The Daily Audio Bible Reading for Thursday July 1, 2021 (NIV)

¹³ In the fourteenth year^(A) of King Hezekiah’s reign, Sennacherib king of Assyria attacked all the fortified cities of Judah^(B) and captured them. ¹⁴ So Hezekiah king of Judah sent this message to the king of Assyria at Lachish:^(C) “I have done wrong.^(D) Withdraw from me, and I will pay whatever you demand of me.” The king of Assyria exacted from Hezekiah king of Judah three hundred talents^[a] of silver and thirty talents^[b] of gold. ¹⁵ So Hezekiah gave^(E) him all the silver that was found in the temple of the Lord and in the treasuries of the royal palace.

¹⁶ At this time Hezekiah king of Judah stripped off the gold with which he had covered the doors^(F) and doorposts of the temple of the Lord, and gave it to the king of Assyria.

Sennacherib Threatens Jerusalem^(G)(H)

¹⁷ The king of Assyria sent his supreme commander,^(I) his chief officer and his field commander with a large army, from Lachish to King Hezekiah at Jerusalem. They came up to Jerusalem and stopped at the aqueduct of the Upper Pool,^(J) on the road to the Washerman’s Field. ¹⁸ They called for the king; and Eliakim^(K) son of Hilkiah the palace administrator, Shebna^(L) the secretary, and Joah son of Asaph the recorder went out to them.

¹⁹ The field commander said to them, “Tell Hezekiah:

²⁶ Then Eliakim son of Hilkiah, and Shebna and Joah said to the field commander, “Please speak to your servants in Aramaic,^(R) since we understand it. Don’t speak to us in Hebrew in the hearing of the people on the wall.”

²⁷ But the commander replied, “Was it only to your master and you that my master sent me to say these things, and not to the people sitting on the wall—who, like you, will have to eat their own excrement and drink their own urine?”

²⁸ Then the commander stood and called out in Hebrew, “Hear the word of the great king, the king of Assyria! ²⁹ This is what the king says: Do not let Hezekiah deceive^(S) you. He cannot deliver you from my hand. ³⁰ Do not let Hezekiah persuade you to trust in the Lord when he says, ‘The Lord will surely deliver us; this city will not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria.’

³¹ “Do not listen to Hezekiah. This is what the king of Assyria says: Make peace with me and come out to me. Then each of you will eat fruit from your own vine and fig tree^(T) and drink water from your own cistern,^{(U) 32} until I come and take you to a land like your own—a land of grain and new wine, a land of bread and vineyards, a land of olive trees and honey. Choose life^(V) and not death!

“Do not listen to Hezekiah, for he is misleading you when he says, ‘The Lord will deliver us.’ ³³ Has the god^(W) of any nation ever delivered his land from the hand of the king of Assyria? ³⁴ Where are the gods of Hamath^(X) and Arpad?^(Y) Where are the gods of Sepharvaim, Hena and Ivvah? Have they rescued Samaria from my hand? ³⁵ Who of all the gods of these countries has been able to save his land from me? How then can the Lord deliver Jerusalem from my hand?”^(Z)

³⁶ But the people remained silent and said nothing in reply, because the king had commanded, “Do not answer him.”

³⁷ Then Eliakim^(AA) son of Hilkiah the palace administrator, Shebna the secretary, and Joah son of Asaph the recorder went to Hezekiah, with their clothes torn,^(AB) and told him what the field commander had said.

Jerusalem’s Deliverance Foretold^(AC)

19 When King Hezekiah heard this, he tore^(AD) his clothes and put on sackcloth and went into the temple of the Lord. ² He sent Eliakim^(AE) the palace administrator, Shebna the secretary and the leading priests,^(AF) all wearing sackcloth,^(AG) to the prophet Isaiah^(AH) son of Amoz. ³ They told him, “This is what Hezekiah says: This day is a day of distress and rebuke and disgrace, as when children come to the moment^(AI) of birth and there is no strength to deliver them. ⁴ It may be that the Lord your God will hear all the words of the field commander, whom his master, the king of Assyria, has sent to ridicule^(AJ) the living God, and that he will rebuke^(AK) him for the words the Lord your God has heard. Therefore pray for the remnant^(AL) that still survives.”

⁵ When King Hezekiah’s officials came to Isaiah, ⁶ Isaiah said to them, “Tell your master, ‘This is what the Lord says: Do not be afraid^(AM) of what you have heard—those words with which the underlings of the king of Assyria have blasphemed^(AN) me. ⁷ Listen! When he hears a certain report,^(AO) I will make him want to return to his own country, and there I will have him cut down with the sword.^(AP)’”

⁸ When the field commander heard that the king of Assyria had left Lachish,^(AQ) he withdrew and found the king fighting against Libnah.^(AR)

⁹ Now Sennacherib received a report that Tirhakah, the king of Cush,^[d] was marching out to fight against him. So he again sent messengers to Hezekiah with this word: ¹⁰ “Say to Hezekiah king of Judah: Do not let the god you depend^(AS) on deceive^(AT) you when he says, ‘Jerusalem will not be given into the hands of the king of Assyria.’ ¹¹ Surely you have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all the countries, destroying them completely. And will you be delivered? ¹² Did the gods of the nations that were destroyed by my predecessors deliver^(AU) them—the gods of Gozan,^(AV) Harran,^(AW) Rezeph and the people of Eden who were in Tel Assar? ¹³ Where is the king of Hamath or the king of Arpad? Where are the kings of Lair, Sepharvaim, Hena and Ivvah?”^(AX)

Hezekiah’s Prayer^(AY)

¹⁴ Hezekiah received the letter^(AZ) from the messengers and read it. Then he went up to the temple of the Lord and spread it out before the Lord. ¹⁵ And Hezekiah prayed to the Lord: “Lord, the God of Israel, enthroned between the cherubim,^(BA) you alone^(BB) are God over all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and earth. ¹⁶ Give ear,^(BC) Lord, and hear;^(BD) open your eyes,^(BE) Lord, and see; listen to the words Sennacherib has sent to ridicule the living God.

¹⁷ “It is true, Lord, that the Assyrian kings have laid waste these nations and their lands. ¹⁸ They have thrown their gods into the fire and destroyed them, for they were not gods^(BF) but only wood and stone, fashioned by human hands.^{(BG) 19} Now, Lord our God, deliver^(BH) us from his hand, so that all the kingdoms^(BI) of the earth may know^(BJ) that you alone, Lord, are God.”

Isaiah Prophesies Sennacherib’s Fall^(BK)(BL)

²⁰ Then Isaiah son of Amoz sent a message to Hezekiah: “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: I have heard^(BM) your prayer concerning Sennacherib king of Assyria. ²¹ This is the word that the Lord has spoken against^(BN) him:

²⁹ “This will be the sign^(CI) for you, Hezekiah:

“The zeal^(CP) of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this.

³² “Therefore this is what the Lord says concerning the king of Assyria:

³⁵ That night the angel of the Lord^(CT) went out and put to death a hundred and eighty-five thousand in the Assyrian camp. When the people got up the next morning—there were all the dead bodies!^{(CU) 36} So Sennacherib king of Assyria broke camp and withdrew.^(CV) He returned to Nineveh^(CW) and stayed there.

³⁷ One day, while he was worshiping in the temple of his god Nisrok, his sons Adrammelek^(CX) and Sharezer killed him with the sword,^(CY) and they escaped to the land of Ararat.^(CZ) And Esarhaddon^(DA) his son succeeded him as king.

On to Jerusalem

21 After we^(A) had torn ourselves away from them, we put out to sea and sailed straight to Kos. The next day we went to Rhodes and from there to Patara. ² We found a ship crossing over to Phoenicia,^(B) went on board and set sail. ³ After sighting Cyprus and passing to the south of it, we sailed on to Syria.^(C) We landed at Tyre, where our ship was to unload its cargo. ⁴ We sought out the disciples^(D) there and stayed with them seven days. Through the Spirit^(E) they urged Paul not to go on to Jerusalem. ⁵ When it was time to leave, we left and continued on our way. All of them, including wives and children, accompanied us out of the city, and there on the beach we knelt to pray.^{(F) 6} After saying goodbye to each other, we went aboard the ship, and they returned home.

⁷ We continued our voyage from Tyre^(G) and landed at Ptolemais, where we greeted the brothers and sisters^(H) and stayed with them for a day. ⁸ Leaving the next day, we reached Caesarea^(I) and stayed at the house of Philip^(J) the evangelist,^(K) one of the Seven. ⁹ He had four unmarried daughters who prophesied.^(L)

¹⁰ After we had been there a number of days, a prophet named Agabus^(M) came down from Judea. ¹¹ Coming over to us, he took Paul’s belt, tied his own hands and feet with it and said, “The Holy Spirit says,^(N) ‘In this way the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem will bind^(O) the owner of this belt and will hand him over to the Gentiles.’”^(P)

¹² When we heard this, we and the people there pleaded with Paul not to go up to Jerusalem. ¹³ Then Paul answered, “Why are you weeping and breaking my heart? I am ready not only to be bound, but also to die^(Q) in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.”^{(R) 14} When he would not be dissuaded, we gave up^(S) and said, “The Lord’s will be done.”^(T)

¹⁵ After this, we started on our way up to Jerusalem.^{(U) 16} Some of the disciples from Caesarea^(V) accompanied us and brought us to the home of Mnason, where we were to stay. He was a man from Cyprus^(W) and one of the early disciples.

Paul’s Arrival at Jerusalem

¹⁷ When we arrived at Jerusalem, the brothers and sisters^(X) received us warmly.^(Y)

Psalm 149