Isaiah 37
1 And it happened that, when king Hezekiah had heard this, he rent his garments, and he wrapped himself in sackcloth, and he entered the house of the Lord.
And it came to pass, when King Hezekiah heard it, that he rent his clothes, —and covered himself with sackcloth, and entered the house of Yahweh;
2 And he sent Eliakim, who was 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 sent Eliakim who was over the household and Shebna the scribe and the elders of the priests, covered with sackcloth, —unto Isaiah the prophet, Son of Amoz;
3 And they said to him: “Thus says Hezekiah: This day is a day of tribulation, and of rebuke, and of blasphemy. For the sons have arrived at the time for birth, but there is not enough strength to bring them forth.
and they said unto him, Thus, saith Hezekiah, A day of distress and rebuke and reviling, is this day, —For children are come to the birth, and, strength, is there none to bring forth.
4 Perhaps, somehow, the Lord your God will hear the words of Rabshakeh, whom the king of the Assyrians, his lord, has sent to blaspheme the living God, and will rebuke the words that the Lord your God has heard. Therefore, lift up your prayers on behalf of the remnant which has been left behind.”
It may be, that Yahweh thy God will hear the words of Rabshakeh whom the king of Assyria his lord, hath sent to reproach a Living God, and will rebuke the words which Yahweh thy God hath heard, —Wherefore lift thou up a prayer, for the remnant that remaineth.
5 And so the servants of king Hezekiah went to Isaiah.
So the servants of King Hezekiah came unto Isaiah.
6 And Isaiah said to them: “You shall say this to your lord: Thus says the Lord: Do not be afraid to face the words that you have heard, by which the servants of the king of the Assyrians blasphemed me.
And Isaiah said unto them, Thus, shall ye, surely say, unto your lord, —Thus, saith Yahweh—Be not thou afraid because of the words which thou hast heard, wherewith the servants of the king of Assyria have reviled, Me.
7 Behold, I will send a spirit to him, and he will hear a message, and he will return to his own land. And I will cause him to fall by the sword, in his own land.”
Behold me! about to let go against him a blast of alarm, and when he heareth the report, then will he return to his own country, —and I will cause him to fall by the sword in his own land.
8 Then Rabshakeh returned, and he found the king of the Assyrians fighting against Libnah. For he had heard that he had set out from Lachish.
So Rabshakeh returned, and found the king of Assyria, warring against Libnah, —for he had heard, that he had broken up from Lachish.
9 And he heard from Tirhakah, the king of Ethiopia: “He has gone forth so that he may fight against you.” And when he had heard this, he sent messengers to Hezekiah, saying:
And he heard it reported concerning Tirhakah king of Ethiopia, saying, He hath come forth to fight with thee, —so when he heard it, he sent messengers unto Hezekiah, saying:
10 “You shall say this to Hezekiah, the king of Judah, saying: Do not let your God, in whom you trust, deceive you by saying: ‘Jerusalem will not be given into the hands of the king of the Assyrians.’
Thus, shall ye surely speak unto Hezekiah king of Judah, saying, Let not thy God, in whom, thou, art trusting, beguile thee, saying, —Jerusalem, shall not be given over, into the hand of the king of Assyria.
11 Behold, you have heard about all that the kings of the Assyrians have done to all the lands that they have conquered, and so, how can you be delivered?
Lo! thou, thyself, hast heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all the lands in devoting them to destruction, —and shalt, thou, be delivered?
12 Have the gods of the nations rescued those whom my fathers have conquered: Gozan, and Haran, and Rezeph, and the sons of Eden who were at Telassar?
Did the gods of the nations, deliver them, whom my fathers destroyed, —Gozan, and Haran, —and Rezeph, and the sons of Eden, who were in Telassar?
13 Where is the king of Hamath and the king of Arpad, or the king of the city of Sepharvaim, or of Hena and Ivvah?”
Where are the king of Hamath, and the king of Arpad, and the king of the city of Sepharvaim, —of Hena, and Ivvah?
14 And Hezekiah took the letter from the hand of the messengers, and he read it, and he went up to the house of the Lord, and Hezekiah spread it out in the sight of the Lord.
And, when Hezekiah had received the letter at the hand of the messengers, and had read it, then went he up to the house of Yahweh, and Hezekiah spread it out, before Yahweh.
15 And Hezekiah prayed to the Lord, saying:
And Hezekiah prayed unto Yahweh saying:
16 “O Lord of hosts, the God of Israel who sits upon the Cherubim: you alone are God of all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and earth.
O Yahweh of hosts, God of Israel—inhabiting the cherubim, Thou thyself, art GOD, even thou alone, for all the kingdoms of the earth: Thou, didst make the heavens and the earth.
17 O Lord, incline your ear and listen. O Lord, open your eyes and see. And hear all the words of Sennacherib, which he has sent to blaspheme the living God.
Bow down, O Yahweh, thine ear—and hear, Open, O Yahweh, thine eyes—and see, —Yea hear thou all the words of Sennacherib, who hath sent—to reproach a Living God.
18 For truly, O Lord, the kings of the Assyrians have laid waste to countries and territories.
Of a truth, O Yahweh, —the kings of Assyria have devoted to destruction all the countries, and their land;
19 And they have cast their gods into the fire. For these were not gods, but the works of men’s hands, of wood and of stone. And they broke them into pieces.
and have put their gods in the fire, —for, no-gods, were they, but the work of the hands of men wood and stone and so they destroyed them.
20 And now, O Lord our God, save us from his hand. And let all the kingdoms of the earth acknowledge that you alone are Lord.”
Now, therefore, O Yahweh our God, save us, out of his hand, —That all the kingdoms of the earth, may know, That, thou, art Yahweh, thou alone.
21 And Isaiah, the son of Amoz, sent to Hezekiah, saying: “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: Because of what you have prayed to me about Sennacherib, the king of the Assyrians,
Then Isaiah son of Amoz sent unto Hezekiah saying, —Thus, saith Yahweh, God of Israel, In that thou hast prayed unto me concerning Sennacherib king of Assyria,
22 this is the word that the Lord has spoken over him: The virgin daughter of Zion has despised you and mocked you. The daughter of Jerusalem has shaken her head at you.
this, is the word which Yahweh hath spoken concerning him, —The virgin daughter of Zion, laugheth thee to scorn—mocketh thee, The daughter of Jerusalem after thee doth wag her head,
23 Whom have you insulted? And whom have you blasphemed? And against whom have you lifted up your voice and raised up your eyes on high? Against the Holy One of Israel!
Whom, hast thou reproached and insulted? And, against whom, hast thou lifted high thy voice? Yea thou hast proudly raised thine eyes, against the Holy One of Israel.
24 By the hand of your servants, you have reproached the Lord. And you have said: ‘With a multitude of my four-horse chariots, I have ascended the heights of the mountains adjoining Lebanon. And I will cut down its lofty cedars and its choice pine trees. And I will reach the top of its summit, to the forest of its Carmel.
Through thy servants, thou hast reproached My Lord and hast said, —With my multitude of chariots, have I ascended The height of the mountains The recesses of Lebanon, That I may cut down Its tallest cedars Its choicest firs, That I may enter Its highest summit, Its thick garden forest:
25 I dug deep, and I drank water, and I dried up all the river banks with the sole of my foot.’
I, have digged, and drunk waters, —That I may dry up, with the soles of my feet, all the Nile-streams of Egypt.
26 Have you not heard what I have done to it in past times? In ancient times, I formed it. And now I have brought it forth. And it has been made so that the hills and the fortified cities would fight together, unto its destruction.
Hast thou not heard—That, long ago, that, is what I appointed, And from days of old, devised? Now, have I brought it to pass, That thou mightest Serve to lay waste, in desolate ruins, fortified cities;
27 Their inhabitants had unsteady hands. They trembled and were confused. They became like the plants of the field, and the grass of the pastures, and like the weeds on the rooftops, which wither before they are mature.
And their inhabitants, being powerless, were overthrown and put to shame—They became—Grass of the field and Young herbage, Grass on housetops, and Seed parched before it came up.
28 I know your habitation, and your arrival, and your departure, and your madness against me.
Howbeit, thine abode and thy coming out and thy going in, I know, —and thy raging against me.
29 When you became angry against me, your arrogance rose up to my ears. Therefore, I will place a ring in your nose, and a bit between your lips. And I will turn you back on the road by which you arrived.
Because, thy raging against me, and thy contempt, have come up into mine ears, Therefore will I put My ring in thy nose, and My bit in thy lips, And will turn thee back, by the way by which thou camest.
30 But this shall be a sign for you: Eat, in this year, whatever springs up on its own. And in the second year, eat fruits. But in the third year, sow and reap, and plant vineyards, and eat their fruit.
And, this unto thee, is the sign, Eating this year, the growth of scattered seeds, And in the second year, that which shooteth up of itself, —Then in the third year, Sow ye—and reap, and Plant ye vineyards, and eat the fruit thereof.
31 And what will be saved from the house of Judah, and what is left behind, will form deep roots, and will bear high fruits.
Then shall the escaped of the house of Judah that remain, again, Take root downward, —And bear fruit upward.
32 For from Jerusalem, a remnant shall go forth, and salvation from mount Zion. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will accomplish this.
For, out of Jerusalem, shall come forth a remnant, And that which hath escaped, out of Mount Zion, —the jealousy of Yahweh of hosts, will perform, this.
33 For this reason, thus says the Lord about the king of the Assyrians: He will not enter this city, nor shoot an arrow into it, nor overtake it with a shield, nor dig a rampart all around it.
Therefore, thus, saith Yahweh, concerning the king of Assyria, He shall not enter this city, Nor shoot there, an arrow, —Nor attack it with shield, Nor cast up against it a mound:
34 He will return on the road by which he arrived. And into this city, he will not enter, says the Lord.
By the way that he Came in, By the Same, shall he return, —And into this city, shall he not enter, Declareth Yahweh.
35 And I will protect this city, so that I may save it for my own sake, and for the sake of David, my servant.”
Thus will I throw a covering over this city to save it, —For mine own sake, And for the sake of David my servant.
36 Then the Angel of the Lord went forth and struck down, in the camp of the Assyrians, one hundred eighty-five thousand. And they arose in the morning, and behold, all these were dead bodies.
Then went forth the messenger of Yahweh, and smote—in the camp of the Assyrians—a hundred and eighty-five thousand, —and when men arose early in the morning, lo! they were all, dead bodies!
37 And Sennacherib, the king of the Assyrians, departed and went away. And he returned and lived at Nineveh.
So Sennacherib the king of Assyria brake up, and went his way, and returned, —and remained in Nineveh.
38 And it happened that, as he was adoring his god in the temple of Nisroch, his sons, Adramelech and Sharezer, struck him with the sword. And they fled into the land of Ararat. And Esarhaddon, his son, reigned in his place.
And it came to pass, as he was bowing down in the house of Nisroch his god, that, Adrammelech and Sharezer his sons, smote him with the sword, howbeit, they, escaped into the land of Ararat, —and, Esarhaddon his son, reigned, in his stead.
