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].
καὶ ἐγένετο ἐν τῷ ἀκοῦσαι τὸν βασιλέα Εζεκιαν ἔσχισεν τὰ ἱμάτια καὶ σάκκον περιεβάλετο καὶ ἀνέβη εἰς τὸν οἶκον κυρίου
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.
καὶ ἀπέστειλεν Ελιακιμ τὸν οἰκονόμον καὶ Σομναν τὸν γραμματέα καὶ τοὺς πρεσβυτέρους τῶν ἱερέων περιβεβλημένους σάκκους πρὸς Ησαιαν υἱὸν Αμως τὸν προφήτην
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.
καὶ εἶπαν αὐτῷ τάδε λέγει Εζεκιας ἡμέρα θλίψεως καὶ ὀνειδισμοῦ καὶ ἐλεγμοῦ καὶ ὀργῆς ἡ σήμερον ἡμέρα ὅτι ἥκει ἡ ὠδὶν τῇ τικτούσῃ ἰσχὺν δὲ οὐκ ἔχει τοῦ τεκεῖν
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].’”
εἰσακούσαι κύριος ὁ θεός σου τοὺς λόγους Ραψακου οὓς ἀπέστειλεν βασιλεὺς Ἀσσυρίων ὀνειδίζειν θεὸν ζῶντα καὶ ὀνειδίζειν λόγους οὓς ἤκουσεν κύριος ὁ θεός σου καὶ δεηθήσῃ πρὸς κύριον τὸν θεόν σου περὶ τῶν καταλελειμμένων τούτων
5 After those men gave me that message,
καὶ ἦλθον οἱ παῖδες τοῦ βασιλέως πρὸς Ησαιαν
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.
καὶ εἶπεν αὐτοῖς Ησαιας οὕτως ἐρεῖτε πρὸς τὸν κύριον ὑμῶν τάδε λέγει κύριος μὴ φοβηθῇς ἀπὸ τῶν λόγων ὧν ἤκουσας οὓς ὠνείδισάν με οἱ πρέσβεις βασιλέως Ἀσσυρίων
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.”’”
ἰδοὺ ἐγὼ ἐμβαλῶ εἰς αὐτὸν πνεῦμα καὶ ἀκούσας ἀγγελίαν ἀποστραφήσεται εἰς τὴν χώραν αὐτοῦ καὶ πεσεῖται μαχαίρᾳ ἐν τῇ γῇ αὐτοῦ
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].
καὶ ἀπέστρεψεν Ραψακης καὶ κατέλαβεν πολιορκοῦντα τὸν βασιλέα Λομναν καὶ ἤκουσεν βασιλεὺς Ἀσσυρίων ὅτι
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:
ἐξῆλθεν Θαρακα βασιλεὺς Αἰθιόπων πολιορκῆσαι αὐτόν καὶ ἀκούσας ἀπέστρεψεν καὶ ἀπέστειλεν ἀγγέλους πρὸς Εζεκιαν λέγων
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.
οὕτως ἐρεῖτε Εζεκια βασιλεῖ τῆς Ιουδαίας μή σε ἀπατάτω ὁ θεός σου ἐφ’ ᾧ πεποιθὼς εἶ ἐπ’ αὐτῷ λέγων οὐ μὴ παραδοθῇ Ιερουσαλημ εἰς χεῖρας βασιλέως Ἀσσυρίων
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]
ἢ οὐκ ἤκουσας ἃ ἐποίησαν βασιλεῖς Ἀσσυρίων πᾶσαν τὴν γῆν ὡς ἀπώλεσαν
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]?
μὴ ἐρρύσαντο αὐτοὺς οἱ θεοὶ τῶν ἐθνῶν οὓς οἱ πατέρες μου ἀπώλεσαν τήν τε Γωζαν καὶ Χαρραν καὶ Ραφες αἵ εἰσιν ἐν χώρᾳ Θεμαδ
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]?”
ποῦ εἰσιν οἱ βασιλεῖς Αιμαθ καὶ Αρφαθ καὶ πόλεως Σεπφαριμ Αναγ Ουγαυα
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.
καὶ ἔλαβεν Εζεκιας τὸ βιβλίον παρὰ τῶν ἀγγέλων καὶ ἤνοιξεν αὐτὸ ἐναντίον κυρίου
15 And [then] Hezekiah prayed this:
καὶ προσεύξατο Εζεκιας πρὸς κύριον λέγων
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.
κύριε σαβαωθ ὁ θεὸς Ισραηλ ὁ καθήμενος ἐπὶ τῶν χερουβιν σὺ θεὸς μόνος εἶ πάσης βασιλείας τῆς οἰκουμένης σὺ ἐποίησας τὸν οὐρανὸν καὶ τὴν γῆν
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!
εἰσάκουσον κύριε εἴσβλεψον κύριε καὶ ἰδὲ τοὺς λόγους οὓς ἀπέστειλεν Σενναχηριμ ὀνειδίζειν θεὸν ζῶντα
18 Yahweh, it is true that [the armies of] the kings of Assyria have completely destroyed many nations and ruined their land.
ἐπ’ ἀληθείας γὰρ ἠρήμωσαν βασιλεῖς Ἀσσυρίων τὴν οἰκουμένην ὅλην καὶ τὴν χώραν αὐτῶν
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].
καὶ ἐνέβαλον τὰ εἴδωλα αὐτῶν εἰς τὸ πῦρ οὐ γὰρ θεοὶ ἦσαν ἀλλὰ ἔργα χειρῶν ἀνθρώπων ξύλα καὶ λίθοι καὶ ἀπώλεσαν αὐτούς
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.”
σὺ δέ κύριε ὁ θεὸς ἡμῶν σῶσον ἡμᾶς ἐκ χειρὸς αὐτῶν ἵνα γνῷ πᾶσα βασιλεία τῆς γῆς ὅτι σὺ εἶ ὁ θεὸς μόνος
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],
καὶ ἀπεστάλη Ησαιας υἱὸς Αμως πρὸς Εζεκιαν καὶ εἶπεν αὐτῷ τάδε λέγει κύριος ὁ θεὸς Ισραηλ ἤκουσα ἃ προσηύξω πρός με περὶ Σενναχηριμ βασιλέως Ἀσσυρίων
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.
οὗτος ὁ λόγος ὃν ἐλάλησεν περὶ αὐτοῦ ὁ θεός ἐφαύλισέν σε καὶ ἐμυκτήρισέν σε παρθένος θυγάτηρ Σιων ἐπὶ σοὶ κεφαλὴν ἐκίνησεν θυγάτηρ Ιερουσαλημ
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!
τίνα ὠνείδισας καὶ παρώξυνας ἢ πρὸς τίνα ὕψωσας τὴν φωνήν σου καὶ οὐκ ἦρας εἰς ὕψος τοὺς ὀφθαλμούς σου εἰς τὸν ἅγιον τοῦ Ισραηλ
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.
ὅτι δῑ ἀγγέλων ὠνείδισας κύριον σὺ γὰρ εἶπας τῷ πλήθει τῶν ἁρμάτων ἐγὼ ἀνέβην εἰς ὕψος ὀρέων καὶ εἰς τὰ ἔσχατα τοῦ Λιβάνου καὶ ἔκοψα τὸ ὕψος τῆς κέδρου αὐτοῦ καὶ τὸ κάλλος τῆς κυπαρίσσου καὶ εἰσῆλθον εἰς ὕψος μέρους τοῦ δρυμοῦ
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]!”
καὶ ἔθηκα γέφυραν καὶ ἠρήμωσα ὕδατα καὶ πᾶσαν συναγωγὴν ὕδατος
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.
οὐ ταῦτα ἤκουσας πάλαι ἃ ἐγὼ ἐποίησα ἐξ ἀρχαίων ἡμερῶν συνέταξα νῦν δὲ ἐπέδειξα ἐξερημῶσαι ἔθνη ἐν ὀχυροῖς καὶ ἐνοικοῦντας ἐν πόλεσιν ὀχυραῖς
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.
ἀνῆκα τὰς χεῖρας καὶ ἐξηράνθησαν καὶ ἐγένοντο ὡς χόρτος ξηρὸς ἐπὶ δωμάτων καὶ ὡς ἄγρωστις
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.
νῦν δὲ τὴν ἀνάπαυσίν σου καὶ τὴν ἔξοδόν σου καὶ τὴν εἴσοδόν σου ἐγὼ ἐπίσταμαι
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].”’
ὁ δὲ θυμός σου ὃν ἐθυμώθης καὶ ἡ πικρία σου ἀνέβη πρός με καὶ ἐμβαλῶ φιμὸν εἰς τὴν ῥῖνά σου καὶ χαλινὸν εἰς τὰ χείλη σου καὶ ἀποστρέψω σε τῇ ὁδῷ ᾗ ἦλθες ἐν αὐτῇ
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.
τοῦτο δέ σοι τὸ σημεῖον φάγε τοῦτον τὸν ἐνιαυτὸν ἃ ἔσπαρκας τῷ δὲ ἐνιαυτῷ τῷ δευτέρῳ τὸ κατάλειμμα τῷ δὲ τρίτῳ σπείραντες ἀμήσατε καὶ φυτεύσατε ἀμπελῶνας καὶ φάγεσθε τὸν καρπὸν αὐτῶν
31 And [you] people who are still [here] in Judah, will be strong and prosper again [MET].
καὶ ἔσονται οἱ καταλελειμμένοι ἐν τῇ Ιουδαίᾳ φυήσουσιν ῥίζαν κάτω καὶ ποιήσουσιν σπέρμα ἄνω
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.’
ὅτι ἐξ Ιερουσαλημ ἐξελεύσονται οἱ καταλελειμμένοι καὶ οἱ σῳζόμενοι ἐξ ὄρους Σιων ὁ ζῆλος κυρίου σαβαωθ ποιήσει ταῦτα
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].
διὰ τοῦτο οὕτως λέγει κύριος ἐπὶ βασιλέα Ἀσσυρίων οὐ μὴ εἰσέλθῃ εἰς τὴν πόλιν ταύτην οὐδὲ μὴ βάλῃ ἐπ’ αὐτὴν βέλος οὐδὲ μὴ ἐπιβάλῃ ἐπ’ αὐτὴν θυρεὸν οὐδὲ μὴ κυκλώσῃ ἐπ’ αὐτὴν χάρακα
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!
ἀλλὰ τῇ ὁδῷ ᾗ ἦλθεν ἐν αὐτῇ ἀποστραφήσεται τάδε λέγει κύριος
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.”
ὑπερασπιῶ ὑπὲρ τῆς πόλεως ταύτης τοῦ σῶσαι αὐτὴν δῑ ἐμὲ καὶ διὰ Δαυιδ τὸν παῖδά μου
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.
καὶ ἐξῆλθεν ἄγγελος κυρίου καὶ ἀνεῖλεν ἐκ τῆς παρεμβολῆς τῶν Ἀσσυρίων ἑκατὸν ὀγδοήκοντα πέντε χιλιάδας καὶ ἐξαναστάντες τὸ πρωὶ εὗρον πάντα τὰ σώματα νεκρά
37 Then King Sennacherib left and returned home to Nineveh [in Assyria], and stayed there.
καὶ ἀποστραφεὶς ἀπῆλθεν βασιλεὺς Ἀσσυρίων καὶ ᾤκησεν ἐν Νινευη
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.
καὶ ἐν τῷ αὐτὸν προσκυνεῖν ἐν τῷ οἴκῳ Νασαραχ τὸν παταχρον αὐτοῦ Αδραμελεχ καὶ Σαρασαρ οἱ υἱοὶ αὐτοῦ ἐπάταξαν αὐτὸν μαχαίραις αὐτοὶ δὲ διεσώθησαν εἰς Ἀρμενίαν καὶ ἐβασίλευσεν Ασορδαν ὁ υἱὸς αὐτοῦ ἀντ’ αὐτοῦ
