1Now it came to pass in the third year of Hoshea the son of Elah, king of Israel, that Hezekiah the son of Ahaz, king of Judah, began to reign. 2He was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Abi the daughter of Zechariah. 3And he did what was right in the sight of the Lᴏʀᴅ, according to all that his father David had done. 4He removed the high places and broke the sacred pillars, cut down the wooden image and broke in pieces the bronze serpent that Moses had made; for until those days the children of Israel burned incense to it, and called it Nehushtan. 5He trusted in the Lᴏʀᴅ God of Israel, so that after him was none like him among all the kings of Judah, nor who were before him. 6For he held fast to the Lᴏʀᴅ; he did not depart from following Him, but kept His commandments, which the Lᴏʀᴅ had commanded Moses. 7The Lᴏʀᴅ was with him; he prospered wherever he went. And he rebelled against the king of Assyria and did not serve him. 8He subdued the Philistines, as far as Gaza and its territory, from watchtower to fortified city. 9Now it came to pass in the fourth year of King Hezekiah, which was the seventh year of Hoshea the son of Elah, king of Israel, that Shalmaneser king of Assyria came up against Samaria and besieged it. 10And at the end of three years they took it. In the sixth year of Hezekiah, that is, the ninth year of Hoshea king of Israel, Samaria was taken. 11Then the king of Assyria carried Israel away captive to Assyria, and put them in Halah and by the Habor, the River of Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes, 12because they did not obey the voice of the Lᴏʀᴅ their God, but transgressed His covenant and all that Moses the servant of the Lᴏʀᴅ had commanded; and they would neither hear nor do them. 13And in the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah, Sennacherib king of Assyria came up against all the fortified cities of Judah and took them. 14Then Hezekiah king of Judah sent to the king of Assyria at Lachish, saying, “I have done wrong; turn away from me; whatever you impose on me I will pay.” And the king of Assyria assessed Hezekiah king of Judah three hundred talents of silver and thirty talents of gold. 15So Hezekiah gave him all the silver that was found in the house of the Lᴏʀᴅ and in the treasuries of the king’s house. 16At that time Hezekiah stripped the gold from the doors of the temple of the Lᴏʀᴅ, and from the pillars which Hezekiah king of Judah had overlaid, and gave it to the king of Assyria. 17Then the king of Assyria sent the Tartan, the Rabsaris, and the Rabshakeh from Lachish, with a great army against Jerusalem, to King Hezekiah. And they went up and came to Jerusalem. When they had come up, they went and stood by the aqueduct from the upper pool, which was on the highway to the Fuller’s Field. 18And when they had called to the king, Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, who was over the household, Shebna the scribe, and Joah the son of Asaph, the recorder, came out to them. 19Then the Rabshakeh said to them, “Say now to Hezekiah, ‘Thus says the great king, the king of Assyria: “What confidence is this in which you trust? 20You speak of having plans and power for war; but they are mere words. And in whom do you trust, that you rebel against me? 21Now look! You are trusting in the staff of this broken reed, Egypt, on which if a man leans, it will go into his hand and pierce it. So is Pharaoh king of Egypt to all who trust in him. 22But if you say to me, ‘We trust in the Lᴏʀᴅ our God,’ is it not He whose high places and whose altars Hezekiah has taken away, and said to Judah and Jerusalem, ‘You shall worship before this altar in Jerusalem’?” ’ 23Now therefore, I urge you, give a pledge to my master the king of Assyria, and I will give you two thousand horses—if you are able on your part to put riders on them! 24How then will you repel one captain of the least of my master’s servants, and put your trust in Egypt for chariots and horsemen? 25Have I now come up without the Lᴏʀᴅ against this place to destroy it? The Lᴏʀᴅ said to me, ‘Go up against this land, and destroy it.’ ” 26Then Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, Shebna, and Joah said to the Rabshakeh, “Please speak to your servants in Aramaic, for we understand it; and do not speak to us in Hebrew in the hearing of the people who are on the wall.” 27But the Rabshakeh said to them, “Has my master sent me to your master and to you to speak these words, and not to the men who sit on the wall, who will eat and drink their own waste with you?” 28Then the Rabshakeh stood and called out with a loud voice in Hebrew, and spoke, saying, “Hear the word of the great king, the king of Assyria! 29Thus says the king: ‘Do not let Hezekiah deceive you, for he shall not be able to deliver you from his hand; 30nor let Hezekiah make you trust in the Lᴏʀᴅ, saying, “The Lᴏʀᴅ will surely deliver us; this city shall not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria.” ‘ 31Do not listen to Hezekiah; for thus says the king of Assyria: ‘Make peace with me by a present and come out to me; and every one of you eat from his own vine and every one from his own fig tree, and every one of you drink the waters of his own cistern; 32until 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 groves and honey, that you may live and not die. But do not listen to Hezekiah, lest he persuade you, saying, “The Lᴏʀᴅ will deliver us.” 33Has any of the gods of the nations at all delivered its land from the hand of the king of Assyria? 34Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim and Hena and Ivah? Indeed, have they delivered Samaria from my hand? 35Who among all the gods of the lands have delivered their countries from my hand, that the Lᴏʀᴅ should deliver Jerusalem from my hand?’ ” 36But the people held their peace and answered him not a word; for the king’s commandment was, “Do not answer him.” 37Then Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, who was over the household, Shebna the scribe, and Joah the son of Asaph, the recorder, came to Hezekiah with their clothes torn, and told him the words of the Rabshakeh.
1Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus, and Timothy our brother, To Philemon our beloved friend and fellow laborer, 2to the beloved Apphia, Archippus our fellow soldier, and to the church in your house: 3Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 4I thank my God, making mention of you always in my prayers, 5hearing of your love and faith which you have toward the Lord Jesus and toward all the saints, 6that the sharing of your faith may become effective by the acknowledgment of every good thing which is in you in Christ Jesus. 7For we have great joy and consolation in your love, because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed by you, brother. 8Therefore, though I might be very bold in Christ to command you what is fitting, 9yet for love’s sake I rather appeal to you—being such a one as Paul, the aged, and now also a prisoner of Jesus Christ— 10I appeal to you for my son Onesimus, whom I have begotten while in my chains, 11who once was unprofitable to you, but now is profitable to you and to me. 12I am sending him back. You therefore receive him, that is, my own heart, 13whom I wished to keep with me, that on your behalf he might minister to me in my chains for the gospel. 14But without your consent I wanted to do nothing, that your good deed might not be by compulsion, as it were, but voluntary. 15For perhaps he departed for a while for this purpose, that you might receive him forever, 16no longer as a slave but more than a slave—a beloved brother, especially to me but how much more to you, both in the flesh and in the Lord. 17If then you count me as a partner, receive him as you would me. 18But if he has wronged you or owes anything, put that on my account. 19I, Paul, am writing with my own hand. I will repay—not to mention to you that you owe me even your own self besides. 20Yes, brother, let me have joy from you in the Lord; refresh my heart in the Lord. 21Having confidence in your obedience, I write to you, knowing that you will do even more than I say. 22But, meanwhile, also prepare a guest room for me, for I trust that through your prayers I shall be granted to you. 23Epaphras, my fellow prisoner in Christ Jesus, greets you, 24as do Mark, Aristarchus, Demas, Luke, my fellow laborers. 25The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen.
1“When Israel was a child, I loved him, And out of Egypt I called My son. 2As they called them, So they went from them; They sacrificed to the Baals, And burned incense to carved images. 3“I taught Ephraim to walk, Taking them by their arms; But they did not know that I healed them. 4I drew them with gentle cords, With bands of love, And I was to them as those who take the yoke from their neck. I stooped and fed them. 5“He shall not return to the land of Egypt; But the Assyrian shall be his king, Because they refused to repent. 6And the sword shall slash in his cities, Devour his districts, And consume them, Because of their own counsels. 7My people are bent on backsliding from Me. Though they call to the Most High, None at all exalt Him. 8“How can I give you up, Ephraim? How can I hand you over, Israel? How can I make you like Admah? How can I set you like Zeboiim? My heart churns within Me; My sympathy is stirred. 9I will not execute the fierceness of My anger; I will not again destroy Ephraim. For I am God, and not man, The Holy One in your midst; And I will not come with terror. 10“They shall walk after the Lᴏʀᴅ. He will roar like a lion. When He roars, Then His sons shall come trembling from the west; 11They shall come trembling like a bird from Egypt, Like a dove from the land of Assyria. And I will let them dwell in their houses,” Says the Lᴏʀᴅ. 12“Ephraim has encircled Me with lies, And the house of Israel with deceit; But Judah still walks with God, Even with the Holy One who is faithful.
1A Song of Ascents. Lᴏʀᴅ, remember David And all his afflictions; 2How he swore to the Lᴏʀᴅ, And vowed to the Mighty One of Jacob: 3“Surely I will not go into the chamber of my house, Or go up to the comfort of my bed; 4I will not give sleep to my eyes Or slumber to my eyelids, 5Until I find a place for the Lᴏʀᴅ, A dwelling place for the Mighty One of Jacob.” 6Behold, we heard of it in Ephrathah; We found it in the fields of the woods. 7Let us go into His tabernacle; Let us worship at His footstool. 8Arise, O Lᴏʀᴅ, to Your resting place, You and the ark of Your strength. 9Let Your priests be clothed with righteousness, And let Your saints shout for joy. 10For Your servant David’s sake, Do not turn away the face of Your Anointed. 11The Lᴏʀᴅ has sworn in truth to David; He will not turn from it: “I will set upon your throne the fruit of your body. 12If your sons will keep My covenant And My testimony which I shall teach them, Their sons also shall sit upon your throne forevermore.” 13For the Lᴏʀᴅ has chosen Zion; He has desired it for His dwelling place: 14“This is My resting place forever; Here I will dwell, for I have desired it. 15I will abundantly bless her provision; I will satisfy her poor with bread. 16I will also clothe her priests with salvation, And her saints shall shout aloud for joy. 17There I will make the horn of David grow; I will prepare a lamp for My Anointed. 18His enemies I will clothe with shame, But upon Himself His crown shall flourish.”
1A Song of Ascents. Of David. Behold, how good and how pleasant it is For brethren to dwell together in unity! 2It is like the precious oil upon the head, Running down on the beard, The beard of Aaron, Running down on the edge of his garments. 3It is like the dew of Hermon, Descending upon the mountains of Zion; For there the Lᴏʀᴅ commanded the blessing— Life forevermore.
1A Song of Ascents. Behold, bless the Lᴏʀᴅ, All you servants of the Lᴏʀᴅ, Who by night stand in the house of the Lᴏʀᴅ! 2Lift up your hands in the sanctuary, And bless the Lᴏʀᴅ. 3The Lᴏʀᴅ who made heaven and earth Bless you from Zion!