The Daily Audio Bible Reading for Saturday July 2, 2022 (NIV)

2 Kings 20:1-22:2

Hezekiah’s Illness and Recovery

20 In those days(A) Hezekiah became terminally ill.(B) The prophet Isaiah(C) son of Amoz came and said to him, “This is what the Lord says: ‘Set your house in order, for you are about to die; you will not recover.’”(D)

Then Hezekiah turned his face to the wall(E) and prayed to the Lord, “Please, Lord, remember(F) how I have walked before you faithfully and wholeheartedly and have done what pleases you.”[a](G) And Hezekiah wept bitterly.(H)

Isaiah had not yet gone out of the inner courtyard when the word of the Lord came to him: “Go back and tell Hezekiah, the leader(I) of my people, ‘This is what the Lord God of your ancestor David says: I have heard your prayer;(J) I have seen your tears. Look, I will heal you. On the third day from now you will go up to the Lord’s temple. I will add fifteen years to your life. I will rescue you and this city from the grasp of the king of Assyria. I will defend this city for my sake and for the sake of my servant David.’”(K)

Then Isaiah said, “Bring a lump of pressed figs.” So they brought it and applied it to his infected skin, and he recovered.(L)

Hezekiah had asked Isaiah, “What is the sign(M) that the Lord will heal me and that I will go up to the Lord’s temple on the third day?”

Isaiah said, “This is the sign(N) to you from the Lord that he will do what he has promised: Should the shadow go ahead ten steps or go back ten steps?”

10 Then Hezekiah answered, “It’s easy for the shadow to lengthen ten steps. No, let the shadow go back ten steps.” 11 So the prophet Isaiah called out to the Lord, and he brought the shadow[b] back the ten steps it had descended on the stairway of Ahaz.[c](O)

Hezekiah’s Folly

12 At that time(P) Merodach-baladan[d] son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent letters and a gift to Hezekiah since he heard that he had been sick. 13 Hezekiah listened to the letters and showed the envoys his whole treasure house—the silver, the gold, the spices, and the precious oil—and his armory, and everything that was found in his treasuries. There was nothing in his palace and in all his realm that Hezekiah did not show them.(Q)

14 Then the prophet Isaiah came to King Hezekiah and asked him, “Where did these men come from and what did they say to you?”

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

15 Isaiah asked, “What have they seen in your palace?”

Hezekiah answered, “They have seen everything in my palace. There isn’t anything in my treasuries that I didn’t show them.”

16 Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, “Hear the word of the Lord: 17 ‘Look, the days are coming when everything in your palace and all that your predecessors have stored up until today will be carried off to Babylon; nothing will be left,’(R) says the Lord. 18 ‘Some of your descendants—who come from you, whom you father—will be taken away,(S) and they will become eunuchs[e] in the palace of the king of Babylon.’”(T)

19 Then Hezekiah said to Isaiah, “The word of the Lord that you have spoken is good,”(U) for he thought, “Why not, if there will be peace and security during my lifetime?”

Hezekiah’s Death

20 The rest of the events of Hezekiah’s reign, along with all his might and how he made the pool(V) and the tunnel and brought water into the city,(W) are written in the Historical Record of Judah’s Kings.(X) 21 Hezekiah rested with his ancestors, and his son Manasseh became king in his place.(Y)

Judah’s King Manasseh

21 Manasseh(Z) was twelve years old when he became king, and he reigned fifty-five years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Hephzibah.(AA) He did what was evil in the Lord’s sight,(AB) imitating the detestable practices of the nations that the Lord had dispossessed before the Israelites.(AC) He rebuilt the high places that his father Hezekiah had destroyed(AD) and reestablished the altars for Baal. He made an Asherah,(AE) as King Ahab of Israel had done;(AF) he also bowed in worship to all the stars in the sky(AG) and served them. He built altars in the Lord’s temple,(AH) where the Lord had said, “Jerusalem is where I will put my name.”(AI) He built altars to all the stars in the sky(AJ) in both courtyards of the Lord’s temple.(AK) He sacrificed his son in the fire,[f](AL) practiced witchcraft and divination, and consulted mediums and spiritists.(AM) He did a huge amount of evil in the Lord’s sight, angering him.(AN)

Manasseh set up the carved image of Asherah, which he made, in the temple that the Lord had spoken about to David and his son Solomon: “I will establish my name forever in this temple and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel.(AO) I will never again cause the feet of the Israelites to wander from the land I gave to their ancestors if only they will be careful to do all I have commanded them—the whole law that my servant Moses commanded them.”(AP) But they did not listen; Manasseh caused them to stray so that they did worse evil than the nations the Lord had destroyed before the Israelites.(AQ)

10 The Lord said through his servants the prophets, 11 “Since King Manasseh of Judah has committed all these detestable acts(AR)—worse evil than the Amorites(AS) who preceded him had done—and by means of his idols has also caused Judah to sin, 12 this is what the Lord God of Israel says: ‘I am about to bring such a disaster on Jerusalem and Judah that everyone who hears about it will shudder.[g](AT) 13 I will stretch over Jerusalem the measuring line used on Samaria and the mason’s level used on the house of Ahab,(AU) and I will wipe(AV) Jerusalem clean as one wipes a bowl—wiping it and turning it upside down. 14 I will abandon the remnant(AW) of my inheritance and hand them over to their enemies. They will become plunder and spoil to all their enemies, 15 because they have done what is evil in my sight and have angered me from the day their ancestors came out of Egypt until today.’”(AX)

16 Manasseh also shed so much innocent blood that he filled Jerusalem with it from one end to another.(AY) This was in addition to his sin that he caused Judah to commit, so that they did what was evil in the Lord’s sight.

Manasseh’s Death

17 The rest(AZ) of the events of Manasseh’s reign, along with all his accomplishments and the sin that he committed, are written in the Historical Record of Judah’s Kings.(BA) 18 Manasseh rested with his ancestors and was buried in the garden of his own house, the garden of Uzza. His son Amon became king in his place.

Judah’s King Amon

19 Amon was twenty-two years old when he became king,(BB) and he reigned two years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Meshullemeth daughter of Haruz; she was from Jotbah. 20 He did what was evil in the Lord’s sight, just as his father Manasseh had done.(BC) 21 He walked in all the ways his father had walked; he served the idols his father had served, and he bowed in worship to them.(BD) 22 He abandoned the Lord God of his ancestors(BE) and did not walk in the ways of the Lord.(BF)

23 Amon’s servants conspired against him and put the king to death in his own house.(BG) 24 The common people[h] killed(BH) all who had conspired against King Amon, and they made his son Josiah(BI) king in his place.

25 The rest of the events of Amon’s reign, along with his accomplishments, are written in the Historical Record of Judah’s Kings. 26 He was buried in his tomb in the garden of Uzza, and his son Josiah became king in his place.

Judah’s King Josiah

22 Josiah(BJ) was eight years old when he became king, and he reigned thirty-one years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Jedidah the daughter of Adaiah; she was from Bozkath.(BK) He did what was right in the Lord’s sight and walked in all the ways of his ancestor David;(BL) he did not turn to the right or the left.(BM)

Footnotes:

  1. 20:3 Lit what is good in your eyes
  2. 20:11 Lit shadow on the steps
  3. 20:11 Tg, Vg; DSS read on the steps of Ahaz’s roof chamber; Is 38:8
  4. 20:12 Some Hb mss, LXX, Syr, Tg, some Vg mss, Is 39:1; other Hb mss read Berodach-baladan
  5. 20:18 Or court officials
  6. 21:6 Lit He made his son pass through the fire
  7. 21:12 Lit about it, his two ears will tingle; Hb obscure
  8. 21:24 Lit The people of the land
Christian Standard Bible (CSB)

The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible®, and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers, all rights reserved.

Acts 21:18-36

18 The following day Paul went in with us to James, and all the elders were present.(A) 19 After greeting them, he reported in detail what God had done among the Gentiles through his ministry.(B)

20 When they heard it, they glorified God and said, “You see, brother, how many thousands of Jews there are who have believed, and they are all zealous(C) for the law. 21 But they have been informed about you—that you are teaching all the Jews who are among the Gentiles to abandon Moses, telling them not to circumcise their children or to live according to our customs.(D) 22 So what is to be done?[a] They will certainly hear that you’ve come. 23 Therefore do what we tell you: We have four men who have made a vow. 24 Take these men, purify yourself along with them, and pay for them to get their heads shaved. Then everyone will know that what they were told about you amounts to nothing, but that you yourself are also careful about observing the law.(E) 25 With regard to the Gentiles who have believed, we have written a letter containing our decision that[b] they should keep themselves from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from what is strangled, and from sexual immorality.”

The Riot in the Temple

26 So the next day, Paul took the men, having purified himself along with them, and entered the temple, announcing the completion of the purification days when the offering would be made for each of them.(F) 27 When the seven days were nearly over, some Jews from the province of Asia saw him in the temple, stirred up the whole crowd, and seized him,(G) 28 shouting, “Fellow Israelites, help! This is the man who teaches everyone everywhere against our people, our law, and this place. What’s more, he also brought Greeks into the temple and has defiled this holy place.”(H) 29 For they had previously seen Trophimus the Ephesian in the city with him, and they supposed that Paul had brought him into the temple.(I)

30 The whole city was stirred up, and the people rushed together. They seized Paul, dragged him out of the temple, and at once the gates were shut.(J)

31 As they were trying to kill him, word went up to the commander of the regiment that all Jerusalem was in chaos. 32 Taking along soldiers and centurions, he immediately ran down to them. Seeing the commander and the soldiers, they stopped beating Paul. 33 Then the commander approached, took him into custody, and ordered him to be bound with two chains.(K) He asked who he was and what he had done. 34 Some in the crowd were shouting one thing and some another. Since he was not able to get reliable information because of the uproar, he ordered him to be taken into the barracks.(L) 35 When Paul got to the steps, he had to be carried by the soldiers because of the violence of the crowd, 36 for the mass of people followed, yelling, “Get rid of him!” (M)

Footnotes:

  1. 21:22 Other mss add A multitude has to come together, since
  2. 21:25 Other mss add they should observe no such thing, except that
Christian Standard Bible (CSB)

The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible®, and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers, all rights reserved.

Psalm 150

Psalm 150

Praise the Lord

Hallelujah!
Praise God in his sanctuary.
Praise him in his mighty expanse.(A)
Praise him for his powerful acts;(B)
praise him for his abundant greatness.(C)

Praise him with the blast of a ram’s horn;(D)
praise him with harp and lyre.(E)
Praise him with tambourine and dance;(F)
praise him with strings and flute.(G)
Praise him with resounding cymbals;
praise him with clashing cymbals.(H)

Let everything that breathes praise the Lord.(I)
Hallelujah!

Christian Standard Bible (CSB)

The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible®, and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers, all rights reserved.

Proverbs 18:9-10

The one who is lazy in his work
is brother to a vandal.[a](A)

10 The name of the Lord is a strong tower;(B)
the righteous run to it and are protected.[b](C)

Footnotes:

  1. 18:9 Lit master of destruction
  2. 18:10 Lit raised high
Christian Standard Bible (CSB)

The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible®, and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers, all rights reserved.

07/01/2022 DAB Transcript

2 Kings 18:13-19:37, Acts 21:1-17, Psalms 149:1-9, Proverbs 18:8

Today is the 1st day of July welcome to the Daily Audio Bible. Welcome to a brand-new shiny sparkly month, the 7th month of the year and the 182nd day of the year. So, here we are launching into the 7th month. We have crossed through essentially the halfway point in terms of months for sure. And, so, here we are. I guess we could consider this the back half, and there is a lot in front of us. And, so, let us dive in and take the next step forward. That next step leads us back into the book of second Kings. We kind of ended the month of June just imagining the fact that 10 of the tribes of Israel are gone. Like, the kingdom of Israel is…is gone. The people of been deported into exile, the 10 tribes of the north when the Assyrian Empire conquered them. So, let’s take the next step forward and see what happens next. We’re reading from the Christian Standard Bible this week. Second Kings chapter 18 verse 13 through 19 verse 37.

Commentary:

Okay. So, in the book of second Kings we’ve continued this advance by the Assyrian Empire and King Sennacherib. They had conquered Israel, the northern kingdom, the 10 tribes in the north and were continuing their conquest southward through the land with the intention of also overcoming the kingdom of Judah and sending them into exile the same way. So, as the story goes, Sennacherib  captures the city of Lachish or La-chish and this…this was a walled fortified city. Like this was second only to Jerusalem and its defenses. And, so, the Assyrians captured the city and then send on an envoy to Jerusalem with essentially an intimidation tactic. And, so, they go outside the walls and some officials come to meet with them to get the message and they begin to speak with them and it is a message of intimidation, which essentially is, “what…what makes you think you can survive this? What…what are you relying on the makes you think you’re going to get away from us because you’re not? Who has ever withstood an attack from the Assyrian Empire? What place that we’ve ever gone did we not conquer and destroy? So, what would make you think that you’re gonna survive? Is it your God? Your God? Has any other God stood in the way of the king of Assyria?” You can just kind here the taunting and intimidation involved. And then the officials are like, speak to us in Aramaic, not in Hebrew so the people don’t understand. But that just makes the envoys from Sennacherib shout out to everybody in a language they can understand, in the Hebrew language to surrender so to like…to demoralize the people with inside the city. “Come out, surrender. You will live. You can stay here. You __. I’ll let you come back. And you’re gonna have to move but I’ll move you somewhere good, somewhere like this. You can keep your life you can keep your family. Surrender to me. Don’t be deceived by your king. Don’t be deceived by Hezekiah, thinking that the Lord is going to save you. No God has saved any country that we’ve invaded. Come out and surrender. Otherwise, you’re going to be trapped in there eating your own poop and drinking your own pee.” Totally demoralizing. If you are within the city walls trapped preparing for a siege surrounded outmanned outnumbered outgunned or out sordid and then this campaign of intimidation and taunting and arrogance comes. I mean sometimes that’s the thing that can take us out, the voice of intimidation, the accusation, the arrogance. And, so, king Hezekiah eventually gets the news, the word of all this and there’s sackcloth and ashes. And then there’s this beautiful scene of Hezekiah who was a good king, a good, good, reforming king in the land of Judah, the kingdom of Judah. He goes into the Lord’s temple with the letter, the second form of intimidation. He spreads this out before the Lord. Like right here on this page, that’s the taunting voice, that is the arrogance being spoken against you, Lord. It’s really actually a beautifully humble acknowledgment. I mean Hezekiah’s like the things that they’re saying our true as far as the destruction that has been left in their wake. Like they have destroyed everything they have attacked, and we truly are powerless to sustain or survive this without you, Lord. Sentiments inside of a prayer that we’ve probably prayed at one point or another. And then they send word to the prophet Isaiah asking for prayer. And Isaiah sends a message back from the Lord that relying on the Lord is actually a safe thing to do. The only safe thing to do at all in this scenario, and the Lord will not deny his people. And, so, Isaiah gives this message of confidence that there is a future for Judah, and that this isn’t going to happen. The Lord says, “this year you will you what grows on its own and in the second year what grows from that. But in the 3rd sow and re-plant vineyards and eat their fruit. Like, there’s a future here. And then the Lord says the surviving remnant of the house of Judah will again take root downward and bear fruit upward. And that has been the word for our year, rooted. And, so, that jumped off the page to me. And I begin to think, even as I was reading. Take root downward and bear fruit upward, that’s it. We are always asking for the fruit of the Spirit to be present and plentiful in our lives but thinking back to the parable of the good soil that Jesus…or the different kinds of soil that Jesus talked about. To have fruit upward we need roots downward. If we’re not seeing that, then it’s beneath the surface that we need to be looking. It’s in the rootedness. If all we’re doing is looking for or looking at the fruit…I mean if we see someone bearing fruit for the kingdom of God and we must know that they are rooted. And if we want a bountiful harvest of the fruit of the spirit in our lives, then we must likewise be rooted. And this is what God is promising these people who are totally outnumbered and totally being intimidated. But as the story goes the Angel the Lord strikes down the Assyrian army, 185,000 people die and King’s Sennacherib has to go back to Assyria and in short order, he is assassinated by his own sons, and Judah is rescued under the leadership of King Hezekiah and the prophetic voice of Isaiah. And it will take a little bit of time and a totally different Empire to eventually carry Judah into exile. But we will follow that story and see how it all goes down in the days ahead.

And then there’s this really heartbreaking scene in the book of Acts today where the apostle Paul is on his way to Jerusalem and everywhere he stops people are warning them not to go up to Jerusalem. I mean, he’s a lightning rod at this point. Paul is a Pharisee who was educated in Jerusalem, who was zealous for the Mosaic law, who was absolutely against the name of Jesus, and he’s done an about-face and is moving in a completely just different direction. And, so, the Jewish people look at Paul as a heretic, as somebody who has actually left his faith, somebody who was saying that Gentiles can be involved in this story, like somebody who needs to die. And, so, as Paul is making his way back to Jerusalem he’s been warned, even prophetically warned that captivity and chains and suffering are in his future. And, so, everywhere he goes he’s like on his goodbye tour on his way back to Jerusalem. Very, very, very sad. And, so, people are pleading with him today and he’s saying like it’s breaking my heart to listen to you guys. You have to know that the Lord told me to go to Jerusalem and I know what’s coming and I’m ready. Like, I’m willing for captivity. But I’m willing to die for the name of Jesus if that’s what this takes. But I have to obey the Lord and it’s breaking my heart to see you so sad. And, so, we get a little bit of a personal glimpse into the apostle Paul. We’re still kinda getting to know him. We’re in the book of Acts, but after this we will begin Paul’s letters. And, so, we’ll be listening to Paul’s personality in his letters for quite a while. So, this glimpse of him just having a human moment here is really helpful because a lot of Paul’s writings are highly theological. And obviously we will be continuing the story in the book of Acts. Is he gonna get there to Jerusalem? Does he make it? What happens? We’ll find out in the days ahead.

And then lastly from the book of Proverbs, a theme that comes up often in the Bible. And that is what is coming out of our mouths. And, so, the book of Proverbs has a single sentence for us. A gossip’s words are like choice food that goes down to one’s innermost being. I cannot read that proverb without saying something about it, even if I’m just talking to myself. Gossip is such a destructive force. It destroys communities. It’s like a cancer in communities. When there’s this kind of back story that’s unspoken that’s fragmented that’s in pieces throughout a community, it's…it can be so divisive and devastating. And, so, what we’re told here is that gossip is tasty. And we know that. Like it’s tasty to have the inside scoop, to sort of get some information that’s not out there about somebody or even have a friendly Christian conversation about somebody else. Somebody else’s problems that we need to pray for. What do you think is going on? Well, I heard this. Really, well I heard this. And before you know it just fully creating a story without…about a person without the person there to say, no that’s not…that’s not how it went. I was there, it’s me. This is how it went. We need to know from the voice of wisdom is that these things end up in our innermost being. Like we can pick up somebody else’s offense through gossip. All kinds of things can happen through this. And, so, let’s at least just simply acknowledge once again the Bible has brought this up. The Bible brings this up a number of times in a number of ways. We’re not to be able to escape the fact that the power of life and death is in our tongue. So, in our mouths and what comes out of our mouths actually matters and sets things into motion. But what we receive from other people’s mouths into our ears when it’s gossip, it may be tasty, but it goes into the innermost being, which simply allows us to question whether or not we want that we want that, do we want that stuff, that kinda stuff, other people’s offenses, this kind of stuff, do we want that in our innermost being? Not like just something that we heard and went in one ear and out the other, but something that went into our ears and sank down into our innermost being. If we don’t then…well…then wisdom would tell us to avoid this kind of behavior.

Prayer:

Father, we thank You for Your word. We thank You for even the many different facets that we could look at ourselves through Your word in the stories that we read today, being surrounded and taunted by an enemy trying to intimidate us or Paul following what You would told him to do even though he knew what was going to happen was being warned, and what the Proverbs have told us about being careful what we participate in and listening to. We thank You that the Scriptures really do touch all of the different facets of our lives as we enter into a relationship with them. And we thank You that day by day step-by-step we are doing just that. And indeed, the Scriptures are touching our lives. And, so, plant these seeds in our lives. May our roots go down word that we might bear fruit upward. We ask this in the precious name of Jesus. Amen.

Announcements:

dailyaudiobible.com is home base and it’s where you find out what’s going on around here. And we’ve got several things going on around here. And by the way, if you’re using the Daily Audio Bible app you can find out what’s going on around here as well by pushing the Drawer icon in the upper left-hand corner.

So, we have the Daily Audio Bible long walk coming up, which is less than a week now, a week from yesterday. The seventh day of July is the Daily Audio Bible holiday, our own little global campfire holiday. And I’ve been explaining it for…for a week or whatever. And it’s just a time to give ourselves permission to carve out a day and go for a long walk with God. Go out into nature, go intentionally with the idea that a long walk, a stroll through somewhere beautiful with the lover of our souls where we can say all that we need to say and hear all that we need to hear is a worthwhile endeavor to say the least. And, so, that’s what we do every seventh day of July. All over the world go out into beauty, spend the day with God saying we need to say and listening as we prepare to really set the course for the second half of the year. And, so, make plans for that. That’s coming up this coming Thursday, the 7th of July. And obviously that’s a solitary endeavor. That’s a very, very personal journey with God but it’s something that we’re doing by the thousands together at the same time in different places in the world. And it’s very unlikely we’re gonna go anywhere without her phone these days and it’s important to remember these times, especially like a time that we spent with God. Maybe take some pictures. Take some pictures of the beauty that you see, a video of what you experienced and come and share your long walk story. We put a post on the Daily Audio Bible Facebook page. That’s facebook.com/dailyaudiobible. And you can post your pictures and your stories in there and then we can all enjoy them together looking through each other’s lenses basically, opening windows into each other’s lives. So, that’s coming up on the 7th of July. Make plans for that. I am ready and looking forward to it.

And then the other thing that we’ve got going on right now is that we have announced the fact that we intend to go back to Israel on a pilgrimage, February 6th through the 19th 2023 and love to have you. And you can check out those details at dailyaudiobible.com in the Initiatives section or you can use the Daily Audio Bible app and open up the Drawer and find the Initiatives section and you’ll find Israel 2023 in  there or you can just go to dailyaudiobibleisrael.com and that will get you there as well. So, check it out and looking forward to that and in a few months.

If you want to partner with the Daily Audio Bible, if what w…if what we are as a campfire community around the Global Campfire taking the next step forward each and every day, if that is life-giving and encouraging then thank you for your partnership. There is a link on the homepage and at dailyaudiobible.com. If you’re using the app, you can press the Give button in the upper right-hand corner, or the mailing address is PO Box 1996 Spring Hill Tennessee 37174.

And, as always, if you have a prayer request or encouragement, you can hit the Hotline button in the app or you can dial 877-942-4253.

And that’s it for today. I’m Brian I love you and I’ll be waiting for you here tomorrow.

Community Prayer and Praise:

Coming soon…

The Daily Audio Bible Reading for Friday July 1, 2022 (NIV)

2 Kings 18:13-19:37

Sennacherib’s Invasion

13 In the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah, Assyria’s King Sennacherib attacked all the fortified cities of Judah and captured them.(A) 14 So King Hezekiah of Judah sent word to the king of Assyria at Lachish:(B) “I have done wrong;(C) withdraw from me. Whatever you demand from me, I will pay.” The king of Assyria demanded eleven tons[a] of silver and one ton[b] of gold from King Hezekiah of Judah. 15 So Hezekiah gave him all the silver found in the Lord’s temple and in the treasuries of the king’s palace.

16 At that time Hezekiah stripped the gold from the doors of the Lord’s sanctuary and from the doorposts he had overlaid and gave it to the king of Assyria.(D)

17 Then the king of Assyria sent the field marshal,(E) the chief of staff, and his royal spokesman, along with a massive army, from Lachish to King Hezekiah at Jerusalem.(F) They advanced and came to Jerusalem, and[c] they took their position by the aqueduct of the upper pool, by the road to the Launderer’s Field.(G) 18 They called for the king, but Eliakim(H) son of Hilkiah, who was in charge of the palace, Shebnah(I) the court secretary, and Joah son of Asaph, the court historian, came out to them.(J)

The Royal Spokesman’s Speech

19 Then(K) the royal spokesman said to them, “Tell Hezekiah this is what the great king, the king of Assyria, says: ‘What are you relying on?[d](L) 20 You think mere words are strategy and strength for war. Who are you now relying on so that you have rebelled against me?(M) 21 Now look, you are relying on Egypt, that splintered reed of a staff(N) that will pierce the hand of anyone who grabs it and leans on it.(O) This is what Pharaoh king of Egypt is to all who rely on him. 22 Suppose you say to me, “We rely on the Lord our God.” Isn’t he the one whose high places and altars Hezekiah has removed,(P) saying to Judah and to Jerusalem, “You must worship at this altar in Jerusalem”?’

23 “So now, make a bargain with my master the king of Assyria. I’ll give you two thousand horses if you’re able to supply riders for them! 24 How then can you drive back a single officer(Q) among the least of my master’s servants? How can you rely on Egypt for chariots and for horsemen? 25 Now, have I attacked this place to destroy it without the Lord’s approval?(R) The Lord said to me, ‘Attack this land and destroy it.’”

26 Then Eliakim son of Hilkiah, Shebnah, and Joah said to the royal spokesman, “Please speak to your servants in Aramaic,(S) since we understand it. Don’t speak with us in Hebrew[e] within earshot of the people on the wall.”

27 But the royal spokesman said to them, “Has my master sent me to speak these words only to your master and to you? Hasn’t he also sent me to the men who sit on the wall, destined with you to eat their own excrement and drink their own urine?” (T)

28 The royal spokesman stood and called out loudly in Hebrew: “Hear the word of the great king, the king of Assyria. 29 This is what the king says: ‘Don’t let Hezekiah deceive(U) you; he can’t rescue you from my power.(V) 30 Don’t let Hezekiah persuade you to rely on the Lord by saying, “Certainly the Lord will rescue us! This city will not be handed over to the king of Assyria.”’(W)

31 “Don’t listen to Hezekiah, for this is what the king of Assyria says: ‘Make peace[f] with me and surrender to me. Then each of you may eat from his own vine and his own fig tree,(X) and each may drink water from his own cistern 32 until I come and take you away to a land like your own land—a land of grain and new wine, a land of bread and vineyards, a land of olive trees and honey(Y)—so that you may live(Z) and not die. But don’t listen to Hezekiah when he misleads you, saying, “The Lord will rescue us.” 33 Has any of the gods of the nations ever rescued(AA) his land from the power of the king of Assyria? 34 Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivvah?[g] Have they rescued Samaria from my power?(AB) 35 Who among all the gods of the lands has rescued his land from my power? So will the Lord rescue Jerusalem from my power?’” (AC)

36 But the people kept silent; they did not answer him at all, for the king’s command was, “Don’t answer him.” 37 Then Eliakim son of Hilkiah, who was in charge of the palace, Shebna the court secretary, and Joah son of Asaph, the court historian,(AD) came to Hezekiah with their clothes torn(AE) and reported to him the words of the royal spokesman.

Hezekiah Seeks Isaiah’s Counsel

19 When King Hezekiah heard their report, he tore his clothes, covered himself with sackcloth,(AF) and went into the Lord’s temple.(AG) He sent Eliakim, who was in charge of the palace, Shebna the court secretary,(AH) and the leading priests, who were covered with sackcloth,(AI) to the prophet Isaiah(AJ) son of Amoz. They said to him, “This is what Hezekiah says: ‘Today is a day of distress, rebuke, and disgrace, for children have come to the point of birth,(AK) but there is no strength to deliver them. Perhaps the Lord your God(AL) will hear(AM) all the words of the royal spokesman, whom his master the king of Assyria sent to mock the living God, and will rebuke(AN) him for the words that the Lord your God has heard. Therefore, offer a prayer for the surviving remnant.’”(AO)

So the servants of King Hezekiah went to Isaiah, who said to them, “Tell your master, ‘The Lord says this: Don’t be afraid(AP) because of the words you have heard, with which the king of Assyria’s attendants(AQ) have blasphemed(AR) me. I am about to put a spirit in him, and he will hear a rumor and return to his own land,(AS) where I will cause him to fall by the sword.’”(AT)

Sennacherib’s Departing Threat

When(AU) the royal spokesman heard that the king of Assyria had pulled out of Lachish,(AV) he left and found him fighting against Libnah.(AW) The king had heard concerning King Tirhakah of Cush, “Look, he has set out to fight against you.” So he again sent messengers to Hezekiah, saying, 10 “Say this to King Hezekiah of Judah: ‘Don’t let your God, on whom you rely,(AX) deceive you by promising that Jerusalem will not be handed over to the king of Assyria.(AY) 11 Look, you have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all the countries: They completely destroyed them. Will you be rescued? 12 Did the gods of the nations(AZ) that my predecessors destroyed rescue them—nations such as Gozan,(BA) Haran,(BB) Rezeph, and the Edenites(BC) in Telassar? 13 Where is the king of Hamath, the king of Arpad, the king of the city of[h] Sepharvaim, Hena, or Ivvah?’” (BD)

Hezekiah’s Prayer

14 Hezekiah took(BE) the letter(BF) from the messengers’ hands, read it, then went up to the Lord’s temple, and spread it out before the Lord.(BG) 15 Then Hezekiah prayed before the Lord:

Lord God of Israel, enthroned between the cherubim,(BH) you are God—you alone—of all the kingdoms of the earth. You made the heavens and the earth.(BI) 16 Listen closely, Lord, and hear; open your eyes, Lord, and see.(BJ) Hear the words that Sennacherib has sent to mock the living God.(BK) 17 Lord, it is true that the kings of Assyria have devastated the nations and their lands.(BL) 18 They have thrown their gods into the fire, for they were not gods but made by human hands—wood and stone.(BM) So they have destroyed them. 19 Now, Lord our God, please save us from his power so that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that you, Lord, are God—you alone.(BN)

God’s Answer through Isaiah

20 Then(BO) Isaiah son of Amoz sent a message to Hezekiah: “The Lord, the God of Israel says, ‘I have heard your prayer(BP) to me about King Sennacherib of Assyria.’(BQ) 21 This is the word the Lord has spoken against him:

Virgin Daughter Zion(BR)
despises you and scorns you;
Daughter Jerusalem
shakes her head behind your back.(BS)
22 Who is it you mocked and blasphemed?(BT)
Against whom have you raised your voice
and lifted your eyes in pride?
Against the Holy One of Israel!(BU)
23 You have mocked the Lord[i] through[j] your messengers.(BV)
You have said, ‘With my many chariots(BW)
I have gone up to the heights of the mountains,
to the far recesses of Lebanon.
I cut down its tallest cedars,
its choice cypress trees.
I came to its farthest outpost,
its densest forest.
24 I dug wells
and drank water in foreign lands.
I dried up all the streams of Egypt(BX)
with the soles of my feet.’

25 Have you not heard?(BY)
I designed it long ago;
I planned it in days gone by.
I have now brought it to pass,(BZ)
and you have crushed fortified cities
into piles of rubble.
26 Their inhabitants have become powerless,
dismayed, and ashamed.
They are plants of the field,
tender grass,
grass on the rooftops,(CA)
blasted by the east wind.[k]

27 But I know your sitting down,(CB)
your going out and your coming in,
and your raging against me.
28 Because your raging against me
and your arrogance have reached my ears,
I will put my hook in your nose(CC)
and my bit in your mouth;
I will make you go back
the way you came.

29 “This will be the sign(CD) for you: This year you will eat what grows on its own, and in the second year what grows from that. But in the third year sow and reap, plant vineyards and eat their fruit. 30 The surviving remnant(CE) of the house of Judah will again take root downward and bear fruit upward. 31 For a remnant will go out from Jerusalem, and survivors, from Mount Zion.(CF) The zeal of the Lord of Armies will accomplish this.(CG)

32 Therefore, this is what the Lord says about the king of Assyria:
He will not enter this city,
shoot an arrow here,
come before it with a shield,
or build up a siege ramp against it.(CH)
33 He will go back
the way he came,
and he will not enter this city.

This is the Lord’s declaration.

34 I will defend this city and rescue it
for my sake and for the sake of my servant David.”(CI)

Defeat and Death of Sennacherib

35 That night the angel of the Lord went out and struck down one hundred eighty-five thousand in the camp of the Assyrians. When the people got up the next morning—there were all the dead bodies!(CJ) 36 So King Sennacherib of Assyria broke camp and left. He returned home and lived in Nineveh.(CK)

37 One day, while he was worshiping in the temple of his god Nisroch, his sons Adrammelech(CL) and Sharezer struck him down with the sword and escaped to the land of Ararat.(CM) Then his son Esar-haddon(CN) became king in his place.

Footnotes:

  1. 18:14 Lit 300 talents
  2. 18:14 Lit 30 talents
  3. 18:17 LXX, Syr, Vg; MT reads and came and
  4. 18:19 Lit ‘What is this trust which you trust
  5. 18:26 Lit Judahite, also in v. 28
  6. 18:31 Lit a blessing
  7. 18:34 Some LXX mss, Old Lat read Sepharvaim? Where are the gods of the land of Samaria?
  8. 19:13 Or king of Lair,
  9. 19:23 Many mss read Lord
  10. 19:23 Lit by the hand of
  11. 19:26 DSS; MT reads blasted before standing grain; Is 37:27

Cross references:

  1. 18:13 : 2Ch 32:1; Is 36:1
  2. 18:14 : 2Kg 19:8
  3. 18:14 : Is 24:5; 33:8
  4. 18:15–16 : 2Kg 12:18; 16:8; 2Ch 16:2
  5. 18:17 : Is 20:1
  6. 18:17 : 2Ch 32:9
  7. 18:17 : 2Kg 20:20; Is 7:3
  8. 18:18 : 2Kg 19:2; Is 22:20
  9. 18:18 : Is 22:15
  10. 18:17–18 : Is 36:2–3
  11. 18:19–37 : Is 36:4–22
  12. 18:19 : 2Kg 18:5; 2Ch 32:10
  13. 18:20 : 2Kg 18:7
  14. 18:21 : Is 30:2–3,7
  15. 18:21 : Ezk 29:6–7
  16. 18:22 : 2Kg 18:4; 2Ch 31:1; 32:11–12
  17. 18:24 : Is 10:8
  18. 18:25 : 2Kg 19:6,22; 24:3; 2Ch 35:21
  19. 18:26 : Ezr 4:7; Dn 2:4
  20. 18:26–27 : Is 36:11–12
  21. 18:29 : 2Kg 19:10
  22. 18:29 : 2Ch 32:15
  23. 18:30 : 2Ch 32:18
  24. 18:31 : 1Kg 4:25
  25. 18:32 : Dt 8:7–9; 11:12
  26. 18:32 : Dt 30:19
  27. 18:33 : 2Kg 19:12; Is 10:10–11
  28. 18:34 : 2Kg 17:24; 19:13
  29. 18:35 : 2Ch 32:14; Ps 2:1–4; Dn 3:15
  30. 18:37 : 2Kg 18:26; 19:2
  31. 18:37 : 2Kg 6:30; Is 33:7
  32. 19:1 : 1Kg 21:27; 2Kg 18:37; Ps 69:11
  33. 19:1 : 2Ch 32:20; Is 37:1
  34. 19:2 : 2Kg 18:26,37
  35. 19:2 : 2Sm 3:31
  36. 19:2 : Is 1:1; 2:1
  37. 19:3 : Hs 13:13
  38. 19:4 : 1Sm 17:26; 2Kg 18:35
  39. 19:4 : Jos 14:12; 2Sm 16:12
  40. 19:4 : Ps 50:21
  41. 19:4 : 2Kg 19:30; Is 1:9
  42. 19:6 : Is 37:6
  43. 19:6 : 2Kg 18:17
  44. 19:6 : 2Kg 18:22–25,30,35
  45. 19:7 : 2Kg 7:6
  46. 19:7 : 2Kg 19:35–37
  47. 19:8–13 : Is 37:8–13
  48. 19:8 : 2Kg 18:14
  49. 19:8 : Jos 10:29
  50. 19:10 : 2Kg 18:5
  51. 19:10 : 2Kg 18:29–30
  52. 19:12 : 2Kg 18:33,35
  53. 19:12 : 2Kg 17:6
  54. 19:12 : Gn 11:31
  55. 19:12 : Is 37:12
  56. 19:13 : 2Kg 18:34
  57. 19:14–19 : Is 37:14–20
  58. 19:14 : 2Kg 5:7
  59. 19:14 : Is 37:14
  60. 19:15 : Ex 25:22
  61. 19:15 : Gn 1:1; 2Kg 5:15; Is 44:6
  62. 19:16 : 1Kg 8:28–29; Ps 115:4–6; Dn 9:18
  63. 19:16 : 2Kg 19:4; Ps 31:2; Is 37:17
  64. 19:17 : 2Kg 18:34
  65. 19:18 : Is 44:9–20; Jr 10:3–5; Ac 17:29
  66. 19:19 : 1Kg 8:42–43; Is 43:10–11
  67. 19:20–34 : Is 37:21–35
  68. 19:20 : 2Kg 20:5
  69. 19:20 : Is 37:21
  70. 19:21 : Jr 14:17; Lm 2:13
  71. 19:21 : Ps 22:7–8; 109:25; Mt 27:39
  72. 19:22 : 2Kg 19:4,6
  73. 19:22 : Is 5:24; 30:11–15; Jr 51:5
  74. 19:23 : 2Kg 18:17; 19:4
  75. 19:23 : Ps 20:7; Jr 50:37
  76. 19:24 : Is 19:6
  77. 19:25 : Is 40:21; 45:7
  78. 19:25 : Is 10:5
  79. 19:26 : Ps 129:6
  80. 19:27 : Ps 139:1–2
  81. 19:28 : Ezk 19:9; 29:4; 38:4
  82. 19:29 : Ex 3:14; 2Kg 20:8–9; Is 7:14
  83. 19:30 : 2Kg 19:4; 2Ch 32:22–23
  84. 19:31 : Is 10:20
  85. 19:31 : Is 9:7
  86. 19:32 : Is 8:7–10
  87. 19:34 : 1Kg 11:12–13; 2Kg 20:6; Is 31:5
  88. 19:35 : 2Ch 32:21; Is 37:36
  89. 19:36 : Jnh 1:2
  90. 19:37 : 2Kg 17:31
  91. 19:37 : Gn 8:4; Jr 51:27
  92. 19:37 : Gn 10:11; Ezr 4:2
Christian Standard Bible (CSB)

The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible®, and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers, all rights reserved.

Acts 21:1-17

Warnings on the Journey to Jerusalem

21 After(A) we tore ourselves away from them, we set sail straight for Cos, the next day to Rhodes, and from there to Patara. Finding a ship crossing over to Phoenicia, we boarded and set sail. After we sighted Cyprus, passing to the south of it,[a] we sailed on to Syria and arrived at Tyre, since the ship was to unload its cargo there. We sought out the disciples and stayed there seven days. Through the Spirit they told Paul not to go to Jerusalem.(B) When our time had come to an end, we left to continue our journey, while all of them, with their wives and children, accompanied us out of the city. After kneeling down on the beach to pray, we said farewell to one another and boarded the ship, and they returned home.

When we completed our voyage[b] from Tyre, we reached Ptolemais, where we greeted the brothers and sisters and stayed with them for a day.(C) The next day we left and came to Caesarea, where we entered the house of Philip(D) the evangelist,(E) who was one of the Seven, and stayed with him. This man had four virgin daughters who prophesied.(F)

10 After we had been there for several days, a prophet named Agabus came down from Judea. 11 He came to us, took Paul’s belt, tied his own feet and hands, and said, “This is what the Holy Spirit says: ‘In this way the Jews in Jerusalem will bind the man who owns this belt and deliver him over to the Gentiles.’”(G) 12 When we heard this, both we and the local people pleaded with him not to go up to Jerusalem.

13 Then Paul replied, “What are you doing, weeping and breaking my heart? For I am ready not only to be bound but also to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.”(H)

14 Since he would not be persuaded, we said no more except, “The Lord’s will be done.”(I)

Conflict over the Gentile Mission

15 After this we got ready and went up to Jerusalem. 16 Some of the disciples from Caesarea also went with us and brought us to Mnason of Cyprus, an early disciple, with whom we were to stay.(J)

17 When we reached Jerusalem, the brothers and sisters welcomed us warmly.(K)

Footnotes:

  1. 21:3 Lit leaving it on the left
  2. 21:7 Or As we continued our voyage
Christian Standard Bible (CSB)

The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible®, and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers, all rights reserved.

Psalm 149

Psalm 149

Praise for God’s Triumph

Hallelujah!
Sing to the Lord a new song,(A)
his praise in the assembly of the faithful.(B)
Let Israel celebrate its Maker;
let the children of Zion rejoice in their King.(C)
Let them praise his name with dancing
and make music to him with tambourine and lyre.(D)
For the Lord takes pleasure in his people;(E)
he adorns the humble with salvation.(F)
Let the faithful celebrate in triumphal glory;
let them shout for joy on their beds.(G)

Let the exaltation of God be in their mouths[a]
and a double-edged sword in their hands,(H)
inflicting vengeance on the nations
and punishment on the peoples,(I)
binding their kings with chains
and their dignitaries with iron shackles,(J)
carrying out the judgment decreed against them.
This honor is for all his faithful people.(K)
Hallelujah!

Footnotes:

  1. 149:6 Lit throat
Christian Standard Bible (CSB)

The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible®, and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers, all rights reserved.

Proverbs 18:8

A gossip’s words are like choice food
that goes down to one’s innermost being.[a](A)

Footnotes:

  1. 18:8 Lit to the chambers of the belly

Cross references:

  1. 18:8 : Pr 26:22
Christian Standard Bible (CSB)

The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible®, and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers, all rights reserved.