Hezekiah’s Illness^(A)

20 In those days Hezekiah became ill and was at the point of death. The prophet Isaiah son of Amoz went to him and said, “This is what the Lord says: Put your house in order, because you are going to die; you will not recover.”

² Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the Lord, ³ “Remember,^(B) Lord, how I have walked^(C) before you faithfully^(D) and with wholehearted devotion and have done what is good in your eyes.” And Hezekiah wept bitterly.

⁴ Before Isaiah had left the middle court, the word of the Lord came to him: ⁵ “Go back and tell Hezekiah, the ruler of my people, ‘This is what the Lord, the God of your father David, says: I have heard^(E) your prayer and seen your tears;^(F) I will heal you. On the third day from now you will go up to the temple of the Lord. ⁶ I will add fifteen years to your life. And I will deliver you and this city from the hand of the king of Assyria. I will defend^(G) this city for my sake and for the sake of my servant David.’”

⁷ Then Isaiah said, “Prepare a poultice of figs.” They did so and applied it to the boil,^(H) and he recovered.

⁸ Hezekiah had asked Isaiah, “What will be the sign that the Lord will heal me and that I will go up to the temple of the Lord on the third day from now?”

⁹ Isaiah answered, “This is the Lord’s sign^(I) to you that the Lord will do what he has promised: Shall the shadow go forward ten steps, or shall it go back ten steps?”

¹⁰ “It is a simple^(J) matter for the shadow to go forward ten steps,” said Hezekiah. “Rather, have it go back ten steps.”

¹¹ Then the prophet Isaiah called on the Lord, and the Lord made the shadow go back^(K) the ten steps it had gone down on the stairway of Ahaz.

Envoys From Babylon^(L)(M)

¹² At that time Marduk-Baladan son of Baladan king of Babylon sent Hezekiah letters and a gift, because he had heard of Hezekiah’s illness. ¹³ Hezekiah received the envoys and showed them all that was in his storehouses—the silver, the gold, the spices and the fine olive oil—his armory and everything found among his treasures. There was nothing in his palace or in all his kingdom that Hezekiah did not show them.

¹⁴ Then Isaiah the prophet went to King Hezekiah and asked, “What did those men say, and where did they come from?”

“From a distant land,” Hezekiah replied. “They came from Babylon.”

¹⁵ The prophet asked, “What did they see in your palace?”

“They saw everything in my palace,” Hezekiah said. “There is nothing among my treasures that I did not show them.”

¹⁶ Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, “Hear the word of the Lord: ¹⁷ The time will surely come when everything in your palace, and all that your predecessors have stored up until this day, will be carried off to Babylon.^(N) Nothing will be left, says the Lord. ¹⁸ And some of your descendants,^(O) your own flesh and blood who will be born to you, will be taken away, and they will become eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.”^(P)

¹⁹ “The word of the Lord you have spoken is good,” Hezekiah replied. For he thought, “Will there not be peace and security in my lifetime?”

²⁰ As for the other events of Hezekiah’s reign, all his achievements and how he made the pool^(Q) and the tunnel^(R) by which he brought water into the city, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Judah? ²¹ Hezekiah rested with his ancestors. And Manasseh his son succeeded him as king.

Manasseh King of Judah^(S)(T)

21 Manasseh was twelve years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem fifty-five years. His mother’s name was Hephzibah.^{(U) 2} He did evil^(V) in the eyes of the Lord, following the detestable practices^(W) of the nations the Lord had driven out before the Israelites. ³ He rebuilt the high places^(X) his father Hezekiah had destroyed; he also erected altars to Baal^(Y) and made an Asherah pole,^(Z) as Ahab king of Israel had done. He bowed down to all the starry hosts^(AA) and worshiped them. ⁴ He built altars^(AB) in the temple of the Lord, of which the Lord had said, “In Jerusalem I will put my Name.”^{(AC) 5} In the two courts^(AD) of the temple of the Lord, he built altars to all the starry hosts. ⁶ He sacrificed his own son^(AE) in the fire, practiced divination,^(AF) sought omens, and consulted mediums and spiritists.^(AG) He did much evil in the eyes of the Lord, arousing^(AH) his anger.

⁷ He took the carved Asherah pole^(AI) he had made and put it in the temple,^(AJ) of which the Lord had said to David and to his son Solomon, “In this temple and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, I will put my Name^(AK) forever. ⁸ I will not again^(AL) make the feet of the Israelites wander from the land I gave their ancestors, if only they will be careful to do everything I commanded them and will keep the whole Law that my servant Moses^(AM) gave them.” ⁹ But the people did not listen. Manasseh led them astray, so that they did more evil^(AN) than the nations^(AO) the Lord had destroyed before the Israelites.

¹⁰ The Lord said through his servants the prophets: ¹¹ “Manasseh king of Judah has committed these detestable sins. He has done more evil^(AP) than the Amorites^(AQ) who preceded him and has led Judah into sin with his idols.^{(AR) 12} Therefore this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: I am going to bring such disaster^(AS) on Jerusalem and Judah that the ears of everyone who hears of it will tingle.^{(AT) 13} I will stretch out over Jerusalem the measuring line used against Samaria and the plumb line^(AU) used against the house of Ahab. I will wipe^(AV) out Jerusalem as one wipes a dish, wiping it and turning it upside down. ¹⁴ I will forsake^(AW) the remnant^(AX) of my inheritance and give them into the hands of enemies. They will be looted and plundered by all their enemies; ¹⁵ they have done evil^(AY) in my eyes and have aroused^(AZ) my anger from the day their ancestors came out of Egypt until this day.”

¹⁶ Moreover, Manasseh also shed so much innocent blood^(BA) that he filled Jerusalem from end to end—besides the sin that he had caused Judah^(BB) to commit, so that they did evil in the eyes of the Lord.

¹⁷ As for the other events of Manasseh’s reign, and all he did, including the sin he committed, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Judah? ¹⁸ Manasseh rested with his ancestors and was buried in his palace garden,^(BC) the garden of Uzza. And Amon his son succeeded him as king.

Amon King of Judah^(BD)

¹⁹ Amon was twenty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem two years. His mother’s name was Meshullemeth daughter of Haruz; she was from Jotbah. ²⁰ He did evil^(BE) in the eyes of the Lord, as his father Manasseh had done. ²¹ He followed completely the ways of his father, worshiping the idols his father had worshiped, and bowing down to them. ²² He forsook^(BF) the Lord, the God of his ancestors, and did not walk^(BG) in obedience to him.

²³ Amon’s officials conspired against him and assassinated^(BH) the king in his palace. ²⁴ Then the people of the land killed^(BI) all who had plotted against King Amon, and they made Josiah^(BJ) his son king in his place.

²⁵ As for the other events of Amon’s reign, and what he did, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Judah? ²⁶ He was buried in his tomb in the garden^(BK) of Uzza. And Josiah his son succeeded him as king.

The Book of the Law Found^(BL)

22 Josiah^(BM) was eight years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem thirty-one years. His mother’s name was Jedidah daughter of Adaiah; she was from Bozkath.^{(BN) 2} He did what was right^(BO) in the eyes of the Lord and followed completely the ways of his father David, not turning aside to the right^(BP) or to the left.

¹⁸ The next day Paul and the rest of us went to see James,^(A) and all the elders^(B) were present. ¹⁹ Paul greeted them and reported in detail what God had done among the Gentiles^(C) through his ministry.^(D)

²⁰ When they heard this, they praised God. Then they said to Paul: “You see, brother, how many thousands of Jews have believed, and all of them are zealous^(E) for the law.^{(F) 21} They have been informed that you teach all the Jews who live among the Gentiles to turn away from Moses,^(G) telling them not to circumcise their children^(H) or live according to our customs.^{(I) 22} What shall we do? They will certainly hear that you have come, ²³ so do what we tell you. There are four men with us who have made a vow.^{(J) 24} Take these men, join in their purification rites^(K) and pay their expenses, so that they can have their heads shaved.^(L) Then everyone will know there is no truth in these reports about you, but that you yourself are living in obedience to the law. ²⁵ As for the Gentile believers, we have written to them our decision that they should abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from the meat of strangled animals and from sexual immorality.”^(M)

²⁶ The next day Paul took the men and purified himself along with them. Then he went to the temple to give notice of the date when the days of purification would end and the offering would be made for each of them.^(N)

Paul Arrested

²⁷ When the seven days were nearly over, some Jews from the province of Asia saw Paul at the temple. They stirred up the whole crowd and seized him,^{(O) 28} shouting, “Fellow Israelites, help us! This is the man who teaches everyone everywhere against our people and our law and this place. And besides, he has brought Greeks into the temple and defiled this holy place.”^{(P) 29} (They had previously seen Trophimus^(Q) the Ephesian^(R) in the city with Paul and assumed that Paul had brought him into the temple.)

³⁰ The whole city was aroused, and the people came running from all directions. Seizing Paul,^(S) they dragged him^(T) from the temple, and immediately the gates were shut. ³¹ While they were trying to kill him, news reached the commander of the Roman troops that the whole city of Jerusalem was in an uproar. ³² He at once took some officers and soldiers and ran down to the crowd. When the rioters saw the commander and his soldiers, they stopped beating Paul.^(U)

³³ The commander came up and arrested him and ordered him to be bound^(V) with two^(W) chains.^(X) Then he asked who he was and what he had done. ³⁴ Some in the crowd shouted one thing and some another,^(Y) and since the commander could not get at the truth because of the uproar, he ordered that Paul be taken into the barracks.^{(Z) 35} When Paul reached the steps,^(AA) the violence of the mob was so great he had to be carried by the soldiers. ³⁶ The crowd that followed kept shouting, “Get rid of him!”^(AB)

Psalm 150