Hezekiah’s Illness and Recovery

1 ^xIn those days ^yHezekiah 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, ^z‘Set your house in order, for you shall die; you shall not recover.’” 2 Then Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the Lord, saying, 3 “Now, O Lord, ^aplease remember how I have walked before you in faithfulness and ^bwith a whole heart, ^cand have done what is good in your sight.” ^dAnd Hezekiah wept bitterly. 4 And before Isaiah had gone out of the middle court, the word of the Lord came to him: 5 “Turn back, and say to Hezekiah ^ethe leader of my people, Thus says the Lord, the God of David your father: ^fI have heard your prayer; ^gI have seen your tears. Behold, I will heal you. On the third day you shall go up to the house of the Lord, 6 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, ^hand I will defend this city for my own sake and for my servant David’s sake.” 7 And Isaiah said, “Bring a cake of figs. And let them take and lay it on the boil, that he may recover.”

8 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?” 9 And Isaiah said, “This shall be ⁱthe 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?” 10 And Hezekiah answered, “It is an easy thing for the shadow ^jto lengthen ten steps. Rather let the shadow go back ten steps.” 11 And Isaiah the prophet called to the Lord, ^kand he brought the shadow back ten steps, by which it had gone down on the steps of Ahaz.

Hezekiah and the Babylonian Envoys

12 ^lAt that time ^mMerodach-baladan the son of Baladan, king of Babylon, ⁿsent envoys with letters and a present to Hezekiah, for he heard that Hezekiah had been sick. 13 And Hezekiah welcomed them, and he showed them ^oall 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. 14 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.” 15 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.”

16 Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, “Hear the word of the Lord: 17 Behold, the days are coming, when ^pall 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. 18 ^qAnd some of your own sons, who will come from you, whom you will father, shall be taken away, ^rand they shall be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.” 19 Then Hezekiah said to Isaiah, ^s“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?”

20 ^tThe rest of the deeds of Hezekiah and all his might and how he made ^uthe pool and the conduit ^vand brought water into the city, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah? 21 ^wAnd Hezekiah slept with his fathers, and Manasseh his son reigned in his place.

Warning Against Neglecting Salvation

1 Therefore we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it. 2 For since ^athe message declared by angels proved to be reliable, and ^bevery transgression or disobedience received a just ^cretribution, 3 ^dhow shall we escape if we ^eneglect such a great salvation? It was ^fdeclared at first by the Lord, and it was ^gattested to us ^hby those who heard, 4 ^gwhile God also bore witness ⁱby signs and wonders and various miracles and by ^jgifts of the Holy Spirit ^kdistributed according to his will.

The Founder of Salvation

5 For it was not to angels that God subjected the world ^lto come, of which we are speaking. 6 It has been testified somewhere,

Now in putting everything in subjection to him, he left nothing outside his control. At present, ⁿwe do not yet see everything in subjection to him. 9 But we see him ^owho for a little while was made lower than the angels, namely Jesus, ^pcrowned with glory and honor ^qbecause of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God he might ^rtaste death ^sfor everyone.

10 For it ^twas fitting that he, ^ufor whom and by whom all things exist, in bringing many sons ^vto glory, should make the ^wfounder of their salvation ^xperfect through suffering. 11 For ^yhe who sanctifies and ^zthose who are sanctified ^aall have one source.² That is why he is not ashamed to call them ^bbrothers,³ 12 saying,

13 And again,

And again,

14 Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise ^hpartook of the same things, that ⁱthrough death he might ^jdestroy ^kthe one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, 15 and deliver all those who ^lthrough fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery. 16 For surely it is not angels that he helps, but he ^mhelps the offspring of Abraham. 17 Therefore he had ⁿto be made like his brothers in every respect, ^oso that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest ^pin the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. 18 For because he himself has suffered ^qwhen tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.

How Shall We Sing the Lord’s Song?

Give Thanks to the Lord

Of David.

The Lord’s Relentless Judgment on Israel