ISAIAH 38

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Hezekiah Healed  38:1 In those days Hezekiah became mortally ill. 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 and not live.’” 2 Then Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the LORD, 3 and said, “Remember now, O LORD, 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 bitterly.
    4 Then the word of the LORD came to Isaiah, saying, 5 “Go and say to Hezekiah, ‘Thus says the LORD, 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 I will deliver you and this city from the hand of the king of Assyria; and I will defend this city.”’
    7 “This shall be the sign to you from the LORD, that the LORD will do this thing 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 the LORD,

The LORD 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 composed my soul until morning.

Like a lion--so He breaks all my bones,

From day until night You make an end of me.

14 “Like a swallow, like a crane, so I twitter;

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?

For 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 “Lo, for my own welfare I had great bitterness;

It is You who has kept 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 hope for Your faithfulness.

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

A father tells his sons about Your faithfulness.

20 “The LORD will surely save me;

So we will play my songs on stringed instruments

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

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

ISAIAH 39

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Hezekiah Shows His Treasures  39:1 At that time Merodach-baladan son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent letters and a present to Hezekiah, for he heard that he had been sick and had recovered. 2 Hezekiah was pleased, and showed them all his treasure house, the silver and the gold and the spices and the precious oil and his whole armory 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. 3 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 to me from a far country, from Babylon.” 4 He said, “What have they seen in your house?” So Hezekiah answered, “They have seen all that is in my house; there is nothing among my treasuries that I have not shown them.”
    5 Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, “Hear the word of the LORD of hosts, 6 ‘Behold, the days are coming when all that is in your house and all that your fathers have laid up in store to this day will be carried to Babylon; nothing will be left,’ says the LORD. 7 ‘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.’” 8 Then Hezekiah said to Isaiah, “The word of the LORD which you have spoken is good.” For he thought, “For there will be peace and truth in my days.”

PROVERBS 20

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On Life and Conduct20:1 Wine is a mocker, strong drink a brawler,

And whoever is intoxicated by it is not wise.

2 The terror of a king is like the growling of a lion;

He who provokes him to anger forfeits his own life.

3 Keeping away from strife is an honor for a man,

But any fool will quarrel.

4 The sluggard does not plow after the autumn,

So he begs during the harvest and has nothing.

5 A plan in the heart of a man is like deep water,

But a man of understanding draws it out.

6 Many a man proclaims his own loyalty,

But who can find a trustworthy man?

7 A righteous man who walks in his integrity--

How blessed are his sons after him.

8 A king who sits on the throne of justice

Disperses all evil with his eyes.

9 Who can say, “I have cleansed my heart,

I am pure from my sin”?

10 Differing weights and differing measures,

Both of them are abominable to the LORD.

11 It is by his deeds that a lad distinguishes himself

If his conduct is pure and right.

12 The hearing ear and the seeing eye,

The LORD has made both of them.

13 Do not love sleep, or you will become poor;

Open your eyes, and you will be satisfied with food.

14 “Bad, bad,” says the buyer,

But when he goes his way, then he boasts.

15 There is gold, and an abundance of jewels;

But the lips of knowledge are a more precious thing.

16 Take his garment when he becomes surety for a stranger;

And for foreigners, hold him in pledge.

17 Bread obtained by falsehood is sweet to a man,

But afterward his mouth will be filled with gravel.

18 Prepare plans by consultation,

And make war by wise guidance.

19 He who goes about as a slanderer reveals secrets,

Therefore do not associate with a gossip.

20 He who curses his father or his mother,

His lamp will go out in time of darkness.

21 An inheritance gained hurriedly at the beginning

Will not be blessed in the end.

22 Do not say, “I will repay evil”;

Wait for the LORD, and He will save you.

23 Differing weights are an abomination to the LORD,

And a false scale is not good.

24 Man’s steps are ordained by the LORD,

How then can man understand his way?

25 It is a trap for a man to say rashly, “It is holy!”

And after the vows to make inquiry.

26 A wise king winnows the wicked,

And drives the threshing wheel over them.

27 The spirit of man is the lamp of the LORD,

Searching all the innermost parts of his being.

28 Loyalty and truth preserve the king,

And he upholds his throne by righteousness.

29 The glory of young men is their strength,

And the honor of old men is their gray hair.

30 Stripes that wound scour away evil,

And strokes reach the innermost parts.

PSALM 110

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The LORD Gives Dominion to the King.A Psalm of David.
110:1 The LORD says to my Lord:

“Sit at My right hand

Until I make Your enemies a footstool for Your feet.”

2 The LORD will stretch forth Your strong scepter from Zion, saying,

“Rule in the midst of Your enemies.”

3 Your people will volunteer freely in the day of Your power;

In holy array, from the womb of the dawn,

Your youth are to You as the dew.

4 The LORD has sworn and will not change His mind,

“You are a priest forever

According to the order of Melchizedek.”

5 The Lord is at Your right hand;

He will shatter kings in the day of His wrath.

6 He will judge among the nations,

He will fill them with corpses,

He will shatter the chief men over a broad country.

7 He will drink from the brook by the wayside;

Therefore He will lift up His head.

PSALM 111

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The LORD Praised for His Goodness.111:1 Praise the LORD!

I will give thanks to the LORD with all my heart,

In the company of the upright and in the assembly.

2 Great are the works of the LORD;

They are studied by all who delight in them.

3 Splendid and majestic is His work,

And His righteousness endures forever.

4 He has made His wonders to be remembered;

The LORD is gracious and compassionate.

5 He has given food to those who fear Him;

He will remember His covenant forever.

6 He has made known to His people the power of His works,

In giving them the heritage of the nations.

7 The works of His hands are truth and justice;

All His precepts are sure.

8 They are upheld forever and ever;

They are performed in truth and uprightness.

9 He has sent redemption to His people;

He has ordained His covenant forever;

Holy and awesome is His name.

10 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom;

A good understanding have all those who do His commandments;

His praise endures forever.