aAnd when King Hezekiah
heard
it, he btore
his clothes
, ccovered
himself with sackcloth
and entered
the house
of the LORD
.
Then he sent Eliakim
who
was over
the household
with Shebna
the scribe
and the elders
of the priests
, acovered
with sackcloth
, to bIsaiah
the prophet
the son
of Amoz
.
They said to him, "Thus
says
Hezekiah
, `This
day
is a day
of distress
, rebuke
, and rejection
; for children
have come
to birth
and there
is no
strength
to deliver.
` aPerhaps the LORD
your God
will hear
all
the words
of Rabshakeh
, whom
his master
the king
of Assyria
has sent
bto reproach
the living
God
, and will rebuke
the words
which
the LORD
your God
has heard
. Therefore, offer
a prayer
for cthe remnant
that is left
.' "
So the servants of King
Hezekiah
came
to Isaiah
.
Isaiah said
to them, "Thus
you shall say
to your master
, `Thus
says
the LORD
, "Do not be afraid
because
of the words
that you have heard
, with which
the aservants
of the king
of Assyria
bhave blasphemed
Me.
"Behold, I will put
a spirit
in him so that ahe will hear
a rumor
and return
to his own land
. And bI will make him fall
by the sword
in his own land
.""'
Then Rabshakeh returned
and found
the king
of Assyria
fighting
against
aLibnah
, for he had heard
that 1the king had left
bLachish
.
When he heard them say
concerning
Tirhakah
king
of 1Cush
, "Behold
, he has come
out to fight
against
you," he sent
messengers
again
to Hezekiah
saying
,
"Thus you shall say
to Hezekiah
king
of 1Judah
, `Do not alet your God
in whom
you trust
deceive
you saying
, " bJerusalem
will not be given
into the hand
of the king
of Assyria
."
`Behold, you have heard
what
the kings
of Assyria
have done
to all
the lands
, destroying
them completely
. So will you be 1spared
?
` aDid the gods of 1those nations
which
my fathers
destroyed
deliver
them, even bGozan
and cHaran
and Rezeph
and dthe sons
of Eden
who
were in Telassar
?
` aWhere is the king
of Hamath
, the king
of Arpad
, the king
of the city
of Sepharvaim
, and of Hena
and Ivvah
?' "
Then aHezekiah took
the 1letter
from the hand
of the messengers
and read
it, and he went
up to the house
of the LORD
and 2spread
it out before
the LORD
.
Hezekiah prayed
before
the LORD
and said
, "O LORD
, the God
of Israel
, awho are 1enthroned
above the cherubim
, bYou are the God
, You alone
, of all
the kingdoms
of the earth
. You have made
heaven
and earth
.
" aIncline Your ear
, O LORD
, and hear
; bopen
Your eyes
, O LORD
, and see
; and listen
to the words
of Sennacherib
, which
he has sent
cto reproach
the living
God
.
"Truly, O LORD
, the kings
of Assyria
have devastated
the nations
and their lands
and have cast their gods
into the fire
, afor they were not gods
but the work
of men's
hands
, wood
and stone
. So they have destroyed
them.
"Now, O LORD
our God
, I pray
, deliver
us from his hand
athat all
the kingdoms
of the earth
may know
that You alone
, O bLORD
, are God
."
Then Isaiah the son
of Amoz
sent
to Hezekiah
saying
, "Thus
says
the LORD
, the God
of Israel
, `Because
you have prayed
to Me about
Sennacherib
king
of Assyria
, aI have heard
you.'
"This is the word
that the LORD
has spoken
against
him: `She has despised
you and mocked
you, aThe virgin
daughter
of Zion
; She bhas shaken
her head
behind
you, The daughter
of Jerusalem
!
`Whom have you areproached
and bblasphemed
? And against
whom
have you raised
your voice
, And 1haughtily
lifted
up your eyes
? Against
the cHoly
One
of Israel
!
` aThrough your messengers
you have reproached
the Lord
, And you have said
, "With my many
chariots
I came
up to the heights
of the mountains
, To the remotest
parts
of Lebanon
; And I 1cut
down
its tall
cedars
and its choice
cypresses
. And I 1entered
its farthest
lodging
place
, its bthickest
forest
.
"I dug wells and drank
foreign
waters
, And with the sole
of my feet
I 1 adried
up All
the rivers
of 2Egypt
."
` aHave you not heard? Long
ago
I did
it; From ancient
times
I planned
it. bNow
I have brought
it to pass
, That you should turn
fortified
cities
into ruinous
heaps
.
`Therefore their inhabitants were short
of strength
, They were dismayed
and put
to shame
; They were aas the vegetation
of the field
and as the green
herb
, As grass
on the housetops
is scorched
before
it is grown
up.
`But aI know your sitting
down
, And your going
out and your coming
in, And your raging
against
Me.
`Because of your raging
against
Me, And because your 1arrogance
has come
up to My ears
, Therefore I awill put
My hook
in your nose
, And My bridle
in your lips
, And bI will turn
you back
by the way
which
you came
.
`Then this shall be athe sign
for you: 1you will eat
this year
what
grows
of itself, in the second
year
what
springs
from the same, and in the third
year
sow
, reap
, plant
vineyards
, and eat
their fruit
.
` aThe surviving remnant
of the house
of Judah
will again
take root
downward
and bear
fruit
upward
.
`For out of Jerusalem will go
forth
a remnant
, and aout of Mount
Zion
1survivors
. bThe zeal
of 2the LORD
will perform
this
.
`Therefore thus
says
the LORD
concerning
the king
of Assyria
, " aHe will not come
to this
city
or shoot
an arrow
there
; and he will not come
before
it with a shield
or
throw
up a siege
ramp
against
it.
" aBy the way that he came
, by the same he will return
, and he shall not come
to this
city
,"' declares
the LORD
.
` aFor I will defend this
city
to save
it for My own sake
and bfor My servant
David's
sake
.' "
aThen it happened that night
that the angel
of the LORD
went
out and struck
185,000
in the camp
of the Assyrians
; and when 1men rose
early
in the morning
, behold
, all
of them were 2dead
.
So aSennacherib king
of Assyria
departed
and returned
home, and lived
at bNineveh
.
It came about as he was worshiping
in the house
of Nisroch
his god
, that 1 aAdrammelech
and Sharezer
killed
him with the sword
; and they escaped
into bthe land
of Ararat
. And cEsarhaddon
his son
became
king
in his place
.