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every man to his possession, into their
own cities.

JUNE 11. ST. BARNABAS.
See PROPER LESSONS, p. 223.
JUNE 12. Morning. 2 Kings XVIII. 13.

nasseh, Issachar, and Zebulun, had not cleansed themselves, yet did they eat the passover otherwise than it was written. But Hezekiah prayed for them, saying, The good LORD pardon every one 19that prepareth his heart to seek God, the LORD God of his fathers, 18 13 Now in the fourteenth year of though he be not cleansed according to king Hezekiah did Sennacherib king of the purification of the sanctuary. 20 And Assyria come up against all the fenced the LORD hearkened to Hezekiah, and cities of Judah, and took them. 14 And healed the people. 21 And the children Hezekiah king of Judah sent to the of Israel that were present at Jerusalem king of Assyria to Lachish, saying, I kept the feast of unleavened bread seven have offended; return from me: that days with great gladness: and the Le- which thou puttest on me will I bear. vites and the priests praised the LORD And the king of Assyria appointed unto day by day, singing with loud instru- Hezekiah king of Judah three hundred ments unto the LORD. 22 And Heze- talents of silver and thirty talents of kiah spake comfortably unto all the gold. 15 And Hezekiah gave him all Levites that taught the good know- the silver that was found in the house ledge of the LORD: and they did eat of the LORD, and in the treasures of the throughout the feast seven days, offer- king's house. 16 At that time did Hezeing peace offerings, and making confes- kiah cut off the gold from the doors of sion to the LORD God of their fathers. the temple of the LORD, and from the 23 And the whole assembly took counsel pillars which Hezekiah king of Judah to keep other seven days: and they had overlaid, and gave it to the king of kept other seven days with gladness. Assyria. 17 And the king of Assyria 24 For Hezekiah king of Judah did give sent Tartan and Rabsaris and Rab-shato the congregation a thousand bullocks keh from Lachish to king_Hezekiah and seven thousand sheep; and the with a great host against Jerusalem. princes gave to the congregation a thou-And they went up and came to Jerusand bullocks and ten thousand sheep: and a great number of priests sanctified themselves. 25 And all the congregation of Judah, with the priests and the Levites, and all the congregation that came out of Israel, and the strangers that came out of the land of Israel, and that dwelt in Judah, rejoiced. 26 So there was great joy in Jerusalem for since the time of Solomon the son of David king of Israel there was not the like in Jerusalem. 27 Then the priests the Levites arose and blessed the people: and their voice was heard, and their prayer came up to his holy dwelling place, even unto heaven. 31 Now when all this was finished, all Israel that were present went out to the cities of Judah, and brake the images in pieces, and cut down the groves, and threw down the high places and the altars out of all Judah and Benjamin, in Ephraim also and Manasseh, until they had utterly destroyed them all. Then all the children of Ísrael returned, |

salem. And when they were come up, they came and stood by the conduit of the upper pool, which is in the highway of the fuller's field. 18 And when they had called to the king, there came out to them Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, which was over the household, and Shebna the scribe, and Joah the son of Asaph the recorder. 19 And Rab-shakeh said unto them, Speak ye now to Hezekiah, Thus saith the great king, the king of Assyria, What confidence is this wherein thou trustest? 20 Thou sayest, (but they are but vain words,) I have counsel and strength for the war. Now on whom dost thou trust, that thou rebellest against me? 21 Now, behold, thou trustest upon the staff of this bruised reed, even upon Egypt, on which if a man lean, it will go into his hand, and pierce it: so is Pharaoh king of Egypt unto all that trust on him. 22 But if ye say unto me, We trust in the LORD our God: is not that he, whose high places and whose

altars Hezekiah hath taken away, and hath said to Judah and Jerusalem, Ye shall worship before this altar in Jerusalem? 23 Now therefore, I pray thee, give pledges to my lord the king of Assyria, and I will deliver thee two thousand horses, if thou be able on thy part to set riders upon them. 24 How then wilt thou turn away the face of one captain of the least of my master's servants, and put thy trust on Egypt for chariots and for horsemen? 25 Am I now 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 Then said Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, and Shebna, and Joah, unto Rab-shakeh, Speak, I pray thee, to thy servants in the Syrian language; for we understand it: and talk not with us in the Jews' language in the ears of the people that are on the wall. 27 But Rab-shakeh said unto them, Hath my master sent me to thy master, and to thee, to speak these words? hath he not sent me to the men which sit on the wall, that they may eat their own dung, and drink their own piss with you? 28 Then Rab-shakeh stood and cried with a loud voice in the Jews' language, and spake, saying, Hear the word of the great king, the king of Assyria: 29 thus saith the king, Let not Hezekiah deceive you: for he shall not be able to deliver you out of his hand: 3o neither let Hezekiah make you trust in the LORD, saying, The LORD will surely deliver us, and this city shall not be delivered into the hand of the king of Assyria. 31 Hearken not to Hezekiah: for thus saith the king of Assyria, Make an agreement with me by a present, and come out to me, and then eat ye every man of his own vine, and every one of his fig tree, and drink ye every one the waters of his cistern: 32 until I come and take you away to a land like your own land, a land of corn and wine, a land of bread and vineyards, a land of oil olive and of honey, that ye may live, and not die: and hearken not unto Hezekiah, when he persuadeth you, saying, The LORD will deliver us. 33 Hath any of the gods of the nations delivered at all his land out of the hand of the

king of Assyria? 34 Where are the gods of Hamath, and of Arpad? where are the gods of Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivah? have they delivered Samaria out of mine hand? 35 Who are they among all the gods of the countries, that have delivered their country out of mine hand, that the LORD should deliver Jerusalem out of mine hand? 36 But the people held their peace, and answered him not a word: for the king's commandment was, saying, Answer him not. 37 Then came Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, which was over the household, and Shebna the scribe, and Joah the son of Asaph the recorder, to Hezekiah with their clothes rent, and told him the words of Rab-shakeh.

JUNE 12. Evening. 2 Kings XIX. I. 19 AND it came to pass, when king Hezekiah heard it, that he rent his clothes, and covered himself with sackcloth, and went into the house of the LORD. 2 And he sent Eliakim, which was over the household, and Shebna the scribe, and the elders of the priests, covered with sackcloth, to Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz. 3 And they said unto him, Thus saith Hezekiah, This day is a day of trouble, and of rebuke, and blasphemy: for the children are come to the birth, and there is not strength to bring forth. It may be the LORD thy God will hear all the words of Rab-shakeh, whom the king of Assyria his master hath sent to reproach the living God; and will reprove the words which the LORD thy God hath heard: wherefore lift up thy prayer for the remnant that are left. 5So the servants of king Hezekiah came to Isaiah. And Isaiah said unto them, Thus shall ye say to your master, Thus saith the LORD, Be not afraid of the words which thou hast heard, with which the servants of the king of Assyria have blasphemed me. 7 Behold, I will send a blast upon him, and he shall hear a rumour, and shall return to his own land; and I will cause him to fall by the sword in his own land. So Rab-shakeh returned, and found the king of Assyria warring against Libnah: for he had heard that

he was departed from Lachish. 9And
when he heard say of Tirhakah king of
Ethiopia, Behold, he is come out to
fight against thee: he sent messengers
again unto Hezekiah, saying, 10 Thus
shall ye speak to Hezekiah king of
Judah, saying, Let not thy God in
whom thou trustest deceive thee, say-up
ing, Jerusalem shall not be delivered
into the hand of the king of Assyria.
Behold, thou hast heard what the
kings of Assyria have done to all lands,
by destroying them utterly: and shalt
thou be delivered? 12 Have the gods of
the nations delivered them which my
fathers have destroyed; as Gozan, and
Haran, and Rezeph, and the children
of Eden which were in Thelasar?
13 Where is the king of Hamath, and
the king of Arpad, and the king of the
city of Sepharvaim, of Hena, and Ivah?
14 And Hezekiah received the letter of
the hand of the messengers, and read
it: and Hezekiah went up into the
house of the LORD, and spread it before
the LORD. 15 And Hezekiah prayed
before the LORD, and said, O LORD
God of Israel, which dwellest between
the cherubims, thou art the God, even
thou alone, of all the kingdoms of the
earth; thou hast made heaven and
earth. 16 LORD, bow down thine ear,
and hear: open, LORD, thine eyes,
and see and hear the words of Sen-
nacherib, which hath sent him to re-
proach the living God. 17Of a truth,
LORD, the kings of Assyria have de-
stroyed the nations and their lands,
18 and have cast their gods into the
fire: for they were no gods, but the
work of men's hands, wood and stone:
therefore they have destroyed them.
19 Now therefore, O LORD our God, I
beseech thee, save thou us out of his
hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth
may know that thou art the LORD God,
even thou only.

spoken concerning him; The virgin the
daughter of Zion hath despised thee,
and laughed thee to scorn; the daugh-
ter of Jerusalem hath shaken her head
at thee. 22 Whom hast thou reproached
and blasphemed? and against whom
hast thou exalted thy voice, and lifted
thine eyes on high? even against the
Holy One of Israel. 23 By thy mes-
sengers thou hast reproached the Lord,
and hast said, With the multitude of
my chariots I am come up to the
height of the mountains, to the sides of
Lebanon, and will cut down the tall
cedar trees thereof, and the choice fir
trees thereof: and I will enter into
the lodgings of his borders, and into
the forest of his Carmel. 24 I have
digged and drunk strange waters, and
with the sole of my feet have I dried
up all the rivers of besieged places.
25 Hast thou not heard long ago how I
have done it, and of ancient times that
I have formed it? now have I brought
it to pass, that thou shouldest be to
lay waste fenced cities into ruinous
heaps. 26 Therefore their inhabitants
were of small power, they were dis-
mayed and confounded; they were as
the grass of the field, and as the green
herb, as the grass on the house tops,
and as corn blasted before it be grown
up. 27 But I know thy abode, and thy
going out, and thy coming in, and thy
rage against me. 28 Because thy rage
against me and thy tumult is come up
into mine ears, therefore I will put my
hook in thy nose, 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 unto thee, Ye shall
eat this year such things as grow of
themselves, and in the second year that
which springeth of the same; and in
the third year sow ye, and reap, and
plant vineyards, and eat the fruits
thereof. 30 And the remnant that is es-
caped of the house of Judah shall yet
again take root downward, and bear
fruit upward. 31 For out of Jerusalem
shall go forth a remnant, and they
that escape out of mount Zion: the
zeal of the LORD of hosts shall do this.
32 Therefore thus saith the LORD con-
cerning the king of Assyria, He shall

JUNE 13. Morning. 2 Kings XIX. 20. 20 THEN Isaiah the son of Amoz sent to Hezekiah, saying, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, That which thou hast prayed to me against Sennacherib king of Assyria I have heard. 21 This is the word that the LORD hath

not come into this city, nor shoot an arrow there, nor come before it with shield, nor cast a bank against it. 33 By the way that he came, by the same shall he return, and shall not come into this city, saith the LORD. 34 For I will defend this city, to save it, for mine own sake, and for my servant David's sake. 35 And it came to pass that night, that the angel of the LORD went out, and.smote in the camp of the Assyrians an hundred fourscore and five thousand: and when they arose early in the morning, behold, they were all dead corpses. 36 So Sennacherib king of Assyria departed, and went and returned, and dwelt at Nineveh. 37 And it came to pass, as he was worshipping in the house of Nisroch his god, that Adrammelech and Sharezer his sons smote him with the sword: and they escaped into the land of Armenia. And Esarhaddon his son reigned in his stead.

JUNE 13. Evening. 2 Kings XX. I.

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And they

said, Take a lump of figs. took and laid it on the boil, and he recovered. 8 And Hezekiah said unto Isaiah, What shall be the sign that the LORD will heal me, and that I shall go up into the house of the LORD the third day? 9 And Isaiah said, This sign shalt thou have of the LORD, that the LORD will do the thing that he hath spoken: shall the shadow go forward ten degrees, or go back ten degrees? 10 And Hezekiah answered, It is a light thing for the shadow to go down ten degrees: nay, but let the shadow return backward ten degrees. And Isaiah the prophet cried unto the LORD: and he brought the shadow ten degrees backward, by which it had gone down in the dial of Ahaz. 12 At that time Berodach-baladan, the son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent letters and a present unto Hezekiah: for he had heard that Hezekiah had been sick. 13 And Hezekiah hearkened unto them, and shewed them all the house of his precious things, the silver, and the gold, and the spices, and the precious ointment, and all the house of his armour, 20 IN those days was Hezekiah sick and all that was found in his treasures: unto death. And the prophet Isaiah there was nothing in his house, nor in the son of Amoz came to him, and all his dominion, that Hezekiah shewed said unto him, Thus saith the LORD, them not. 14 Then came Isaiah the Set thine house in order; for thou shalt prophet unto king Hezekiah, and said die, and not live. 2 Then he turned unto him, What said these men? and his face to the wall, and prayed unto from whence came they unto thee? the LORD, saying, 3I beseech thee, O And Hezekiah said, They are come LORD, remember now how I have from a far country, even from Babylon. walked before thee in truth and with a 15 And he said, What have they seen perfect heart, and have done that which in thine house? And Hezekiah anis good in thy sight. And Hezekiah swered, All the things that are in mine wept sore. And it came to pass, house have they seen: there is nothing afore Isaiah was gone out into the among my treasures that I have not middle court, that the word of the shewed them. 16 And Isaiah said unto LORD came to him, saying, 5Turn Hezekiah, Hear the word of the LORD. again, and tell Hezekiah the captain 7 Behold, the days come, that all that of my people, Thus saith the LORD, is in thine house, and that which thy the God of David thy father, I have fathers have laid up in store unto this heard thy prayer, I have seen thy tears: day, shall be carried into Babylon: nobehold, I will heal thee: on the third thing shall be left, saith the LORD. day thou shalt go up unto the house of 18 And of thy sons that shall issue from the LORD. And I will add unto thy thee, which thou shalt beget, shall they days fifteen years; and I will deliver take away; and they shall be eunuchs thee and this city out of the hand of in the palace of the king of Babylon. the king of Assyria; and I will defend 19 Then said Hezekiah unto Isaiah, this city for mine own sake, and for my Good is the word of the LORD which servant David's sake. 7 And Isaiah | thou hast spoken. And he said, Is it

not good, if peace and truth be in my days? 20 And the rest of the acts of Hezekiah, and all his might, and how he made a pool, and a conduit, and brought water into the city, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? 21 And Hezekiah slept with his fathers: and Manasseh his son reigned in his stead.

JUNE 14. Morning. Isa. xxxvIII. 9. 38 9THE writing of Hezekiah king of Judah, when he had been sick, and was recovered of his sickness: 10 I said in the cutting off of my days, I shall go to the gates of the grave: I am deprived of the residue of my years. "I said, I shall not see the LORD, even the LORD, in the land of the living: I shall behold | man no more with the inhabitants of the world. 12 Mine age is departed, and is removed from me as a shepherd's tent: I have cut off like a weaver my life: he will cut me off with pining sickness: from day even to night wilt thou make an end of me. 13 I reckoned till morning, that, as a lion, so will he break all my bones: from day even to night wilt thou make an end of me. 14 Like a crane or a swallow, so did I chatter: I did mourn as a dove: mine eyes fail with looking upward: O LORD, I am oppressed; undertake for me. 15 What shall I say? he hath both spoken unto me, and himself hath done it: I shall go softly all my years in the bitterness of my soul. 160 Lord, by these things men live, and in all these things is the life of my spirit: so wilt thou recover me, and make me to live. 17 Behold, for peace I had great bitterness: but thou hast in love to my soul delivered it from the pit of corruption: for thou hast cast all my sins behind thy back. 18 For the grave cannot praise thee, death can not celebrate thee: they that go down into the pit cannot hope for thy truth. 19 The living, the living, he shall praise thee, as I do this day: the father to the children shall make known thy truth. 20 The LORD was ready to save me: therefore we will sing my songs to the stringed instruments all the days of our life in the house of the LORD.

JUNE 14. Evening. 2 Chron. XXXIII. 1.

33 MANASSEH was twelve years old when he began to reign, and he reigned fifty and five years in Jerusalem: 2but did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, like unto the abominations of the heathen, whom the LORD had cast out before the children of Israel. 3 For he built again the high places which Hezekiah his father had broken down, and he reared up altars for Baalim, and made groves, and worshipped all the host of heaven, and served them. Also he built altars in the house of the LORD, whereof the LORD had said, In Jerusalem shall my name be for ever. 5 And he built altars for all the host of heaven in the two courts of the house of the LORD. And he caused his children to pass through the fire in the valley of the son of Hinnom: also he observed times, and used enchantments, and used witchcraft, and dealt with a familiar spirit, and with wizards: he wrought much evil in the sight of the LORD, to provoke him to anger. 7 And he set a carved image, the idol which he had made, in the house of God, of which God had said to David and to Solomon his son, In this house, and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen before all the tribes of Israel, will I put my name for ever: neither will I any more remove the foot of Israel from out of the land which I have appointed for your fathers; so that they will take heed to do all that I have commanded them, according to the whole law and the statutes and the ordinances by the hand of Moses. So Manasseh made Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to err, and to do worse than the heathen, whom the LORD had destroyed before the children of Israel. 10 And the LORD spake to Manasseh, and to his people: but they would not hearken.

Wherefore the LORD brought upon them the captains of the host of the king of Assyria, which took Manasseh among the thorns, and bound him with fetters, and carried him to Babylon. 12 And when he was in affliction, he besought the LORD his God, and humbled himself greatly before the God of his fathers, 13 and prayed unto him: and he was

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