< 2 Kings 19 >

1 And whanne kyng Ezechie hadde herd these thingis, he to-rente his clothis, and was hilid with a sak; and he entride in to the hous of the Lord.
And it came to pass when king Ezekias heard it, that he tore his clothes, and put on sackcloth, an went into the house of the Lord.
2 And he sente Eliachym, souereyn of the hous, and Sobna, scryueyn, and elde men of the preestis, hilid with sackis, to Ysaie, the prophete, sone of Amos.
And he sent Heliakim the steward, and Somnas the scribe, and the elders of the priests, clothed with sackcloth, to Esaias the prophet the son of Amos.
3 Whiche seiden, Ezechie seith these thingis, This dai is a dai of tribulacioun, and of blamyng, and of blasfemye; sones camen `til to the childberyng, and the `traueler of childe hath not strengthis.
And they said to him, Thus says Ezekias, This day [is] a day of tribulation, and rebuke, and provocation: for the children are come to the travail-[pangs], but the mother has no strength.
4 If perauenture thi Lord God here alle the wordis of Rabsaces, whom the kyng of Assiryens, his lord sente, that he schulde dispise the Lord lyuynge, and repreue bi wordis, whiche thi Lord God herde; and make thou preier for these relikis, that ben foundun.
Peradventure the Lord your God will hear all the words of Rapsakes, whom the king of Assyria his master has sent to reproach the living God and to revile him with the words which the Lord your God has heard: and you shall offer [your] prayer for the remnant that is found.
5 Therfor the seruauntis of kyng Ezechie camen to Isaie;
So the servants of king Ezekias came to Esaias.
6 and Isaie seide to hem, Seie ye these thingis to youre lord, The Lord seith these thingis, Nyle thou drede of the face of wordis whiche thou herdist, bi whiche the children of the kyng of Assiriens blasfemeden me.
And Esaias said to them, Thus shall you say to your master, Thus says the Lord, Be not afraid of the words which you have heard, wherewith the servants of the king of the Assyrians have blasphemed.
7 Lo! Y schal sende to hym a spirit, and he schal here a messanger, and he schal turne ayen in to his lond; and Y schal caste hym doun bi swerd in his owne lond.
Behold, I send a blast upon him, and he shall hear a report, and shall return to his own land; and I will overthrow him with the sword in his own land.
8 Therfor Rabsaces turnede ayen, and foond the kyng of Assiriens fiytynge ayens Lobna; for he hadde herd, that the kyng hadde go awei fro Lachis.
So Rapsakes returned, and found the king of Assyria warring against Lobna: for he heard that he [had] departed from Lachis.
9 And whanne he hadde herd of Theracha, kyng of Ethiope, `men seyynge, Lo! he yede out, that he fiyte ayens thee; that he schulde go ayens `that kyng, he sente messangeris to Ezechie,
And he heard concerning Tharaca king of the Ethiopians, saying, Behold, he is come forth to fight with you: and he returned, and sent messengers to Ezekias, saying,
10 and seide, Seie ye these thingis to Ezechie, kyng of Juda, Thi Lord God, in whom thou hast trist, disseyue not thee, nether seie thou, Jerusalem schal not be `bitakun in to the hondis of the kyng of Assiriens;
Let not your God on whom you trust encourage you, saying, Jerusalem shall not be delivered into the hands of the king of the Assyrians.
11 for thou thi silf herdist what thingis the kyngis of Assiriens diden in alle londis, hou thei wastiden tho; whether therfor thou aloone maist be delyuered?
Behold, you have heard all that the kings of the Assyrians have done in all the lands, to waste them utterly: and shall you be delivered?
12 Whether the goddis of hethene men delyueriden alle men whiche my fadris distrieden, that is, Gozam, and Aran, and Reseph, and the sones of Eden, that weren in Thelassar?
Have the gods of the nations at all delivered them, whom my fathers destroyed; both Gozan, and Charran, and Raphis, and the sons of Edem who were in Thaesthen?
13 Where is the kyng of Emath, and the kyng of Arphat? and the kyng of the cytee of Sepharuaym, of Ana, and of Aua?
Where is the king of Haemath, and the king of Arphad? and where is the king of the city of Seppharvaim, of Ana, and Aba?
14 Therfor whanne Ezechie hadde take the lettris fro the hond of messangeris, and hadde red tho, he stiede in to the hows of the Lord, and spredde abrood tho bifor the Lord;
And Ezekias took the letter from the hand of the messengers, and read it: and he went up to the house of the Lord, and Ezekias spread it before the Lord,
15 and preiede in his siyt, and seide, Lord God of Israel, that sittist on cherubym, thou art God aloone of alle kyngis of erthe; thou madist heuene and erthe.
and said, O Lord God of Israel that dwell over the cherubs, you are the only god in all the kingdoms of the earth; you have made heaven and earth.
16 Bowe thin eere, and here; opyn thin iyen, Lord, and se; and here alle the wordis of Senacherib, which sente, that he schulde dispise `to vs `God lyuynge.
Incline your ear, O Lord, and hear: open, Lord, your eyes, and see: and hear the words of Sennacherim, which he has sent to reproach the living God.
17 Verili, Lord, the kynges of Assiriens distrieden hethene men, and the londis of alle men,
For truly, Lord, the kings of Assyria have wasted the nations,
18 and senten the goddis of hem in to fier; for thei weren not goddis, but werkis of `hondis of men, of tre and stoon; and thei losten `tho goddis.
and have cast their gods into the fire: because they are no gods, but the works of men's hands, wood and stone; and they have destroyed them.
19 Now therfor, oure Lord God, make vs saaf fro the hond of hem, that alle rewmes of erthe wite that thou art the Lord God aloone.
And now, O Lord our God, deliver us out of his hand, and all the kingdoms of the earth shall know that you alone [are] the Lord God.
20 Forsothe Isaie, sone of Amos, sente to Ezechie, and seide, The Lord God of Israel seith these thingis, Y haue herd tho thingis, whiche thou preidist me on Sennacherib, king of Assiriens.
And Esaias the son of Amos sent to Ezekias, saying, Thus says the Lord God of hosts, the God of Israel, I have heard your prayer to me concerning Sennacherim king of the Assyrians.
21 This is the word, which the Lord spak of hym, Thou virgyn douytir of Syon, he dispiside thee, and scornyde thee; thou douyter of Jerusalem, he mouyde his heed aftir thi bak.
This [is] the word which the Lord has spoken against him; The virgin daughter of Sion has made light of you, and mocked you; the daughter of Jerusalem has shaken her head at you.
22 Sennacherib, whom `dispisidist thou, and whom `blasfemedist thou? Ayens whom hast thou reisid thi vois, and hast reisid thin iyen an hiye? Ayens the hooli of Israel.
Whom have you reproached, and whom have you reviled? and against whom have you lifted up your voice, and raised your eyes on high? [Is it] against the Holy One of Israel?
23 Bi the hond of thi seruauntis thou dispisidist the Lord, and seidist, In the multitude of my charys Y stiede in to the hiye thingis of hillis, in the hiynesse of Liban, and kittide doun the hiye cedris therof, and the chosyn beechis therof; and Y entride `til to the termes therof,
By your messengers you has reproached the Lord, and have said, I will go up with the multitude of my chariots, to the height of the mountains, to the sides of Libanus, and I have cut down the height of his cedar, [and] his choice cypresses; and I have come into the midst of the forest and of Carmel.
24 and Y kittide doun the forest of Carmele therof; and Y drank alien watris, and Y made drie with the steppis of `the feet of myn `alle watris closid.
I have refreshed [myself], and have drunk strange waters, and I have dried up with the sole of my foot all the rivers of fortified places.
25 Whether thou herdist not, what Y made at the bigynnyng? Fro elde daies Y made it, and now Y haue brouyt forth; and strengthid citees of fiyteris schulen be in to fallyng of hillis.
I have brought about [the matter], I have brought it to a conclusion; and it is come to the destruction of the bands of warlike prisoners, [even of] strong cities.
26 And thei that sitten meke of hond in tho, trembliden togidere, and ben schent; thei ben maad as the hei of the feeld, and as grene eerbe of roouys, which is dried, bifor that it cam to ripenesse.
And they that lived in them were weak in hand, they quaked and were confounded, they became [as] grass of the field, or [as] the green herb, the grass [growing on] houses, and that which is trodden down by him that stands [upon it].
27 And Y bifor knew thi dwellyng, and thi goyng out, and thin entryng, and thi weie, and thi woodnesse ayens me.
But I know your down-sitting, and your going forth, and your rage against me.
28 Thou were wood ayens me, and thi pride stide in to myn eeris; therfor Y schal putte a cercle in thi nosethirlis, and a bernacle in thi lippis, and Y schal lede thee ayen in to the weie bi which thou camest.
Because you was angry against me, and your fierceness is come up into my ears, therefore will I put my hooks in your nostrils, and my bridle in your lips, and I will turn you back by the way by which you came.
29 Forsothe, Ezechie, this schal be a signe `to thee; ete thou in this yeer that, that thou fyndist; forsothe in the secounde yeer tho thingis, that growen bi her owne wille; sotheli in the thridde yeer sowe ye, and repe ye, plaunte ye vyneris, and ete the fruytis of tho.
And this shall be a sign to you; eat this year the things that grow of themselves, and in the second year the things which spring up: and in the third year [let there be] sowing, and reaping, and planting of vineyards, and eat you the fruit of them.
30 And what euer thing schal be residue of the hows of Juda, it schal sende root dounward, and schal make fruyt vpward.
And he shall increase him that has escaped of the house of Juda: and the remnant [shall strike] root beneath, and it shall produce fruit above.
31 For relikis schulen go out of Jerusalem, and that, that schal be sauyd, `schal go out of the hil of Syon; the feruent loue of the Lord of oostis schal do this.
For from Jerusalem shall go forth a remnant, and he that escapes from the mountain of Sion: the zeal of the Lord of host shall do this.
32 Wherfor the Lord seith these thingis of the kyng of Assiriens, He schal not entre in to this citee, nethir he schal sende an arowe in to it, nether scheeld shal occupie it, nether strengthing, ethir bisegyng, schal cumpasse it.
[Is it] not so? Thus says the Lord concerning the king of the Assyrians, He shall not enter into this city, and he shall not shoot an arrow there, neither shall a shield come against it, neither shall he heap a mound against it.
33 He schal turne ayen bi the weie `bi which he cam, and he schal not entre in to this citee, seith the Lord;
By the way by which he comes, by it shall he return, and he shall not enter into this city, says the Lord.
34 and Y schal defende this citee, and Y schal saue it for me, and for Dauid, my seruaunt.
And I will defend this city as with a shield, for my own sake, and for my servant David's sake.
35 Therfor it was don, in that niyt the aungel of the Lord cam, and smoot in the castels of Assiryens an hundrid foure score and fyue thousynde. And whanne Sennacherib hadde rise eerli, he siy alle bodies of deed men; and he departide, and yede awei.
And it came to pass at night that the angel of the Lord went forth, an struck in the camp of the Assyrians a hundred and eighty-five thousand: and they rose early in the morning, and, behold, [these were] all dead corpses.
36 And Sennacherib, the kyng of Assiriens, turnede ayen, and dwellide in Nynyue.
And Sennacherim king of the Assyrians departed, and went and returned, and lived in Nineve.
37 And whanne he worschipide in the temple Nestrach his god, Adramelech and Sirasar, his sones, killide hym with swerd; and thei fledden in to the lond of Armenyes; and Asaradon, his sone, regnyde for hym.
And it came to pass, while he was worshipping in the house of Meserach his god, that Adramelech and Sarasar his sons struck him with the sword: and they escaped into the land of Ararath; and Asordan his son reigned in his stead.

< 2 Kings 19 >