the Third Week after Easter
free while helping to build churches and support pastors in Uganda.
Click here to learn more!
Bible Reading Plan
Daily Bible Reading
September 21 - Bible-in-a-Year
niv
2 Chronicles 32
Chapter 32
Sennacherib Threatens Jerusalem(a)(b)
1 After all that Hezekiah had so faithfully done, Sennacherib(c) king of Assyria came and invaded Judah. He laid siege to the fortified cities, thinking to conquer them for himself. 2 When Hezekiah saw that Sennacherib had come and that he intended to wage war against Jerusalem,(d) 3 he consulted with his officials and military staff about blocking off the water from the springs outside the city, and they helped him. 4 They gathered a large group of people who blocked all the springs(e) and the stream that flowed through the land. "Why should the kings[a] of Assyria come and find plenty of water?" they said. 5 Then he worked hard repairing all the broken sections of the wall(f) and building towers on it. He built another wall outside that one and reinforced the terraces[b](g) of the City of David. He also made large numbers of weapons(h) and shields.
6 He appointed military officers over the people and assembled them before him in the square at the city gate and encouraged them with these words: 7 "Be strong and courageous.(i) Do not be afraid or discouraged(j) because of the king of Assyria and the vast army with him, for there is a greater power with us than with him.(k) 8 With him is only the arm of flesh,(l) but with us(m) is the Lord our God to help us and to fight our battles."(n) And the people gained confidence from what Hezekiah the king of Judah said.
9 Later, when Sennacherib king of Assyria and all his forces were laying siege to Lachish,(o) he sent his officers to Jerusalem with this message for Hezekiah king of Judah and for all the people of Judah who were there:
10 "This is what Sennacherib king of Assyria says: On what are you basing your confidence,(p) that you remain in Jerusalem under siege? 11 When Hezekiah says, ‘The Lord our God will save us from the hand of the king of Assyria,' he is misleading(q) you, to let you die of hunger and thirst. 12 Did not Hezekiah himself remove this god's high places and altars, saying to Judah and Jerusalem, ‘You must worship before one altar(r) and burn sacrifices on it'?
13 "Do you not know what I and my predecessors have done to all the peoples of the other lands? Were the gods of those nations ever able to deliver their land from my hand?(s) 14 Who of all the gods of these nations that my predecessors destroyed has been able to save his people from me? How then can your god deliver you from my hand? 15 Now do not let Hezekiah deceive(t) you and mislead you like this. Do not believe him, for no god of any nation or kingdom has been able to deliver(u) his people from my hand or the hand of my predecessors.(v) How much less will your god deliver you from my hand!"
16 Sennacherib's officers spoke further against the Lord God and against his servant Hezekiah. 17 The king also wrote letters(w) ridiculing(x) the Lord , the God of Israel, and saying this against him: "Just as the gods(y) of the peoples of the other lands did not rescue their people from my hand, so the god of Hezekiah will not rescue his people from my hand." 18 Then they called out in Hebrew to the people of Jerusalem who were on the wall, to terrify them and make them afraid in order to capture the city. 19 They spoke about the God of Jerusalem as they did about the gods of the other peoples of the world—the work of human hands.(z)
20 King Hezekiah and the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz cried out in prayer(aa) to heaven about this. 21 And the Lord sent an angel,(ab) who annihilated all the fighting men and the commanders and officers in the camp of the Assyrian king. So he withdrew to his own land in disgrace. And when he went into the temple of his god, some of his sons, his own flesh and blood, cut him down with the sword.(ac)
22 So the Lord saved Hezekiah and the people of Jerusalem from the hand of Sennacherib king of Assyria and from the hand of all others. He took care of them[c] on every side. 23 Many brought offerings to Jerusalem for the Lord and valuable gifts(ad) for Hezekiah king of Judah. From then on he was highly regarded by all the nations.
Hezekiah's Pride, Success and Death(ae)
24 In those days Hezekiah became ill and was at the point of death. He prayed to the Lord , who answered him and gave him a miraculous sign.(af) 25 But Hezekiah's heart was proud(ag) and he did not respond to the kindness shown him; therefore the Lord 's wrath(ah) was on him and on Judah and Jerusalem. 26 Then Hezekiah repented(ai) of the pride of his heart, as did the people of Jerusalem; therefore the Lord 's wrath did not come on them during the days of Hezekiah.(aj)
27 Hezekiah had very great wealth and honor,(ak) and he made treasuries for his silver and gold and for his precious stones, spices, shields and all kinds of valuables. 28 He also made buildings to store the harvest of grain, new wine and olive oil; and he made stalls for various kinds of cattle, and pens for the flocks. 29 He built villages and acquired great numbers of flocks and herds, for God had given him very great riches.(al)
30 It was Hezekiah who blocked(am) the upper outlet of the Gihon(an) spring and channeled(ao) the water down to the west side of the City of David. He succeeded in everything he undertook. 31 But when envoys were sent by the rulers of Babylon(ap) to ask him about the miraculous sign(aq) that had occurred in the land, God left him to test(ar) him and to know everything that was in his heart.
32 The other events of Hezekiah's reign and his acts of devotion are written in the vision of the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz in the book of the kings of Judah and Israel. 33 Hezekiah rested with his ancestors and was buried on the hill where the tombs of David's descendants are. All Judah and the people of Jerusalem honored him when he died. And Manasseh his son succeeded him as king.
Psalms 88
Chapter 88
Psalm 88[a]
A song. A psalm of the Sons of Korah. For the director of music. According to mahalath leannoth.[b] A maskil[c] of Heman the Ezrahite.
1
Lord
, you are the God who saves me;(a)
day and night I cry out(b) to you.
2 May my prayer come before you;
turn your ear to my cry.
3 I am overwhelmed with troubles(c)
and my life draws near to death.(d)
4 I am counted among those who go down to the pit;(e)
I am like one without strength.(f)
5 I am set apart with the dead,
like the slain who lie in the grave,
whom you remember no more,
who are cut off(g) from your care.
6 You have put me in the lowest pit,
in the darkest depths.(h)
7 Your wrath(i) lies heavily on me;
you have overwhelmed me with all your waves.[d](j)
8 You have taken from me my closest friends(k)
and have made me repulsive to them.
I am confined(l) and cannot escape;(m)
9
my eyes(n) are dim with grief.
I call(o) to you,
Lord
, every day;
I spread out my hands(p) to you.
10 Do you show your wonders to the dead?
Do their spirits rise up and praise you?(q)
11 Is your love declared in the grave,
your faithfulness(r) in Destruction[e]?
12 Are your wonders known in the place of darkness,
or your righteous deeds in the land of oblivion?
13 But I cry to you for help,(s)
Lord
;
in the morning(t) my prayer comes before you.(u)
14 Why,
Lord
, do you reject(v) me
and hide your face(w) from me?
15 From my youth(x) I have suffered(y) and been close to death;
I have borne your terrors(z) and am in despair.(aa)
16 Your wrath(ab) has swept over me;
your terrors(ac) have destroyed me.
17 All day long they surround me like a flood;(ad)
they have completely engulfed me.
18 You have taken from me friend(ae) and neighbor—
darkness is my closest friend.
John 20:19-31
Chapter 20
19 On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jewish leaders,(z) Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace(aa) be with you!"(ab) 20 After he said this, he showed them his hands and side.(ac) The disciples were overjoyed(ad) when they saw the Lord.
21 Again Jesus said, "Peace be with you!(ae) As the Father has sent me,(af) I am sending you."(ag) 22 And with that he breathed on them and said, "Receive the Holy Spirit.(ah) 23 If you forgive anyone's sins, their sins are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven."(ai)
Jesus Appears to Thomas
24 Now Thomas(aj) (also known as Didymus[a]), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. 25 So the other disciples told him, "We have seen the Lord!"
But he said to them, "Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side,(ak) I will not believe."(al)
26 A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace(am) be with you!"(an) 27 Then he said to Thomas, "Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe."(ao)
28 Thomas said to him, "My Lord and my God!"
29 Then Jesus told him, "Because you have seen me, you have believed;(ap) blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed."(aq)
The Purpose of John's Gospel
30 Jesus performed many other signs(ar) in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book.(as) 31 But these are written that you may believe[b](at) that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God,(au) and that by believing you may have life in his name.(av)
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
