2 Kings 20

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Hezekiah’s Illness and Restoration

In those days Hezekiah became ill to the point of death. And Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz came to him and said to him, “Thus says Yahweh, ‘Set your house in order, for you shall die and not live.’” 2 Then he turned his face to the wall and prayed to Yahweh, saying, 3 “Remember now, O Yahweh, I beseech You, how I have walked before You in truth and with a whole heart and have done what is good in Your sight.” And Hezekiah wept greatly. 4 Now it happened that Isaiah had not gone out of the middle court, and the word of Yahweh came to him, saying, 5 “Return and say to Hezekiah the ruler of My people, ‘Thus says Yahweh, the God of your father David, “I have heard your prayer, I have seen your tears; behold, I will heal you. On the third day you shall go up to the house of Yahweh. 6 And I will add fifteen years to your life, and I will deliver you and this city from the hand of the king of Assyria; and I will defend this city for My own sake and for My servant David’s sake.”’” 7 Then Isaiah said, “Take a cake of figs.” And they took and laid it on the boil, and he was restored to life. 8 Now Hezekiah said to Isaiah, “What will be the sign that Yahweh will heal me, and that I shall go up to the house of Yahweh the third day?” 9 And Isaiah said, “This shall be the sign to you from Yahweh, that Yahweh will do the thing that He has spoken: shall the shadow go forward ten steps or turn back ten steps?” 10 So Hezekiah answered, “It is easy for the shadow to stretch forward ten steps; no, but let the shadow turn backward ten steps.” 11 Isaiah the prophet cried to Yahweh, and He turned the shadow on the stairway back ten steps by which it had gone down on the stairway of Ahaz.

Hezekiah Shows Babylon His Treasures

12 At that time Berodach-baladan a son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent letters and a present to Hezekiah, for he heard that Hezekiah had been sick. 13 And Hezekiah listened to them, and showed them all his treasure house, the silver and the gold and the spices and the good oil and the house of his armor and all that was found in his treasuries. There was nothing in his house nor in all his dominion that Hezekiah did not show them. 14 Then Isaiah the prophet came to King Hezekiah and said to him, “What did these men say, and from where have they come to you?” And Hezekiah said, “They have come from a far country, from Babylon.” 15 And he said, “What have they seen in your house?” So Hezekiah said, “They have seen all that is in my house; there is nothing among my treasuries that I have not shown them.” 16 Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, “Hear the word of Yahweh. 17 ‘Behold, the days are coming when all that is in your house, and all that your fathers have treasured up to this day will be carried to Babylon; nothing shall be left,’ says Yahweh. 18 ‘And some of your sons who will issue from you, whom you will beget, will be taken away; and they will become officials in the palace of the king of Babylon.’” 19 Then Hezekiah said to Isaiah, “The word of Yahweh which you have spoken is good.” For he said, “Will it not be good, if there will be peace and truth in my days?” 20 Now the rest of the acts of Hezekiah and all his might, and how he made the pool and the conduit and brought water into the city, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah? 21 So Hezekiah slept with his fathers, and Manasseh his son became king in his place.

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Isaiah 38

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Hezekiah’s Illness and Recovery

In those days Hezekiah became ill to the point of death. And Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz came to him and said to him, “Thus says Yahweh, ‘Set your house in order, for you shall die and not live.’” 2 Then Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to Yahweh 3 and said, “Remember now, O Yahweh, I beseech You, how I have walked before You in truth and with a whole heart and have done what is good in Your sight.” And Hezekiah wept greatly. 4 Then the word of Yahweh came to Isaiah, saying, 5 “Go and say to Hezekiah, ‘Thus says Yahweh, the God of your father David, “I have heard your prayer; I have seen your tears; behold, I will add fifteen years to your life. 6 And I will deliver you and this city from the hand of the king of Assyria; and I will defend this city.”’ 7 “Now this shall be the sign to you from Yahweh, that Yahweh will do this word that He has spoken: 8 Behold, I will cause the shadow on the stairway, which has gone down with the sun on the stairway of Ahaz, to go back ten steps.” So the sun’s shadow went back ten steps on the stairway on which it had gone down. 9 A writing of Hezekiah king of Judah after his illness and recovery: 10

I said, “In the middle of my life

I am to enter the gates of Sheol;

I am to be deprived of the rest of my years.”

11

I said, “I will not see Yah,

Yah in the land of the living;

I will look on man no more among the inhabitants of the world.

12

Like a shepherd’s tent my dwelling is pulled up and removed from me;

As a weaver I rolled up my life.

He cuts me off from the loom;

From day until night You make an end of me.

13

I soothed my soul until morning.

Like a lion—so He shatters all my bones;

From day until night You make an end of me.

14

Like a swallow, like a crane, so I chirped;

I moan like a dove;

My eyes look wistfully to the heights;

O Lord, I am oppressed, be my security.

15

“What shall I say?

Indeed, He has spoken to me, and He Himself has done it;

I will wander about all my years because of the bitterness of my soul.

16

O Lord, by these things men live,

And in all these is the life of my spirit;

O restore me to health and let me live!

17

Behold, for my own well‑being I had great bitterness;

But it is You who has held back my soul from the pit of nothingness,

For You have cast all my sins behind Your back.

18

For Sheol cannot thank You;

Death cannot praise You;

Those who go down to the pit cannot keep watch for Your truth.

19

It is the living, the living who give thanks to You, as I do today;

A father makes known to his sons about Your truth.

20

Yahweh is here to save me;

So we will play my songs on stringed instruments

All the days of our life at the house of Yahweh.”

21 Now Isaiah had said, “Let them take up a cake of figs and apply it to the boil, that he may live.” 22 Then Hezekiah had said, “What is the sign that I shall go up to the house of Yahweh?”

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John 1:35 - 2:25

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Behold, the Lamb of God

35 On the next day, John again was standing with two of his disciples, 36 and he looked at Jesus as He walked, and *said, “Behold, the Lamb of God!” 37 And the two disciples heard him speak and followed Jesus. 38 And when Jesus turned and noticed them following, He *said to them, “What do you seek?” They said to Him, “Rabbi (which translated means Teacher), where are You staying?” 39 He *said to them, “Come, and you will see.” So they came and saw where He was staying; and they stayed with Him that day. It was about the tenth hour. 40 One of the two who heard John speak and followed Him, was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. 41 He first *found his own brother Simon and *said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which translated means Christ). 42 He brought him to Jesus. When Jesus looked at him, He said, “You are Simon the son of John; you shall be called Cephas” (which is translated Peter). 43 On the next day, He desired to go into Galilee, and He *found Philip. And Jesus *said to him, “Follow Me.” 44 Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. 45 Philip *found Nathanael and *said to him, “We have found Him of whom Moses in the Law and also the Prophets wrote—Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” 46 And Nathanael said to him, “Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?” Philip *said to him, “Come and see.” 47 Jesus saw Nathanael coming to Him, and *said about him, “Behold, truly an Israelite in whom there is no deceit!” 48 Nathanael *said to Him, “From where do You know me?” Jesus answered and said to him, “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.” 49 Nathanael answered Him, “Rabbi, You are the Son of God; You are the King of Israel.” 50 Jesus answered and said to him, “Because I said to you that I saw you under the fig tree, do you believe? You will see greater things than these.” 51 And He *said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see the heavens opened and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.”

The Wedding at Cana

And on the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there; 2 and both Jesus and His disciples were invited to the wedding. 3 And when the wine ran out, the mother of Jesus *said to Him, “They have no wine.” 4 And Jesus *said to her, “Woman, what do I have to do with you? My hour has not yet come.” 5 His mother *said to the servants, “Whatever He says to you, do it.” 6 Now there were six stone water jars set there for the Jewish custom of purification, containing two or three measures each. 7 Jesus *said to them, “Fill the water jars with water.” So they filled them up to the brim. 8 And He *said to them, “Draw some out now and take it to the headwaiter.” So they took it to him. 9 Now when the headwaiter tasted the water which had become wine, and did not know where it came from (but the servants who had drawn the water knew), the headwaiter *called the bridegroom, 10 and *said to him, “Every man serves the good wine first, and when the people have drunk freely, then the inferior wine; but you have kept the good wine until now.” 11 Jesus did this in Cana of Galilee as the beginning of His signs, and manifested His glory, and His disciples believed in Him. 12 After this He went down to Capernaum, He and His mother and His brothers and His disciples; and they stayed there a few days.

Jesus Cleanses the Temple

13 And the Passover of the Jews was near, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. 14 And He found in the temple those who were selling oxen and sheep and doves, and the money changers seated at their tables. 15 And He made a scourge of cords, and drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and the oxen; and He poured out the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables; 16 and to those who were selling the doves He said, “Take these things away; stop making My Father’s house a place of business.” 17 His disciples remembered that it was written, “Zeal for Your house will consume me.” 18 The Jews then said to Him, “What sign do You show us as your authority for doing these things?” 19 Jesus answered them, “Destroy this sanctuary, and in three days I will raise it up.” 20 The Jews then said, “It took forty-six years to build this sanctuary, and will You raise it up in three days?” 21 But He was speaking about the sanctuary of His body. 22 So when He was raised from the dead, His disciples remembered that He said this; and they believed the Scripture and the word which Jesus had spoken. 23 Now when He was in Jerusalem at the Passover, during the feast, many believed in His name, when they saw His signs which He was doing. 24 But Jesus, on His part, was not entrusting Himself to them, for He knew all men, 25 and because He had no need that anyone bear witness concerning man, for He Himself knew what was in man.

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Psalm 64

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The Righteous Will Be Glad in Yahweh

For the choir director. A Psalm of David.

Hear my voice, O God, in my complaint;

Guard my life from dread of the enemy.

2

Hide me from the secret counsel of evildoers,

From the tumult of the workers of iniquity,

3

Who have sharpened their tongue like a sword.

They aimed bitter speech as their arrow,

4

To shoot from places of hiding at the blameless;

Suddenly they shoot at him, and do not fear.

5

They hold fast to themselves an evil purpose;

They talk of laying snares secretly;

They say, “Who can see them?”

6

They searched out unrighteousness, saying,

“We have completed a diligent search”;

For the inward thought of a man and his heart are deep.

7

But God will shoot them with an arrow;

Suddenly they will be wounded.

8

So they will cause their own tongue to turn against them;

All who see them will shake their head.

9

Then all men will fear,

And they will declare the work of God,

And will consider what He has done.

10

The righteous man will be glad in Yahweh and will take refuge in Him;

And all the upright in heart will boast.

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