Today's Readings: October 4

[1] Oh give thanks to the LORD, for he is good,
for his steadfast love endures forever!
[2] Let the redeemed of the LORD say so,
whom he has redeemed from trouble
[3] and gathered in from the lands,
from the east and from the west,
from the north and from the south.


[4] Some wandered in desert wastes,
finding no way to a city to dwell in;
[5] hungry and thirsty,
their soul fainted within them.
[6] Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble,
and he delivered them from their distress.
[7] He led them by a straight way
till they reached a city to dwell in.
[8] Let them thank the LORD for his steadfast love,
for his wondrous works to the children of man!
[9] For he satisfies the longing soul,
and the hungry soul he fills with good things.


[10] Some sat in darkness and in the shadow of death,
prisoners in affliction and in irons,
[11] for they had rebelled against the words of God,
and spurned the counsel of the Most High.
[12] So he bowed their hearts down with hard labor;
they fell down, with none to help.
[13] Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble,
and he delivered them from their distress.
[14] He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death,
and burst their bonds apart.
[15] Let them thank the LORD for his steadfast love,
for his wondrous works to the children of man!
[16] For he shatters the doors of bronze
and cuts in two the bars of iron.


[17] Some were fools through their sinful ways,
and because of their iniquities suffered affliction;
[18] they loathed any kind of food,
and they drew near to the gates of death.
[19] Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble,
and he delivered them from their distress.
[20] He sent out his word and healed them,
and delivered them from their destruction.
[21] Let them thank the LORD for his steadfast love,
for his wondrous works to the children of man!
[22] And let them offer sacrifices of thanksgiving,
and tell of his deeds in songs of joy!


[23] Some went down to the sea in ships,
doing business on the great waters;
[24] they saw the deeds of the LORD,
his wondrous works in the deep.
[25] For he commanded and raised the stormy wind,
which lifted up the waves of the sea.
[26] They mounted up to heaven; they went down to the depths;
their courage melted away in their evil plight;
[27] they reeled and staggered like drunken men
and were at their wits’ end.
[28] Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble,
and he delivered them from their distress.
[29] He made the storm be still,
and the waves of the sea were hushed.
[30] Then they were glad that the waters were quiet,
and he brought them to their desired haven.
[31] Let them thank the LORD for his steadfast love,
for his wondrous works to the children of man!
[32] Let them extol him in the congregation of the people,
and praise him in the assembly of the elders.


[33] He turns rivers into a desert,
springs of water into thirsty ground,
[34] a fruitful land into a salty waste,
because of the evil of its inhabitants.
[35] He turns a desert into pools of water,
a parched land into springs of water.
[36] And there he lets the hungry dwell,
and they establish a city to live in;
[37] they sow fields and plant vineyards
and get a fruitful yield.
[38] By his blessing they multiply greatly,
and he does not let their livestock diminish.


[39] When they are diminished and brought low
through oppression, evil, and sorrow,
[40] he pours contempt on princes
and makes them wander in trackless wastes;
[41] but he raises up the needy out of affliction
and makes their families like flocks.
[42] The upright see it and are glad,
and all wickedness shuts its mouth.


[43] Whoever is wise, let him attend to these things;
let them consider the steadfast love of the LORD.

[1] In those days Hezekiah 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: 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, [3] and said, “Please, O LORD, remember how I have walked before you in faithfulness and with a whole heart, and have done what is good in your sight.” And Hezekiah wept bitterly.

[4] Then the word of the LORD came to Isaiah: [5] “Go and say to Hezekiah, Thus says the LORD, the God of David your father: I have heard your prayer; I have seen your tears. Behold, I will add fifteen years to your life. [6] I will deliver you and this city out of the hand of the king of Assyria, and will defend this city.

[7] “This shall be the sign to you from the LORD, that the LORD will do this thing that he has promised: [8] Behold, I will make the shadow cast by the declining sun on the dial of Ahaz turn back ten steps.” So the sun turned back on the dial the ten steps by which it had declined.

[9] A writing of Hezekiah king of Judah, after he had been sick and had recovered from his sickness:

[10] I said, In the middle of my days
I must depart;
I am consigned to the gates of Sheol
for the rest of my years.
[11] I said, I shall not see the LORD,
the LORD in the land of the living;
I shall look on man no more
among the inhabitants of the world.
[12] My dwelling is plucked up and removed from me
like a shepherd’s tent;
like a weaver I have rolled up my life;
he cuts me off from the loom;
from day to night you bring me to an end;
[13] I calmed myself until morning;
like a lion he breaks all my bones;
from day to night you bring me to an end.


[14] Like a swallow or a crane I chirp;
I moan like a dove.
My eyes are weary with looking upward.
O Lord, I am oppressed; be my pledge of safety!
[15] What shall I say? For he has spoken to me,
and he himself has done it.
I walk slowly all my years
because of the bitterness of my soul.


[16] O Lord, by these things men live,
and in all these is the life of my spirit.
Oh restore me to health and make me live!
[17] Behold, it was for my welfare
that I had great bitterness;
but in love you have delivered my life
from the pit of destruction,
for you have cast all my sins
behind your back.
[18] For Sheol does not thank you;
death does not praise you;
those who go down to the pit do not hope
for your faithfulness.
[19] The living, the living, he thanks you,
as I do this day;
the father makes known to the children
your faithfulness.


[20] The LORD will save me,
and we will play my music on stringed instruments
all the days of our lives,
at the house of the LORD.


[21] Now Isaiah had said, “Let them take a cake of figs and apply it to the boil, that he may recover.” [22] Hezekiah also had said, “What is the sign that I shall go up to the house of the LORD?”

[1] At that time Merodach-baladan the son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent envoys with letters and a present to Hezekiah, for he heard that he had been sick and had recovered. [2] And Hezekiah welcomed them gladly. And he showed them his treasure house, the silver, the gold, the spices, the precious oil, his whole 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. [3] 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?” Hezekiah said, “They have come to me from a far country, from Babylon.” [4] He said, “What have they seen in your house?” Hezekiah answered, “They have seen all that is in my house. There is nothing in my storehouses that I did not show them.”

[5] Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, “Hear the word of the LORD of hosts: [6] Behold, the days are coming, when all 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. [7] And some of your own sons, who will come from you, whom you will father, shall be taken away, and they shall be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.” [8] Then Hezekiah said to Isaiah, “The word of the LORD that you have spoken is good.” For he thought, “There will be peace and security in my days.”

[1] On the third day Esther put on her royal robes and stood in the inner court of the king’s palace, in front of the king’s quarters, while the king was sitting on his royal throne inside the throne room opposite the entrance to the palace. [2] And when the king saw Queen Esther standing in the court, she won favor in his sight, and he held out to Esther the golden scepter that was in his hand. Then Esther approached and touched the tip of the scepter. [3] And the king said to her, “What is it, Queen Esther? What is your request? It shall be given you, even to the half of my kingdom.” [4] And Esther said, “If it please the king, let the king and Haman come today to a feast that I have prepared for the king.” [5] Then the king said, “Bring Haman quickly, so that we may do as Esther has asked.” So the king and Haman came to the feast that Esther had prepared. [6] And as they were drinking wine after the feast, the king said to Esther, “What is your wish? It shall be granted you. And what is your request? Even to the half of my kingdom, it shall be fulfilled.” [7] Then Esther answered, “My wish and my request is: [8] If I have found favor in the sight of the king, and if it please the king to grant my wish and fulfill my request, let the king and Haman come to the feast that I will prepare for them, and tomorrow I will do as the king has said.”

[9] And Haman went out that day joyful and glad of heart. But when Haman saw Mordecai in the king’s gate, that he neither rose nor trembled before him, he was filled with wrath against Mordecai. [10] Nevertheless, Haman restrained himself and went home, and he sent and brought his friends and his wife Zeresh. [11] And Haman recounted to them the splendor of his riches, the number of his sons, all the promotions with which the king had honored him, and how he had advanced him above the officials and the servants of the king. [12] Then Haman said, “Even Queen Esther let no one but me come with the king to the feast she prepared. And tomorrow also I am invited by her together with the king. [13] Yet all this is worth nothing to me, so long as I see Mordecai the Jew sitting at the king’s gate.” [14] Then his wife Zeresh and all his friends said to him, “Let a gallows fifty cubits high be made, and in the morning tell the king to have Mordecai hanged upon it. Then go joyfully with the king to the feast.” This idea pleased Haman, and he had the gallows made.

[1] On that night the king could not sleep. And he gave orders to bring the book of memorable deeds, the chronicles, and they were read before the king. [2] And it was found written how Mordecai had told about Bigthana and Teresh, two of the king’s eunuchs, who guarded the threshold, and who had sought to lay hands on King Ahasuerus. [3] And the king said, “What honor or distinction has been bestowed on Mordecai for this?” The king’s young men who attended him said, “Nothing has been done for him.” [4] And the king said, “Who is in the court?” Now Haman had just entered the outer court of the king’s palace to speak to the king about having Mordecai hanged on the gallows that he had prepared for him. [5] And the king’s young men told him, “Haman is there, standing in the court.” And the king said, “Let him come in.” [6] So Haman came in, and the king said to him, “What should be done to the man whom the king delights to honor?” And Haman said to himself, “Whom would the king delight to honor more than me?” [7] And Haman said to the king, “For the man whom the king delights to honor, [8] let royal robes be brought, which the king has worn, and the horse that the king has ridden, and on whose head a royal crown is set. [9] And let the robes and the horse be handed over to one of the king’s most noble officials. Let them dress the man whom the king delights to honor, and let them lead him on the horse through the square of the city, proclaiming before him: ‘Thus shall it be done to the man whom the king delights to honor.’” [10] Then the king said to Haman, “Hurry; take the robes and the horse, as you have said, and do so to Mordecai the Jew, who sits at the king’s gate. Leave out nothing that you have mentioned.” [11] So Haman took the robes and the horse, and he dressed Mordecai and led him through the square of the city, proclaiming before him, “Thus shall it be done to the man whom the king delights to honor.”

[12] Then Mordecai returned to the king’s gate. But Haman hurried to his house, mourning and with his head covered. [13] And Haman told his wife Zeresh and all his friends everything that had happened to him. Then his wise men and his wife Zeresh said to him, “If Mordecai, before whom you have begun to fall, is of the Jewish people, you will not overcome him but will surely fall before him.”

[14] While they were yet talking with him, the king’s eunuchs arrived and hurried to bring Haman to the feast that Esther had prepared.

[1] Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by command of God our Savior and of Christ Jesus our hope,

[2] To Timothy, my true child in the faith:

Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.

[3] As I urged you when I was going to Macedonia, remain at Ephesus so that you may charge certain persons not to teach any different doctrine, [4] nor to devote themselves to myths and endless genealogies, which promote speculations rather than the stewardship from God that is by faith. [5] The aim of our charge is love that issues from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith. [6] Certain persons, by swerving from these, have wandered away into vain discussion, [7] desiring to be teachers of the law, without understanding either what they are saying or the things about which they make confident assertions.

[8] Now we know that the law is good, if one uses it lawfully, [9] understanding this, that the law is not laid down for the just but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane, for those who strike their fathers and mothers, for murderers, [10] the sexually immoral, men who practice homosexuality, enslavers, liars, perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to sound doctrine, [11] in accordance with the gospel of the glory of the blessed God with which I have been entrusted.

[12] I thank him who has given me strength, Christ Jesus our Lord, because he judged me faithful, appointing me to his service, [13] though formerly I was a blasphemer, persecutor, and insolent opponent. But I received mercy because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief, [14] and the grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. [15] The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost. [16] But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life. [17] To the King of the ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.

[18] This charge I entrust to you, Timothy, my child, in accordance with the prophecies previously made about you, that by them you may wage the good warfare, [19] holding faith and a good conscience. By rejecting this, some have made shipwreck of their faith, [20] among whom are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have handed over to Satan that they may learn not to blaspheme.