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 rumour
, 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.
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.
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.
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
.
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 Esarhaddon
his son
reigned
in his stead.