Day 112 The Bible in a Year (Orthodox canon)

2 Kings 18

1 And it came to pass in the third year of Osee son of Ela king of Israel [that] Ezekias son of Achaz king of Juda began to reign. 2 Five and twenty years old was he when he began to reign, and he reigned twenty and nine years in Jerusalem: and his mother's name [was] Abu, daughter of Zacharias. 3 And he did that which was right in the sight of the Lord, according to all that his father David did. 4 He removed the high places, and broke in pieces the pillars, and utterly destroyed the groves, and the brazen serpent which Moses made: because until those days the children of Israel burnt incense to it: and he called it Neesthan. 5 He trusted in the Lord God of Israel; and after him there was not any like him among the kings of Juda, nor among those that were before him. 6 And he clave to the Lord, he departed not from following him; and he kept his commandments, as many as he commanded Moses. 7 And the Lord was with him; and he was wise in all that he undertook: and he revolted from the king of the Assyrians, and served him not. 8 He smote the Philistines [even] to Gaza, and to the border of it, from the tower of the watchmen even to the strong city. 9 And it came to pass in the fourth year of king Ezekias (this is the seventh year of Osee son of Ela king of Israel,) [that] Salamanassar king of the Assyrians came up against Samaria, and besieged it. 10 And he took it at the end of three years, in the sixth year of Ezekias, (this [is] the ninth year of Osee king of Israel, when Samaria was taken.) 11 And the king of the Assyrians carried away the Samaritans to Assyria, and put them in Alaë and in Abor, [by] the river Gozan, and [in] the mountains of the Medes; 12 because they hearkened not to the voice of the Lord their God, and transgressed his covenant, [even] in all things that Moses the servant of the Lord commanded, and hearkened not [to them], nor did [them]. 13 And in the fourteenth year of king Ezekias came up Sennacherim king of the Assyrians against the strong cities of Juda, and took them. 14 And Ezekias king of Juda sent messengers to the king of the Assyrians to Lachis, saying, I have offended; depart from me: whatsoever thou shalt lay upon me, I will bear. And the king of Assyria laid upon Ezekias king of Juda [a tribute of] three hundred talents of silver, and thirty talents of gold. 15 And Ezekias gave all the silver that was found in the house of the Lord, and in the treasures of the king's house. 16 At that time Ezekias cut off [the gold from] the doors of the temple, and [from] the pillars which Ezekias king of Juda [had] overlaid with gold, and gave it to the king of the Assyrians. 17 And the king of the Assyrians sent Tharthan and Raphis and Rapsakes from Lachis to king Ezekias with a strong force against Jerusalem. And they went up and came to Jerusalem, and stood by the aqueduct of the upper pool, which is by the way of the fuller's field. 18 And they cried to Ezekias: and there came to him Heliakim the son of Chelcias the steward, and Somnas the scribe, and Joas the son of Saphat the recorder. 19 And Rapsakes said to them, Say now to Ezekias, Thus says the king, the great king of the Assyrians, What [is] this confidence wherein thou trustest? 20 Thou hast said, (but [they are] mere words,) [I have] counsel and strength for war. Now then in whom dost thou trust, that thou hast revolted from me? 21 See now, art thou trusting for thyself on this broken staff of reed, [even] upon Egypt? whosoever shall stay himself upon it, it shall even go into his hand, and pierce it: so [is] Pharao king of Egypt to all that trust on him. 22 And whereas thou hast said to me, We trust on the Lord God: [is] not this he, whose high places and altars Ezekias has removed, and has said to Juda and Jerusalem, Ye shall worship before this altar in Jerusalem? 23 And now, I pray you, make an agreement with my lord the king of the Assyrians, and I will give thee two thousand horses, if thou shalt be able on thy part to set riders upon them. 24 How then wilt thou turn away the face of one petty governor from among the least of my lord's servants? whereas thou trustest for thyself on Egypt for chariots and horsemen. 25 And now have we come up without the Lord against this place to destroy it? The Lord said to me, Go up against this land, and destroy it. 26 And Heliakim the son of Chelkias, and Somnas, and Joas, said to Rapsakes, Speak now to thy servants in the Syrian language, for we understand it; and speak not with us in the Jewish language: and why dost thou speak in the ears of the people that are on the wall? 27 And Rapsakes said to them, Has my master sent me to thy master, and to thee, to speak these words? [has he] not [sent me] to the men who sit on the wall, that they may eat their own dung, and drink their own water together with you? 28 And Rapsakes stood, and cried with a loud voice in the Jewish language, and spoke, and said, Hear the words of the great king of the Assyrians: 29 thus says the king, Let not Ezekias encourage you with words: for he shall not be able to deliver you out of his hand. 30 And let not Ezekias cause you to trust on the Lord, saying, The Lord will certainly deliver us; this city shall not be delivered into the hand of the king of the Assyrians: hearken not to Ezekias: 31 for thus says the king of the Assyrians, Gain my favour, and come forth to me, and every man shall drink [of the wine] of his own vine, and every man shall eat of his own fig-tree, and shall drink water out of his own cistern; 32 until I come and remove you to a land like your own land, a land of corn and wine, and bread and vineyards, a land of olive oil, and honey, and ye shall live and not die: and do not ye hearken to Ezekias, for he deceives you, saying, The Lord shall deliver you. 33 Have the gods of the nations at all delivered each their own land out of the hand of the king of the Assyrians? 34 Where is the god of Hæmath, and of Arphad? where is the god of Seppharvaim, Ana, and Aba? for have they delivered Samaria out of my hand? 35 Who [is there] among all the gods of the countries, who have delivered their countries out of my hand, that the Lord should deliver Jerusalem out of my hand? 36 But [the men] were silent, and answered him not a word: for [there was] a commandment of the king, saying, Ye shall not answer him. 37 And Heliakim the son of Chelcias, the steward, and Somnas the scribe, and Joas the son of Saphat the recorder came in to Ezekias, having rent their garments; and they reported to him the words of Rapsakes.

2 Kings 19

1 And it came to pass when king Ezekias heard it, that he rent his clothes, and put on sackcloth, and went into the house of the Lord. 2 And he sent Heliakim the steward, and Somnas the scribe, and the elders of the priests, clothed with sackcloth, to Esaias the prophet the son of Amos. 3 And they said to him, Thus says Ezekias, This day [is] a day of tribulation, and rebuke, and provocation: for the children are come to the travail-[pangs], but the mother has no strength. 4 Peradventure the Lord thy God will hear all the words of Rapsakes, whom the king of Assyria his master has sent to reproach the living God and to revile him with the words which the Lord thy God has heard: and thou shalt offer [thy] prayer for the remnant that is found. 5 So the servants of king Ezekias came to Esaias. 6 And Esaias said to them, Thus shall ye say to your master, Thus saith the Lord, Be not afraid of the words which thou hast heard, wherewith the servants of the king of the Assyrians have blasphemed. 7 Behold, I send a blast upon him, and he shall hear a report, and shall return to his own land; and I will overthrow him with the sword in his own land. 8 So Rapsakes returned, and found the king of Assyria warring against Lobna: for he heard that he [had] departed from Lachis. 9 And he heard concerning Tharaca king of the Ethiopians, saying, Behold, he is come forth to fight with thee: and he returned, and sent messengers to Ezekias, saying, 10 Let not thy God on whom thou trustest encourage thee, saying, Jerusalem shall not be delivered into the hands of the king of the Assyrians. 11 Behold, thou hast heard all that the kings of the Assyrians have done in all the lands, to waste them utterly: and shalt thou be delivered? 12 Have the gods of the nations at all delivered them, whom my fathers destroyed; both Gozan, and Charran, and Raphis, and the sons of Edem who were in Thaesthen? 13 Where is the king of Hæmath, and the king of Arphad? and where is the king of the city of Seppharvaim, of Ana, and Aba? 14 And Ezekias took the letter from the hand of the messengers, and read it: and he went up to the house of the Lord, and Ezekias spread it before the Lord, 15 and said, O Lord God of Israel, that dwellest over the cherubs, thou art the only God in all the kingdoms of the earth; thou hast made heaven and earth. 16 Incline thine ear, O Lord, and hear: open, Lord, thine eyes, and see: and hear the words of Sennacherim, which he has sent to reproach the living God. 17 For truly, Lord, the kings of Assyria have wasted the nations, 18 and have cast their gods into the fire: because they are no gods, but the works of men's hands, wood and stone; and they have destroyed them. 19 And now, O Lord our God, deliver us out of his hand, and all the kingdoms of the earth shall know that thou alone [art] the Lord God. 20 And Esaias the son of Amos sent to Ezekias, saying, Thus saith the Lord God of hosts, the God of Israel, I have heard thy prayer to me concerning Sennacherim king of the Assyrians. 21 This [is] the word which the Lord has spoken against him; The virgin daughter of Sion has made light of thee, and mocked thee; the daughter of Jerusalem has shaken her head at thee. 22 Whom hast thou reproached, and whom hast thou reviled? and against whom hast thou lifted up thy voice, and raised thine eyes on high? [Is it] against the Holy One of Israel? 23 By thy messengers thou hast reproached the Lord, and hast said, I will go up with the multitude of my chariots, to the height of the mountains, to the sides of Libanus, and I have cut down the height of his cedar, [and] his choice cypresses; and I have come into the midst of the forest and of Carmel. 24 I have refreshed [myself], and have drunk strange waters, and I have dried up with the sole of my foot all the rivers of fortified places. 25 I have brought about [the matter], I have brought it to a conclusion; and it is come to the destruction of the bands of warlike prisoners, [even of] strong cities. 26 And they that dwelt in them were weak in hand, they quaked and were confounded, they became [as] grass of the field, or [as] the green herb, the grass [growing on] houses, and that which is trodden down by him that stands [upon it]. 27 But I know thy down-sitting, and thy going forth, and thy rage against me. 28 Because thou wast angry against me, and thy fierceness is come up into my ears, therefore will I put my hooks in thy nostrils, and my bridle in thy lips, and I will turn thee back by the way by which thou camest. 29 And this shall be a sign to thee; eat this year the things that grow of themselves, and in the second year the things which spring up: and in the third year [let there be] sowing, and reaping, and planting of vineyards, and eat ye the fruit of them. 30 And he shall increase him that has escaped of the house of Juda: and the remnant [shall strike] root beneath, and it shall produce fruit above. 31 For from Jerusalem shall go forth a remnant, and he that escapes from the mountain of Sion: the zeal of the Lord of hosts shall do this. 32 [Is it] not so? Thus saith the Lord concerning the king of the Assyrians, He shall not enter into this city, and he shall not shoot an arrow there, neither shall a shield come against it, neither shall he heap a mound against it. 33 By the way by which he comes, by it shall he return, and he shall not enter into this city, saith the Lord. 34 And I will defend this city as with a shield, for my own sake, and for my servant David's sake. 35 And it came to pass at night that the angel of the Lord went forth, and smote in the camp of the Assyrians a hundred and eighty-five thousand: and they rose early in the morning, and, behold, [these were] all dead corpses. 36 And Sennacherim king of the Assyrians departed, and went and returned, and dwelt in Nineve. 37 And it came to pass, while he was worshipping in the house of Meserach his god, that Adramelech and Sarasar his sons smote him with the sword: and they escaped into the land of Ararath; and Asordan his son reigned in his stead.

2 Kings 20

1 In those days was Ezekias sick [even] to death. And the prophet Esaias the son of Amos came in to him, and said to him, Thus saith the Lord, Give charge to thy household; [for] thou shalt die, and not live. 2 And Ezekias turned to the wall, and prayed to the Lord, saying, 3 Lord, remember, I pray thee, how I have walked before thee in truth and with a perfect heart, and have done that which is good in thine eyes. And Ezekias wept with a great weeping. 4 And Esaias was in the middle court, and the word of the Lord came to him, saying, 5 Turn back, and thou shalt say to Ezekias the ruler of my people, Thus saith the Lord God of thy father David, I have heard thy prayer, I have seen thy tears: behold, I will heal thee: on the third day thou shalt go up to the house of the Lord. 6 And I will add to thy days fifteen years; and I will deliver thee and this city out of the hand of the king of the Assyrians, and I will defend this city for my own sake, and for my servant David's sake. 7 And he said, Let them take a cake of figs, and lay it upon the ulcer, and he shall be well. 8 And Ezekias said to Esaias, What [is] the sign that the Lord will heal me, and I shall go up to the house of the Lord on the third day? 9 And Esaias said, This [is] the sign from the Lord, that the Lord will perform the word which he has spoken, the shadow [of the dial] shall advance ten degrees: [or] if it should go back ten degrees [this would also be the sign]. 10 And Ezekias said, [It is] a light thing for the shadow to go down ten degrees: nay, but let the shadow return ten degrees backward on the dial. 11 And Esaias the prophet cried to the Lord: and the shadow returned back ten degrees on the dial. 12 At that time Marodach Baladan, son of Baladan king of Babylon, sent letters and a present to Ezekias, because he had heard that Ezekias was sick. 13 And Ezekias rejoiced at them, and shewed all the house of his spices, the silver and the gold, the spices, and the fine oil, and the armoury, and all that was found in his treasures: there was nothing which Ezekias did not shew them in his house, and in all his dominion. 14 And Esaias the prophet went in to king Ezekias, and said to him, What said these men? and whence came they to thee? And Ezekias said, They came to me from a distant land, [even] from Babylon. 15 And he said, What saw they in thy house? And he said, They saw all things that [are] in my house: there was nothing in my house which I shewed not to them; yea, all that was in my treasures also. 16 And Esaias said to Ezekias, Hear the word of the Lord: 17 Behold, the days come, that all things that are in thy house shall be taken, and all that thy fathers have treasured up until this day, to Babylon; and there shall not fail a word which the Lord has spoken. 18 And as for thy sons which shall come forth of thee, which thou shalt beget, [the enemy] shall take them, and they shall be eunuchs in the house of the king of Babylon. 19 And Ezekias said to Esaias, Good [is] the word of the Lord which he has spoken: [only] let there be peace in my days. 20 And the rest of the acts of Ezekias, and all his might, and all that he made, the fountain and the aqueduct, and [how] he brought water into the city, [are] not these things written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Juda? 21 And Ezekias slept with his fathers: and Manasses his son reigned in his stead.