< Isaiah 37 >

1 It happened, when king Hezekiah heard it, that he tore his clothes, covered himself with sackcloth, and went into YHWH's house.
And when the king, Hezekiah, heard it, he rent his clothes, and covered himself with sackcloth, and went into the house of Jehovah.
2 He sent Eliakim, who was over the household, and Shebna the scribe, and the elders of the priests, covered with sackcloth, to Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz.
And he sent Eliakim, who was over the palace, and Shebna the scribe, and the elders of the priests, covered with sackcloth, to Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz.
3 They said to him, "Thus says Hezekiah, 'This day is a day of trouble, and of rebuke, and of rejection; for the children have come to the birth, and there is no strength to bring forth.
And they said to him, Thus saith Hezekiah: This day is a day of distress, of rebuke, and of contempt; for the children have come to the birth, and there is not strength to bring forth.
4 It may be YHWH your God will hear the words of Rabshakeh, whom the king of Assyria his master has sent to defy the living God, and will rebuke the words which YHWH your God has heard. Therefore lift up your prayer for the remnant that is left.'"
It may be that Jehovah, thy God, will hear the words of Rabshakeh, whom the king of Assyria, his master, hath sent to reproach the living God, and to revile him with the words which Jehovah, thy God, hath heard. Do thou, therefore, lift up thy prayer for the remnant of the people, that is yet left.
5 So the servants of king Hezekiah came to Isaiah.
And the servants of King Hezekiah came to Isaiah.
6 Isaiah said to them, "Tell your master, 'Thus says YHWH, "Do not be afraid of the words that you have heard, with which the servants of the king of Assyria have blasphemed me.
And Isaiah said to them, Thus shall ye say to your master: Thus saith Jehovah: Be not afraid on account of the words which thou hast heard, with which the servants of the king of Assyria have blasphemed me.
7 Look, I will put a spirit in him and he will hear news, and will return to his own land. I will cause him to fall by the sword in his own land."'"
Behold, I will put a spirit within him, so that he shall hear a rumor, and return to 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.
Then Rabshakeh returned, and found the king of Assyria warring against Libnah, for he had heard that he had departed from Lachish.
9 He heard news concerning Tirhakah king of Ethiopia, "He has come out to fight against you." When he heard it, he returned and sent messengers to Hezekiah, saying,
Then he heard concerning Tirhakah, king of Ethiopia, that it was said, “He is come forth to war against thee.” And when he heard it, he sent messengers to Hezekiah and said,
10 "Thus you shall speak to Hezekiah king of Judah, saying, 'Do not let your God in whom you trust deceive you, saying, "Jerusalem won't be given into the hand of the king of Assyria."
Thus shall ye say to Hezekiah, the king of Judah: 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 Look, you have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all lands, by destroying them utterly. Shall you be delivered?
Behold, thou hast heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all the lands; how they have utterly destroyed them. And shalt thou be delivered?
12 Have the gods of the nations delivered them, which my fathers have destroyed, Gozan, Haran, Rezeph, and the people of Eden who were in Telassar?
Did the gods of the nations which my father destroyed, deliver them? Gozan, and Haran, and Rezeph, and the children of Eden 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?'"
Where is the king of Hamath, and the king of Arphad, and the king of the city of Sepharvaim, of Henah, and of Ivah?
14 Hezekiah received the letter from the hand of the messengers and read it. Then Hezekiah went up to YHWH's house, and spread it before YHWH.
And Hezekiah received the letter from the hand of the messengers, and read it. Then he went up to the house of Jehovah, and spread it before Jehovah.
15 Hezekiah prayed to YHWH, saying,
And Hezekiah prayed before Jehovah, saying,
16 "YHWH of hosts, the God of Israel, who is enthroned among the cherubim, you are the God, even you alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and earth.
O Jehovah of hosts, God of Israel, who sittest between the cherubs, thou alone art the God of all the kingdoms of the earth; thou hast made heaven and earth.
17 Turn your ear, YHWH, and hear. Open your eyes, YHWH, and look. Hear all of the words of Sennacherib, who has sent to defy the living God.
Incline thine ear, O Jehovah, and hear; open thine eyes, O Jehovah, and see; and hear all the words of Sennacherib, which he hath sent to reproach the living God.
18 Truly, YHWH, the kings of Assyria have destroyed all the countries and their land,
In truth, O Jehovah, the kings of Assyria have destroyed all the nations, and their lands,
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.
and have cast their gods into the fire; for they were not gods, but the work of men's hands, wood and stone; and they have destroyed them.
20 Now therefore, YHWH our God, save us from his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that you are YHWH, even you only."
But do thou, O Jehovah, our God, save us from his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that thou alone art Jehovah.
21 Then Isaiah the son of Amoz sent to Hezekiah, saying, "Thus says YHWH, the God of Israel, 'Because you have prayed to me against Sennacherib king of Assyria,
Then Isaiah, the son of Amoz, sent to Hezekiah, saying, Thus saith Jehovah, the God of Israel: Whereas thou hast prayed to me on account of Sennacherib, the king of Assyria,
22 this is the word which YHWH has spoken concerning him. The virgin daughter of Zion has despised you and ridiculed you. The daughter of Jerusalem has shaken her head at you.
This is the word which Jehovah hath spoken against him. The virgin, the daughter of Zion, despiseth thee; she laugheth thee to scorn; The daughter of Jerusalem shaketh her head after thee.
23 Whom have you defied and blasphemed? Against whom have you exalted your voice and lifted up your eyes on high? Against the Holy One of Israel.
Whom hast thou reproached, and reviled, And against whom hast thou exalted thy voice, And lifted up thine eyes on high? Against the Holy One of Israel.
24 By your messengers you have taunted YHWH, and have said, "With the multitude of my chariots I have come up to the height of the mountains, to the innermost parts of Lebanon. I will cut down its tall cedars and its choice fir trees. I will enter into its farthest height, the forest of its fruitful field.
By thy servants hast thou reproached the Lord, and said: “With the multitude of my chariots have I ascended the heights of the mountains, the extremities of Lebanon; I have cut down its tall cedars, and its choice cypress-trees; I have come to its utmost height, to its garden forest.
25 I have dug and drunk water, and with the sole of my feet I will dry up all the rivers of Egypt."
I have digged and drunk water, And with the sole of my feet will I dry up all the rivers of Egypt.”
26 Have you not heard how I have done it long ago, and formed it in ancient times? Now I have brought it to pass, that it should be yours to destroy fortified cities, turning them into ruinous heaps.
Hast thou not heard, that of old I ordained it, And from ancient times purposed it? Now have I brought it to pass, That thou shouldst convert fortified cities into ruinous heaps.
27 Therefore their inhabitants had little power. They were dismayed and confounded. They were like the grass of the field, and like the green herb, like the grass on the rooftops when it is scorched by the east wind.
Therefore were their inhabitants of little strength; They were dismayed and confounded; They were as the grass of the field, and the green herb; As grass upon the house-top, and as corn blasted, before it is grown up.
28 But I know your sitting down, your going out, your coming in, and your raging against me.
I know thy sitting down, thy going out, and thy coming in, And thy rage against me.
29 Because of your raging against me, and because your arrogance has come up into my ears, therefore I will put my hook in your nose and my bridle in your lips, and I will turn you back by the way by which you came.
Because thy rage against me, and thy insolence, is come up into my ears, I will put my ring into thy nose, And my bridle into thy lips, And turn thee back by the way in which thou camest.
30 This shall be the sign to you. You will eat this year that which grows of itself, and in the second year that which springs from the same; and in the third year sow and reap and plant vineyards, and eat their fruit.
And this shall be the sign to thee; Eat this year that which groweth of itself, And in the second year that which groweth of itself, And in the third year ye shall sow and reap, And plant vineyards, and eat the fruit thereof.
31 The remnant that is escaped of the house of Judah will again take root downward, and bear fruit upward.
And the remnant of the house of Judah, that have escaped, Shall again strike root downward, And bear fruit upward.
32 For out of Jerusalem a remnant will go forth, and survivors will escape from Mount Zion. The zeal of YHWH of hosts will perform this.'
For from Jerusalem shall go forth a remnant, And they that have escaped from mount Zion. The zeal of Jehovah of hosts will perform this.
33 Therefore thus says YHWH concerning the king of Assyria, 'He will not come to this city, nor shoot an arrow there, neither will he come before it with shield, nor cast up a mound against it.
Therefore thus saith Jehovah of hosts concerning the king of Assyria; He shall not come into this city, Nor shoot an arrow into it; He shall not present a shield before it, Nor cast up a mound against it.
34 By the way that he came, by the same he shall return, and he shall not come to this city,' says YHWH.
By the way in which he came, by the same shall he return, And into this city shall he not come, saith Jehovah.
35 'For I will defend this city to save it, for my own sake, and for my servant David's sake.'"
For I will defend this city, and deliver it, For mine own sake, and for my servant David's sake.
36 The angel of YHWH went out and struck one hundred and eighty-five thousand men in the camp of the Assyrians. When men arose early in the morning, look, these were all dead bodies.
Then an angel of Jehovah went forth, and smote in the camp of the Assyrians a hundred and eighty-five thousand men; and when the people arose early in the morning, behold they were all dead corpses.
37 So Sennacherib king of Assyria departed, went away, returned to Nineveh, and stayed there.
Then Sennacherib, king of Assyria, decamped, and went away, and returned, and dwelt at Nineveh.
38 It happened, as he was worshipping in the house of Nisroch his god, that Adrammelech and Sharezer his sons struck him with the sword; and they escaped into the land of Ararat. Esarhaddon his son reigned in his place.
And as he was worshipping in the temple of Nisroch, his god, he was slain with the sword by his sons Adrammelech and Sharezer, who escaped into the land of Ararat. And Esarhaddon, his son, reigned in his stead.

< Isaiah 37 >