5 The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!” 6 The Lord replied, “If you had faith the size of a[a] mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you.
7 “Who among you would say to your slave who has just come in from plowing or tending sheep in the field, ‘Come here at once and take your place at the table’? 8 Would you not rather say to him, ‘Prepare supper for me, put on your apron and serve me while I eat and drink; later you may eat and drink’? 9 Do you thank the slave for doing what was commanded? 10 So you also, when you have done all that you were ordered to do, say, ‘We are worthless slaves; we have done only what we ought to have done!’”
8 The Rabshakeh returned, and found the king of Assyria fighting against Libnah; for he had heard that the king had left Lachish. 9 When the king[a] heard concerning King Tirhakah of Ethiopia,[b] “See, he has set out to fight against you,” he sent messengers again to Hezekiah, saying, 10 “Thus shall you speak to King Hezekiah of Judah: Do not let your God on whom you rely deceive you by promising that Jerusalem will not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria. 11 See, you have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all lands, destroying them utterly. Shall you be delivered? 12 Have the gods of the nations delivered them, the nations that my predecessors destroyed, Gozan, Haran, Rezeph, and the people of Eden who were in Telassar? 13 Where is the king of Hamath, the king of Arpad, the king of the city of Sepharvaim, the king of Hena, or the king of Ivvah?”
Hezekiah’s Prayer
14 Hezekiah received the letter from the hand of the messengers and read it; then Hezekiah went up to the house of the Lord and spread it before the Lord. 15 And Hezekiah prayed before the Lord, and said: “O Lord the God of Israel, who are enthroned above the cherubim, you are God, you alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth; you have made heaven and earth. 16 Incline your ear, O Lord, and hear; open your eyes, O Lord, and see; hear the words of Sennacherib, which he has sent to mock the living God. 17 Truly, O Lord, the kings of Assyria have laid waste the nations and their lands, 18 and have hurled their gods into the fire, though they were no gods but the work of human hands—wood and stone—and so they were destroyed. 19 So now, O Lord our God, save us, I pray you, from his hand, so that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that you, O Lord, are God alone.”
20 Then Isaiah son of Amoz sent to Hezekiah, saying, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: I have heard your prayer to me about King Sennacherib of Assyria. 21 This is the word that the Lord has spoken concerning him:
She despises you, she scorns you— virgin daughter Zion; she tosses her head—behind your back, daughter Jerusalem.
22 “Whom have you mocked and reviled? Against whom have you raised your voice and haughtily lifted your eyes? Against the Holy One of Israel! 23 By your messengers you have mocked the Lord, and you have said, ‘With my many chariots I have gone up the heights of the mountains, to the far recesses of Lebanon; I felled its tallest cedars, its choicest cypresses; I entered its farthest retreat, its densest forest. 24 I dug wells and drank foreign waters, I dried up with the sole of my foot all the streams of Egypt.’
25 “Have you not heard that I determined it long ago? I planned from days of old what now I bring to pass, that you should make fortified cities crash into heaps of ruins, 26 while their inhabitants, shorn of strength, are dismayed and confounded; they have become like plants of the field and like tender grass, like grass on the housetops, blighted before it is grown.
27 “But I know your rising[c] and your sitting, your going out and coming in, and your raging against me. 28 Because you have raged against me and your arrogance has come to my ears, I will put my hook in your nose and my bit in your mouth; I will turn you back on the way by which you came.
29 “And this shall be the sign for you: This year you shall eat what grows of itself, and in the second year what springs from that; then in the third year sow, reap, plant vineyards, and eat their fruit. 30 The surviving remnant of the house of Judah shall again take root downward, and bear fruit upward; 31 for from Jerusalem a remnant shall go out, and from Mount Zion a band of survivors. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.
32 “Therefore thus says the Lord concerning the king of Assyria: He shall not come into this city, shoot an arrow there, come before it with a shield, or cast up a siege ramp against it. 33 By the way that he came, by the same he shall return; he shall not come into this city, says the Lord. 34 For I will defend this city to save it, for my own sake and for the sake of my servant David.”
Sennacherib’s Defeat and Death
35 That very night the angel of the Lord set out and struck down one hundred eighty-five thousand in the camp of the Assyrians; when morning dawned, they were all dead bodies. 36 Then King Sennacherib of Assyria left, went home, and lived at Nineveh. 37 As he was worshiping in the house of his god Nisroch, his sons Adrammelech and Sharezer killed him with the sword, and they escaped into the land of Ararat. His son Esar-haddon succeeded him.
1 Do not fret because of the wicked; do not be envious of wrongdoers, 2 for they will soon fade like the grass, and wither like the green herb.
3 Trust in the Lord, and do good; so you will live in the land, and enjoy security. 4 Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.
5 Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him, and he will act. 6 He will make your vindication shine like the light, and the justice of your cause like the noonday.
7 Be still before the Lord, and wait patiently for him; do not fret over those who prosper in their way, over those who carry out evil devices.
8 Refrain from anger, and forsake wrath. Do not fret—it leads only to evil. 9 For the wicked shall be cut off, but those who wait for the Lord shall inherit the land.
10 Yet a little while, and the wicked will be no more; though you look diligently for their place, they will not be there. 11 But the meek shall inherit the land, and delight themselves in abundant prosperity.
12 The wicked plot against the righteous, and gnash their teeth at them; 13 but the Lord laughs at the wicked, for he sees that their day is coming.
14 The wicked draw the sword and bend their bows to bring down the poor and needy, to kill those who walk uprightly; 15 their sword shall enter their own heart, and their bows shall be broken.
16 Better is a little that the righteous person has than the abundance of many wicked. 17 For the arms of the wicked shall be broken, but the Lord upholds the righteous.
18 The Lord knows the days of the blameless, and their heritage will abide forever; 19 they are not put to shame in evil times, in the days of famine they have abundance.
20 But the wicked perish, and the enemies of the Lord are like the glory of the pastures; they vanish—like smoke they vanish away.
21 The wicked borrow, and do not pay back, but the righteous are generous and keep giving; 22 for those blessed by the Lord shall inherit the land, but those cursed by him shall be cut off.
23 Our steps[a] are made firm by the Lord, when he delights in our[b] way; 24 though we stumble,[c] we[d] shall not fall headlong, for the Lord holds us[e] by the hand.
25 I have been young, and now am old, yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken or their children begging bread. 26 They are ever giving liberally and lending, and their children become a blessing.
27 Depart from evil, and do good; so you shall abide forever. 28 For the Lord loves justice; he will not forsake his faithful ones.
The righteous shall be kept safe forever, but the children of the wicked shall be cut off. 29 The righteous shall inherit the land, and live in it forever.
30 The mouths of the righteous utter wisdom, and their tongues speak justice. 31 The law of their God is in their hearts; their steps do not slip.
32 The wicked watch for the righteous, and seek to kill them. 33 The Lord will not abandon them to their power, or let them be condemned when they are brought to trial.
34 Wait for the Lord, and keep to his way, and he will exalt you to inherit the land; you will look on the destruction of the wicked.
35 I have seen the wicked oppressing, and towering like a cedar of Lebanon.[f] 36 Again I[g] passed by, and they were no more; though I sought them, they could not be found.
37 Mark the blameless, and behold the upright, for there is posterity for the peaceable. 38 But transgressors shall be altogether destroyed; the posterity of the wicked shall be cut off.
39 The salvation of the righteous is from the Lord; he is their refuge in the time of trouble. 40 The Lord helps them and rescues them; he rescues them from the wicked, and saves them, because they take refuge in him.
2 The Lord has an indictment against Judah, and will punish Jacob according to his ways, and repay him according to his deeds. 3 In the womb he tried to supplant his brother, and in his manhood he strove with God. 4 He strove with the angel and prevailed, he wept and sought his favor; he met him at Bethel, and there he spoke with him.[a] 5 The Lord the God of hosts, the Lord is his name! 6 But as for you, return to your God, hold fast to love and justice, and wait continually for your God.
7 A trader, in whose hands are false balances, he loves to oppress. 8 Ephraim has said, “Ah, I am rich, I have gained wealth for myself; in all of my gain no offense has been found in me that would be sin.”[b] 9 I am the Lord your God from the land of Egypt; I will make you live in tents again, as in the days of the appointed festival.
10 I spoke to the prophets; it was I who multiplied visions, and through the prophets I will bring destruction. 11 In Gilead[c] there is iniquity, they shall surely come to nothing. In Gilgal they sacrifice bulls, so their altars shall be like stone heaps on the furrows of the field. 12 Jacob fled to the land of Aram, there Israel served for a wife, and for a wife he guarded sheep.[d] 13 By a prophet the Lord brought Israel up from Egypt, and by a prophet he was guarded. 14 Ephraim has given bitter offense, so his Lord will bring his crimes down on him and pay him back for his insults.
NOW… I HAVE HEARD TWO CAREER ADVISORS CALL ME TOO AGGRESSIVE… (let’s go2 that job fair)
A READING FOR YOU…
1 For God alone my soul waits in silence; from him comes my salvation. 2 He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall never be shaken.
3 How long will you assail a person, will you batter your victim, all of you, as you would a leaning wall, a tottering fence? 4 Their only plan is to bring down a person of prominence. They take pleasure in falsehood; they bless with their mouths, but inwardly they curse.Selah
5 For God alone my soul waits in silence, for my hope is from him. 6 He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall not be shaken. 7 On God rests my deliverance and my honor; my mighty rock, my refuge is in God.
8 Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your heart before him; God is a refuge for us.Selah
9 Those of low estate are but a breath, those of high estate are a delusion; in the balances they go up; they are together lighter than a breath. 10 Put no confidence in extortion, and set no vain hopes on robbery; if riches increase, do not set your heart on them.
11 Once God has spoken; twice have I heard this: that power belongs to God, 12 and steadfast love belongs to you, O Lord. For you repay to all according to their work.
PLANTING TREES ON THURSDAY…
GOING TO THE LIBRARY, THE JOB FAIR, THE GYM TODAY…
7 And war broke out in heaven; Michael and his angels fought against the dragon. The dragon and his angels fought back, 8 but they were defeated, and there was no longer any place for them in heaven. 9 The great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the Devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world—he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.
10 Then I heard a loud voice in heaven, proclaiming,
“Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Messiah,[a] for the accuser of our comrades[b] has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before our God. 11 But they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they did not cling to life even in the face of death. 12 Rejoice then, you heavens and those who dwell in them! But woe to the earth and the sea, for the devil has come down to you with great wrath, because he knows that his time is short!”
LET’s GO2 CAREERLINK, THE GYM, THE LIBRARY, ROTARY…
19 “There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day. 20 And at his gate lay a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, 21 who longed to satisfy his hunger with what fell from the rich man’s table; even the dogs would come and lick his sores. 22 The poor man died and was carried away by the angels to be with Abraham.[a] The rich man also died and was buried. 23 In Hades, where he was being tormented, he looked up and saw Abraham far away with Lazarus by his side.[b]24 He called out, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am in agony in these flames.’ 25 But Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that during your lifetime you received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner evil things; but now he is comforted here, and you are in agony. 26 Besides all this, between you and us a great chasm has been fixed, so that those who might want to pass from here to you cannot do so, and no one can cross from there to us.’ 27 He said, ‘Then, father, I beg you to send him to my father’s house— 28 for I have five brothers—that he may warn them, so that they will not also come into this place of torment.’ 29 Abraham replied, ‘They have Moses and the prophets; they should listen to them.’ 30 He said, ‘No, father Abraham; but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’ 31 He said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the prophets, neither will they be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.’”
28 The wicked flee when no one pursues, but the righteous are as bold as a lion. 2 When a land rebels it has many rulers; but with an intelligent ruler there is lasting order.[a] 3 A ruler[b] who oppresses the poor is a beating rain that leaves no food. 4 Those who forsake the law praise the wicked, but those who keep the law struggle against them. 5 The evil do not understand justice, but those who seek the Lord understand it completely. 6 Better to be poor and walk in integrity than to be crooked in one’s ways even though rich. 7 Those who keep the law are wise children, but companions of gluttons shame their parents. 8 One who augments wealth by exorbitant interest gathers it for another who is kind to the poor. 9 When one will not listen to the law, even one’s prayers are an abomination. 10 Those who mislead the upright into evil ways will fall into pits of their own making, but the blameless will have a goodly inheritance. 11 The rich is wise in self-esteem, but an intelligent poor person sees through the pose. 12 When the righteous triumph, there is great glory, but when the wicked prevail, people go into hiding. 13 No one who conceals transgressions will prosper, but one who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy. 14 Happy is the one who is never without fear, but one who is hard-hearted will fall into calamity. 15 Like a roaring lion or a charging bear is a wicked ruler over a poor people. 16 A ruler who lacks understanding is a cruel oppressor; but one who hates unjust gain will enjoy a long life. 17 If someone is burdened with the blood of another, let that killer be a fugitive until death; let no one offer assistance. 18 One who walks in integrity will be safe, but whoever follows crooked ways will fall into the Pit.[c] 19 Anyone who tills the land will have plenty of bread, but one who follows worthless pursuits will have plenty of poverty. 20 The faithful will abound with blessings, but one who is in a hurry to be rich will not go unpunished. 21 To show partiality is not good— yet for a piece of bread a person may do wrong. 22 The miser is in a hurry to get rich and does not know that loss is sure to come. 23 Whoever rebukes a person will afterward find more favor than one who flatters with the tongue. 24 Anyone who robs father or mother and says, “That is no crime,” is partner to a thug. 25 The greedy person stirs up strife, but whoever trusts in the Lord will be enriched. 26 Those who trust in their own wits are fools; but those who walk in wisdom come through safely. 27 Whoever gives to the poor will lack nothing, but one who turns a blind eye will get many a curse. 28 When the wicked prevail, people go into hiding; but when they perish, the righteous increase.
1 Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord, O my soul! 2 I will praise the Lord as long as I live; I will sing praises to my God all my life long.
3 Do not put your trust in princes, in mortals, in whom there is no help. 4 When their breath departs, they return to the earth; on that very day their plans perish.
5 Happy are those whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord their God, 6 who made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them; who keeps faith forever; 7 who executes justice for the oppressed; who gives food to the hungry.
The Lord sets the prisoners free; 8 the Lord opens the eyes of the blind. The Lord lifts up those who are bowed down; the Lord loves the righteous. 9 The Lord watches over the strangers; he upholds the orphan and the widow, but the way of the wicked he brings to ruin.
10 The Lord will reign forever, your God, O Zion, for all generations. Praise the Lord!
LET’S GO2 CAREERLINK, THE GYM, THE LIBRARY…
DON’T FORGET OUR MEETING TONIGHT IN ELIZABETHTOWN…
21 The king’s heart is a stream of water in the hand of the Lord; he turns it wherever he will. 2 All deeds are right in the sight of the doer, but the Lord weighs the heart. 3 To do righteousness and justice is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice. 4 Haughty eyes and a proud heart— the lamp of the wicked—are sin. 5 The plans of the diligent lead surely to abundance, but everyone who is hasty comes only to want. 6 The getting of treasures by a lying tongue is a fleeting vapor and a snare[a] of death. 7 The violence of the wicked will sweep them away, because they refuse to do what is just. 8 The way of the guilty is crooked, but the conduct of the pure is right. 9 It is better to live in a corner of the housetop than in a house shared with a contentious wife. 10 The souls of the wicked desire evil; their neighbors find no mercy in their eyes. 11 When a scoffer is punished, the simple become wiser; when the wise are instructed, they increase in knowledge. 12 The Righteous One observes the house of the wicked; he casts the wicked down to ruin. 13 If you close your ear to the cry of the poor, you will cry out and not be heard. 14 A gift in secret averts anger; and a concealed bribe in the bosom, strong wrath. 15 When justice is done, it is a joy to the righteous, but dismay to evildoers. 16 Whoever wanders from the way of understanding will rest in the assembly of the dead. 17 Whoever loves pleasure will suffer want; whoever loves wine and oil will not be rich. 18 The wicked is a ransom for the righteous, and the faithless for the upright. 19 It is better to live in a desert land than with a contentious and fretful wife. 20 Precious treasure remains[b] in the house of the wise, but the fool devours it. 21 Whoever pursues righteousness and kindness will find life[c] and honor. 22 One wise person went up against a city of warriors and brought down the stronghold in which they trusted. 23 To watch over mouth and tongue is to keep out of trouble. 24 The proud, haughty person, named “Scoffer,” acts with arrogant pride. 25 The craving of the lazy person is fatal, for lazy hands refuse to labor.
DO-N-GOOD.COM 