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 worry because of evildoers,
Nor be envious toward wrongdoers;
2
For they will wither quickly like the grass,
And fade like the green herb.
3
Trust [rely on and have confidence] in the Lord and do good;
Dwell in the land and feed [securely] on His faithfulness.
4
Delight yourself in the Lord,
And He will give you the desires and petitions of your heart.
5
Commit your way to the Lord;
Trust in Him also and He will do it.
6
He will make your righteousness [your pursuit of right standing with God] like the light,
And your judgment like [the shining of] the noonday [sun].
7
Be still before the Lord; wait patiently for Him and entrust yourself to Him;
Do not fret (whine, agonize) because of him who prospers in his way,
Because of the man who carries out wicked schemes.
8
Cease from anger and abandon wrath;
Do not fret; it leads only to evil.
9
For those who do evil will be cut off,
But those who wait for the Lord, they will inherit the land.(A)
Sennacherib Defies God
8 So the Rabshakeh returned and found the king of Assyria fighting against Libnah [a fortified city of Judah]; for he had heard that the king had left Lachish. 9 When the king heard them say concerning Tirhakah king of [a]Ethiopia, “Behold, he has come out to make war against you,” he sent messengers again to Hezekiah, saying, 10 “Say this to Hezekiah king of Judah, ‘Do not let your God on whom you rely deceive you by saying, “Jerusalem shall not be handed over to the king of Assyria.” 11 Listen, you have heard what the Assyrian kings have done to all the lands, destroying them completely. So will you be spared? 12 Did the gods of the nations whom my forefathers destroyed rescue them—Gozan and Haran [of Mesopotamia] and Rezeph and the people of Eden who were in Telassar? 13 Where is the king of Hamath, the king of Arpad [of northern Syria], the king of the city of Sepharvaim, and of Hena and Ivvah?’”
Hezekiah’s Prayer
14 Hezekiah received the letter from the hand of the messengers and read it. Then he went up to the house (temple) of the Lord and spread it out before the Lord.(A) 15 Hezekiah prayed before the Lord and said, “O Lord, the God of Israel, who is enthroned above the cherubim [of the [b]ark in the temple], You are the God, You alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made the heavens and the earth. 16 O Lord, bend down Your ear and hear; Lord, open Your eyes and see; hear the [taunting] words of Sennacherib, which he has sent to taunt and defy the living God. 17 It is true, Lord, that the Assyrian kings have devastated the nations and their lands 18 and have thrown their gods into the fire, for they were not [real] gods but [only] the work of men’s hands, wood and stone. So they [could destroy them and] have destroyed them. 19 Now, O Lord our God, please, save us from his hand so that all the kingdoms of the earth may know [without any doubt] that You alone, O Lord, are God.”
God’s Answer through Isaiah
20 Then Isaiah the son of Amoz sent word to Hezekiah, saying, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: ‘I have heard your prayer to Me regarding Sennacherib king of Assyria.’(B)
35 Then it came to pass that night, that the [a]angel of the Lord went forth and struck down 185,000 [men] in the camp of the Assyrians; when the survivors got up early in the morning, behold, all [185,000] of them were dead. 36 So Sennacherib king of Assyria [b]left and returned home, and lived at [c]Nineveh. 37 It came about as he was worshiping in the house of Nisroch his god, that his sons Adrammelech and Sharezer killed him with a sword; and they escaped to the land of Ararat. And Esarhaddon his son became king in his place.
Message to Pergamum
12 “And to the angel (divine messenger) of the church in [a]Pergamum write:
“These are the words of Him who has and wields the sharp two-edged sword [in judgment]:
13 ‘I know where you dwell, [a place] where Satan sits enthroned. Yet you are holding fast to My name, and you did not deny [b]My faith even in the days of [c]Antipas, My witness, My faithful one, who was killed (martyred) among you, where Satan dwells. 14 But I have a few things against you, because you have there some [among you] who are holding to the [corrupt] teaching of Balaam, who taught [d]Balak to put a stumbling block before the sons of Israel, [enticing them] to eat things that had been sacrificed to idols and to commit [acts of sexual] [e]immorality.(A) 15 You also have some who in the same way are holding to the teaching of the [f]Nicolaitans. 16 Therefore repent [change your inner self—your old way of thinking, your sinful behavior—seek God’s will]; or else I am coming to you quickly, and I will make war and fight against them with the sword of My mouth [in judgment]. 17 He who has an ear, let him hear and heed what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes [the world through believing that Jesus is the Son of God], to him I will give [the privilege of eating] some of the [g]hidden manna, and I will give him a [h]white stone with a new name engraved on the stone which no one knows except the one who receives it.’(B)
Message to Thyatira
18 “And to the angel (divine messenger) of the church in [i]Thyatira write:
“These are the words of the Son of God, who has eyes [that flash] like a flame of fire [in righteous judgment], and whose feet are like burnished [white-hot] bronze:(C)
19 ‘I know your deeds, your love and faith and service and patient endurance, and that your last deeds are more numerous and greater than the first. 20 But I have this [charge] against you, that you tolerate the woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess [claiming to be inspired], and she teaches and misleads My bond-servants so that they commit [acts of sexual] immorality and eat food sacrificed to idols.(D) 21 I gave her time to repent [to change her inner self and her sinful way of thinking], but she has no desire to repent of her immorality and refuses to do so. 22 [j]Listen carefully, I will throw her on a bed of sickness, and those who commit adultery with her [I will bring] into great anguish, unless they repent of her deeds. 23 And I will kill her children (followers) with [k]pestilence [thoroughly annihilating them], and all the churches will know [without any doubt] that I am He who searches the [l]minds and hearts [the innermost thoughts, purposes]; and I will give to each one of you [a reward or punishment] according to your deeds.(E) 24 But to the rest of you in Thyatira, who do not hold this teaching, who have not explored and known the [m]depths of Satan, as they call them—I place no other burden on you, 25 except to hold tightly to what you have until I come. 26 And he who overcomes [the world through believing that Jesus is the Son of God] and he who keeps My deeds [doing things that please Me] until the [very] end, to him I will give authority and power over the nations;(F) 27 and he shall shepherd and rule them with a rod of iron, as the earthen pots are broken in pieces, as I also have received authority [and power to rule them] from My Father;(G) 28 and I will give him the [n]Morning Star. 29 He who has an ear, let him hear and heed what the Spirit says to the churches.’
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