Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

Prayer of a Sick Man about False Friends

41 Happy is the man who cares for the poor. The Lord will save him in times of trouble. ² The Lord will keep him alive and safe. And he will be happy upon the earth. You will not give him over to the desire of those who hate him. ³ The Lord will give him strength on his bed of sickness. When he is sick, You will make him well again.

⁴ As for me, I said, “O Lord, have loving-kindness for me. Heal my soul, for I have sinned against You.” ⁵ Those who hate me speak bad words against me, saying, “When will he die, and his name be forgotten?” ⁶ When one comes to see me, he speaks lies. His heart gathers up bad stories. Then he goes outside and tells them. ⁷ All who hate me speak in secret together against me. They make plans to hurt me, saying, ⁸ “A bad thing has come over him. When he lies down, he will not rise again.” ⁹ Even a friend of mine whom I trusted, who ate my bread, has turned against me.

¹⁰ Have loving-kindness for me, O Lord. Raise me up, so that I may pay them back. ¹¹ Then I will know that You are pleased with me, because he who hates me does not win over me. ¹² As for me, You hold me up in my honesty. And You set me beside You forever.

¹³ Honor be to the Lord, the God of Israel, forever and ever! Let it be so!

Hezekiah Will Live Fifteen More Years

38 In those days Hezekiah became sick and was near death. Isaiah the man of God, the son of Amoz, came to him and said, “The Lord says, ‘Make those of your house ready, for you will die and not live.’” ² Then Hezekiah turned his face to the wall, and prayed to the Lord, ³ and said, “O Lord, I ask you from my heart to remember now how I have walked with You in truth and with a whole heart. I have done what is good in Your eyes.” And Hezekiah cried with a bitter cry. ⁴ Then the Word of the Lord came to Isaiah, saying, ⁵ “Go and tell Hezekiah, ‘The Lord, the God of your father David, says, “I have heard your prayer. I have seen your tears. See, I will add fifteen years to your life. ⁶ And I will take you and this city out of the hand of the king of Assyria. I will fight for this city.”’” ⁷ “This is the special thing for you to see from the Lord, that the Lord will do what He has said: ⁸ See the shadow on the steps, which has gone down with the sun on the steps of Ahaz. I will make it go back ten steps.” So the sun’s shadow went back the ten steps it had gone down.

⁷ Do not give up when you are punished by God. Be willing to take it, knowing that God is teaching you as a son. Is there a father who does not punish his son sometimes? ⁸ If you are not punished as all sons are, it means that you are not a true son of God. You are not a part of His family and He is not your Father. ⁹ Remember that our fathers on earth punished us. We had respect for them. How much more should we obey our Father in heaven and live? ¹⁰ For a little while our fathers on earth punished us when they thought they should. But God punishes us for our good so we will be holy as He is holy. ¹¹ There is no joy while we are being punished. It is hard to take, but later we can see that good came from it. And it gives us the peace of being right with God.

¹² So lift up your hands that have been weak. Stand up on your weak legs. ¹³ Walk straight ahead so the weak leg will not be turned aside, but will be healed.