Isaiah 37
1 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 it came to pass, when king Ezekias heard [it, that] he tore his clothes, and put on sackcloth, and went up to the house of the Lord.
2 And he sent Elyakim, who was superintendent over the house, and Shebna the scribe, and the elders of the priests, covered with sackcloth, to Isaiah the son of Amoz, the prophet.
And he sent Heliakim the steward, and Somnas the scribe, and the elders of the priests clothed with sackcloth, to Esaias the son of Amos, the prophet. And they said to him, Thus says Ezekias,
3 And they said unto him, Thus hath said Hezekiah, A day of trouble, and of rebuke, and of derision is this day; for the children are come to the birth, and there is not strength to bring forth.
To-day is a day of affliction, and reproach, and rebuke, and anger: for the pangs are come upon the travailing [woman], but she has not strength to bring forth.
4 Perhaps the Lord thy God will hear the words of Rabshakeh, whom the king of Assyria his master hath sent to blaspheme the living God, and who hath reproached with the words which the Lord thy God hath heard: wherefore lift up a prayer for the remnant that is still found here.
May the Lord your God hear the words of Rabsaces, which the king of the Assyrians has sent, to reproach the living God, even to reproach with the words which the Lord your God has heard: therefore you shall pray to your Lord for these that are left.
5 And the servants of king Hezekiah came to Isaiah.
So the servants of king Ezekias came to Esaias.
6 And Isaiah said unto them, Thus shall ye say unto your master, Thus hath said the Lord, Be not afraid because of the words which thou hast heard, with which the boys of the king of Assyria have blasphemed me.
And Esaias said to them, Thus shall you say to your master, Thus says the Lord, Be not you afraid at the words which you have heard, wherewith the ambassadors of the king of the Assyrians have reproached me,
7 Behold, I will put an [other] spirit in him, and when he will hear a rumor, he shall return to his own land; and I will cause him to fall by the sword in his own land.
Behold, I [will] send a blast upon him, and he shall hear a report, and return to his own country, and he shall fall by the sword in his own land.
8 And Rabshakeh returned, and found the king of Assyria warring against Libnah; for he had heard that he was departed from Lachish.
So Rabsaces returned, and found the king of the Assyrians besieging Lobna: for he had heard that he had departed from Lachis.
9 And he heard it said of Thirhakah the king of Ethiopia, He is come out to fight with thee. And when he had heard it, he sent messengers to Hezekiah, saying,
And Tharaca king of the Ethiopians went forth to attack him. And when he heard it, he turned aside, and sent messengers to Ezekias, saying,
10 Thus shall ye say to Hezekiah the king of Judah, as followeth, Let not thy God, in whom thou trustest, deceive thee, saying, Jerusalem shall not be given up into the hand of the king of Assyria.
Thus shall you say to Ezekias king of Judea, Let not your God, in whom you trust, deceive you, saying, Jerusalem shall not be delivered into the hand of the king of the Assyrians.
11 Behold, thou thyself hast heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all the lands by destroying them utterly: and thou alone shouldst be delivered?
Hast you not heard what the kings of the Assyrians have done, how they have destroyed the whole earth? and shall you be delivered?
12 Have the gods of the nations which my fathers destroyed delivered them, as Gozan, and Charan, and Rezeph, and the children of 'Eden, who were in Thelassar?
Have the gods of the nations which my fathers destroyed delivered them, both Gozan, and Charrhan, and Rapheth, which are in the land of Theemath?
13 Where is the king of Chamath, and the king of Arpad, and the king of the city of Sepharvayim, of Hena', and 'Ivvah?
Where are the kings of Emath? and where [is the king of] Arphath? and where [is the king] of the city of Eppharuaim, [and of] Anagugana?
14 And Hezekiah took the letter out of the hand of the messengers, and read it: and Hezekiah went up unto the house of the Lord, and spread it out before the Lord.
And Ezekias received the letter from the messengers, and read it, and went up to the house of the Lord, and opened it before the Lord.
15 And Hezekiah prayed unto the Lord, saying,
And Ezekias prayed to the Lord, saying,
16 O Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, who dwellest between the cherubim, thou art the [true] God, thou alone, for all the kingdoms of the earth; [for] it is thou who hast made the heavens and earth.
O Lord of hosts, God of Israel, who sit upon the cherubs, you alone are the God of every kingdom of the world: you have made heaven and earth.
17 Bend down, O Lord, thy ear, and hear; open, O Lord, thy eye, and see: and hear all the words of Sennacherib, which he hath sent to blaspheme the living God.
Incline your ear, O Lord, listen, O Lord; open your eyes, O Lord, look, O Lord: and behold the words of Sennacherim, which he has sent to reproach the living God.
18 Truly, Lord, the kings of Assyria have devastated all the nations, and their land;
For of a truth, Lord, the kings of the Assyrians have laid waste the whole world, and the countries thereof,
19 And they have placed their gods into the fire; for they are no gods, but the work of man's hands, wood and stone; and these have they destroyed.
and have cast their idols into the fire: for, they were no gods, but the work of men's hands, wood and stone; and they have cast them away.
20 And now, O Lord our God, save us out of his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that thou art the Lord, thou alone.
But now, O Lord our God, deliver us from his hands, that every kingdom of the earth may know that you are God alone.
21 Then sent Isaiah the son of Amoz unto Hezekiah, saying, Thus hath said the Lord the God of Israel, Whereas thou hast prayed to me concerning Sennacherib the king of Assyria:
And Esaias the son of Amos was sent to Ezekias, and said to him, Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, I have heard your prayer to me concerning Sennacherim king of the Assyrians.
22 This is the word that the Lord hath spoken over him: She despiseth thee, she laugheth thee to scorn, the virgin daughter of Zion; behind she shaketh her head, the daughter of Jerusalem.
This is the word which God has spoken concerning him; The virgin daughter of Sion has despised you, and mocked you; the daughter of Jerusalem has shaken her head at you.
23 Whom hast thou blasphemed, and [whom] hast thou scorned? and against whom hast thou raised thy voice, and lifted up thy eyes on high? against the Holy One of Israel.
Whom have you reproached and provoked? and against whom have you lifted up your voice? and have you not lifted up your eyes on high against the Holy One of Israel?
24 Through thy servants hast thou blasphemed the Lord, and hast said, With the multitude of my chariots am I indeed come up to the height of the mountains, to the sides of Lebanon; and I will cut down its tall cedars, the choice of its fir-trees: and I will enter into the height of its summit, the forest of its fruitful soil.
For you have reproached the Lord by messengers; for you have said, With the multitude of chariots have I ascended to the height of mountains, and to the sides of Libanus; and I have cropped the height of his cedars and the beauty of his cypresses; and I entered into the height of the forest region:
25 I have dug, and drunk water; and I will dry up with the sole of my feet all the streams of besieged places.
and I have made a bridge, and dried up the waters, and every pool of water.
26 Hadst thou not heard, that in distant ages I had prepared this? in the times of antiquity when I formed it? now have I brought it along, and it came to pass to desolate into ruinous heaps fortified cities.
Hast you not heard of these things which I did of old? I appointed [them] from ancient times; but now have I manifested [my purpose] of desolating nations in [their] strong holds, and them that dwell in strong cities.
27 And thus their inhabitants were of short power, they were discouraged and confounded: they were as the herbs of the field, and as the green grass; as the moss on the housetops, and as corn blasted before the ear appeareth.
I weakened [their] hands, and they withered; and they became as dry grass on the housetops, and as grass.
28 But thy abiding, and thy going out, and thy coming in do I know, and thy raging against me.
But now I know your rest, and your going out, and your coming in.
29 Because of thy raging against me, and thy tumult, that is come up into my ears, will I put my hook in thy nose, and my bridle between thy lips, and I will cause thee to turn back on the way by which thou camest.
And your wrath wherewith you have been enraged, and your rancour has come up to me; therefore I will put a hook in your nose, and a bit in your lips, and will turn you back by the way by which you came.
30 And this shall be unto thee the sign, Ye shall eat this year what groweth of itself, and in the second year what springeth after the same; and in the third year sow, and reap, and plant vineyards, and eat their fruit.
And this shall be a sign to you, Eat this year what you have sown; and the second year that which is left: and the third year sow, and reap, and plant vineyards, and eat the fruit of them.
31 And the remnant of the house of Judah that is escaped shall yet strike root downward, and bear fruit upward.
And they that are left in Judea shall take root downward, and bear fruit upward:
32 For out of Jerusalem shall go forth a remnant, and that which escapeth out of Mount Zion: the zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.
for out of Jerusalem there shall be a remnant, and the saved ones out of mount Sion: the zeal of the Lord of hosts shall perform this.
33 Therefore thus hath said the Lord concerning the king of Assyria, He shall not come into this city, and he shall not shoot an arrow thereon, nor come before it with shields, nor cast up an embankment against it.
Therefore thus says the Lord concerning the king of the Assyrians, He shall not enter into this city, nor cast a weapon against it, nor bring a shield against it, nor make a rampart round it.
34 On the way by which he came, by the same shall he return, and into this city shall he not come, saith the Lord.
But by the way by which he came, by it shall he return, and shall not enter into this city: thus says the Lord.
35 And I will shield this city to save it for my own sake, and for the sake of David my servant.
I will protect this city to save it for my own sake, and for my servant David's sake.
36 Then went out an angel of the Lord, and smote in the camp of the Assyrians one hundred and eighty and five thousand men; and when people arose early in the morning, behold, they were all dead corpses.
And the angel of the Lord went forth, and killed out of the camp of the Assyrians a hundred and eighty-five thousand: and they arose in the morning and found all [these] bodies dead.
37 And Sennacherib the king of Assyria departed, and went and returned, and dwelt at Nineveh.
And Sennacherim king of the Assyrians turned and departed, and lived in Nineve.
38 And it came to pass, as he was prostrating himself 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 Ararat. And Essar-chaddon his son became king in his stead.
And while he was worshipping Nasarach his country's god in the house, Adramelech and Sarasar his sons struck him with swords; and they escaped into Armenia: and Asordan his son reigned in his stead.
