Esias 37
1 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.
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.
2 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,
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.
3 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.
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.
4 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.
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.”
5 So the servants of king Ezekias came to Esaias.
And so the servants of king Hezekiah went to Isaiah.
6 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,
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.
7 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.
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.”
8 So Rabsaces returned, and found the king of the Assyrians besieging Lobna: for he had heard that he had departed from Lachis.
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.
9 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,
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:
10 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.
“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.’
11 Hast you not heard what the kings of the Assyrians have done, how they have destroyed the whole earth? and shall you be delivered?
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?
12 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?
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?
13 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?
Where is the king of Hamath and the king of Arpad, or the king of the city of Sepharvaim, or of Hena and Ivvah?”
14 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.
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.
15 And Ezekias prayed to the Lord, saying,
And Hezekiah prayed to the Lord, saying:
16 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.
“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.
17 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.
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.
18 For of a truth, Lord, the kings of the Assyrians have laid waste the whole world, and the countries thereof,
For truly, O Lord, the kings of the Assyrians have laid waste to countries and territories.
19 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.
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.
20 But now, O Lord our God, deliver us from his hands, that every kingdom of the earth may know that you are God alone.
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.”
21 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.
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,
22 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.
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.
23 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?
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!
24 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:
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.
25 and I have made a bridge, and dried up the waters, and every pool of water.
I dug deep, and I drank water, and I dried up all the river banks with the sole of my foot.’
26 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.
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.
27 I weakened [their] hands, and they withered; and they became as dry grass on the housetops, and as grass.
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.
28 But now I know your rest, and your going out, and your coming in.
I know your habitation, and your arrival, and your departure, and your madness against me.
29 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.
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.
30 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.
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.
31 And they that are left in Judea shall take root downward, and bear fruit upward:
And what will be saved from the house of Judah, and what is left behind, will form deep roots, and will bear high fruits.
32 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.
For from Jerusalem, a remnant shall go forth, and salvation from mount Zion. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will accomplish this.
33 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.
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.
34 But by the way by which he came, by it shall he return, and shall not enter into this city: thus says the Lord.
He will return on the road by which he arrived. And into this city, he will not enter, says the Lord.
35 I will protect this city to save it for my own sake, and for my servant David's sake.
And I will protect this city, so that I may save it for my own sake, and for the sake of David, my servant.”
36 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.
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.
37 And Sennacherim king of the Assyrians turned and departed, and lived in Nineve.
And Sennacherib, the king of the Assyrians, departed and went away. And he returned and lived at Nineveh.
38 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.
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.
