the Week of Proper 19 / Ordinary 24
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August 5 - Bible-in-a-Year
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2 Kings 18
Chapter 18
Judah's King Hezekiah
1 In the third year of Israel's King Hoshea(a) son of Elah, Hezekiah(b) son of Ahaz became king of Judah. 2 He was 25 years old when he became king and reigned 29 years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Abi[a] daughter of Zechariah. 3 He did what was right in the Lord 's sight just as his ancestor David had done.(c) 4 He removed the high places, shattered the sacred pillars, and cut down the Asherah poles.(d) He broke into pieces the bronze snake that Moses made,(e) for the Israelites burned incense to it up to that time. He called it Nehushtan.[b]
5 Hezekiah trusted in the Lord God of Israel;(f) not one of the kings of Judah was like him, either before him or after him.(g) 6 He remained faithful to Yahweh(h) and did not turn from following Him but kept the commands the Lord had commanded Moses.
7 The Lord was with him, and wherever he went he prospered.(i) He rebelled against the king of Assyria and did not serve him.(j) 8 He defeated the Philistines as far as Gaza and its borders,(k) from watchtower(l) to fortified city.
Review of Israel's Fall
9 In the fourth year of King Hezekiah, which was the seventh year of Israel's King Hoshea son of Elah, Shalmaneser king of Assyria marched against Samaria and besieged it.(m) 10 The Assyrians captured it at the end of three years. In the sixth year of Hezekiah, which was the ninth year of Israel's King Hoshea, Samaria was captured. 11 The king of Assyria deported the Israelites to Assyria and put them in Halah and by the Habor, Gozan's river, and in the cities of the Medes,(n) 12 because they did not listen to the voice of the Lord their God but violated His covenant—all He had commanded Moses the servant of the Lord . They did not listen, and they did not obey.(o)
Sennacherib's Invasion
13 In the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah, Sennacherib king of Assyria attacked all the fortified cities of Judah and captured them.(p) 14 So Hezekiah king of Judah sent word to the king of Assyria at Lachish,(q) saying, "I have done wrong;(r) withdraw from me. Whatever you demand from me, I will pay." The king of Assyria demanded 11 tons[c] of silver and one ton[d] 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.(s)
17 Then the king of Assyria sent the Tartan,(t) the Rab-saris, and the Rabshakeh, along with a massive army, from Lachish to King Hezekiah at Jerusalem.(u) They advanced and came to Jerusalem, and[e] they took their position by the aqueduct of the upper pool, which is by the highway to the Fuller's Field.(v) 18 Then they called for the king, but Eliakim(w) son of Hilkiah, who was in charge of the palace, Shebnah(x) the court secretary, and Joah son of Asaph, the court historian, came out to them.(y)
The Rabshakeh's Speech
19 Then(z) the Rabshakeh said to them, "Tell Hezekiah this is what the great king, the king of Assyria, says: ‘What are you relying on?[f](aa) 20 You think mere words are strategy and strength for war. What are you now relying on so that you have rebelled against me?(ab) 21 Look, you are now trusting in Egypt, that splintered reed of a staff(ac) that will enter and pierce the hand of anyone who leans on it.(ad) This is how Pharaoh king of Egypt is to all who trust in him. 22 Suppose you say to me: We trust in the Lord our God. Isn't He the One whose high places and altars Hezekiah has removed,(ae) 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 2,000 horses if you're able to supply riders for them! 24 How then can you drive back a single officer(af) among the least of my master's servants and trust in Egypt for chariots and for horsemen? 25 Have I attacked this place to destroy it without the Lord 's approval?(ag) The Lord said to me, ‘Attack this land and destroy it.'"
26 Then Eliakim son of Hilkiah, Shebnah, and Joah said to the Rabshakeh, "Please speak to your servants in Aramaic,(ah) since we understand it. Don't speak with us in Hebrew[g] within earshot of the people on the wall."
27 But the Rabshakeh said to them, "Has my master sent me only to your master and to you to speak these words? 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?"(ai)
28 The Rabshakeh stood and called out loudly in Hebrew.[h] Then he spoke: "Hear the word of the great king, the king of Assyria. 29 This is what the king says: ‘Don't let Hezekiah deceive(aj) you; he can't deliver you from my hand.(ak) 30 Don't let Hezekiah persuade you to trust in the Lord by saying: Certainly the Lord will deliver us! This city will not be handed over to the king of Assyria.'(al)
31 "Don't listen to Hezekiah, for this is what the king of Assyria says: ‘Make peace[i] with me and surrender to me. Then every one of you may eat from his own vine and his own fig tree,(am) and every one 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(an)—so that you may live(ao) and not die. But don't listen to Hezekiah when he misleads you, saying: The Lord will deliver us. 33 Has any of the gods of the nations ever delivered(ap) 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?[j] Have they delivered Samaria from my hand?(aq) 35 Who among all the gods of the lands has delivered his land from my power? So will the Lord deliver Jerusalem?'"(ar)
36 But the people kept silent; they didn't say anything, 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,(as) came to Hezekiah with their clothes torn(at) and reported to him the words of the Rabshakeh.
Micah 7
Chapter 7
Israel's Moral Decline
1 How sad for me!
For I am like one who—
when the summer fruit has been gathered
after the gleaning of the grape harvest(a)—
finds no grape cluster to eat,
no early fig, which I crave.(b)
2 Godly people have vanished from the land;(c)
there is no one upright among the people.(d)
All of them wait in ambush to shed blood;(e)
they hunt each other with a net.(f)
3 Both hands are good(g) at accomplishing evil:
the official and the judge demand a bribe;(h)
when the powerful man communicates his evil desire,
they plot it together.
4 The best of them is like a brier;(i)
the most upright is worse than a hedge of thorns.(j)
The day of your watchmen,
the day of your punishment, is coming;(k)
at this time their panic is here.(l)
5 Do not rely on a friend;(m)
don't trust in a close companion.
Seal your mouth
from the woman who lies in your arms.
6 Surely a son considers his father a fool,(n)
a daughter opposes her mother,
and a daughter-in-law is against her mother-in-law;
a man's enemies are the men of his own household.
7 But I will look to the
Lord
;(o)
I will wait for the God of my salvation.(p)
My God will hear me.(q)
Zion's Vindication
8 Do not rejoice over me,(r) my enemy!
Though I have fallen, I will stand up;(s)
though I sit in darkness,
the
Lord
will be my light.(t)
9 Because I have sinned against Him,
I must endure the
Lord
's rage
until He argues my case(u)
and establishes justice for me.(v)
He will bring me into the light;(w)
I will see His salvation.[a](x)
10 Then my enemy will see,
and she will be covered with shame,
the one who said to me,
"Where is the
Lord
your God?"(y)
My eyes will look at her in triumph;
at that time she will be trampled
like mud in the streets.(z)
11 A day will come for rebuilding your walls;(aa)
on that day your boundary will be extended.(ab)
12 On that day people will come to you(ac)
from Assyria and the cities of Egypt,
even from Egypt to the Euphrates River
and from sea to sea
and mountain to mountain.
13 Then the earth will become a wasteland(ad)
because of its inhabitants
and as a result of their actions.(ae)
Micah's Prayer Answered
14 Shepherd Your people(af) with Your staff,(ag)
the flock that is Your possession.
They live alone(ah) in a woodland
surrounded by pastures.
Let them graze in Bashan and Gilead(ai)
as in ancient times.(aj)
15 I will perform miracles for them[b]
as in the days of your exodus
from the land of Egypt.(ak)
16 Nations will see and be ashamed
of[c] all their power.
They will put their hands over their mouths,(al)
and their ears will become deaf.
17 They will lick the dust like a snake;(am)
they will come trembling out of their hiding places(an)
like reptiles slithering on the ground.(ao)
They will tremble in the presence of Yahweh our God;(ap)
they will stand in awe of You.
18 Who is a God like You,(aq)
removing iniquity and passing over rebellion(ar)
for the remnant of His inheritance?(as)
He does not hold on to His anger forever,(at)
because He delights in faithful love.(au)
19 He will again have compassion on us;
He will vanquish our iniquities.(av)
You will cast all our[d] sins
into the depths of the sea.(aw)
20 You will show loyalty to Jacob(ax)
and faithful love to Abraham,
as You swore to our fathers(ay)
from days long ago.
2 Corinthians 5:11-6:13
Chapter 5
11 Therefore, because we know the fear of the Lord,(n) we seek to persuade people. We are completely open before God, and I hope we are completely open to your consciences as well. 12 We are not commending ourselves to you again, but giving you an opportunity to be proud of us, so that you may have a reply for those who take pride in the outward appearance[d] rather than in the heart. 13 For if we are out of our mind,(o) it is for God; if we have a sound mind,(p) it is for you. 14 For Christ's love compels[e] us, since we have reached this conclusion: If One died for all,(q) then all died. 15 And He died for all(r) so that those who live should no longer live for themselves,(s) but for the One(t) who died for them and was raised.
The Ministry of Reconciliation
16 From now on, then, we do not know[f] anyone in a purely human way.[g] Even if we have known[h] Christ in a purely human way,[i] yet now we no longer know[j] Him in this way. 17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation;(u) old things have passed away, and look,(v) new things[k] have come.(w) 18 Everything is from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation:(x) 19 That is, in Christ, God was reconciling the world(y) to Himself,(z) not counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed the message of reconciliation to us. 20 Therefore, we are ambassadors(aa) for Christ, certain that God is appealing through us. We plead on Christ's behalf,(ab) "Be reconciled to God." 21 He made the One who did not know sin(ac) to be sin[l] for us,(ad) so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.
Chapter 6
1 Working together[a] with Him, we also appeal to you, "Don't receive God's grace in vain." 2 For He says:
I heard you in an acceptable time,
and I helped you in the day of salvation.
(a)[b]
Look, now is the acceptable time; now is the day of salvation.(b)
The Character of Paul's Ministry
3 We give no opportunity for stumbling to anyone, so that the ministry will not be blamed. 4 But as God's ministers, we commend ourselves in everything:
by great endurance, by afflictions,
by hardship, by difficulties,
5 by beatings, by imprisonments,(c)
by riots, by labors,
by sleepless nights, by times of hunger,
6 by purity,(d) by knowledge,(e)
by patience,(f) by kindness,(g)
by the Holy Spirit, by sincere love,(h)
7 by the message of truth,(i)
by the power of God;(j)
through weapons of righteousness
on the right hand and the left,
8 through glory(k) and dishonor,
through slander and good report;
as deceivers yet true;
9 as unknown yet recognized;
as dying and look—we live;
as being disciplined yet not killed;
10 as grieving yet always rejoicing;(l)
as poor yet enriching many;
as having nothing yet possessing everything.
11 We have spoken openly[c] to you, Corinthians; our heart has been opened wide. 12 You are not limited by us, but you are limited by your own affections. 13 I speak as to my children. As a proper response, you should also be open to us.
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