< Isaiah 37 >

1 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;
And it came to pass, when king Ezechias had heard it, that he rent his garments and covered himself with sackcloth, and went into the house of the Lord.
2 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;
And he sent Eliacim who was over the house, and Sobna the scribe, and the ancients of the priests covered with sackcloth, to Isaias the son of Amos the prophet.
3 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.
And they said to him: Thus saith Ezechias: This day is a day of tribulation, and of rebuke, and of blasphemy: for the children are come to the birth, and there is not strength to bring forth.
4 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.
It may be the Lord thy God will hear the words of Rabsaces, whom the king of the Assyrians his master hath sent to blaspheme the living God, and to reproach with words which the Lord thy God hath heard: wherefore lift up thy prayer for the remnant that is left.
5 So the servants of King Hezekiah came unto Isaiah.
And the servants of Ezechias came to Isaias.
6 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.
And Isaias said to them: Thus shall you say to your master: Thus saith the Lord: Be not afraid of the words that thou hast heard, with which the servants of the king of the Assyrians have blasphemed me.
7 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.
Behold, I will send a spirit upon him, and he shall hear a message, and shall return to his own country, and I will cause him to fall by the sword in his own country.
8 So Rabshakeh returned, and found the king of Assyria, warring against Libnah, —for he had heard, that he had broken up from Lachish.
And Rabsaces returned, and found the king of the Assyrians besieging Lobna. For he had heard that he was departed from Lachis.
9 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:
And he heard say about Tharaca the king of Ethiopia: He is come forth to fight against thee. And when he heard it, he sent messengers to Ezechias, saying:
10 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.
Thus shall you speak to Ezechias the king of Juda, saying: Let not thy God deceive thee, in whom thou trustest, saying: Jerusalem shall not be given into the hands of the king of the Assyrians.
11 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?
Behold thou hast heard all that the kings of the Assyrians hare done to all countries which they have destroyed, and canst thou be delivered?
12 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?
Have the gods of the nations delivered them whom my fathers have destroyed, Gozam, and Haram, and Reseph, and the children of Eden, that were in Thalassar?
13 Where are 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 Emath, and the king of Arphad, and the king of the city of Sepharvaim, of Ana, and of Ava?
14 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.
And Ezechias took the letter from the hand of the messengers, and read it, and went up to the house of the Lord, and Ezechias spread it before the Lord.
15 And Hezekiah prayed unto Yahweh saying:
And Ezechias prayed to the Lord, saying:
16 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.
O Lord of hosts, God of Israel, who sittest upon the cherubims, thou alone art the God of all the kingdoms of the earth, thou hast made heaven and earth.
17 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.
Incline, O Lord, thy ear, and hear: open, O Lord, thy eyes, and see, and hear all the words of Sennacherib, which he hath sent to blaspheme the living God.
18 Of a truth, O Yahweh, —the kings of Assyria have devoted to destruction all the countries, and their land;
For of a truth, O Lord, the kings of the Assyrians have laid waste lands, and their countries.
19 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.
And they have cast their gods into the fire, for they were not gods, but the works of men’s hands, of wood and stone: and they broke them in pieces.
20 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.
And now, O Lord our God, save us out of his hand: and let all the kingdoms of the earth know, that thou only art the Lord.
21 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,
And Isaias the son of Amos sent to Ezechias, saying: Thus saith the Lord the God of Israel: For the prayer thou hast made to me concerning Sennacherib the king of the Assyrians:
22 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,
This is the word which the Lord hath spoken of him: The virgin the daughter of Sion hath despised thee, and laughed thee to scorn: the daughter of Jerusalem hath wagged the head after thee.
23 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.
Whom hast thou reproached, and whom hast thou blasphemed, and against whom hast thou exalted thy voice, and lifted up thy eyes on high? Against the Holy One of Israel.
24 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:
By the hand of thy servants thou hast reproached the Lord: and hast said: With the multitude of my chariots I have gone up to the height of the mountains, to the top of Libanus: and I will out down its tall cedars, and its choice fir trees, and will enter to the top of its height, to the forest of its Carmel.
25 I, have digged, and drunk waters, —That I may dry up, with the soles of my feet, all the Nile-streams of Egypt.
I have digged, and drunk water, and have dried up with the sole of my foot, all the rivers shut up in banks.
26 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;
Hast thou not heard what I have done to him of old? from the days of old I have formed it: and now I have brought it to effect: and it hath come to pass that hills fighting together, and fenced cities should be destroyed.
27 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.
The inhabitants of them were weak of hand, they trembled, and were confounded: they became like the grass of the field, and the herb of the pasture, and like the grass of the housetops, which withered before it was ripe.
28 Howbeit, thine abode and thy coming out and thy going in, I know, —and thy raging against me.
I know thy dwelling, and thy going out, and thy coming in, and thy rage against me.
29 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.
When thou wast mad against me, thy pride came up to my ears: therefore I will put a ring in thy nose, and a bit between thy lips, and I will turn thee back by the way by which thou camest.
30 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.
But to thee this shall be a sign: Eat this year the things that spring of themselves, and in the second year eat fruits: but in the third year sow and reap, and giant vineyards, and eat the fruit of them.
31 Then shall the escaped of the house of Judah that remain, again, Take root downward, —And bear fruit upward.
And that which shall be saved of the house of Juda, and which is left, shall take root downward, and shall bear fruit upward:
32 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.
For out of Jerusalem shall go forth a, remnant, and salvation from mount Sion: the zeal of the Lord of hosts shall do this.
33 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:
Wherefore thus saith the Lord concerning the king of the Assyrians: He shall not come into this city, nor shoot an arrow into it, nor come before it with shield, nor cast a trench about it.
34 By the way that he Came in, By the Same, shall he return, —And into this city, shall he not enter, Declareth Yahweh.
By the way that he came, he shall return, and into this city he shall not come, saith the Lord.
35 Thus will I throw a covering over this city to save it, —For mine own sake, And for the sake of David my servant.
And I will protect this city, and will save it for my own sake, and for the sake of David my servant.
36 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!
And the angel of the Lord went out, and slew in the camp of the Assyrians a hundred and eighty-five thousand. And they arose in the morning, and behold they were all dead corpses.
37 So Sennacherib the king of Assyria brake up, and went his way, and returned, —and remained in Nineveh.
And Sennacherib the king of the Assyrians went out and departed, and returned, and dwelt in Ninive.
38 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.
And it came to pass, as he was worshipping in the temple of Nesroch his god, that Adramelech and Sarasar his sons slew him with the sword: and they fled into the land of Ararat, and Asarhaddon his son reigned in his stead.

< Isaiah 37 >