Study Desk

"Don't listen to Hezekiah. The king of Assyria says, ‘Make peace with me, and come out of the city to me. Then everyone will be free to eat the fruit from his own grapevine and fig tree and to drink water from his own well.

"Don't let Hezekiah fool you, saying, ‘The Lord will save us.' Has a god of any other nation saved his people from the power of the king of Assyria?

Not one of all the gods of these countries has saved his people from me. Neither can the Lord save Jerusalem from my power."

When King Hezekiah heard the message, he tore his clothes and put on rough cloth to show how sad he was. Then he went into the Temple of the Lord .

The king of Assyria sent his field commander to make fun of the living God. Maybe the Lord your God will hear what the commander said and will punish him for it. So pray for the few of us who are left alive."

Listen! I am going to put a spirit in the king of Assyria. He will hear a report that will make him return to his own country, and I will cause him to die by the sword there.'"

He will return to his country the same way he came, and he will not enter this city,' says the Lord .

One day as Sennacherib was worshiping in the temple of his god Nisroch, his sons Adrammelech and Sharezer killed him with a sword. Then they escaped to the land of Ararat. So Sennacherib's son Esarhaddon became king of Assyria.

Then the Lord spoke his word to Isaiah:

The people who are alive are the ones who praise you. They praise you as I praise you today. A father should tell his children that you provide help.

Hezekiah was pleased and showed the messengers what was in his storehouses: the silver, gold, spices, expensive perfumes, his swords and shields, and all his wealth. He showed them everything in his palace and in his kingdom.

Look, the Lord God is coming with power to rule all the people. Look, he will bring reward for his people; he will have their payment with him.

He takes care of his people like a shepherd. He gathers them like lambs in his arms and carries them close to him. He gently leads the mothers of the lambs.

Who has measured the oceans in the palm of his hand? Who has used his hand to measure the sky? Who has used a bowl to measure all the dust of the earth and scales to weigh the mountains and hills?

The nations are like one small drop in a bucket; they are no more than the dust on his measuring scales. To him the islands are no more than fine dust on his scales.

God sits on his throne above the circle of the earth, and compared to him, people are like grasshoppers. He stretches out the skies like a piece of cloth and spreads them out like a tent to sit under.

Surely you know. Surely you have heard. The Lord is the God who lives forever, who created all the world. He does not become tired or need to rest. No one can understand how great his wisdom is.

"Who caused the one to come from the east? Who gives him victories everywhere he goes? The one who brought him gives nations over to him and defeats kings. He uses his sword, and kings become like dust. He uses his bow, and they are blown away like chaff.

he will not lose hope or give up until he brings justice to the world. And people far away will trust his teachings."

Sing a new song to the Lord ; sing his praise everywhere on the earth. Praise him, you people who sail on the seas and you animals who live in them. Praise him, you people living in faraway places.