| 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
Jehovah. 2 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. 3 And they said unto him, Thus saith
Hezekiah, This day is a day of trouble, and of rebuke, and of contumely; for
the children are come to the birth, and there is not strength to bring forth.
4 It may be Jehovah thy God will hear the words of Rabshakeh, whom the
king of Assyria his master hath sent to defy the living God, and will rebuke
the words which Jehovah thy God hath heard: wherefore lift up thy prayer for
the remnant that is left. 5 So the servants of king Hezekiah came to
Isaiah. 6 And Isaiah said unto them, Thus shall ye say to your master,
Thus saith Jehovah, Be not afraid of the words that thou hast heard,
wherewith the servants of the king of Assyria have blasphemed me.
7 Behold, I will put a spirit in him, and he shall hear tidings, and shall
return unto his own land; and I will cause him to fall by the sword in his
own land. 8 So Rabshakeh returned, and found the king of Assyria warring
against Libnah; for he had heard that he was departed from Lachish. 9 And
he heard say concerning Tirhakah king of Ethiopia, He is come out to fight
against thee. And when he heard it, he sent messengers to Hezekiah, saying,
10 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. 11 Behold, thou hast heard what the kings
of Assyria have done to all lands, by destroying them utterly: and shalt thou
be delivered? 12 Have the gods of the nations delivered them, which my
fathers have destroyed, Gozan, and Haran, and Rezeph, and the children of
Eden that were in Telassar? 13 Where is the king of Hamath, and the king
of Arpad, and the king of the city of Sepharvaim, of Hena, and Ivvah?
14 And Hezekiah received the letter from the hand of the messengers, and
read it; and Hezekiah went up unto the house of Jehovah, and spread it before
Jehovah. 15 And Hezekiah prayed unto Jehovah, saying, 16 O Jehovah of
hosts, the God of Israel, that sittest above the cherubim, thou art
the God, even thou alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth; thou hast made
heaven and earth. 17 Incline thine ear, O Jehovah, and hear; open thine
eyes, O Jehovah, and see; and hear all the words of Sennacherib, who hath
sent to defy the living God. 18 Of a truth, Jehovah, the kings of Assyria
have laid waste all the countries, and their land, 19 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. 20 Now therefore, O Jehovah
our God, save us from his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know
that thou art Jehovah, even thou only. 21 Then Isaiah the son of Amoz sent
unto Hezekiah, saying, Thus saith Jehovah, the God of Israel, Whereas thou
hast prayed to me against Sennacherib king of Assyria, 22 this is the word
which Jehovah hath spoken concerning him: The virgin daughter of Zion hath
despised thee and laughed thee to scorn; the daughter of Jerusalem hath
shaken her head at thee. 23 Whom hast thou defied and blasphemed? and
against whom hast thou exalted thy voice and lifted up thine eyes on high?
even against the Holy One of Israel. 24 By thy servants hast thou
defied the Lord, and hast said, With the multitude of my chariots am I come
up to the height of the mountains, to the innermost parts of Lebanon; and I
will cut down the tall cedars thereof, and the choice fir-trees thereof; and
I will enter into its farthest height, the forest of its fruitful field;
25 I have digged and drunk water, and with the sole of my feet will I dry
up all the rivers of Egypt. 26 Hast thou not heard how I have done it long
ago, and formed it of ancient times? now have I brought it to pass, that it
should be thine to lay waste fortified cities into ruinous heaps.
27 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 a field of grain before it is
grown up. 28 But I know thy sitting down, and thy going out, and thy
coming in, and thy raging against me. 29 Because of thy raging against me,
and because thine arrogancy 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. 30 And this shall be the sign unto thee: ye
shall eat this year that which groweth of itself, and in 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. 31 And the remnant that is
escaped of the house of Judah shall again take root downward, and bear fruit
upward. 32 For out of Jerusalem shall go forth a remnant, and out of mount
Zion they that shall escape. The zeal of Jehovah of hosts will perform this.
33 Therefore thus saith Jehovah concerning the king of Assyria, He shall
not come unto this city, nor shoot an arrow there, neither shall he come
before it with shield, nor cast up a mound against it. 34 By the way that
he came, by the same shall he return, and he shall not come unto this city,
saith Jehovah. 35 For I will defend this city to save it, for mine own
sake, and for my servant David's sake. 36 And the angel of Jehovah went
forth, and smote in the camp of the Assyrians a hundred and fourscore and
five thousand; and when men arose early in the morning, behold, these were
all dead bodies. 37 So Sennacherib king of Assyria departed, and went and
returned, and dwelt at Nineveh. 38 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 Ararat.
And Esar-haddon his son reigned in his stead.
Genesis - Public
Domain
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