Βασιλειῶν Δʹ 19
1 καὶ ἐγένετο ὡς ἤκουσεν ὁ βασιλεὺς Εζεκιας καὶ διέρρηξεν τὰ ἱμάτια ἑαυτοῦ καὶ περιεβάλετο σάκκον καὶ εἰσῆλθεν εἰς οἶκον κυρίου
When King Hezekiah heard what they reported, he tore his clothes and put on clothes made of rough cloth [because he was very distressed]. Then he went to the temple [to ask God what to do].
2 καὶ ἀπέστειλεν Ελιακιμ τὸν οἰκονόμον καὶ Σομναν τὸν γραμματέα καὶ τοὺς πρεσβυτέρους τῶν ἱερέων περιβεβλημένους σάκκους πρὸς Ησαιαν τὸν προφήτην υἱὸν Αμως
He summoned Eliakim and Shebna and the (older/most important) priests, who were also wearing clothes made of rough sackcloth, and told them to talk to me.
3 καὶ εἶπον πρὸς αὐτόν τάδε λέγει Εζεκιας ἡμέρα θλίψεως καὶ ἐλεγμοῦ καὶ παροργισμοῦ ἡ ἡμέρα αὕτη ὅτι ἦλθον υἱοὶ ἕως ὠδίνων καὶ ἰσχὺς οὐκ ἔστιν τῇ τικτούσῃ
He said to them, “Tell this to Isaiah: ‘King Hezekiah says that we are having great distress/trouble now. [Other nations are causing] us to be insulted and disgraced. We are like [MET] a woman who is about to give birth to a child, but she does not have the strength that she needs to do it.
4 εἴ πως εἰσακούσεται κύριος ὁ θεός σου πάντας τοὺς λόγους Ραψακου ὃν ἀπέστειλεν αὐτὸν βασιλεὺς Ἀσσυρίων ὁ κύριος αὐτοῦ ὀνειδίζειν θεὸν ζῶντα καὶ βλασφημεῖν ἐν λόγοις οἷς ἤκουσεν κύριος ὁ θεός σου καὶ λήμψῃ προσευχὴν περὶ τοῦ λείμματος τοῦ εὑρισκομένου
Perhaps Yahweh your God has heard everything that the official from Assyria said. Perhaps he knows that his boss/master, the king of Assyria, sent him to insult the all-powerful God, and that Yahweh will rebuke/punish him for what he said.’ And he requests that you pray for the few of us who are still alive [here in Jerusalem].”
5 καὶ ἦλθον οἱ παῖδες τοῦ βασιλέως Εζεκιου πρὸς Ησαιαν
When the messengers from Hezekiah came to Isaiah,
6 καὶ εἶπεν αὐτοῖς Ησαιας τάδε ἐρεῖτε πρὸς τὸν κύριον ὑμῶν τάδε λέγει κύριος μὴ φοβηθῇς ἀπὸ τῶν λόγων ὧν ἤκουσας ὧν ἐβλασφήμησαν τὰ παιδάρια βασιλέως Ἀσσυρίων
Isaiah said to them, “[Go back to] your boss/master [and] tell him, ‘This is what Yahweh says: Those messengers from the king of Assyria have said evil things about me. But you should not be disturbed because of what they said.
7 ἰδοὺ ἐγὼ δίδωμι ἐν αὐτῷ πνεῦμα καὶ ἀκούσεται ἀγγελίαν καὶ ἀποστραφήσεται εἰς τὴν γῆν αὐτοῦ καὶ καταβαλῶ αὐτὸν ἐν ῥομφαίᾳ ἐν τῇ γῇ αὐτοῦ
Listen to this: I will cause Sennacherib to hear a rumor that will worry him, [that a foreign army is about to attack his country]. So he will return to his own country, and there I will cause him to be assassinated by [men using] swords.’”
8 καὶ ἐπέστρεψεν Ραψακης καὶ εὗρεν τὸν βασιλέα Ἀσσυρίων πολεμοῦντα ἐπὶ Λομνα ὅτι ἤκουσεν ὅτι ἀπῆρεν ἀπὸ Λαχις
The official from Assyria found out that the King of Assyria [and his army] had left Lachish [city], and that they were attacking Libnah, [which is a nearby city]. So the official went there [to report to him what had happened in Jerusalem].
9 καὶ ἤκουσεν περὶ Θαρακα βασιλέως Αἰθιόπων λέγων ἰδοὺ ἐξῆλθεν πολεμεῖν μετὰ σοῦ καὶ ἐπέστρεψεν καὶ ἀπέστειλεν ἀγγέλους πρὸς Εζεκιαν λέγων
Soon after that, King Sennacherib received a report that King Tirhakah of Ethiopia was leading his army, and was coming to attack them. So before King Sennacherib left Libnah [to fight against the army from Ethiopia], he sent other messengers to King Hezekiah with a letter.
10 μὴ ἐπαιρέτω σε ὁ θεός σου ἐφ’ ᾧ σὺ πέποιθας ἐπ’ αὐτῷ λέγων οὐ μὴ παραδοθῇ Ιερουσαλημ εἰς χεῖρας βασιλέως Ἀσσυρίων
[In the letter] he wrote this to Hezekiah: “Do not allow your god on whom you are relying to deceive you by promising that [the city of] Jerusalem will not be captured by my army [MTY].
11 ἰδοὺ σὺ ἤκουσας πάντα ὅσα ἐποίησαν βασιλεῖς Ἀσσυρίων πάσαις ταῖς γαῖς τοῦ ἀναθεματίσαι αὐτάς καὶ σὺ ῥυσθήσῃ
You have certainly heard what the armies of the kings of Assyria have done to all the other countries. Our armies have completely destroyed them. So, (do you think that you will escape?/do not think that your god will save you!) [RHQ]
12 μὴ ἐξείλαντο αὐτοὺς οἱ θεοὶ τῶν ἐθνῶν οὓς διέφθειραν οἱ πατέρες μου τήν τε Γωζαν καὶ τὴν Χαρραν καὶ Ραφες καὶ υἱοὺς Εδεμ τοὺς ἐν Θαεσθεν
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 the people in the Gozan region and in Haran and Rezeph [cities in northern Syria] and the people of Eden who had been (deported/forced to go) to Tel-Assar [city]? None of the gods of those cities were able to rescue them.
13 ποῦ ἐστιν ὁ βασιλεὺς Αιμαθ καὶ ὁ βασιλεὺς Αρφαδ καὶ ποῦ ἐστιν Σεπφαρουαιν Ανα καὶ Αυα
What happened to the kings of Hamath and Arpad and Sepharvaim and Ivvah [cities] [RHQ]? [Most of them are dead, and the other people were deported]!”
14 καὶ ἔλαβεν Εζεκιας τὰ βιβλία ἐκ χειρὸς τῶν ἀγγέλων καὶ ἀνέγνω αὐτά καὶ ἀνέβη εἰς οἶκον κυρίου καὶ ἀνέπτυξεν αὐτὰ Εζεκιας ἐναντίον κυρίου
Hezekiah took 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.
15 καὶ εἶπεν κύριε ὁ θεὸς Ισραηλ ὁ καθήμενος ἐπὶ τῶν χερουβιν σὺ εἶ ὁ θεὸς μόνος ἐν πάσαις ταῖς βασιλείαις τῆς γῆς σὺ ἐποίησας τὸν οὐρανὸν καὶ τὴν γῆν
Then Hezekiah prayed, “Yahweh, the God whom to whom we Israelis belong, you are seated on your throne above the [statues of] 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.
16 κλῖνον κύριε τὸ οὖς σου καὶ ἄκουσον ἄνοιξον κύριε τοὺς ὀφθαλμούς σου καὶ ἰδὲ καὶ ἄκουσον τοὺς λόγους Σενναχηριμ οὓς ἀπέστειλεν ὀνειδίζειν θεὸν ζῶντα
So, Yahweh, please listen to what I am saying, and look [at what is happening]. And listen to what King Sennacherib has said to insult you, the all-powerful God.
17 ὅτι ἀληθείᾳ κύριε ἠρήμωσαν βασιλεῖς Ἀσσυρίων τὰ ἔθνη
“Yahweh, it is true that [the armies of] the kings of Assyria have completely destroyed many nations, and ruined their land.
18 καὶ ἔδωκαν τοὺς θεοὺς αὐτῶν εἰς τὸ πῦρ ὅτι οὐ θεοί εἰσιν ἀλλ’ ἢ ἔργα χειρῶν ἀνθρώπων ξύλα καὶ λίθοι καὶ ἀπώλεσαν αὐτούς
And they have thrown the idols of those nations into fires and burned them. But [that was not difficult to do, because] they were not gods. They were only statues made of wood and stone, idols that were shaped by humans, [and that is why they were destroyed easily].
19 καὶ νῦν κύριε ὁ θεὸς ἡμῶν σῶσον ἡμᾶς ἐκ χειρὸς αὐτοῦ καὶ γνώσονται πᾶσαι αἱ βασιλεῖαι τῆς γῆς ὅτι σὺ κύριος ὁ θεὸς μόνος
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.”
20 καὶ ἀπέστειλεν Ησαιας υἱὸς Αμως πρὸς Εζεκιαν λέγων τάδε λέγει κύριος ὁ θεὸς τῶν δυνάμεων ὁ θεὸς Ισραηλ ἃ προσηύξω πρός με περὶ Σενναχηριμ βασιλέως Ἀσσυρίων ἤκουσα
Then Isaiah sent this message to Hezekiah: “This is what Yahweh, the God to whom we Israelis belong, says: 'I have heard what you prayed to me about Sennacherib, the king of Assyria.
21 οὗτος ὁ λόγος ὃν ἐλάλησεν κύριος ἐπ’ αὐτόν ἐξουδένησέν σε καὶ ἐμυκτήρισέν σε παρθένος θυγάτηρ Σιων ἐπὶ σοὶ κεφαλὴν αὐτῆς ἐκίνησεν θυγάτηρ Ιερουσαλημ
This is what I say to him: “The people of Jerusalem [MTY] despise you and make fun of you. They wag/shake their heads to mock you while you flee from here.
22 τίνα ὠνείδισας καὶ ἐβλασφήμησας καὶ ἐπὶ τίνα ὕψωσας φωνήν καὶ ἦρας εἰς ὕψος τοὺς ὀφθαλμούς σου εἰς τὸν ἅγιον τοῦ Ισραηλ
Who do you think that you are despising and ridiculing? Who do you think you were shouting at? Who do you think you were looking at very proudly/arrogantly? It was I, the holy God whom the Israelis worship.
23 ἐν χειρὶ ἀγγέλων σου ὠνείδισας κύριον καὶ εἶπας ἐν τῷ πλήθει τῶν ἁρμάτων μου ἐγὼ ἀναβήσομαι εἰς ὕψος ὀρέων μηροὺς τοῦ Λιβάνου καὶ ἔκοψα τὸ μέγεθος τῆς κέδρου αὐτοῦ τὰ ἐκλεκτὰ κυπαρίσσων αὐτοῦ καὶ ἦλθον εἰς μελον τέλους αὐτοῦ δρυμοῦ Καρμήλου αὐτοῦ
The messengers that 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/cyprus trees. We have been to the most distant/remote peaks and to its dense forests.
24 ἐγὼ ἔψυξα καὶ ἔπιον ὕδατα ἀλλότρια καὶ ἐξηρήμωσα τῷ ἴχνει τοῦ ποδός μου πάντας ποταμοὺς περιοχῆς
We have dug wells in other countries and drank water from them. And by marching through [MTY] the streams of Egypt, we dried them all up [HYP]!”’
25 ἔπλασα αὐτήν νῦν ἤγαγον αὐτήν καὶ ἐγενήθη εἰς ἐπάρσεις ἀποικεσιῶν μαχίμων πόλεις ὀχυράς
[‘But I reply], “Have you never heard that long ago I determined [that those things would happen]? I planned it long ago, and now I have been causing it to happen. I planned that your army would have [the power to] capture many cities that were surrounded by high walls, and cause them to become piles of rubble.
26 καὶ οἱ ἐνοικοῦντες ἐν αὐταῖς ἠσθένησαν τῇ χειρί ἔπτηξαν καὶ κατῃσχύνθησαν ἐγένοντο χόρτος ἀγροῦ ἢ χλωρὰ βοτάνη χλόη δωμάτων καὶ πάτημα ἀπέναντι ἑστηκότος
The people who lived in those cities have no power, and as a result they became dismayed and discouraged. They are as frail as plants and grass in the fields, as frail as grass that grows on the roofs of houses and is scorched by the hot east wind.
27 καὶ τὴν καθέδραν σου καὶ τὴν ἔξοδόν σου καὶ τὴν εἴσοδόν σου ἔγνων καὶ τὸν θυμόν σου ἐπ’ ἐμέ
“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.
28 διὰ τὸ ὀργισθῆναί σε ἐπ’ ἐμὲ καὶ τὸ στρῆνός σου ἀνέβη ἐν τοῖς ὠσίν μου καὶ θήσω τὰ ἄγκιστρά μου ἐν τοῖς μυκτῆρσίν σου καὶ χαλινὸν ἐν τοῖς χείλεσίν σου καὶ ἀποστρέψω σε ἐν τῇ ὁδῷ ᾗ ἦλθες ἐν αὐτῇ
So, because you have raged against me, and because I have heard [MTY] you speak very proudly/arrogantly, [it will be as though] I will put a hook in your nose and an iron (bit/piece of metal) 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].” '
29 καὶ τοῦτό σοι τὸ σημεῖον φάγῃ τοῦτον τὸν ἐνιαυτὸν αὐτόματα καὶ τῷ ἔτει τῷ δευτέρῳ τὰ ἀνατέλλοντα καὶ ἔτι τρίτῳ σπορὰ καὶ ἄμητος καὶ φυτεία ἀμπελώνων καὶ φάγεσθε τὸν καρπὸν αὐτῶν
Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, “This is what will happen to prove [that I am telling the truth]: This year and next year you [and your people] will be able to harvest only (wild grain/grain that grows without having been planted). But the following year, you [Israelis] will be able to plant grain and harvest it, and to plant vineyards and eat the grapes that you harvest.
30 καὶ προσθήσει τὸ διασεσῳσμένον οἴκου Ιουδα τὸ ὑπολειφθὲν ῥίζαν κάτω καὶ ποιήσει καρπὸν ἄνω
The people [MTY] in Judah who remain alive will prosper and have many children; they will be like plants whose roots go deep down into the ground and which produce much [MET].
31 ὅτι ἐξ Ιερουσαλημ ἐξελεύσεται κατάλειμμα καὶ ἀνασῳζόμενος ἐξ ὄρους Σιων ὁ ζῆλος κυρίου τῶν δυνάμεων ποιήσει τοῦτο
There will be many people in Jerusalem [DOU] who will survive, because Yahweh, the commander of the armies of angels in heaven, wants [PRS] it to happen.
32 οὐχ οὕτως τάδε λέγει κύριος πρὸς βασιλέα Ἀσσυρίων οὐκ εἰσελεύσεται εἰς τὴν πόλιν ταύτην καὶ οὐ τοξεύσει ἐκεῖ βέλος καὶ οὐ προφθάσει αὐτὴν θυρεός καὶ οὐ μὴ ἐκχέῃ πρὸς αὐτὴν πρόσχωμα
So this is what Yahweh, says about the king of Assyria: ‘His armies will not enter this city; they will not even shoot any arrows into it! His soldiers will not march outside the city gates carrying shields, and they will not even build high mounds of dirt against [the city walls] [to enable them to attack the city].
33 τῇ ὁδῷ ᾗ ἦλθεν ἐν αὐτῇ ἀποστραφήσεται καὶ εἰς τὴν πόλιν ταύτην οὐκ εἰσελεύσεται λέγει κύριος
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!
34 καὶ ὑπερασπιῶ ὑπὲρ τῆς πόλεως ταύτης δῑ ἐμὲ καὶ διὰ Δαυιδ τὸν δοῦλόν μου
I will defend this city and prevent it from being destroyed. I will do this for the sake of my own reputation and because of what I promised to King David, who served me well.'”
35 καὶ ἐγένετο ἕως νυκτὸς καὶ ἐξῆλθεν ἄγγελος κυρίου καὶ ἐπάταξεν ἐν τῇ παρεμβολῇ τῶν Ἀσσυρίων ἑκατὸν ὀγδοήκοντα πέντε χιλιάδας καὶ ὤρθρισαν τὸ πρωί καὶ ἰδοὺ πάντες σώματα νεκρά
That night, an angel from Yahweh went out to where the army of Assyria had put up their tents, and killed 185,000 of their soldiers! When the rest of their soldiers woke up the next morning, they saw that there were corpses everywhere!
36 καὶ ἀπῆρεν καὶ ἐπορεύθη καὶ ἀπέστρεψεν Σενναχηριμ βασιλεὺς Ἀσσυρίων καὶ ᾤκησεν ἐν Νινευη
Then King Sennacherib left and went home to Nineveh, [the capital of Assyria].
37 καὶ ἐγένετο αὐτοῦ προσκυνοῦντος ἐν οἴκῳ Νεσεραχ θεοῦ αὐτοῦ καὶ Αδραμελεχ καὶ Σαρασαρ οἱ υἱοὶ αὐτοῦ ἐπάταξαν αὐτὸν ἐν μαχαίρᾳ καὶ αὐτοὶ ἐσώθησαν εἰς γῆν Αραρατ καὶ ἐβασίλευσεν Ασορδαν ὁ υἱὸς αὐτοῦ ἀντ’ αὐτοῦ
One day, when he was worshiping in the temple of his god Nisroch, two of his 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.
