Old/New Testament
37 When King Hezekiah heard this,[a] he tore his clothes, put on sackcloth, and went to the Lord’s temple. 2 Eliakim the palace supervisor, Shebna the scribe, and the leading priests,[b] clothed in sackcloth, sent this message to the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz: 3 “This is what Hezekiah says:[c] ‘This is a day of distress, insults,[d] and humiliation,[e] as when a baby is ready to leave the birth canal, but the mother lacks the strength to push it through.[f] 4 Perhaps the Lord your God will hear all these things the chief adviser has spoken on behalf of his master, the king of Assyria, who sent him to taunt the living God.[g] When the Lord your God hears, perhaps he will punish him for the things he has said.[h] So pray for this remnant that remains.’”[i]
5 When King Hezekiah’s servants came to Isaiah, 6 Isaiah said to them, “Tell your master this: ‘This is what the Lord has said: “Don’t be afraid because of the things you have heard—these insults the king of Assyria’s servants have hurled against me.[j] 7 Look, I will take control of his mind;[k] he will receive a report and return to his own land. I will cut him down[l] with a sword in his own land.”’”
8 When the chief adviser heard the king of Assyria had departed from Lachish, he left and went to Libnah, where the king was campaigning.[m] 9 The king[n] heard that King Tirhakah of Ethiopia[o] was marching out to fight him.[p] He again sent[q] messengers to Hezekiah, ordering them: 10 “Tell King Hezekiah of Judah this: ‘Don’t let your God in whom you trust mislead you when he says, “Jerusalem will not be handed over to the king of Assyria.” 11 Certainly you have heard how the kings of Assyria have annihilated all lands.[r] Do you really think you will be rescued?[s] 12 Were the nations whom my predecessors[t] destroyed—the nations of Gozan, Haran, Rezeph, and the people of Eden in Telassar—rescued by their gods?[u] 13 Where is the king of Hamath or the king of Arpad or the kings of Lair,[v] Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivvah?’”
14 Hezekiah took the letter[w] from the messengers and read it.[x] Then Hezekiah went up to the Lord’s temple and spread it out before the Lord. 15 Hezekiah prayed before the Lord: 16 “O Lord of Heaven’s Armies, O God of Israel, who is enthroned on the cherubim![y] You alone are God over all the kingdoms of the earth. You made the sky[z] and the earth. 17 Pay attention, Lord, and hear! Open your eyes, Lord, and observe! Listen to this entire message Sennacherib sent and how he taunts the living God![aa] 18 It is true, Lord, that the kings of Assyria have destroyed all the nations[ab] and their lands. 19 They have burned the gods of the nations,[ac] for they are not really gods, but only the product of human hands manufactured from wood and stone. That is why the Assyrians could destroy them.[ad] 20 Now, O Lord our God, rescue us from his power, so all the kingdoms of the earth may know that you alone are the Lord.”[ae]
21 Isaiah son of Amoz sent this message to Hezekiah: “This is what the Lord God of Israel has said: ‘As to what you have prayed to me concerning King Sennacherib of Assyria,[af] 22 this is what the Lord says about him:[ag]
“‘The virgin daughter Zion[ah]
despises you—she makes fun of you;
daughter Jerusalem
shakes her head after you.[ai]
23 Whom have you taunted and hurled insults at?
At whom have you shouted
and looked so arrogantly?[aj]
At the Holy One of Israel![ak]
24 Through your messengers you taunted the Lord,[al]
“With my many chariots I climbed up
the high mountains,
the slopes of Lebanon.
I cut down its tall cedars
and its best evergreens.
I invaded its remotest regions,[am]
its thickest woods.
25 I dug wells
and drank water.[an]
With the soles of my feet I dried up
all the rivers of Egypt.”’
26 [ao] Certainly you must have heard![ap]
Long ago I worked it out,
in ancient times I planned[aq] it,
and now I am bringing it to pass.
The plan is this:
Fortified cities will crash
into heaps of ruins.[ar]
27 Their residents are powerless;[as]
they are terrified and ashamed.
They are as short-lived as plants in the field
or green vegetation.[at]
They are as short-lived as grass on the rooftops[au]
when it is scorched by the east wind.[av]
28 I know where you live
and everything you do
and how you rage against me.[aw]
29 Because you rage against me
and the uproar you create has reached my ears,[ax]
I will put my hook in your nose,[ay]
and my bit between your lips,
and I will lead you back
the way you came.’
30 [az] “This will be your reminder that I have spoken the truth:[ba] This year you will eat what grows wild,[bb] and next year[bc] what grows on its own. But the year after that[bd] you will plant seed and harvest crops; you will plant vines and consume their produce.[be] 31 Those who remain in Judah will take root in the ground and bear fruit.[bf]
32 “For a remnant will leave Jerusalem;
survivors will come out of Mount Zion.
The zeal of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies[bg] will accomplish this.
33 So this is what the Lord says about the king of Assyria:
“‘He will not enter this city,
nor will he shoot an arrow here.[bh]
He will not attack it with his shielded warriors,[bi]
nor will he build siege works against it.
34 He will go back the way he came—
he will not enter this city,’ says the Lord.
35 I will shield this city and rescue it
for the sake of my reputation and because of my promise to David my servant.”[bj]
36 The angel of the Lord went out and killed 185,000 troops[bk] in the Assyrian camp. When they[bl] got up early the next morning, there were all the corpses![bm] 37 So King Sennacherib of Assyria broke camp and went on his way. He went home and stayed in Nineveh.[bn] 38 One day,[bo] as he was worshiping[bp] in the temple of his god Nisroch,[bq] his sons Adrammelech and Sharezer struck him down with the sword.[br] They ran away to the land of Ararat; his son Esarhaddon replaced him as king.
The Lord Hears Hezekiah’s Prayer
38 In those days Hezekiah was stricken with a terminal illness.[bs] The prophet Isaiah son of Amoz visited him and told him, “This is what the Lord says, ‘Give instructions to your household, for you are about to die; you will not get well.’” 2 Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the Lord, 3 “Please, Lord. Remember how I have served you[bt] faithfully and with wholehearted devotion,[bu] and how I have carried out your will.”[bv] Then Hezekiah wept bitterly.[bw]
4 The Lord’s message came to Isaiah, 5 “Go and tell Hezekiah: ‘This is what the Lord God of your ancestor[bx] David says: “I have heard your prayer; I have seen your tears. Look, I will add fifteen years to your life. 6 I will also rescue you and this city from the king of Assyria. I will shield this city.”’” 7 Isaiah replied,[by] “This is your sign from the Lord confirming that the Lord will do what he has said: 8 Look, I will make the shadow go back ten steps on the stairs of Ahaz.”[bz] And then the shadow went back ten steps.[ca]
Hezekiah’s Song of Thanks
9 This is the prayer of King Hezekiah of Judah when he was sick and then recovered from his illness:
10 “I thought,[cb]
‘In the middle of my life[cc] I must walk through the gates of Sheol,
I am deprived[cd] of the rest of my years.’
11 “I thought,
‘I will no longer see the Lord[ce] in the land of the living,
I will no longer look on humankind with the inhabitants of the world.[cf]
12 My dwelling place[cg] is removed and taken away[ch] from me
as a shepherd’s tent.
I rolled up my life like a weaver rolls cloth;[ci]
from the loom he cuts me off.[cj]
You turn day into night and end my life.[ck]
13 I cry out[cl] until morning;
like a lion he shatters all my bones;
you turn day into night and end my life.[cm]
14 Like a swallow or a thrush I chirp,
I coo[cn] like a dove;
my eyes grow tired from looking up to the sky.[co]
O Lord,[cp] I am oppressed;
help me![cq]
15 What can I say?
He has decreed and acted.[cr]
I will walk slowly all my years because I am overcome with grief.[cs]
16 O Lord, your decrees can give men life;
may years of life be restored to me.[ct]
Restore my health[cu] and preserve my life.’
17 “Look, the grief I experienced was for my benefit.[cv]
You delivered me[cw] from the Pit of oblivion.[cx]
For you removed all my sins from your sight.[cy]
18 Indeed[cz] Sheol does not give you thanks;
death does not[da] praise you.
Those who descend into the Pit do not anticipate your faithfulness.
19 The living person, the living person, he gives you thanks,
as I do today.
A father tells his sons about your faithfulness.
20 The Lord is about to deliver me,[db]
and we will celebrate with music[dc]
for the rest of our lives in the Lord’s temple.”[dd]
21 [de] (Isaiah ordered, “Let them take a fig cake and apply it to the ulcerated sore and he will get well.” 22 Hezekiah said, “What is the confirming sign that I will go up to the Lord’s temple?”)
Exhortations to Seek the Things Above
3 Therefore, if you have been raised with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2 Keep thinking about things above, not things on the earth, 3 for you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ (who is your[a] life) appears, then you too will be revealed in glory with him. 5 So put to death whatever in your nature belongs to the earth:[b] sexual immorality, impurity, shameful passion,[c] evil desire, and greed which is idolatry. 6 Because of these things the wrath of God is coming on the sons of disobedience.[d] 7 You also lived your lives[e] in this way at one time, when you used to live among them. 8 But now, put off all such things[f] as anger, rage, malice, slander, abusive language from your mouth. 9 Do not lie to one another since you have put off the old man with its practices 10 and have been clothed with the new man[g] that is being renewed in knowledge according to the image of the one who created it. 11 Here there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave[h] or free, but Christ is all and in all.
Exhortation to Unity and Love
12 Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with a heart of mercy,[i] kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience, 13 bearing with one another and forgiving[j] one another, if someone happens to have[k] a complaint against anyone else. Just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also forgive others.[l] 14 And to all these[m] virtues[n] add[o] love, which is the perfect bond.[p] 15 Let the peace of Christ be in control in your heart (for you were in fact called as one body[q] to this peace), and be thankful. 16 Let the word of Christ[r] dwell in you richly, teaching and exhorting one another with all wisdom, singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, all with grace[s] in your hearts to God. 17 And whatever you do in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
Exhortation to Households
18 Wives, submit to your[t] husbands, as is fitting in the Lord. 19 Husbands, love your wives and do not be embittered against them. 20 Children, obey your parents in everything, for this is pleasing in the Lord. 21 Fathers,[u] do not provoke[v] your children, so they will not become disheartened. 22 Slaves,[w] obey your earthly[x] masters in every respect, not only when they are watching—like those who are strictly people-pleasers—but with a sincere heart, fearing the Lord. 23 Whatever you are doing,[y] work at it with enthusiasm,[z] as to the Lord and not for people,[aa] 24 because you know that you will receive your[ab] inheritance[ac] from the Lord as the reward. Serve[ad] the Lord Christ. 25 For the one who does wrong will be repaid for his wrong,[ae] and there are no exceptions.[af]
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