Isaiah 37
1 And it was don, whanne kyng Ezechie hadde herd, he to-rente hise clothis, and he was wlappid in a sak, and entride in to the hous of the Lord.
When King Hezekiah heard it, he tore his clothes, covered himself with sackcloth, and went into the LORD’s house.
2 And he sente Eliachym, that was on the hous, and Sobna, the scryuen, and the eldre men of prestis, hilid with sackis, to Isaie, the prophete, the 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 And thei seiden to hym, Ezechie seith these thingis, A dai of tribulacioun, and of angwisch, and of chastisyng, and of blasfemye is this dai; for children camen `til to childberyng, and vertu of childberyng is not.
They said to him, “Hezekiah says, ‘Today 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 give birth.
4 Therfor reise thou preier for the relifs that ben foundun, if in ony maner thi Lord God here the wordis of Rapsaces, whom the king of Assiriens, his lord, sente, for to blasfeme lyuynge God, and to dispise bi the wordis, whiche thi Lord God herde.
It may be the LORD 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 the LORD your God has heard. Therefore lift up your prayer for the remnant that is left.’”
5 And the seruauntis of kyng Esechie camen to Isaie;
So the servants of King Hezekiah came to Isaiah.
6 and Isaie seide to hem, Ye schulen seie these thingis to youre lord, The Lord seith these thingis, Drede thou not of the face of wordis whiche thou herdist, bi whiche the children of the kyng of Assiriens blasfemyden me.
Isaiah said to them, “Tell your master, ‘The LORD says, “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 yyue to hym a spirit, and he schal here a messanger; and he schal turne ayen to his londe, and Y schal make hym to falle doun bi swerd in his lond.
Behold, 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 Forsothe Rapsaces turnede ayen, and foond the kyng of Assiriens fiytynge ayens Lobna; for he hadde herd, that the kyng was gon fro Lachis.
So Rabshakeh returned, and found the king of Assyria warring against Libnah, for he heard that he had departed from Lachish.
9 And the kyng herde messangeris seiynge of Theracha, kyng of Ethiopiens, He is gon out to fiyte ayens thee. And whanne he hadde herd this thing, he sente messangeris to Ezechie, and seide, Ye schulen seie,
He heard news concerning Tirhakah king of Ethiopia, “He has come out to fight against you.” When he heard it, he sent messengers to Hezekiah, saying,
10 spekynge these thingis to Ezechye, kyng of Juda, Thi God disseyue not thee, in whom thou tristist, and seist, Jerusalem schal not be youun in to the hond 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 Lo! thou herdist alle thingis whiche the kynges of Assiriens diden to alle londis whiche thei distrieden; and maist thou be delyuered?
Behold, you have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all lands, by destroying them utterly. Shall you be delivered?
12 Whethir the goddis of folkis delyuereden hem, whiche my fadris distrieden; Gosan, and Aran, and Reseph, and the sones of Eden, that weren in Thalasar?
Have the gods of the nations delivered them, which my fathers have destroyed, Gozan, Haran, Rezeph, and the children of Eden who were in Telassar?
13 Where is the kyng of Emath, and the kyng of Arphath, and the kyng of the citee of Sepharuaym, and 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 And Ezechie took the bookis fro the hond of messangeris, and redde tho; and he stiede in to the hous of the Lord, and spredde abrood tho bifore the Lord;
Hezekiah received the letter from the hand of the messengers and read it. Then Hezekiah went up to the LORD’s house, and spread it before the LORD.
15 and preiede to the Lord,
Hezekiah prayed to the LORD, saying,
16 and seide, Lord of oostis, God of Israel, that sittist on cherubyn, thou art God aloone of alle the rewmes of erthe; thou madist heuene and erthe.
“LORD of Armies, 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.
17 Lord, bowe doun thin eere, and here; Lord, open thin iyen, and se; and here thou alle the wordis of Sennacherib, whiche he sente for to blasfeme lyuynge God.
Turn your ear, LORD, and hear. Open your eyes, LORD, and behold. Hear all of the words of Sennacherib, who has sent to defy the living God.
18 For verili, Lord, the kyngis of Assiriens maden londis dissert, and the cuntreis of tho, and yauen the goddis of tho to fier;
Truly, LORD, the kings of Assyria have destroyed all the countries and their land,
19 for thei weren not goddis, but the werkis of mennus hondis, trees and stoonys; and thei al to-braken 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.
20 And now, oure Lord God, saue thou vs fro the hond of hym; and alle rewmes of erthe knowe, that thou art Lord God aloone.
Now therefore, LORD our God, save us from his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that you are the LORD, even you only.”
21 And Isaie, the sone of Amos, sente to Ezechie, and seide, The Lord God of Israel seith these thingis, For whiche thingis thou preidist me of Sennacherib, the kyng of Assiriens,
Then Isaiah the son of Amoz sent to Hezekiah, saying, “The LORD, the God of Israel says, ‘Because you have prayed to me against Sennacherib king of Assyria,
22 this is the word which the Lord spak on hym, Thou virgyn, the douyter of Sion, he dispiside thee, he scornede thee; thou virgyn, the douyter of Jerusalem, he moued his heed aftir thee.
this is the word which the LORD 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.
23 Whom despisist thou, and whom blasfemedist thou? and on whom reisidist thou thi vois, and reisidist the hiynesse of thin iyen?
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.
24 To the hooli of Israel. Bi the hond of thi seruauntis thou dispisidist the Lord, and seidist, In the multitude of my cartis Y stiede on the hiynesses of hillis, on the yockis of Liban; and Y schal kitte doun the hiy thingis of cedris therof, and the chosun beechis therof; and Y schal entre in to the hiynesse of the cop therof, in to the forest of Carmele therof.
By your servants, you have defied the Lord, 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 cypress trees. I will enter into its farthest height, the forest of its fruitful field.
25 Y diggide, and drank watir; and Y made drie with the step of my foot all the strondis of feeldis.
I have dug and drunk water, and with the sole of my feet I will dry up all the rivers of Egypt.”
26 Whether thou, Sennacherib, herdist not what thingis Y dide sum tyme? Fro elde daies Y fourmyde that thing, and now Y haue brouyt; and it is maad in to drawyng vp bi the roote of litle hillis fiytynge togidere, and of strong citees.
“‘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.
27 The dwelleris of tho citees trembliden togidere with hond maad schort, and ben aschamed; thei ben maad as hei of the feeld, and the gras of lesewe, and as erbe of roouys, that driede vp bifore that it wexide ripe.
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 housetops, and like a field before its crop has grown.
28 Y knew thi dwellyng, and thi goyng out, and thin entryng, and thi woodnesse ayens me.
But I know your sitting down, your going out, your coming in, and your raging against me.
29 Whanne thou were wood ayens me, thi pride stiede in to myn eeris; therfor Y schal sette a ryng in thi nosethirlis, and a bridil 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.
30 Forsothe to thee, Ezechie, this schal be a signe; ete thou in this yeer tho thingis that growen bi her fre wille, and in the secunde yeer ete thou applis; but in the thridde yeer sowe ye, and repe ye, and plaunte ye vyneris, and ete ye the fruyt of tho.
“‘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 it; and in the third year sow and reap and plant vineyards, and eat their fruit.
31 And that that is sauyd of the hous of Juda, and that, that is left, schal sende roote bynethe, and schal make fruyt aboue;
The remnant that is escaped of the house of Judah will again take root downward, and bear fruit upward.
32 for whi relifs schulen go out of Jerusalem, and saluacioun fro the hil of Sion; the feruent loue of the Lord of oostis schal do this thing.
For out of Jerusalem a remnant will go out, and survivors will escape from Mount Zion. The zeal of the LORD of Armies will perform this.’
33 Therfor the Lord seith these thingis of the kyng of Assiriens, He schal not entre in to this citee, and he schal not schete there an arowe; and a scheeld schal not ocupie it, and he schal not sende erthe in the cumpas therof.
“Therefore the LORD says 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.
34 In the weie in which he cam, he schal turne ayen bi it; and he schal not entre in to this citee, seith the Lord.
He will return the way that he came, and he will not come to this city,’ says the LORD.
35 And Y schal defende this citee, that Y 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.’”
36 Forsothe the aungel of the Lord yede out, and killide an hundride thousynde and fourscoor and fyue thousynde in the tentis of Assiriens; and thei risen eerli, and lo! alle men weren careyns of deed men.
Then the LORD’s angel went out and struck one hundred and eighty-five thousand men in the camp of the Assyrians. When men arose early in the morning, behold, these were all dead bodies.
37 And Sennacherib yede out of Jude, and wente awei. And Sennacherib, the kyng of Assiriens, turnede ayen, and dwellide in Nynyue.
So Sennacherib king of Assyria departed, went away, returned to Nineveh, and stayed there.
38 And it was don, whanne he worschipide Mesrach, his god, in the temple, Aramalech and Sarasar, hise sones, killiden hym with swerd, and fledden in to the lond of Ararath; and Asaradon, his sone, regnyde for hym.
As he was worshiping in the house of Nisroch his god, Adrammelech and Sharezer his sons struck him with the sword; and they escaped into the land of Ararat. Esar Haddon his son reigned in his place.
