< 2 Kings 19 >

1 And whanne kyng Ezechie hadde herd these thingis, he to-rente his clothis, and was hilid with a sak; and he entride in to the hous of the Lord.
It happened, when king Hezekiah heard it, that he tore his clothes, and covered himself with sackcloth, and went into the house of Jehovah.
2 And he sente Eliachym, souereyn of the hous, and Sobna, scryueyn, and elde men of the preestis, hilid with sackis, to Ysaie, the prophete, sone of Amos.
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.
3 Whiche seiden, Ezechie seith these thingis, This dai is a dai of tribulacioun, and of blamyng, and of blasfemye; sones camen `til to the childberyng, and the `traueler of childe hath not strengthis.
They said to him, "Thus says Hezekiah, 'This day is a day of trouble, of rebuke, and of rejection; for the children have come to the point of birth, and there is no strength to deliver them.
4 If perauenture thi Lord God here alle the wordis of Rabsaces, whom the kyng of Assiryens, his lord sente, that he schulde dispise the Lord lyuynge, and repreue bi wordis, whiche thi Lord God herde; and make thou preier for these relikis, that ben foundun.
It may be Jehovah your God will hear all the words of Rabshakeh, whom the king of Assyria his master has sent to defy the living God, and will rebuke the words which Jehovah your God has heard. Therefore lift up your prayer for the remnant that is left.'"
5 Therfor the seruauntis of kyng Ezechie camen to Isaie;
So the servants of king Hezekiah came to Isaiah.
6 and Isaie seide to hem, Seie ye these thingis to youre lord, The Lord seith these thingis, Nyle thou drede of the face of wordis whiche thou herdist, bi whiche the children of the kyng of Assiriens blasfemeden me.
Isaiah said to them, "Thus you shall tell your master, 'Thus says Jehovah, "Do not be afraid of the words that you have heard, with which the servants of the king of Assyria have blasphemed me.
7 Lo! Y schal sende to hym a spirit, and he schal here a messanger, and he schal turne ayen in to his lond; and Y schal caste hym doun bi swerd in his owne lond.
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."'"
8 Therfor Rabsaces turnede ayen, and foond the kyng of Assiriens fiytynge ayens Lobna; for he hadde herd, that the kyng hadde go awei fro Lachis.
So Rabshakeh returned, and found the king of Assyria warring against Libnah; for he had heard that he had departed from Lachish.
9 And whanne he hadde herd of Theracha, kyng of Ethiope, `men seyynge, Lo! he yede out, that he fiyte ayens thee; that he schulde go ayens `that kyng, he sente messangeris to Ezechie,
When he heard it said of Tirhakah king of Ethiopia, "Look, he has come out to fight against you," he sent messengers again to Hezekiah, saying,
10 and seide, Seie ye these thingis to Ezechie, kyng of Juda, Thi Lord God, in whom thou hast trist, disseyue not thee, nether seie thou, Jerusalem schal not be `bitakun in to the hondis of the kyng of Assiriens;
'Thus you shall speak to Hezekiah king of Judah, saying, "Do not let your God in whom you trust deceive you, saying, Jerusalem will not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria.
11 for thou thi silf herdist what thingis the kyngis of Assiriens diden in alle londis, hou thei wastiden tho; whether therfor thou aloone maist be delyuered?
Look, you have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all lands, by destroying them utterly. Will you be delivered?
12 Whether the goddis of hethene men delyueriden alle men whiche my fadris distrieden, that is, Gozam, and Aran, and Reseph, and the sones of Eden, that weren in Thelassar?
Have the gods of the nations delivered them, which my fathers have destroyed, Gozan, and Haran, and Rezeph, and the people of Eden that were in Telassar?
13 Where is the kyng of Emath, and the kyng of Arphat? and the kyng of the cytee of Sepharuaym, of Ana, and of Aua?
Where is the king of Hamath, and the king of Arpad, and the king of the city of Sepharvaim, of Hena, and Ivvah?"'"
14 Therfor whanne Ezechie hadde take the lettris fro the hond of messangeris, and hadde red tho, he stiede in to the hows of the Lord, and spredde abrood tho bifor the Lord;
Hezekiah received the letter from the hand of the messengers, and read it. Then Hezekiah went up to the house of Jehovah, and spread it before Jehovah.
15 and preiede in his siyt, and seide, Lord God of Israel, that sittist on cherubym, thou art God aloone of alle kyngis of erthe; thou madist heuene and erthe.
Hezekiah prayed before Jehovah, and said, "Jehovah, the God of Israel, who sit above the cherubim, you are the God, even you alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and earth.
16 Bowe thin eere, and here; opyn thin iyen, Lord, and se; and here alle the wordis of Senacherib, which sente, that he schulde dispise `to vs `God lyuynge.
Incline your ear, Jehovah, and hear. Open your eyes, Jehovah, and see. Hear the words of Sennacherib, with which he has sent to defy the living God.
17 Verili, Lord, the kynges of Assiriens distrieden hethene men, and the londis of alle men,
Truly, Jehovah, the kings of Assyria have laid waste the nations and their lands,
18 and senten the goddis of hem in to fier; for thei weren not goddis, but werkis of `hondis of men, of tre and stoon; and thei losten `tho goddis.
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.
19 Now therfor, oure Lord God, make vs saaf fro the hond of hem, that alle rewmes of erthe wite that thou art the Lord God aloone.
Now therefore, Jehovah our God, save us, I beg you, out of his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that you, Jehovah, are God alone."
20 Forsothe Isaie, sone of Amos, sente to Ezechie, and seide, The Lord God of Israel seith these thingis, Y haue herd tho thingis, whiche thou preidist me on Sennacherib, king of Assiriens.
Then Isaiah the son of Amoz sent to Hezekiah, saying, "Thus says Jehovah, the God of Israel, 'Whereas you have prayed to me against Sennacherib king of Assyria, I have heard you.
21 This is the word, which the Lord spak of hym, Thou virgyn douytir of Syon, he dispiside thee, and scornyde thee; thou douyter of Jerusalem, he mouyde his heed aftir thi bak.
This is the word that Jehovah 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.
22 Sennacherib, whom `dispisidist thou, and whom `blasfemedist thou? Ayens whom hast thou reisid thi vois, and hast reisid thin iyen an hiye? Ayens the hooli of Israel.
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.
23 Bi the hond of thi seruauntis thou dispisidist the Lord, and seidist, In the multitude of my charys Y stiede in to the hiye thingis of hillis, in the hiynesse of Liban, and kittide doun the hiye cedris therof, and the chosyn beechis therof; and Y entride `til to the termes therof,
By your messengers you have defied Jehovah, 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; and I will cut down its tall cedars, and its choice fir trees; and I will enter into his farthest lodging place, the forest of his fruitful field.
24 and Y kittide doun the forest of Carmele therof; and Y drank alien watris, and Y made drie with the steppis of `the feet of myn `alle watris closid.
I have dug and drunk strange waters, and with the sole of my feet will I dry up all the rivers of Egypt.'
25 Whether thou herdist not, what Y made at the bigynnyng? Fro elde daies Y made it, and now Y haue brouyt forth; and strengthid citees of fiyteris schulen be in to fallyng of hillis.
Haven't you heard how I have done it long ago, and formed it of ancient times? Now have I brought it to pass, that it should be yours to lay waste fortified cities into ruinous heaps.
26 And thei that sitten meke of hond in tho, trembliden togidere, and ben schent; thei ben maad as the hei of the feeld, and as grene eerbe of roouys, which is dried, bifor that it cam to ripenesse.
Therefore their inhabitants were of small 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.
27 And Y bifor knew thi dwellyng, and thi goyng out, and thin entryng, and thi weie, and thi woodnesse ayens me.
But I know your sitting down, and your going out, and your coming in, and your raging against me.
28 Thou were wood ayens me, and thi pride stide in to myn eeris; therfor Y schal putte a cercle in thi nosethirlis, and a bernacle in thi lippis, and Y schal lede thee ayen in to the weie bi which thou camest.
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."
29 Forsothe, Ezechie, this schal be a signe `to thee; ete thou in this yeer that, that thou fyndist; forsothe in the secounde yeer tho thingis, that growen bi her owne wille; sotheli in the thridde yeer sowe ye, and repe ye, plaunte ye vyneris, and ete the fruytis of tho.
"'This shall be the sign to you: You shall eat this year that which grows of itself, and in the second year that which springs of the same; and in the third year sow, and reap, and plant vineyards, and eat its fruit.
30 And what euer thing schal be residue of the hows of Juda, it schal sende root dounward, and schal make fruyt vpward.
The remnant that has escaped of the house of Judah shall again take root downward, and bear fruit upward.
31 For relikis schulen go out of Jerusalem, and that, that schal be sauyd, `schal go out of the hil of Syon; the feruent loue of the Lord of oostis schal do this.
For out of Jerusalem a remnant will go out, and out of Mount Zion those who shall escape. The zeal of Jehovah of hosts will do this.'
32 Wherfor the Lord seith these thingis of the kyng of Assiriens, He schal not entre in to this citee, nethir he schal sende an arowe in to it, nether scheeld shal occupie it, nether strengthing, ethir bisegyng, schal cumpasse it.
"Therefore thus says Jehovah concerning the king of Assyria, 'He shall not come to this city, nor shoot an arrow there, neither shall he come before it with shield, nor cast up a mound against it.
33 He schal turne ayen bi the weie `bi which he cam, and he schal not entre in to this citee, seith the Lord;
By the way that he came, by the same shall he return, and he shall not come to this city,' says Jehovah.
34 and Y schal defende this citee, and Y schal saue it for me, and for Dauid, my seruaunt.
'For I will defend this city to save it, for my own sake, and for my servant David's sake.'"
35 Therfor it was don, in that niyt the aungel of the Lord cam, and smoot in the castels of Assiryens an hundrid foure score and fyue thousynde. And whanne Sennacherib hadde rise eerli, he siy alle bodies of deed men; and he departide, and yede awei.
It happened that night, that the angel of Jehovah went out, and struck one hundred eighty-five thousand in the camp of the Assyrians. When men arose early in the morning, look, these were all dead bodies.
36 And Sennacherib, the kyng of Assiriens, turnede ayen, and dwellide in Nynyue.
So Sennacherib king of Assyria departed, and went and returned, and lived at Nineveh.
37 And whanne he worschipide in the temple Nestrach his god, Adramelech and Sirasar, his sones, killide hym with swerd; and thei fledden in to the lond of Armenyes; and Asaradon, his sone, regnyde for hym.
It happened, as he was worshipping in the house of Nisroch his god, that Adrammelech and Sharezer struck him with the sword; and they escaped into the land of Ararat. Esarhaddon his son reigned in his place.

< 2 Kings 19 >