2 Kings 20

HEZEKIAH’S ILLNESS AND RECOVERY
In those days Hezekiah became terminally ill. The prophet Isaiah son of Amoz came and said to him, “This is what the Lord says: ‘Set your house in order, for you are about to die; you will not recover.’ ”

2 Then Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the Lord, 3“Please, Lord, remember how I have walked before you faithfully and wholeheartedly and have done what pleases you.” And Hezekiah wept bitterly.

4 Isaiah had not yet gone out of the inner courtyard when the word of the Lord came to him: 5 “Go back and tell Hezekiah, the leader of my people, ‘This is what the Lord God of your ancestor David says: I have heard your prayer; I have seen your tears. Look, I will heal you. On the third day from now you will go up to the Lord’s temple. 6 I will add fifteen years to your life. I will rescue you and this city from the grasp of the king of Assyria. I will defend this city for my sake and for the sake of my servant David.’ ”

7 Then Isaiah said, “Bring a lump of pressed figs.” So they brought it and applied it to his infected skin, and he recovered.

8 Hezekiah had asked Isaiah, “What is the sign that the Lord will heal me and that I will go up to the Lord’s temple on the third day? ”

9 Isaiah said, “This is the sign to you from the Lord that he will do what he has promised: Should the shadow go ahead ten steps or go back ten steps? ”

10 Then Hezekiah answered, “It’s easy for the shadow to lengthen ten steps. No, let the shadow go back ten steps.” 11 So the prophet Isaiah called out to the Lord, and he brought the shadow back the ten steps it had descended on the stairway of Ahaz.

HEZEKIAH’S FOLLY
12 At that time Merodach-baladan son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent letters and a gift to Hezekiah since he heard that he had been sick. 13 Hezekiah listened to the letters and showed the envoys his whole treasure house ​— ​the silver, the gold, the spices, and the precious oil ​— ​and his armory, and everything that was found in his treasuries. There was nothing in his palace and in all his realm that Hezekiah did not show them.

14 Then the prophet Isaiah came to King Hezekiah and asked him, “Where did these men come from and what did they say to you? ”

Hezekiah replied, “They came from a distant country, from Babylon.”

15 Isaiah asked, “What have they seen in your palace? ”

Hezekiah answered, “They have seen everything in my palace. There isn’t anything in my treasuries that I didn’t show them.”

16 Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, “Hear the word of the Lord: 17 ‘Look, the days are coming when everything in your palace and all that your predecessors have stored up until today will be carried off to Babylon; nothing will be left,’ says the Lord. 18 ‘Some of your descendants ​— ​who come from you, whom you father ​— ​will be taken away, and they will become eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.’ ”

19 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 during my lifetime?”

HEZEKIAH’S DEATH
20 The rest of the events of Hezekiah’s reign, along with all his might and how he made the pool and the tunnel and brought water into the city, are written in the Historical Record of Judah’s Kings. 21 Hezekiah rested with his ancestors, and his son Manasseh became king in his place.

Hebrews 2

WARNING AGAINST NEGLECT
For this reason, we must pay attention all the more to what we have heard, so that we will not drift away.
2 For if the message spoken through angels was legally binding and every transgression and disobedience received a just punishment, 3 how will we escape if we neglect such a great salvation? This salvation had its beginning when it was spoken of by the Lord, and it was confirmed to us by those who heard him. 4 At the same time, God also testified by signs and wonders, various miracles, and distributions of gifts from the Holy Spirit according to his will.

JESUS AND HUMANITY
5 For he has not subjected to angels the world to come that we are talking about. 6 But someone somewhere has testified:

What is man that you remember him,

or the son of man that you care for him?

7 You made him lower than the angels

for a short time;

you crowned him with glory and honor

8 and subjected everything under his feet.

For in subjecting everything to him, he left nothing that is not subject to him. As it is, we do not yet see everything subjected to him. 9 But we do see Jesus ​— ​made lower than the angels for a short time so that by God’s grace he might taste death for everyone ​— ​crowned with glory and honor because he suffered death.

10 For in bringing many sons and daughters to glory, it was entirely appropriate that God ​— ​for whom and through whom all things exist ​— ​should make the pioneer of their salvation perfect through sufferings. 11 For the one who sanctifies and those who are sanctified all have one Father. That is why Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers and sisters, 12 saying:

I will proclaim your name to my brothers and sisters;

I will sing hymns to you in the congregation.

13 Again, I will trust in him. And again, Here I am with the children God gave me.

14 Now since the children have flesh and blood in common, Jesus also shared in these, so that through his death he might destroy the one holding the power of death ​— ​that is, the devil ​— ​15 and free those who were held in slavery all their lives by the fear of death. 16 For it is clear that he does not reach out to help angels, but to help Abraham’s offspring. 17 Therefore, he had to be like his brothers and sisters in every way, so that he could become a merciful and faithful high priest in matters pertaining to God, to make atonement for the sins of the people. 18 For since he himself has suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are tempted.

Hosea 13

When Ephraim spoke, there was trembling;
he was exalted in Israel.
But he incurred guilt through Baal and died.
2 Now they continue to sin
and make themselves a cast image,
idols skillfully made from their silver,
all of them the work of craftsmen.
People say about them,
“Let the men who sacrifice kiss the calves.”
3 Therefore, they will be like the morning mist,
like the early dew that vanishes,
like chaff blown from a threshing floor,
or like smoke from a window.
DEATH AND RESURRECTION
4 I have been the Lord your God
ever since the land of Egypt;
you know no God but me,
and no Savior exists besides me.
5 I knew you in the wilderness,
in the land of drought.
6 When they had pasture,
they became satisfied;
they were satisfied,
and their hearts became proud.
Therefore they forgot me.
7 So I will be like a lion to them;
I will lurk like a leopard on the path.
8 I will attack them
like a bear robbed of her cubs
and tear open the rib cage over their hearts.
I will devour them there like a lioness,
like a wild beast that would rip them open.
9 I will destroy you, Israel;
you have no help but me.
10 Where now is your king,
that he may save you in all your cities,
and the rulers you demanded, saying,
“Give me a king and leaders”?
11 I give you a king in my anger
and take away a king in my wrath.
12 Ephraim’s guilt is preserved;
his sin is stored up.
13 Labor pains come on him.
He is not a wise son;
when the time comes,
he will not be born.
14 I will ransom them from the power of Sheol.
I will redeem them from death.
Death, where are your barbs?
Sheol, where is your sting?
Compassion is hidden from my eyes.
THE COMING JUDGMENT
15 Although he flourishes among his brothers,
an east wind will come,
a wind from the Lord rising up from the desert.
His water source will fail,
and his spring will run dry.
The wind will plunder the treasury
of every precious item.
16 Samaria will bear her guilt
because she has rebelled against her God.
They will fall by the sword;
their children will be dashed to pieces,
and their pregnant women ripped open.

Psalm 74

PRAYER FOR ISRAEL
A Maskil of Asaph.

Why have you rejected us forever, God?
Why does your anger burn
against the sheep of your pasture?
2 Remember your congregation,
which you purchased long ago
and redeemed as the tribe for your own possession.
Remember Mount Zion where you dwell.
3 Make your way to the perpetual ruins,
to all that the enemy has destroyed in the sanctuary.
4 Your adversaries roared in the meeting place
where you met with us.
They set up their emblems as signs.
5 It was like men in a thicket of trees,
wielding axes,
6 then smashing all the carvings
with hatchets and picks.
7 They set your sanctuary on fire;
they utterly desecrated
the dwelling place of your name.
8 They said in their hearts,
“Let’s oppress them relentlessly.”
They burned every place throughout the land
where God met with us.
9 There are no signs for us to see.
There is no longer a prophet.
And none of us knows how long this will last.
10 God, how long will the enemy mock?
Will the foe insult your name forever?
11 Why do you hold back your hand?
Stretch out your right hand and destroy them!
12 God my King is from ancient times,
performing saving acts on the earth.
13 You divided the sea with your strength;
you smashed the heads of the sea monsters in the water;
14 you crushed the heads of Leviathan;
you fed him to the creatures of the desert.
15 You opened up springs and streams;
you dried up ever-flowing rivers.
16 The day is yours, also the night;
you established the moon and the sun.
17 You set all the boundaries of the earth;
you made summer and winter.
18 Remember this: the enemy has mocked the Lord,
and a foolish people has insulted your name.
19 Do not give to beasts the life of your dove;
do not forget the lives of your poor people forever.
20 Consider the covenant,
for the dark places of the land are full of violence.
21 Do not let the oppressed turn away in shame;
let the poor and needy praise your name.
22 Rise up, God, champion your cause!
Remember the insults
that fools bring against you all day long.
23 Do not forget the clamor of your adversaries,
the tumult of your opponents that goes up constantly.

— 2 Kings 20, Hebrews 2, Hosea 13, Psalm 74 (CSB)