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About this time King Hezekiah became sick and almost died. The prophet Isaiah son of Amoz went to see him and said to him, "The LORD tells you that you are to put everything in order, because you will not recover. Get ready to die."
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Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed:
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"Remember, LORD, that I have served you faithfully and loyally and that I have always tried to do what you wanted me to." And he began to cry bitterly.
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Isaiah left the king, but before he had passed through the central courtyard of the palace the LORD told him
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to go back to Hezekiah, ruler of the LORD's people, and say to him, "I, the LORD, the God of your ancestor David, have heard your prayer and seen your tears. I will heal you, and in three days you will go to the Temple.
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I will let you live fifteen years longer. I will rescue you and this city Jerusalem from the emperor of Assyria. I will defend this city, for the sake of my own honor and because of the promise I made to my servant David."
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Then Isaiah told the king's attendants to put on his boil a paste made of figs, and he would get well.
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King Hezekiah asked, "What is the sign to prove that the LORD will heal me and that three days later I will be able to go to the Temple?"
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Isaiah replied, "The LORD will give you a sign to prove that he will keep his promise. Now, would you prefer to have the shadow on the stairway go forward ten steps or go back ten steps?"
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Hezekiah answered, "It's easy to have the shadow go forward ten steps! Have it go back ten steps."
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Isaiah prayed to the LORD, and the LORD made the shadow go back ten steps on the stairway set up by King Ahaz.
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About that same time the king of Babylonia, Merodach Baladan, the son of Baladan, heard that King Hezekiah had been sick, so he sent him a letter and a present.
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Hezekiah welcomed the messengers and showed them his wealth---his silver and gold, his spices and perfumes, and all his military equipment. There was nothing in his storerooms or anywhere in his kingdom that he did not show them.
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Then the prophet Isaiah went to King Hezekiah and asked, "Where did these men come from and what did they say to you?" Hezekiah answered, "They came from a very distant country, from Babylonia."
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"What did they see in the palace?" "They saw everything. There is nothing in the storerooms that I didn't show them."
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Isaiah then told the king, "The LORD Almighty says that
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a time is coming when everything in your palace, everything that your ancestors have stored up to this day, will be carried off to Babylonia. Nothing will be left.
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Some of your own direct descendants will be taken away and made eunuchs to serve in the palace of the king of Babylonia."
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King Hezekiah understood this to mean that there would be peace and security during his lifetime, so he replied, "The message you have given me from the LORD is good."
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Everything else that King Hezekiah did, his brave deeds, and an account of how he built a reservoir and dug a tunnel to bring water into the city, are all recorded in The History of the Kings of Judah.
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Hezekiah died, and his son Manasseh succeeded him as king.
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We give thanks to you, O God, we give thanks to you! We proclaim how great you are and tell of the wonderful things you have done.
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"I have set a time for judgment," says God, "and I will judge with fairness.
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Though every living creature tremble and the earth itself be shaken, I will keep its foundations firm.
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I tell the wicked not to be arrogant;
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I tell them to stop their boasting."
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Judgment does not come from the east or from the west, from the north or from the south;
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it is God who is the judge, condemning some and acquitting others.
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The LORD holds a cup in his hand, filled with the strong wine of his anger. He pours it out, and all the wicked drink it; they drink it down to the last drop.
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But I will never stop speaking of the God of Jacob or singing praises to him.
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He will break the power of the wicked, but the power of the righteous will be increased.
1
About this time King Hezekiah became sick and almost died. The prophet Isaiah son of Amoz went to see him and said to him, "The LORD tells you that you are to put everything in order because you will not recover. Get ready to die."
2
Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed:
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"Remember, LORD, that I have served you faithfully and loyally, and that I have always tried to do what you wanted me to." And he began to cry bitterly.
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Then the LORD commanded Isaiah
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to go back to Hezekiah and say to him, "I, the LORD, the God of your ancestor David, have heard your prayer and seen your tears; I will let you live fifteen years longer.
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I will rescue you and this city of Jerusalem from the emperor of Assyria, and I will continue to protect the city."
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Isaiah replied, "The LORD will give you a sign to prove that he will keep his promise.
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On the stairway built by King Ahaz, the LORD will make the shadow go back ten steps." And the shadow moved back ten steps.
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After Hezekiah recovered from his illness, he wrote this song of praise:
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I thought that in the prime of life I was going to the world of the dead, Never to live out my life.
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I thought that in this world of the living I would never again see the LORD Or any living person.
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My life was cut off and ended, Like a tent that is taken down, Like cloth that is cut from a loom. I thought that God was ending my life.
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All night I cried out with pain, As if a lion were breaking my bones. I thought that God was ending my life.
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My voice was thin and weak, And I moaned like a dove. My eyes grew tired from looking to heaven. LORD, rescue me from all this trouble.
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What can I say? The LORD has done this. My heart is bitter, and I cannot sleep.
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Lord, I will live for you, for you alone; Heal me and let me live.
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My bitterness will turn into peace. You save my life from all danger; You forgive all my sins.
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No one in the world of the dead can praise you; The dead cannot trust in your faithfulness.
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It is the living who praise you, As I praise you now. Parents tell their children how faithful you are.
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LORD, you have healed me. We will play harps and sing your praise, Sing praise in your Temple as long as we live.
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Isaiah told the king to put a paste made of figs on his boil, and he would get well.
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Then King Hezekiah asked, "What is the sign to prove that I will be able to go to the Temple?"
1
About that same time the king of Babylonia, Merodach Baladan, son of Baladan, heard that King Hezekiah had been sick, so he sent him a letter and a present.
2
Hezekiah welcomed the messengers and showed them his wealth---his silver and gold, his spices and perfumes, and all his military equipment. There was nothing in his storerooms or anywhere in his kingdom that he did not show them.
3
Then the prophet Isaiah went to King Hezekiah and asked, "Where did these messengers come from and what did they say to you?" Hezekiah answered, "They came from a very distant country, from Babylonia."
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"What did they see in the palace?" "They saw everything. There is nothing in the storerooms that I didn't show them."
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Isaiah then told the king, "The LORD Almighty says that
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a time is coming when everything in your palace, everything that your ancestors have stored up to this day, will be carried off to Babylonia. Nothing will be left.
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Some of your own direct descendants will be taken away and made eunuchs to serve in the palace of the king of Babylonia."
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King Hezekiah understood this to mean that there would be peace and security during his lifetime, so he replied, "The message you have given me from the LORD is good."
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Rid yourselves, then, of all evil; no more lying or hypocrisy or jealousy or insulting language.
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Be like newborn babies, always thirsty for the pure spiritual milk, so that by drinking it you may grow up and be saved.
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As the scripture says, "You have found out for yourselves how kind the Lord is."
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Come to the Lord, the living stone rejected by people as worthless but chosen by God as valuable.
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Come as living stones, and let yourselves be used in building the spiritual temple, where you will serve as holy priests to offer spiritual and acceptable sacrifices to God through Jesus Christ.
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For the scripture says, "I chose a valuable stone, which I am placing as the cornerstone in Zion; and whoever believes in him will never be disappointed."
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This stone is of great value for you that believe; but for those who do not believe: "The stone which the builders rejected as worthless turned out to be the most important of all."
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And another scripture says, "This is the stone that will make people stumble, the rock that will make them fall." They stumbled because they did not believe in the word; such was God's will for them.
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But you are the chosen race, the King's priests, the holy nation, God's own people, chosen to proclaim the wonderful acts of God, who called you out of darkness into his own marvelous light.
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At one time you were not God's people, but now you are his people; at one time you did not know God's mercy, but now you have received his mercy.
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I appeal to you, my friends, as strangers and refugees in this world! Do not give in to bodily passions, which are always at war against the soul.
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Your conduct among the heathen should be so good that when they accuse you of being evildoers, they will have to recognize your good deeds and so praise God on the Day of his coming.
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For the sake of the Lord submit yourselves to every human authority: to the Emperor, who is the supreme authority,
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and to the governors, who have been appointed by him to punish the evildoers and to praise those who do good.
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For God wants you to silence the ignorant talk of foolish people by the good things you do.
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Live as free people; do not, however, use your freedom to cover up any evil, but live as God's slaves.
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Respect everyone, love other believers, honor God, and respect the Emperor.
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You servants must submit yourselves to your masters and show them complete respect, not only to those who are kind and considerate, but also to those who are harsh.
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God will bless you for this, if you endure the pain of undeserved suffering because you are conscious of his will.
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For what credit is there if you endure the beatings you deserve for having done wrong? But if you endure suffering even when you have done right, God will bless you for it.
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It was to this that God called you, for Christ himself suffered for you and left you an example, so that you would follow in his steps.
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He committed no sin, and no one ever heard a lie come from his lips.
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When he was insulted, he did not answer back with an insult; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but placed his hopes in God, the righteous Judge.
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Christ himself carried our sins in his body to the cross, so that we might die to sin and live for righteousness. It is by his wounds that you have been healed.
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You were like sheep that had lost their way, but now you have been brought back to follow the Shepherd and Keeper of your souls.
