Hello, this is Father Paul, and I'm glad we're
taking this journey together to read the Bible
in a year. Today's reading is from 2 Kings 20,
as well as Isaiah 38. 2 Kings 20 In those days
Hezekiah was sick and near death. And Isaiah
the prophet, the son of Amoz, went to him and
said to him, Thus says the Lord, Set your house
in order, for you shall die and not live. Then
he turned his face toward the wall and prayed
to the Lord, saying, Remember now, O Lord, I
pray, how I have walked before you in truth and
with a loyal heart, and have done what was good
in your sight. And Hezekiah wept bitterly. And
it happened before Isaiah had gone out into the
middle court, that the word of the Lord came
to him, saying, Return and tell 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, surely I will heal you.
On the third day you shall go up to the house
of the Lord, and I will add to your days fifteen
years. 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 the sake of
my servant David. Then Isaiah said, Take a lump
of figs. So they took it and laid it on the boil,
and he recovered. And Hezekiah said to Isaiah,
What is the sign that the Lord will heal me,
and that I shall go up to the house of the Lord
the third day? Then Isaiah said, This is the
sign to you from the Lord, that the Lord will
do the thing which he has spoken. Shall the shadow
go forward ten degrees, or go backward ten degrees?
And Hezekiah answered, It is an easy thing for
the shadow to go down ten degrees. No, but let
the shadow go backward ten degrees. So Isaiah
the prophet cried out to the Lord, and he brought
the shadow ten degrees backward, by which it
had gone down on the sundial of Ahaz. At that
time, Berodog Baladan, the son of Baladan, king
of Babylon, sent letters and a present to Hezekiah.
For he heard that Hezekiah had been sick, and
Hezekiah was attentive to them, and showed them
all the house of his treasures, the silver and
gold, the spices and precious ointment, and all
his armory, all that was found among his treasures.
There was nothing in his house or in all his
dominion that Hezekiah did not show them. Then
Isaiah the prophet went to King Hezekiah and
said to him, What did these men say? And from
where did they come to you? So Hezekiah said,
They came from a far country, from Babylon. And
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 treasures
that I have not shown 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 what your fathers have accumulated
until this day shall be carried to Babylon. Nothing
shall be left, says the Lord. And they shall
take away some of your sons who will descend
from you, whom you will beget, and they shall
be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.
So Hezekiah said to Isaiah, The word of the Lord
which you have spoken is good. For he said, Will
there not be peace and truth at least in my days?
Now the rest of the acts of Hezekiah, all his
might, and how he made a pool and a tunnel and
brought water into the city, are they not written
in the book of the chronicles of the kings of
Judah? So Hezekiah rested with his fathers, then
Manasseh his son reigned in his place. In those
days Hezekiah was sick and near death, and Isaiah
the prophet, the son of Amoz, went to him and
said to him, Thus says the Lord, set your house
in order, for you shall die and not live. Then
Hezekiah turned his face toward the wall and
prayed to the Lord, and said, Remember now, O
Lord, I pray, how I have walked before you in
truth and with a loyal heart, and have done what
is good in your sight. And Hezekiah wept bitterly.
And the word of the Lord came to Isaiah, saying,
Go and tell Hezekiah, Thus says the Lord, the
God of David your father, I have heard your prayer.
I have seen your tears, surely I will add to
your days fifteen years. I will deliver you and
this city from the hand of the king of Assyria,
and I will defend this city. And this is the
sign to you from the Lord, that the Lord will
do this thing which he has spoken. Behold, I
will bring the shadow on the sundial which has
gone down with the sun on the sundial of Ahaz
ten degrees backward. So the sun returned ten
degrees on the dial by which it had gone down.
This is the writing of Hezekiah, king of Judah,
when he had been sick and had recovered from
his sickness. From day until night you make an
end of me. I have considered until morning, like
a lion, so he breaks all my bones. From day until
night you make an end of me, like a crane or
a swallow, so I chattered. I mourned like a dove.
My eyes fail from looking upward. O Lord, I am
oppressed. Undertake for me. What shall I say?
He has both spoken to me, and he himself has
done it. I shall walk carefully all my years
in the bitterness of my soul. O Lord, by these
things men live, and in all these things is the
life of my spirit. So you will restore me and
make me live. Indeed, it was for my own peace
that I had great bitterness. But you have lovingly
delivered my soul from the pit of corruption,
for you have cast all my sins behind your back.
For Sheol cannot thank you, death cannot praise
you. Those who go down to the pit cannot hope
for your truth. The living, the living man, he
shall praise you. As I do this day, the Father
shall make known your truth to the children.
The Lord was ready to save me. Therefore we will
sing my songs with stringed instruments all the
days of our life in the house of the Lord. Now
Isaiah had said, Let them take a lump of figs
and apply it as a poultice on the boil, and he
shall recover. And Hezekiah had said, What is
the sign that I shall go up to the house of the
Lord? I hope you enjoyed today's reading as much
as I did and I look forward to seeing you again
tomorrow to continue on our journey. God bless
you and have a great day.