ESV: Chronological

Reading: 2 Kings 20-21 Reading: 2 Kings 20-21 2 Kings 20-21 Back to top 2 Kings 20-21 Hezekiah's Illness and Recovery 20 In those days Hezekiah became sick and was at the point of death. And Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz came to him and said to him, “Thus says the LORD, ‘Set your house in order, for you shall die; you shall not recover.’” Then Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the LORD, saying, “Now, O LORD, please remember how I have walked before you in faithfulness and with a whole heart, and have done what is good in your sight.” And Hezekiah wept bitterly. And before Isaiah had gone out of the middle court, the word of the LORD came to him: “Turn back, and say to Hezekiah the leader of my people, Thus says the LORD, the God of David your father: 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 the LORD, and I will add fifteen years to your life. I will deliver you and this city out of the hand of the king of Assyria, and I will defend this city for my own sake and for my servant David's sake.” And Isaiah said, “Bring a cake of figs. And let them take and lay it on the boil, that he may recover.” And Hezekiah said to Isaiah, “What shall be the sign that the LORD will heal me, and that I shall go up to the house of the LORD on the third day?” And Isaiah said, “This shall be the sign to you from the LORD, that the LORD will do the thing that he has promised: shall the shadow go forward ten steps, or go back ten steps?” And Hezekiah answered, “It is an easy thing for the shadow to lengthen ten steps. Rather let the shadow go back ten steps.” And Isaiah the prophet called to the LORD, and he brought the shadow back ten steps, by which it had gone down on the steps of Ahaz. Hezekiah and the Babylonian Envoys At that time Merodach-baladan the son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent envoys with letters and a present to Hezekiah, for he heard that Hezekiah had been sick. And Hezekiah welcomed them, and he showed them all his treasure house, the silver, the gold, the spices, the precious oil, his armory, all that was found in his storehouses. There was nothing in his house or in all his realm that Hezekiah did not show them. Then Isaiah the prophet came to King Hezekiah, and said to him, “What did these men say? And from where did they come to you?” And Hezekiah said, “They have come from a far country, from Babylon.” He said, “What have they seen in your house?” And Hezekiah answered, “They have seen all that is in my house; there is nothing in my storehouses that I did not show them.” Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, “Hear the word of the LORD: Behold, the days are coming, when all that is in your house, and that which your fathers have stored up till this day, shall be carried to Babylon. Nothing shall be left, says the LORD. And some of your own sons, who shall be born to you, shall be taken away, and they shall be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.” Then Hezekiah said to Isaiah, “The word of the LORD that you have spoken is good.” For he thought, “Why not, if there will be peace and security in my days?” The rest of the deeds 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? And Hezekiah slept with his fathers, and Manasseh his son reigned in his place. Manasseh Reigns in Judah 21 Manasseh was twelve years old when he began to reign, and he reigned fifty-five years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Hephzibah. And he did what was evil in the sight of the LORD, according to the despicable practices of the nations whom the LORD drove out before the people of Israel. For he rebuilt the high places that Hezekiah his father had destroyed, and he erected altars for Baal and made an Asherah, as Ahab king of Israel had done, and worshiped all the host of heaven and served them. And he built altar

Reading: Isaiah 64-66 Reading: Isaiah 64-66 Isaiah 64-66 Back to top Isaiah 64-66 64   Oh that you would rend the heavens and come down,     that the mountains might quake at your presence—   1 as when fire kindles brushwood     and the fire causes water to boil—   to make your name known to your adversaries,     and that the nations might tremble at your presence!   When you did awesome things that we did not look for,     you came down, the mountains quaked at your presence.   From of old no one has heard     or perceived by the ear,   no eye has seen a God besides you,     who acts for those who wait for him.   You meet him who joyfully works righteousness,     those who remember you in your ways.   Behold, you were angry, and we sinned;     in our sins we have been a long time, and shall we be saved?2   We have all become like one who is unclean,     and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment.   We all fade like a leaf,     and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.   There is no one who calls upon your name,     who rouses himself to take hold of you;   for you have hidden your face from us,     and have made us melt in3 the hand of our iniquities.   But now, O LORD, you are our Father;     we are the clay, and you are our potter;     we are all the work of your hand.   Be not so terribly angry, O LORD,     and remember not iniquity forever.     Behold, please look, we are all your people.   Your holy cities have become a wilderness;     Zion has become a wilderness,     Jerusalem a desolation.   Our holy and beautiful4 house,     where our fathers praised you,   has been burned by fire,     and all our pleasant places have become ruins.   Will you restrain yourself at these things, O LORD?     Will you keep silent, and afflict us so terribly? Judgment and Salvation 65   I was ready to be sought by those who did not ask for me;     I was ready to be found by those who did not seek me.   I said, “Here I am, here I am,”     to a nation that was not called by5 my name.   I spread out my hands all the day     to a rebellious people,   who walk in a way that is not good,     following their own devices;   a people who provoke me     to my face continually,   sacrificing in gardens     and making offerings on bricks;   who sit in tombs,     and spend the night in secret places;   who eat pig's flesh,     and broth of tainted meat is in their vessels;   who say, “Keep to yourself,     do not come near me, for I am too holy for you.”   These are a smoke in my nostrils,     a fire that burns all the day.   Behold, it is written before me:     “I will not keep silent, but I will repay;   I will indeed repay into their lap     both your iniquities and your fathers' iniquities together,       says the LORD;   because they made offerings on the mountains     and insulted me on the hills,   I will measure into their lap     payment for their former deeds.”6   Thus sa

Reading: Isaiah 59-63 Reading: Isaiah 59-63 Isaiah 59-63 Back to top Isaiah 59-63 Evil and Oppression 59   Behold, the LORD's hand is not shortened, that it cannot save,     or his ear dull, that it cannot hear;   but your iniquities have made a separation     between you and your God,   and your sins have hidden his face from you     so that he does not hear.   For your hands are defiled with blood     and your fingers with iniquity;   your lips have spoken lies;     your tongue mutters wickedness.   No one enters suit justly;     no one goes to law honestly;   they rely on empty pleas, they speak lies,     they conceive mischief and give birth to iniquity.   They hatch adders' eggs;     they weave the spider's web;   he who eats their eggs dies,     and from one that is crushed a viper is hatched.   Their webs will not serve as clothing;     men will not cover themselves with what they make.   Their works are works of iniquity,     and deeds of violence are in their hands.   Their feet run to evil,     and they are swift to shed innocent blood;   their thoughts are thoughts of iniquity;     desolation and destruction are in their highways.   The way of peace they do not know,     and there is no justice in their paths;   they have made their roads crooked;     no one who treads on them knows peace.   Therefore justice is far from us,     and righteousness does not overtake us;   we hope for light, and behold, darkness,     and for brightness, but we walk in gloom.   We grope for the wall like the blind;     we grope like those who have no eyes;   we stumble at noon as in the twilight,     among those in full vigor we are like dead men.   We all growl like bears;     we moan and moan like doves;   we hope for justice, but there is none;     for salvation, but it is far from us.   For our transgressions are multiplied before you,     and our sins testify against us;   for our transgressions are with us,     and we know our iniquities:   transgressing, and denying the LORD,     and turning back from following our God,   speaking oppression and revolt,     conceiving and uttering from the heart lying words. Judgment and Redemption   Justice is turned back,     and righteousness stands far away;   for truth has stumbled in the public squares,     and uprightness cannot enter.   Truth is lacking,     and he who departs from evil makes himself a prey.   The LORD saw it, and it displeased him1     that there was no justice.   He saw that there was no man,     and wondered that there was no one to intercede;   then his own arm brought him salvation,     and his righteousness upheld him.   He put on righteousness as a breastplate,     and a helmet of salvation on his head;   he put on garments of vengeance for clothing,     and wrapped himself in zeal as a cloak.   According to their deeds, so will he repay,     wrath to his adversaries, repayment to his enemies;     to the coastlands he will render repayment

Reading: Isaiah 54-58 Reading: Isaiah 54-58 Isaiah 54-58 Back to top Isaiah 54-58 The Eternal Covenant of Peace 54   “Sing, O barren one, who did not bear;     break forth into singing and cry aloud,     you who have not been in labor!   For the children of the desolate one will be more     than the children of her who is married,” says the LORD.   “Enlarge the place of your tent,     and let the curtains of your habitations be stretched out;   do not hold back; lengthen your cords     and strengthen your stakes.   For you will spread abroad to the right and to the left,     and your offspring will possess the nations     and will people the desolate cities.   “Fear not, for you will not be ashamed;     be not confounded, for you will not be disgraced;   for you will forget the shame of your youth,     and the reproach of your widowhood you will remember no more.   For your Maker is your husband,     the LORD of hosts is his name;   and the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer,     the God of the whole earth he is called.   For the LORD has called you     like a wife deserted and grieved in spirit,   like a wife of youth when she is cast off,     says your God.   For a brief moment I deserted you,     but with great compassion I will gather you.   In overflowing anger for a moment     I hid my face from you,   but with everlasting love I will have compassion on you,”     says the LORD, your Redeemer.   “This is like the days of Noah1 to me:     as I swore that the waters of Noah     should no more go over the earth,   so I have sworn that I will not be angry with you,     and will not rebuke you.   For the mountains may depart     and the hills be removed,   but my steadfast love shall not depart from you,     and my covenant of peace shall not be removed,”     says the LORD, who has compassion on you.   “O afflicted one, storm-tossed and not comforted,     behold, I will set your stones in antimony,     and lay your foundations with sapphires.2   I will make your pinnacles of agate,3     your gates of carbuncles,4     and all your wall of precious stones.   All your children shall be taught by the LORD,     and great shall be the peace of your children.   In righteousness you shall be established;     you shall be far from oppression, for you shall not fear;     and from terror, for it shall not come near you.   If anyone stirs up strife,     it is not from me;   whoever stirs up strife with you     shall fall because of you.   Behold, I have created the smith     who blows the fire of coals     and produces a weapon for its purpose.   I have also created the ravager to destroy;     no weapon that is fashioned against you shall succeed,     and you shall refute every tongue that rises against you in judgment.   This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD     and their vindication5 from me, declares the LORD.” The Compassion of the Lord 55   “Come, everyone who thirsts,     come to the waters;   and he

Reading: Isaiah 49-53 Reading: Isaiah 49-53 Isaiah 49-53 Back to top Isaiah 49-53 The Servant of the Lord 49   Listen to me, O coastlands,     and give attention, you peoples from afar.   The LORD called me from the womb,     from the body of my mother he named my name.   He made my mouth like a sharp sword;     in the shadow of his hand he hid me;   he made me a polished arrow;     in his quiver he hid me away.   And he said to me, “You are my servant,     Israel, in whom I will be glorified.”1   But I said, “I have labored in vain;     I have spent my strength for nothing and vanity;   yet surely my right is with the LORD,     and my recompense with my God.”   And now the LORD says,     he who formed me from the womb to be his servant,   to bring Jacob back to him;     and that Israel might be gathered to him—   for I am honored in the eyes of the LORD,     and my God has become my strength—   he says:   “It is too light a thing that you should be my servant     to raise up the tribes of Jacob     and to bring back the preserved of Israel;   I will make you as a light for the nations,     that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.”   Thus says the LORD,     the Redeemer of Israel and his Holy One,   to one deeply despised, abhorred by the nation,     the servant of rulers:   “Kings shall see and arise;     princes, and they shall prostrate themselves;   because of the LORD, who is faithful,     the Holy One of Israel, who has chosen you.” The Restoration of Israel   Thus says the LORD:   “In a time of favor I have answered you;     in a day of salvation I have helped you;   I will keep you and give you     as a covenant to the people,   to establish the land,     to apportion the desolate heritages,   saying to the prisoners, ‘Come out,’     to those who are in darkness, ‘Appear.’   They shall feed along the ways;     on all bare heights shall be their pasture;   they shall not hunger or thirst,     neither scorching wind nor sun shall strike them,   for he who has pity on them will lead them,     and by springs of water will guide them.   And I will make all my mountains a road,     and my highways shall be raised up.   Behold, these shall come from afar,     and behold, these from the north and from the west,2     and these from the land of Syene.”3   Sing for joy, O heavens, and exult, O earth;     break forth, O mountains, into singing!   For the LORD has comforted his people     and will have compassion on his afflicted.   But Zion said, “The LORD has forsaken me;     my Lord has forgotten me.”   “Can a woman forget her nursing child,     that she should have no compassion on the son of her womb?   Even these may forget,     yet I will not forget you.   Behold, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands;     your walls are continually before me.   Your builders make haste;4     your destroyers and those who laid you waste go out from you.   Lift up your eyes around and see;    

Reading: 2 Kings 18:9-19:37 Reading: Psalm 46 Reading: Psalm 80 Reading: Psalm 135 Reading: 2 Kings 18:9-19:37 2 Kings 18:9-19:37 Back to top 2 Kings 18:9-19:37 In the fourth year of King Hezekiah, which was the seventh year of Hoshea son of Elah, king of Israel, Shalmaneser king of Assyria came up against Samaria and besieged it, and at the end of three years he took it. In the sixth year of Hezekiah, which was the ninth year of Hoshea king of Israel, Samaria was taken. The king of Assyria carried the Israelites away to Assyria and put them in Halah, and on the Habor, the river of Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes, because they did not obey the voice of the LORD their God but transgressed his covenant, even all that Moses the servant of the LORD commanded. They neither listened nor obeyed. Sennacherib Attacks Judah In the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah, Sennacherib king of Assyria came up against all the fortified cities of Judah and took them. And Hezekiah king of Judah sent to the king of Assyria at Lachish, saying, “I have done wrong; withdraw from me. Whatever you impose on me I will bear.” And the king of Assyria required of Hezekiah king of Judah three hundred talents1 of silver and thirty talents of gold. And Hezekiah gave him all the silver that was found in the house of the LORD and in the treasuries of the king's house. At that time Hezekiah stripped the gold from the doors of the temple of the LORD and from the doorposts that Hezekiah king of Judah had overlaid and gave it to the king of Assyria. And the king of Assyria sent the Tartan, the Rab-saris, and the Rabshakeh with a great army from Lachish to King Hezekiah at Jerusalem. And they went up and came to Jerusalem. When they arrived, they came and stood by the conduit of the upper pool, which is on the highway to the Washer's Field. And when they called for the king, there came out to them Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, who was over the household, and Shebnah the secretary, and Joah the son of Asaph, the recorder. And the Rabshakeh said to them, “Say to Hezekiah, ‘Thus says the great king, the king of Assyria: On what do you rest this trust of yours? Do you think that mere words are strategy and power for war? In whom do you now trust, that you have rebelled against me? Behold, you are trusting now in Egypt, that broken reed of a staff, which will pierce the hand of any man who leans on it. Such is Pharaoh king of Egypt to all who trust in him. But if you say to me, “We trust in the LORD our God,” is it not he whose high places and altars Hezekiah has removed, saying to Judah and to Jerusalem, “You shall worship before this altar in Jerusalem”? Come now, make a wager with my master the king of Assyria: I will give you two thousand horses, if you are able on your part to set riders on them. How then can you repulse a single captain among the least of my master's servants, when you trust in Egypt for chariots and for horsemen? Moreover, is it without the LORD that I have come up against this place to destroy it? The LORD said to me, Go up against this land, and destroy it.’” Then Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, and Shebnah, and Joah, said to the Rabshakeh, “Please speak to your servants in Aramaic, for we understand it. Do not speak to us in the language of Judah within the hearing of the people who are on the wall.” But the Rabshakeh said to them, “Has my master sent me to speak these words to your master and to you, and not to the men sitting on the wall, who are doomed with you to eat their own dung and to drink their own urine?” Then the Rabshakeh stood and called out in a loud voice in the language of Judah: “Hear the word of the great king, the king of Assyria! Thus says the king: ‘Do not let Hezekiah deceive you, for he will not be able to deliver you out of my2 hand. Do not let Hezekiah make you trust in the LORD by saying, The LORD will surely deliver us, and this city will not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria.’ Do not listen to Hezekiah, fo

Reading: Isaiah 44-48 Reading: Isaiah 44-48 Isaiah 44-48 Back to top Isaiah 44-48 Israel the Lord's Chosen 44   “But now hear, O Jacob my servant,     Israel whom I have chosen!   Thus says the LORD who made you,     who formed you from the womb and will help you:   Fear not, O Jacob my servant,     Jeshurun whom I have chosen.   For I will pour water on the thirsty land,     and streams on the dry ground;   I will pour my Spirit upon your offspring,     and my blessing on your descendants.   They shall spring up among the grass     like willows by flowing streams.   This one will say, ‘I am the LORD's,’     another will call on the name of Jacob,   and another will write on his hand, ‘The LORD's,’     and name himself by the name of Israel.” Besides Me There Is No God   Thus says the LORD, the King of Israel     and his Redeemer, the LORD of hosts:   “I am the first and I am the last;     besides me there is no god.   Who is like me? Let him proclaim it.1     Let him declare and set it before me,   since I appointed an ancient people.     Let them declare what is to come, and what will happen.   Fear not, nor be afraid;     have I not told you from of old and declared it?     And you are my witnesses!   Is there a God besides me?     There is no Rock; I know not any.” The Folly of Idolatry All who fashion idols are nothing, and the things they delight in do not profit. Their witnesses neither see nor know, that they may be put to shame. Who fashions a god or casts an idol that is profitable for nothing? Behold, all his companions shall be put to shame, and the craftsmen are only human. Let them all assemble, let them stand forth. They shall be terrified; they shall be put to shame together. The ironsmith takes a cutting tool and works it over the coals. He fashions it with hammers and works it with his strong arm. He becomes hungry, and his strength fails; he drinks no water and is faint. The carpenter stretches a line; he marks it out with a pencil. He shapes it with planes and marks it with a compass. He shapes it into the figure of a man, with the beauty of a man, to dwell in a house. He cuts down cedars, or he chooses a cypress tree or an oak and lets it grow strong among the trees of the forest. He plants a cedar and the rain nourishes it. Then it becomes fuel for a man. He takes a part of it and warms himself; he kindles a fire and bakes bread. Also he makes a god and worships it; he makes it an idol and falls down before it. Half of it he burns in the fire. Over the half he eats meat; he roasts it and is satisfied. Also he warms himself and says, “Aha, I am warm, I have seen the fire!” And the rest of it he makes into a god, his idol, and falls down to it and worships it. He prays to it and says, “Deliver me, for you are my god!” They know not, nor do they discern, for he has shut their eyes, so that they cannot see, and their hearts, so that they cannot understand. No one considers, nor is there knowledge or discernment to say, “Half of it I burned in the fire; I also baked bread on its coals; I roasted meat and have eaten. And shall I make the rest of it an abomination? Shall I fall down before a block of wood?” He feeds on ashes; a deluded heart has led him astray, and he cannot deliver himself or say, “Is there not a lie in my right hand?” The Lord Redeems Israel   Remember these things, O Jacob,     and Israel, for you are my servant;   I formed you; you are my servant;     O Israel, you will not be forgotten by me. &

Reading: 2 Chronicles 28 Reading: 2 Kings 16-17 Reading: 2 Chronicles 28 2 Chronicles 28 Back to top 2 Chronicles 28 Ahaz Reigns in Judah 28 Ahaz was twenty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem. And he did not do what was right in the eyes of the LORD, as his father David had done, but he walked in the ways of the kings of Israel. He even made metal images for the Baals, and he made offerings in the Valley of the Son of Hinnom and burned his sons as an offering,1 according to the abominations of the nations whom the LORD drove out before the people of Israel. And he sacrificed and made offerings on the high places and on the hills and under every green tree. Judah Defeated Therefore the LORD his God gave him into the hand of the king of Syria, who defeated him and took captive a great number of his people and brought them to Damascus. He was also given into the hand of the king of Israel, who struck him with great force. For Pekah the son of Remaliah killed 120,000 from Judah in one day, all of them men of valor, because they had forsaken the LORD, the God of their fathers. And Zichri, a mighty man of Ephraim, killed Maaseiah the king's son and Azrikam the commander of the palace and Elkanah the next in authority to the king. The men of Israel took captive 200,000 of their relatives, women, sons, and daughters. They also took much spoil from them and brought the spoil to Samaria. But a prophet of the LORD was there, whose name was Oded, and he went out to meet the army that came to Samaria and said to them, “Behold, because the LORD, the God of your fathers, was angry with Judah, he gave them into your hand, but you have killed them in a rage that has reached up to heaven. And now you intend to subjugate the people of Judah and Jerusalem, male and female, as your slaves. Have you not sins of your own against the LORD your God? Now hear me, and send back the captives from your relatives whom you have taken, for the fierce wrath of the LORD is upon you.” Certain chiefs also of the men of Ephraim, Azariah the son of Johanan, Berechiah the son of Meshillemoth, Jehizkiah the son of Shallum, and Amasa the son of Hadlai, stood up against those who were coming from the war and said to them, “You shall not bring the captives in here, for you propose to bring upon us guilt against the LORD in addition to our present sins and guilt. For our guilt is already great, and there is fierce wrath against Israel.” So the armed men left the captives and the spoil before the princes and all the assembly. And the men who have been mentioned by name rose and took the captives, and with the spoil they clothed all who were naked among them. They clothed them, gave them sandals, provided them with food and drink, and anointed them, and carrying all the feeble among them on donkeys, they brought them to their kinsfolk at Jericho, the city of palm trees. Then they returned to Samaria. At that time King Ahaz sent to the king2 of Assyria for help. For the Edomites had again invaded and defeated Judah and carried away captives. And the Philistines had made raids on the cities in the Shephelah and the Negeb of Judah, and had taken Beth-shemesh, Aijalon, Gederoth, Soco with its villages, Timnah with its villages, and Gimzo with its villages. And they settled there. For the LORD humbled Judah because of Ahaz king of Israel, for he had made Judah act sinfully3 and had been very unfaithful to the LORD. So Tiglath-pileser4 king of Assyria came against him and afflicted him instead of strengthening him. For Ahaz took a portion from the house of the LORD and the house of the king and of the princes, and gave tribute to the king of Assyria, but it did not help him. Ahaz's Idolatry In the time of his distress he became yet more faithless to the LORD—this same King Ahaz. For he sacrificed to the gods of Damascus that had defeated him and said, “Because the gods of the kings of Syria helped them, I will sacrifice to them tha

Reading: Micah 1-7 Reading: Micah 1-7 Micah 1-7 Back to top Micah 1-7 1 The word of the LORD that came to Micah of Moresheth in the days of Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, which he saw concerning Samaria and Jerusalem. The Coming Destruction   Hear, you peoples, all of you;1     pay attention, O earth, and all that is in it,   and let the Lord GOD be a witness against you,     the Lord from his holy temple.   For behold, the LORD is coming out of his place,     and will come down and tread upon the high places of the earth.   And the mountains will melt under him,     and the valleys will split open,   like wax before the fire,     like waters poured down a steep place.   All this is for the transgression of Jacob     and for the sins of the house of Israel.   What is the transgression of Jacob?     Is it not Samaria?   And what is the high place of Judah?     Is it not Jerusalem?   Therefore I will make Samaria a heap in the open country,     a place for planting vineyards,   and I will pour down her stones into the valley     and uncover her foundations.   All her carved images shall be beaten to pieces,     all her wages shall be burned with fire,     and all her idols I will lay waste,   for from the fee of a prostitute she gathered them,     and to the fee of a prostitute they shall return.   For this I will lament and wail;     I will go stripped and naked;   I will make lamentation like the jackals,     and mourning like the ostriches.   For her wound is incurable,     and it has come to Judah;   it has reached to the gate of my people,     to Jerusalem.   Tell it not in Gath;     weep not at all;   in Beth-le-aphrah     roll yourselves in the dust.   Pass on your way,     inhabitants of Shaphir,     in nakedness and shame;   the inhabitants of Zaanan     do not come out;   the lamentation of Beth-ezel     shall take away from you its standing place.   For the inhabitants of Maroth     wait anxiously for good,   because disaster has come down from the LORD     to the gate of Jerusalem.   Harness the steeds to the chariots,     inhabitants of Lachish;   it was the beginning of sin     to the daughter of Zion,   for in you were found     the transgressions of Israel.   Therefore you shall give parting gifts2     to Moresheth-gath;   the houses of Achzib shall be a deceitful thing     to the kings of Israel.   I will again bring a conqueror to you,     inhabitants of Mareshah;   the glory of Israel     shall come to Adullam.   Make yourselves bald and cut off your hair,     for the children of your delight;   make yourselves as bald as the eagle,     for they shall go from you into exile. Woe to the Oppressors 2   Woe to those who devise wickedness     and work evil on their beds!   When the morning dawns, they perform it,     because it is in the power of their hand.   They covet fields and seize them,     and houses, and take the

Reading: 2 Chronicles 27 Reading: Isaiah 9-12 Reading: 2 Chronicles 27 2 Chronicles 27 Back to top 2 Chronicles 27 Jotham Reigns in Judah 27 Jotham was twenty-five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Jerushah the daughter of Zadok. And he did what was right in the eyes of the LORD according to all that his father Uzziah had done, except he did not enter the temple of the LORD. But the people still followed corrupt practices. He built the upper gate of the house of the LORD and did much building on the wall of Ophel. Moreover, he built cities in the hill country of Judah, and forts and towers on the wooded hills. He fought with the king of the Ammonites and prevailed against them. And the Ammonites gave him that year 100 talents1 of silver, and 10,000 cors2 of wheat and 10,000 of barley. The Ammonites paid him the same amount in the second and the third years. So Jotham became mighty, because he ordered his ways before the LORD his God. Now the rest of the acts of Jotham, and all his wars and his ways, behold, they are written in the Book of the Kings of Israel and Judah. He was twenty-five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem. And Jotham slept with his fathers, and they buried him in the city of David, and Ahaz his son reigned in his place. Footnotes [1] 27:5 A talent was about 75 pounds or 34 kilograms [2] 27:5 A cor was about 6 bushels or 220 liters (ESV) Reading: Isaiah 9-12 Isaiah 9-12 Back to top Isaiah 9-12 For to Us a Child Is Born 9  But there will be no gloom for her who was in anguish. In the former time he brought into contempt the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the latter time he has made glorious the way of the sea, the land beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations.1   2 The people who walked in darkness     have seen a great light;   those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness,     on them has light shone.   You have multiplied the nation;     you have increased its joy;   they rejoice before you     as with joy at the harvest,     as they are glad when they divide the spoil.   For the yoke of his burden,     and the staff for his shoulder,     the rod of his oppressor,     you have broken as on the day of Midian.   For every boot of the tramping warrior in battle tumult     and every garment rolled in blood     will be burned as fuel for the fire.   For to us a child is born,     to us a son is given;   and the government shall be upon3 his shoulder,     and his name shall be called4   Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,     Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.   Of the increase of his government and of peace     there will be no end,   on the throne of David and over his kingdom,     to establish it and to uphold it   with justice and with righteousness     from this time forth and forevermore.   The zeal of the LORD of hosts will do this. Judgment on Arrogance and Oppression   The Lord has sent a word against Jacob,     and it will fall on Israel;   and all the people will know,     Ephraim and the inhabitants of Samaria,     who say in pride and in arrogance of heart:   “The bricks have fallen,     but we will build with dressed stones;   the sycamores have been cut down,     but we will put cedars in their place.”   But the LORD raises the adversaries of Rezin against him,    &nb

Reading: Amos 6-9 Reading: Amos 6-9 Amos 6-9 Back to top Amos 6-9 Woe to Those at Ease in Zion 6   “Woe to those who are at ease in Zion,     and to those who feel secure on the mountain of Samaria,   the notable men of the first of the nations,     to whom the house of Israel comes!   Pass over to Calneh, and see,     and from there go to Hamath the great;     then go down to Gath of the Philistines.   Are you better than these kingdoms?     Or is their territory greater than your territory,   O you who put far away the day of disaster     and bring near the seat of violence?   “Woe to those who lie on beds of ivory     and stretch themselves out on their couches,   and eat lambs from the flock     and calves from the midst of the stall,   who sing idle songs to the sound of the harp     and like David invent for themselves instruments of music,   who drink wine in bowls     and anoint themselves with the finest oils,     but are not grieved over the ruin of Joseph!   Therefore they shall now be the first of those who go into exile,     and the revelry of those who stretch themselves out shall pass away.” The Lord GOD has sworn by himself, declares the LORD, the God of hosts:   “I abhor the pride of Jacob     and hate his strongholds,     and I will deliver up the city and all that is in it.” And if ten men remain in one house, they shall die. And when one's relative, the one who anoints him for burial, shall take him up to bring the bones out of the house, and shall say to him who is in the innermost parts of the house, “Is there still anyone with you?” he shall say, “No”; and he shall say, “Silence! We must not mention the name of the LORD.”   For behold, the LORD commands,     and the great house shall be struck down into fragments,     and the little house into bits.   Do horses run on rocks?     Does one plow there1 with oxen?   But you have turned justice into poison     and the fruit of righteousness into wormwood2—   you who rejoice in Lo-debar,3     who say, “Have we not by our own strength     captured Karnaim4 for ourselves?”   “For behold, I will raise up against you a nation,     O house of Israel,” declares the LORD, the God of hosts;   “and they shall oppress you from Lebo-hamath     to the Brook of the Arabah.” Warning Visions 7 This is what the Lord GOD showed me: behold, he was forming locusts when the latter growth was just beginning to sprout, and behold, it was the latter growth after the king's mowings. When they had finished eating the grass of the land, I said,   “O Lord GOD, please forgive!     How can Jacob stand?     He is so small!”   The LORD relented concerning this:     “It shall not be,” said the LORD. This is what the Lord GOD showed me: behold, the Lord GOD was calling for a judgment by fire, and it devoured the great deep and was eating up the land. Then I said,   “O Lord GOD, please cease!     How can Jacob stand?     He is so small!”   The LORD relented concerning this:     “This also shall not be,” said the Lord GOD. This is what he showed me: behold, the Lord was standing beside a wall built with a plumb line, with a plumb line in his hand. And the LORD said to me, “Amos, what do you see?” And I said, “A plumb line.” Then

Reading: Amos 1-5 Reading: Amos 1-5 Amos 1-5 Back to top Amos 1-5 1 The words of Amos, who was among the shepherds1 of Tekoa, which he saw concerning Israel in the days of Uzziah king of Judah and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash, king of Israel, two years2 before the earthquake. Judgment on Israel's Neighbors And he said:   “The LORD roars from Zion     and utters his voice from Jerusalem;   the pastures of the shepherds mourn,     and the top of Carmel withers.” Thus says the LORD:   “For three transgressions of Damascus,     and for four, I will not revoke the punishment,3   because they have threshed Gilead     with threshing sledges of iron.   So I will send a fire upon the house of Hazael,     and it shall devour the strongholds of Ben-hadad.   I will break the gate-bar of Damascus,     and cut off the inhabitants from the Valley of Aven,4   and him who holds the scepter from Beth-eden;     and the people of Syria shall go into exile to Kir,”       says the LORD. Thus says the LORD:   “For three transgressions of Gaza,     and for four, I will not revoke the punishment,   because they carried into exile a whole people     to deliver them up to Edom.   So I will send a fire upon the wall of Gaza,     and it shall devour her strongholds.   I will cut off the inhabitants from Ashdod,     and him who holds the scepter from Ashkelon;   I will turn my hand against Ekron,     and the remnant of the Philistines shall perish,”       says the Lord GOD. Thus says the LORD:   “For three transgressions of Tyre,     and for four, I will not revoke the punishment,   because they delivered up a whole people to Edom,     and did not remember the covenant of brotherhood.   So I will send a fire upon the wall of Tyre,     and it shall devour her strongholds.” Thus says the LORD:   “For three transgressions of Edom,     and for four, I will not revoke the punishment,   because he pursued his brother with the sword     and cast off all pity,   and his anger tore perpetually,     and he kept his wrath forever.   So I will send a fire upon Teman,     and it shall devour the strongholds of Bozrah.” Thus says the LORD:   “For three transgressions of the Ammonites,     and for four, I will not revoke the punishment,   because they have ripped open pregnant women in Gilead,     that they might enlarge their border.   So I will kindle a fire in the wall of Rabbah,     and it shall devour her strongholds,   with shouting on the day of battle,     with a tempest in the day of the whirlwind;   and their king shall go into exile,     he and his princes5 together,”       says the LORD. 2 Thus says the LORD:   “For three transgressions of Moab,     and for four, I will not revoke the punishment,6   because he burned to lime     the bones of the king of Edom.   So I will send a fire upon Moab,     and it shall devour the strongholds of Kerioth,   and Moab shall die amid uproar,     amid shouting and the sound of the trumpet;   I will cut off the ruler from its midst,     and will kill all its pr

Reading: Isaiah 5-8 Reading: Isaiah 5-8 Isaiah 5-8 Back to top Isaiah 5-8 The Vineyard of the Lord Destroyed 5   Let me sing for my beloved     my love song concerning his vineyard:   My beloved had a vineyard     on a very fertile hill.   He dug it and cleared it of stones,     and planted it with choice vines;   he built a watchtower in the midst of it,     and hewed out a wine vat in it;   and he looked for it to yield grapes,     but it yielded wild grapes.   And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem     and men of Judah,   judge between me and my vineyard.   What more was there to do for my vineyard,     that I have not done in it?   When I looked for it to yield grapes,     why did it yield wild grapes?   And now I will tell you     what I will do to my vineyard.   I will remove its hedge,     and it shall be devoured;1   I will break down its wall,     and it shall be trampled down.   I will make it a waste;     it shall not be pruned or hoed,     and briers and thorns shall grow up;   I will also command the clouds     that they rain no rain upon it.   For the vineyard of the LORD of hosts     is the house of Israel,   and the men of Judah     are his pleasant planting;   and he looked for justice,     but behold, bloodshed;2   for righteousness,     but behold, an outcry!3 Woe to the Wicked   Woe to those who join house to house,     who add field to field,   until there is no more room,     and you are made to dwell alone     in the midst of the land.   The LORD of hosts has sworn in my hearing:   “Surely many houses shall be desolate,     large and beautiful houses, without inhabitant.   For ten acres4 of vineyard shall yield but one bath,     and a homer of seed shall yield but an ephah.”5   Woe to those who rise early in the morning,     that they may run after strong drink,   who tarry late into the evening     as wine inflames them!   They have lyre and harp,     tambourine and flute and wine at their feasts,   but they do not regard the deeds of the LORD,     or see the work of his hands.   Therefore my people go into exile     for lack of knowledge;6   their honored men go hungry,7     and their multitude is parched with thirst.   Therefore Sheol has enlarged its appetite     and opened its mouth beyond measure,   and the nobility of Jerusalem8 and her multitude will go down,     her revelers and he who exults in her.   Man is humbled, and each one is brought low,     and the eyes of the haughty9 are brought low.   But the LORD of hosts is exalted10 in justice,     and the Holy God shows himself holy in righteousness.   Then shall the lambs graze as in their pasture,     and nomads shall eat among the ruins of the rich.   Woe to those who draw iniquity with cords of falsehood,     who draw sin as with cart ropes,   who say: “Let him be quick,     let him speed his work     that we may see it;   let the counsel of the Holy

Reading: Isaiah 1-4 Reading: Isaiah 1-4 Isaiah 1-4 Back to top Isaiah 1-4 1 The vision of Isaiah the son of Amoz, which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah. The Wickedness of Judah   Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth;     for the LORD has spoken:   “Children1 have I reared and brought up,     but they have rebelled against me.   The ox knows its owner,     and the donkey its master's crib,   but Israel does not know,     my people do not understand.”   Ah, sinful nation,     a people laden with iniquity,   offspring of evildoers,     children who deal corruptly!   They have forsaken the LORD,     they have despised the Holy One of Israel,     they are utterly estranged.   Why will you still be struck down?     Why will you continue to rebel?   The whole head is sick,     and the whole heart faint.   From the sole of the foot even to the head,     there is no soundness in it,   but bruises and sores     and raw wounds;   they are not pressed out or bound up     or softened with oil.   Your country lies desolate;     your cities are burned with fire;   in your very presence     foreigners devour your land;     it is desolate, as overthrown by foreigners.   And the daughter of Zion is left     like a booth in a vineyard,   like a lodge in a cucumber field,     like a besieged city.   If the LORD of hosts     had not left us a few survivors,   we should have been like Sodom,     and become like Gomorrah.   Hear the word of the LORD,     you rulers of Sodom!   Give ear to the teaching2 of our God,     you people of Gomorrah!   “What to me is the multitude of your sacrifices?     says the LORD;   I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams     and the fat of well-fed beasts;   I do not delight in the blood of bulls,     or of lambs, or of goats.   “When you come to appear before me,     who has required of you     this trampling of my courts?   Bring no more vain offerings;     incense is an abomination to me.   New moon and Sabbath and the calling of convocations—     I cannot endure iniquity and solemn assembly.   Your new moons and your appointed feasts     my soul hates;   they have become a burden to me;     I am weary of bearing them.   When you spread out your hands,     I will hide my eyes from you;   even though you make many prayers,     I will not listen;     your hands are full of blood.   Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean;     remove the evil of your deeds from before my eyes;   cease to do evil,     learn to do good;   seek justice,     correct oppression;   bring justice to the fatherless,     plead the widow's cause.   “Come now, let us reason3 together, says the LORD:   though your sins are like scarlet,     they shall be as white as snow;   though they are red like crimson,     they s

Reading: 2 Kings 15 Reading: 2 Chronicles 26 Reading: 2 Kings 15 2 Kings 15 Back to top 2 Kings 15 Azariah Reigns in Judah 15 In the twenty-seventh year of Jeroboam king of Israel, Azariah the son of Amaziah, king of Judah, began to reign. He was sixteen years old when he began to reign, and he reigned fifty-two years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Jecoliah of Jerusalem. And he did what was right in the eyes of the LORD, according to all that his father Amaziah had done. Nevertheless, the high places were not taken away. The people still sacrificed and made offerings on the high places. And the LORD touched the king, so that he was a leper1 to the day of his death, and he lived in a separate house.2 And Jotham the king's son was over the household, governing the people of the land. Now the rest of the acts of Azariah, and all that he did, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah? And Azariah slept with his fathers, and they buried him with his fathers in the city of David, and Jotham his son reigned in his place. Zechariah Reigns in Israel In the thirty-eighth year of Azariah king of Judah, Zechariah the son of Jeroboam reigned over Israel in Samaria six months. And he did what was evil in the sight of the LORD, as his fathers had done. He did not depart from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, which he made Israel to sin. Shallum the son of Jabesh conspired against him and struck him down at Ibleam and put him to death and reigned in his place. Now the rest of the deeds of Zechariah, behold, they are written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel. (This was the promise of the LORD that he gave to Jehu, “Your sons shall sit on the throne of Israel to the fourth generation.” And so it came to pass.) Shallum Reigns in Israel Shallum the son of Jabesh began to reign in the thirty-ninth year of Uzziah3 king of Judah, and he reigned one month in Samaria. Then Menahem the son of Gadi came up from Tirzah and came to Samaria, and he struck down Shallum the son of Jabesh in Samaria and put him to death and reigned in his place. Now the rest of the deeds of Shallum, and the conspiracy that he made, behold, they are written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel. At that time Menahem sacked Tiphsah and all who were in it and its territory from Tirzah on, because they did not open it to him. Therefore he sacked it, and he ripped open all the women in it who were pregnant. Menahem Reigns in Israel In the thirty-ninth year of Azariah king of Judah, Menahem the son of Gadi began to reign over Israel, and he reigned ten years in Samaria. And he did what was evil in the sight of the LORD. He did not depart all his days from all the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, which he made Israel to sin. Pul4 the king of Assyria came against the land, and Menahem gave Pul a thousand talents5 of silver, that he might help him to confirm his hold on the royal power. Menahem exacted the money from Israel, that is, from all the wealthy men, fifty shekels6 of silver from every man, to give to the king of Assyria. So the king of Assyria turned back and did not stay there in the land. Now the rest of the deeds of Menahem and all that he did, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel? And Menahem slept with his fathers, and Pekahiah his son reigned in his place. Pekahiah Reigns in Israel In the fiftieth year of Azariah king of Judah, Pekahiah the son of Menahem began to reign over Israel in Samaria, and he reigned two years. And he did what was evil in the sight of the LORD. He did not turn away from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, which he made Israel to sin. And Pekah the son of Remaliah, his captain, conspired against him with fifty men of the people of Gilead, and struck him down in Samaria, in the citadel of the king's house with Argob and Arieh; he put him to death and reigned in his place. Now the rest of the deeds of Pekahiah and all that he