Isaiah 37
1 When King Hezekiah heard what they reported, he tore his clothes and put on clothes made of rough sackcloth [because he was very distressed]. Then he went into the temple of Yahweh [and prayed].
When Hezekiah heard it, he tore his clothes, put on sackcloth, and went into the Lord's Temple.
2 Then he sent Eliakim, Shebna, and the (older/most important) priests, who were also wearing clothes made of rough sackcloth, to talk to me.
He sent Eliakim the palace manager, Shebna, the scribe, and the leading priests, all wearing sackcloth, to see the prophet Isaiah, son of Amoz.
3 He said to them, “Tell this to Isaiah: ‘King Hezekiah says that this is a day when we are greatly distressed. Other nations are causing us to be insulted and disgraced. We are like [SIM] a woman who is about to give birth to a baby, but she does not have the strength that she needs to do it.
They told him, “This is what Hezekiah says: Today is a day of trouble and of punishment. It's like when babies arrive at the entrance to the birth canal but there's no strength to deliver them.
4 [But] perhaps Yahweh our God has heard what the official from Assyria said. Perhaps he knows that his boss, the King of Assyria, sent him to insult the all-powerful God, and that Yahweh will punish the King of Assyria for what he said. And the king requests that you pray for the few of us who are still alive [here in Jerusalem].’”
Maybe the Lord your God, hearing the message the army commander delivered on behalf of his master, the king of Assyria—a message sent to insult the living God—will punish him for his words. Please say a prayer for the remnant of us who still survive.”
5 After those men gave me that message,
After Hezekiah's officials delivered his message to Isaiah,
6 I replied, “Tell the King, ‘This is what Yahweh says: “Those messengers from the King of Assyria have said evil things about me. But do not be disturbed by what they said.
Isaiah replied to them, “Tell your master, This is what the Lord says: Don't be frightened by the words that you have heard, the words used by the servants of the king of Assyria to blaspheme me.
7 Listen to this: I will cause Sennacherib to hear a rumor [that the armies of Babylon are about to attack his country], and that will worry him. So he will return to his own country, and there I will cause him to be assassinated by [men using] swords.”’”
Look, I'm going to scare him—he'll hear a rumor, and he'll have to return to his own country. When he's there I'll have him killed by the sword.”
8 The official from Assyria found out that the King of Assyria [and his army] had captured Lachish [city] and that they were attacking Libnah, [which is a nearby city]. So the official left Jerusalem and went to Libnah [to report to the king what had happened in Jerusalem].
The Assyrian army commander left and went back to join the king of Assyria, having heard the king had left Lachish and was attacking Libnah.
9 Soon after that, King [Sennacherib] received a report that King Tirhakah of Ethiopia was leading his army to attack them. So before King Sennacherib left Libnah [with his army to fight against the army from Ethiopia], he sent other messengers to Hezekiah in Jerusalem with a letter. [In the letter he wrote this] to Hezekiah:
Sennacherib had received a message about Tirhakah, king of Ethiopia, that said, “Watch out! He is coming to attack you.” So Sennacherib sent messengers again to Hezekiah, saying,
10 “Do not allow your god, on whom you are relying, to deceive you by promising you that Jerusalem will not be captured by my army.
“Tell Hezekiah, king of Judah: ‘Don't let your God, the one you're trusting in, fool you by saying that Jerusalem won't fall into the hands of the king of Assyria.
11 You have certainly heard what the armies of the kings of Assyria have done to all the other countries; our armies have destroyed them completely. So, (do you think that you will escape?/do not think that your god will save you!) [RHQ]
Look! You've heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all the countries they've invaded— they destroyed them completely! Do you really think you'll be saved?
12 Did the gods of the nations that were about to be destroyed by the armies of the previous kings of Assyria rescue them? Did those gods rescue Gozan [region], and Haran and Rezeph [cities in northern Syria], and the people of Eden [region] who were forced to go to Tel-Assar [city]?
Did the gods of the nations my forefathers destroyed save them—the gods of Gozan, Haran, Rezeph, and the people of Eden who lived in Telassar?
13 What happened to the King of Hamath and the King of Arpad? What happened to the kings of Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivvah [cities]? [Did their gods rescue them] [RHQ]?”
Where today is the king of Hamath, the king of Arpad, the king of the city of Sepharvaim, the king of Hena, or the king of Ivvah?”
14 Hezekiah received the letter that the messengers gave him, and he read it. Then he went up to the temple and spread out the letter in front of Yahweh.
Hezekiah received the letter from the messengers and read it. Then he went up to the Lord's Temple and opened it out before the Lord.
15 And [then] Hezekiah prayed this:
Hezekiah prayed to the Lord, saying,
16 “O Yahweh, Commander of the armies of angels, the God to whom [we] Israelis belong, you are seated on your throne above the statues of the creatures with wings, [above the Sacred Chest]. Only you are [truly] God. You rule all the kingdoms on this earth. You are the one who created everything on the earth and in the sky.
“Lord Almighty, God of Israel, you who live above the cherubim, you alone are God over all the kingdoms of the earth, you are Creator of heaven and earth.
17 [So], Yahweh, [please] listen to what I am saying, and look at [what is happening]! And listen to what Sennacherib has said to insult you, the all-powerful God!
Please listen with your ears, Lord, and hear; open your eyes, Lord, and see. Listen to the message that Sennacherib has sent to insult the living God.
18 Yahweh, it is true that [the armies of] the kings of Assyria have completely destroyed many nations and ruined their land.
Yes, it's true, Lord, that the Assyrian kings have destroyed these nations and their lands.
19 And they have thrown all the idols of those nations into fires and burned them. But they were not [really] gods. They were only idols made of wood and stone, [and that is why they were destroyed easily].
They have thrown their gods into the fire because they are not really gods—they are just the work of human hands, made of wood and stone so they could destroy them.
20 So now, Yahweh our God, [please] rescue us from the power [MTY] of [the King of Assyria], in order that [the people in] all the kingdoms of the world will know that you, Yahweh, are the only one who is [truly] God.”
Now, Lord our God, please save us from him, in order that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that only you, Lord, are God.”
21 Then I sent this message to Hezekiah: “This is what Yahweh, the God to whom [we] Israelis belong, says: Because you prayed about what King Sennacherib of Assyria [said],
Then Isaiah, son of Amoz, sent a message to Hezekiah, saying, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: Because you've prayed to me about Sennacherib, king of Assyria,
22 this is what I say to him: ‘The people of Jerusalem despise you and make fun of you. They will wag/shake their heads to mock you while you flee from here.
this is the word of the Lord condemning him: The virgin daughter of Zion scorns you and mocks you; the daughter of Jerusalem shakes her head as you run away.
23 Whom do you think you have been despising and ridiculing? Whom do you think you were shouting at? Whom do you think you were looking at [very] proudly/arrogantly? [It was I], the Holy One whom the Israelis worship!
Who have you been insulting and ridiculing? Who did you raise your voice against? Who did you look at with so proud eyes? It was against the Holy One of Israel!
24 The messengers whom you sent made fun of me. You said, “With my many chariots I have gone to the highest mountains, [even] to the highest mountains in Lebanon. We have cut down its tallest cedar [trees] and its nicest pine/cypress [trees]. We have been to the most distant/remote peaks and to its densest forests.
By your servants you have mocked the Lord. You said: ‘With my many chariots I have ascended to the high mountains, to the farthest peaks of Lebanon. I have chopped down its tallest cedars, the best of its cypress trees. I have reached its most distant heights, its deepest forests.
25 We have dug wells [in many countries] and drunk water [from them]. And by marching through [MTY] the streams of Egypt, we dried them all up [HYP]!”
I have dug wells and drunk water in foreign lands. With the soles of my feet I dried up all the rivers in Egypt.’”
26 [But I, Yahweh, reply], “Have you never heard that long ago I determined [those things]; I planned them long ago, and now I have been causing those things to occur. I planned that your army would destroy cities and cause them to become piles of rubble.
The Lord replies, “Haven't you heard? I decided it long ago; I planned it in the olden days. Now I am making sure it happens—that you are to knock down fortified towns into piles of rubble.
27 The people in those cities have no power, and as a result they are dismayed and discouraged. They are [as frail as] [MET] grass and plants in the fields, as frail as grass that grows on the roofs of houses and is scorched by the hot east wind.
Their people, powerless, are terrified and humiliated. They're like plants in a field, like soft green shoots, like grass that sprouts on the rooftop—scorched before it can even grow.
28 [But] I know [everything about you]; I know when you are [in your house and] when you go outside; I also know that you are (raging/speaking very angrily) against me.
But I know you very well—where you live, when you come in, when you leave, and your furious anger against me.
29 [So], because you have raged against me and because I have heard you speak very proudly/arrogantly, [it will be as though] I will put a hook in your nose and I will put an iron (bit/metal bar) in your mouth [in order that I can lead you where I want you to go], and I will force you to return [to your own country], on the same road on which you came [here, without conquering Jerusalem].”’
Because of your furious anger against me, and because I know how you disrespect me, I'm going to put my hook in your nose and my bit in your mouth, and I will force you to return the same way you came.”
30 [Then I said to Hezekiah], ‘This will prove to you [that what I said will happen]: “This year, you(pl) will eat [only the crops] that grow by themselves, and next year the same thing will happen. But in the third year you will plant [crops] and harvest them; you will take care of your vineyards and eat the grapes.
“Hezekiah, this will be a sign to prove this is true: This year you'll eat what grows by itself. The second year you'll eat what grows from that. But in the third year you'll sow and reap, you'll plant vineyards and eat their fruit.
31 And [you] people who are still [here] in Judah, will be strong and prosper again [MET].
The remnant that's left of Judah will revive again, sending roots below and bearing fruit above.
32 A small number of my people will survive, and they will spread out from Jerusalem [DOU].” That will happen because [I], the Commander of the armies of angels, am desiring very much to accomplish it.’
For a remnant will come out of Jerusalem, and survivors will come from Mount Zion. The intense determination of the Lord will make sure this happens.
33 And this is what [I], Yahweh, say about the King of Assyria: ‘His [armies] will not enter Jerusalem; they will not [even] shoot arrows into it. His soldiers will not [march outside] the city gates holding their shields, and they will not build high mounds of dirt against the walls of the city [to enable them to attack the city].
This is what the Lord says about the king of Assyria: He shall not enter this city or shoot an arrow at it. He shall not advance towards it with a shield, or build a siege ramp against it.
34 And their king will return [to his own country] on the same road on which he came [here]. He will not enter this city!’ [That will happen because I], Yahweh, have said it!
He shall return the same way he came, and he shall not enter this city, says the Lord.
35 For the sake of my own reputation and because of what I promised King David, who served me [well], I will defend this city and prevent it from being destroyed.”
I will defend this city and save it, for my own sake and for the sake of my servant David.”
36 [That night], an angel from Yahweh went out to where the army of Assyria had set up their tents and killed 185,000 of their soldiers. When [the rest of the soldiers] woke up the next morning, they saw that there were corpses everywhere.
Then the angel of the Lord went to the Assyrian camp and killed 185,000 of them. When the survivors woke up in the morning, they were surrounded by dead bodies.
37 Then King Sennacherib left and returned home to Nineveh [in Assyria], and stayed there.
Sennacherib, king of Assyria, gave up and left. He returned home to Nineveh and stayed there.
38 [One day], when he was worshiping in the temple of his god Nisroch, his two sons, Adrammelech and Sharezer, killed him with their swords. Then they escaped and went to the Ararat [region northwest of Nineveh]. And another of Sennacherib’s sons, Esarhaddon, became the King of Assyria.
While he was worshiping in the temple of his god Nisroch, his sons Adrammelech and Sharezer killed him with the sword and then ran away to the land of Ararat. His son Esar-haddon succeeded him as king.
