand of the king of Assyria? ³⁴ Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivvah? For did they rescue Samaria from my hand? ³⁵ Who among all of the gods of the countries have rescued their countries from my hand that Yahweh should rescue Jerusalem from my hand?’”

³⁶ The people were silent, and they did not answer him a word, for the command of that king was saying, “You shall not answer him.”

The Letter to the Church in Smyrna

⁸ “And to the angel of the church in Smyrna write:

“This is what the first and the last says, who was dead and came to life: ⁹ ‘I know your affliction and poverty (but you are rich), and the slander of those who call themselves Jews^[a] and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan. ¹⁰ Do not be afraid of the things which you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison so that you may be tested, and you will experience affliction ten days. Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life. ¹¹ The one who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. The one who conquers will never be harmed by the second death.’