the Authorized King James Version of the Bible in today's punctuation

* * *

from portions suggested by the Tyndale House One Year Bible Calendar for September 20 and 21 starting with Isaiah 35, appearing as Daily Readings at Joylark Ministries, www.tagnet.org/joylark/

* * * * * * * * * Cast and Sound Check:

Narrator Isaiah

Hezekiah "Good Guys" - Sometimes!

Invaders "Bad Guys" - Sometimes! EVERYONE Game Plan:

Each player (or team) reads aloud the lines in their own color or underlining AS THEY APPEAR, observing the suggestion marks [silently], and pausing at the stars for dramatic effect. * * *

Whenever one person starts reading a line [here's a good chance to practice], that part keeps going through the entire line, even when OTHER PEOPLE JOIN IN!

Enjoy the word!

*** * * * * * * * ***

THE GREAT KING!

* * *

[whispering] The glory of Lebanon shall be given unto it, the excellency of Carmel and Sharon.

[whispering] They shall see the glory of the Lord, and the excellency of our God

[loud] Strengthen ye the weak hands and confirm the feeble knees. Say to them that are of a fearful heart, "Be strong! Fear not!"

* * * * * * * * * * * *

[drum roll, trumpet fanfare: Lift Up the Trumpet]

Behold, your God will come with vengeance, even God, with a recompence. He will come and save you!

[song from "The Messiah", background] Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped.

Then shall the lame man leap as an hart

AND THE TONGUE OF THE DUMB, SING,

[Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing]

for in the wilderness shall waters break out,

and streams in the desert.

And the parched ground shall become a pool,

AND THE THIRSTY LAND SPRINGS OF WATER!

In the habitation of dragons, where each lay, shall be grass,

with reeds and rushes.

And an highway shall be there,

and a way,

and it shall be called

"THE WAY OF HOLINESS."

The unclean shall not pass over it,

BUT IT SHALL BE "FOR THOSE."

The wayfaring men, though fools, shall not err therein.

No lion shall be there, nor any ravenous beast shall go up thereon.

It shall not be found there,

BUT THE REDEEMED SHALL WALK THERE!

[Therefore the Redeemed of the Lord Shall Return]

And the ransomed of the Lord shall return and come to Zion, with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads.

[sing] They shall obtain joy and gladness,

AND SORROW AND SIGHING SHALL FLEE AWAY.

[fade out]

* * * * * * * * * *

GOD AND HEZEKIAH!

Isaiah 36 Now, it came to pass in the fourteenth year of king Hezekiah

that Sennacherib, king of Assyria, came up against all the defenced cities of Judah

AND TOOK THEM!

And the king of Assyria sent Rabshakeh from Lachish to Jerusalem unto king Hezekiah WITH A GREAT ARMY, and he stood by the conduit of the upper pool in the highway of the fuller's field.

Then came forth unto him Eliakim, Hilkiah's son, which was over the house,

and Shebna, the scribe,

and Joah, Asaph's son, the recorder,

and Rabshakeh said unto them, "Say ye now to Hezekiah:

"Thus saith the great king, the king of Assyria: 'What confidence is this wherein thou trustest? "I say," sayest thou (but they are but vain words), "I have counsel and strength for war." Now, on whom dost thou trust, that thou rebellest against me? Lo, thou trustest in the staff of this broken reed, on Egypt, whereon if a man lean, it will go into his hand and pierce it! So is Pharaoh, king of Egypt, to all that trust in him. "'But, if thou say to me,

'We trust in the Lord, our God,'

is it not he whose high places and whose altars Hezekiah hath taken away and said to Judah and to Jerusalem, "Ye shall worship before this altar?"' "Now, therefore, give pledges, I pray thee, to my master, the king of Assyria, and I will give thee two thousand horses (if thou be able on thy part to set riders upon them)... "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?" "And... "Am I now come up without the Lord against this land, to destroy it? The Lord said unto me, 'Go up against this land, and destroy it!'"

[My Faith Looks Up to Thee]

Then said Eliakim and Shebna and Joah unto Rabshakeh,

[softly] "Speak, I pray thee, unto thy servants in the Syrian language, for we understand it, and speak not to us in the Jews' language, in the ears of the people that are on the wall."

But Rabshakeh said, "Hath my master sent me to thy master and to thee to speak these words? Hath he not sent me to the men that sit upon the wall, that they may eat their own dung and drink their own piss with you?"

Then Rabshakeh stood and cried with a loud voice in the Jews' language, and said,

"Hear ye the words of the great king, the king of Assyria! Thus saith the king: 'Let not Hezekiah deceive you, for he shall not be able to deliver you. Neither let Hezekiah make you trust in the Lord, saying,

'The Lord will surely deliver us! This city shall not be delivered into the hand of the king of Assyria.'

"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 eat ye every one of his vine and every one of his fig tree and drink ye every one the waters of his own cistern 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.' "Beware lest Hezekiah persuade you, saying,

'The Lord will deliver us.'

Hath any of the gods of the nations delivered his land out of the hand of the king of Assyria? Where are the gods of Hamath and Arphad? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim? And have they delivered Samaria out of my hand? Who are they among all the gods of these lands that have delivered their land out of my hand, that the Lord should deliver Jerusalem out of my hand?"

But, they held their peace and answered him not a word,

for the king's commandment was, saying, "Answer him not."

Then came Eliakim, the son of Hilkiah that 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 Rabshakeh.

* * * * * * * * *

[Hear Our Prayer, O Lord]

Psalm 64:1-10 To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David.

Hear my voice, O God, in my prayer. Preserve my life from fear of the enemy. Hide me from the secret counsel of the wicked, from the insurrection of the workers of iniquity, Who whet their tongue like a sword, and bend their bows to shoot their arrows, even bitter words, That they may shoot

in secret at the perfect.

Suddenly do they shoot at him, and fear not. They encourage themselves in an evil matter. They commune of laying snares privily. They say, "Who shall see them?"

They search out iniquities. They accomplish a diligent search. Both the inward thought of every one of them, and the heart, is deep.

But God shall shoot at them

with an arrow.

Suddenly shall they be wounded. So they shall make their own tongue to fall upon themselves. ALL THAT SEE THEM SHALL FLEE AWAY.

And all men shall fear, and shall declare the work of God,

FOR THEY SHALL WISELY CONSIDER OF HIS DOING.

The righteous shall be glad in the Lord,

and shall trust in Him,

AND ALL THE UPRIGHT IN HEART SHALL GLORY! * * * * * * * * *

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!

And he sent

Eliakim, who was over the household,

and Shebna the scribe,

and the elders of the priests,covered with sackcloth,

unto Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz.

And they said unto him, "Thus saith Hezekiah,

'This day is a day of trouble, and of rebuke and of 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 the words of Rabshakeh, 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 is left!"

So, the servants of king Hezekiah came to Isaiah,

and Isaiah said unto them, "Thus shall ye say unto your master: 'Thus saith the Lord, "Be not afraid of the words that thou hast heard wherewith the servants of the king of Assyria have blasphemed me. Behold, I will send a blast upon him, and he shall hear a rumor and return to his own land, and I will cause him to fall by the sword in his own land."'"

So, Rabshakeh returned and found the king of Assyria warring against Libnah (for he had heard that he was departed from Lachish and he heard say concerning Tirhakah, king of Ethiopia,

"He is come forth to make war with thee.")

And when he heard it, he sent messengers to Hezekiah, saying, "Thus shall ye speak to Hezekiah king of Judah, saying:

'Let not thy God, in whom thou trustest, deceive thee, saying,

"Jerusalem shall not be given 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? '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 Telassar? 'Where is the king of Hamath, and the king of Arphad, and the king of the city of Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivah?'"

And Hezekiah received the letter from the hand of the messengers and read it, and Hezekiah went up unto the house of the Lord and spread it before the Lord.

And Hezekiah prayed unto the Lord, saying:

O, Lord of Hosts, God of Israel that dwellest between the cherubims, Thou art the God, even Thou alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth! Thou hast made heaven and earth! Incline Thine ear, O Lord, and hear! Open Thine eyes, O Lord, and see, and hear all the words of Sennacherib which hath sent to reproach the living God! Of a truth, Lord, the kings of Assyria have laid waste all the nations and their countries, 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.

Now, therefore, O Lord our God, save us from his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that Thou art the Lord,

EVEN THOU, ONLY!

* * * * * * * * *

[O, Thou Who Hearest Every Heartfelt Prayer]

Then Isaiah, the son of Amoz, sent unto Hezekiah, saying,

"Thus saith the Lord, God of Israel:

'Whereas thou hast prayed to Me against Sennacherib, king of Assyria, this is the word which the Lord hath spoken concerning him:

'The virgin, the daughter of Zion, hath despised thee and laughed thee to scorn. The daughter of Jerusalem hath shaken her head at thee. Whom hast thou reproached and blasphemed? And against whom hast thou exalted thy voice and lifted up thine eyes on high? Even against the Holy One of Israel!

'By thy servants hast thou reproached the Lord, and hast said,

"By the multitude of my chariots am I come up to the height of the mountains, to the sides of Lebanon, and I will cut down the tall cedars thereof, and the choice fir trees thereof, and I will enter into the height of his border and the forest of his Carmel. I have digged and drunk water, and with the sole of my feet have I dried up all the rivers of the besieged places..."

'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 defenced cities into ruinous heaps! Therefore their inhabitants were of small power...'

(They were dismayed and confounded. They were as the grass of the field and as the green herb, as the grass on the housetops, and as corn blasted before it be grown up.)

'But I know thy abode, and thy going out and thy coming in, and thy rage against Me. Because thy rage against Me and thy tumult is come up into Mine ears, therefore will I 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!

'And this shall be a sign unto thee:

'Ye shall eat this year such as groweth of itself, and the second year, that which springeth of the same, and in the third year, sow ye and reap and plant vineyards and eat the fruit thereof.

'And the remnant that is escaped of the house of Judah shall again take root downward,

and bear fruit upward,

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! [fanfare]

'Therefore, thus saith the Lord concerning the king of Assyria:

'HE SHALL NOT COME INTO THIS CITY,

nor shoot an arrow there,

nor come before it with shields,

nor cast a bank against it.

'By the way that he came, by the same shall he return,

AND SHALL NOT COME INTO THIS CITY,

saith the Lord, for I will defend this city, to save it for Mine own sake, and for My servant David's sake!"

* * * * * * * *

[I Trust in God]

Then, the angel of the Lord went forth

and smote in the camp of the Assyrians

A HUNDRED

AND FOURSCORE

AND FIVE

THOUSAND

and when they arose,

early in the morning,

BEHOLD!

they were all dead corpses.

* * * * * * * * *

[Thank You, Lord]

So, Sennacherib, king of Assyria, departed

and went and returned

and dwelt at Nineveh.

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 Esar-Haddon, his son, reigned in his stead.

[Faith Is the Victory]

* * * * * * * * *

G O D AND

"THE GREAT KING!"

Part II

* * *

Isaiah 38

In those days was Hezekiah sick unto death.

And Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz, came unto him and said unto him, "Thus saith the Lord: Set thine house in order, for thou shalt die and not live!"

Then Hezekiah turned his face toward the wall and prayed unto the Lord,and said, "Remember now, O Lord, I beseech Thee, how I have walked before Thee in truth and with a perfect heart, and have done that which is good in Thy sight!" And Hezekiah wept sore.

Then came the word of the Lord to Isaiah, saying, "Go and say to Hezekiah, "Thus saith the Lord, the God of David, thy father: I have heard thy prayer. I have seen thy tears. Behold, I will add unto thy days fifteen years.

"And I will deliver thee and this city out of the hand of the king of Assyria, and I will defend this city, and this shall be a sign unto thee from the Lord that the Lord will do this thing that He hath spoken: Behold, I will bring again the shadow of the degrees which is gone down in the sun dial of Ahaz, ten degrees backward."

So, the sun returned

TEN DEGREES

by which degrees it was gone down!

[Amazing Grace]

* * * * *

The writing of Hezekiah, king of Judah, when he had been sick and was recovered of his sickness:

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!

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?"

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?

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!"

"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..."

"O 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?"

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,

For the grave

cannot praise Thee,

death

can not celebrate Thee,

they that go down into the pit

cannot hope for Thy truth.

THE LIVING, THE LIVING,

HE SHALL PRAISE THEE

AS i DO THIS DAY.

The father to the children

shall make known Thy truth:

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,

For Isaiah had said,

"Let them take a lump of figs

and lay it for a plaster

upon the boil,

and he shall recover.

Hezekiah also had said,

"What is the sign

that I shall go

UP TO THE HOUSE

OF THE LORD?"

Psalm 65:1-13

To the chief Musician,

A PSALM AND SONG OF DAVID:

Praise waiteth for Thee, O God,

in Sion,

and unto Thee

shall the vow be performed.

O Thou that hearest prayer,

UNTO THEE SHALL

ALL FLESH COME.

Iniquities prevail against me.

As for our transgressions,

Thou shalt purge them away.

Blessed is the man whom Thou choosest,

and causest to approach unto Thee,

THAT HE MAY DWELL IN THY COURTS.

We shall be satisfied

with the goodness of Thy house,

EVEN OF THY HOLY TEMPLE.

* * * * *

By terrible things in righteousness

wilt Thou answer us,

O God of our salvation,

Who art the confidence

of all the ends of the earth,

and of them that are afar off

upon the sea,

Which by His strength

setteth fast the mountains,

BEING GIRDED WITH POWER.

Which stilleth

the noise of the seas,

the noise of their waves,

AND THE TUMULT OF

THE PEOPLE.

They also that dwell

in the uttermost parts

are afraid at Thy tokens.

Thou makest the outgoings

of the morning and evening

to rejoice. . .

Galatians 6:1-18

Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness, considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted. Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ, for if a man think himself to be something when he is nothing, he deceiveth himself... [fade out]

* * * * * * * * * *

Isaiah 39

At that time Merodach-baladan, the son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent letters and a present to Hezekiah, for he had heard that he had been sick and was recovered.

And Hezekiah was glad of them, and showed them the house of his precious things,

the silver and the gold,

and the spices and the precious ointment,

and all the house of his armor,

and all that was found in his treasures.

THERE WAS NOTHING IN HIS HOUSE NOR IN ALL HIS DOMINION THAT HEZEKIAH SHOWED THEM NOT!

Then came Isaiah the prophet unto king Hezekiah and said unto him, "What said these men?"

and, "From whence came they unto thee?"

And Hezekiah said, "They are come from a far country unto me,

even from Babylon!"

Then said he, "What have they seen in thine house?"

And Hezekiah answered, "All that is in mine house have they seen. There is nothing among my treasures that I have not showed them."

Then said Isaiah to Hezekiah, "Hear the word of the Lord of Hosts: 'Behold, the days come that all that is in thine house, and that which thy fathers have laid up in store until this day,

shall be carried to Babylon.

Nothing shall be left!' saith the Lord. 'And of thy sons that shall issue from thee which thou shalt beget shall they take away,

and they shall be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.'

Then said Hezekiah to Isaiah, "Good is the word of the Lord which thou hast spoken."

He said, moreover,

"...for there shall be peace and truth in my days."

* * * * * * * * * *

"Comfort ye, comfort ye my people," saith your God. "Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned,

for she hath received of the Lord's hand double for all her sins."

The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness:

"Prepare ye the way of the Lord. Make straight in the desert a highway for our God.

Every valley shall be exalted and every mountain and hill shall be made low,

and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain.

And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed

AND ALL FLESH SHALL SEE IT TOGETHER.

for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it."
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