Isaiah 37
37
Hezekiah Asks God to Help
1When King Hezekiah heard the message, he tore his clothes and put on rough cloth to show how sad he was. Then he went into the Temple of the Lord. 2Hezekiah sent Eliakim, the palace manager, and Shebna, the royal secretary, and the older priests to Isaiah. They were all wearing rough cloth when they came to Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz. 3They told Isaiah, “This is what Hezekiah says: Today is a day of sorrow and punishment and disgrace, as when a child should be born, but the mother is not strong enough to give birth to it. 4The king of Assyria sent his field commander to make fun of the living God. Maybe the Lord your God will hear what the commander said and will punish him for it. So pray for the few of us who are left alive.”
5When Hezekiah’s officers came to Isaiah, 6he said to them, “Tell your master this: The Lord says, ‘Don’t be afraid of what you have heard. Don’t be frightened by the words the servants of the king of Assyria have spoken against me. 7Listen! I am going to put a spirit in the king of Assyria. He will hear a report that will make him return to his own country, and I will cause him to die by the sword there.’ ”
8The field commander heard that the king of Assyria had left Lachish. When he went back, he found the king fighting against the city of Libnah.
9The king received a report that Tirhakah, the Cushite king of Egypt, was coming to attack him. When the king of Assyria heard this, he sent messengers to Hezekiah, saying, 10“Tell Hezekiah king of Judah: Don’t be fooled by the god you trust. Don’t believe him when he says Jerusalem will not be handed over to the king of Assyria. 11You have heard what the kings of Assyria have done. They have completely defeated every country, so do not think you will be saved. 12Did the gods of those people save them? My ancestors destroyed them, defeating the cities of Gozan, Haran, and Rezeph, and the people of Eden living in Tel Assar. 13Where are the kings of Hamath and Arpad? Where are the kings of Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivvah?”
Hezekiah Prays to the Lord
14When Hezekiah received the letter from the messengers and read it, he went up to the Temple of the Lord. He spread the letter out before the Lord 15and prayed to the Lord: 16“Lord All-Powerful, you are the God of Israel, whose throne is between the gold creatures with wings, only you are God of all the kingdoms of the earth. You made the heavens and the earth. 17Hear, Lord, and listen. Open your eyes, Lord, and see. Listen to all the words Sennacherib has said to insult the living God.
18“It is true, Lord, that the kings of Assyria have destroyed all these countries and their lands. 19They have thrown the gods of these nations into the fire, but they were only wood and rock statues that people made. So the kings have destroyed them. 20Now, Lord our God, save us from the king’s power so that all the kingdoms of the earth will know that you, Lord, are the only God.”
The Lord Answers Hezekiah
21Then Isaiah son of Amoz sent a message to Hezekiah that said, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘You prayed to me about Sennacherib king of Assyria. 22So this is what the Lord has said against Sennacherib:
The people of Jerusalem
hate you and make fun of you;
the people of Jerusalem
laugh at you as you run away.
23You have insulted me and spoken against me;
you have raised your voice against me.
You have a proud look on your face,
which is against me, the Holy One of Israel!
24You have sent your messengers to insult the Lord.
You have said, “With my many chariots
I have gone to the tops of the mountains,
to the highest mountains of Lebanon.
I have cut down its tallest cedars
and its best pine trees.
I have gone to its greatest heights
and its best forests.
25I have dug wells in foreign countries
and drunk water there.
By the soles of my feet,
I have dried up all the rivers of Egypt.”
26“ ‘King of Assyria, surely you have heard.
Long ago I, the Lord, planned these things.
Long ago I designed them,
and now I have made them happen.
I allowed you to turn those strong, walled cities
into piles of rocks.
27The people in those cities were weak;
they were frightened and put to shame.
They were like grass in the field,
like tender, young grass,
like grass on the housetop
that is burned by the wind before it can grow.
28“ ‘I know when you rest,
when you come and go,
and how you rage against me.
29Because you rage against me,
and because I have heard your proud words,
I will put my hook in your nose
and my bit in your mouth.
Then I will force you to leave my country
the same way you came.’
30“Then the Lord said, ‘Hezekiah, I will give you this sign:
This year you will eat the grain that grows wild,
and the second year you will eat what grows wild from that.
But in the third year, plant grain and harvest it.
Plant vineyards and eat their fruit.
31Some of the people in the family of Judah
will escape.
Like plants that take root,
they will grow strong and have many children.
32A few people will come out of Jerusalem alive;
a few from Mount Zion will live.
The strong love of the Lord All-Powerful
will make this happen.’
33“So this is what the Lord says about the king of Assyria:
‘He will not enter this city
or even shoot an arrow here.
He will not fight against it with shields
or build a ramp to attack the city walls.
34He will return to his country the same way he came,
and he will not enter this city,’
says the Lord.
35‘I will defend and save this city
for my sake and for David, my servant.’ ”
36Then the angel of the Lord went out and killed one hundred eighty-five thousand men in the Assyrian camp. When the people got up early the next morning, they saw all the dead bodies. 37So Sennacherib king of Assyria left and went back to Nineveh and stayed there.
38One day as Sennacherib was worshiping in the temple of his god Nisroch, his sons Adrammelech and Sharezer killed him with a sword. Then they escaped to the land of Ararat. So Sennacherib’s son Esarhaddon became king of Assyria.
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Isaiah 37: NCV
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The Holy Bible, New Century Version, Copyright © 2005 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved.
Isaiah 37
37
Hezekiah Consults Isaiah
1And this happened: When King Hezekiah heard, he tore his garments, covered himself with sackcloth, and entered the temple#Or “house” of Yahweh. 2And he sent Eliakim, who was in charge of#Literally “over” the palace,#Or “house” and Shebna the secretary, and the elders of the priests covered#Literally “covering themselves” with sackcloth to Isaiah son of Amoz, the prophet. 3And they said to him, “Thus says Hezekiah: ‘This day is a day of distress, rebuke, and disgrace, for children have come to the cervical opening, and there is no strength to give birth. 4Maybe Yahweh your God heard the words of Rabshakeh whom the king of Assyria, his master, has sent to taunt the living God, and he will rebuke the words that Yahweh your God hears. And you must lift up a prayer for the benefit of the remnant that is found.’ ”
5When#Or “And” the servants of King Hezekiah came to Isaiah, 6Isaiah said to them, “You must say this to your master: ‘Thus says Yahweh: “You must not be afraid because of the words that you have heard, with which the servants of the king of Assyria have blasphemed me. 7Look! I am about to put#Literally “give” a spirit in him so that#Or “and” he shall hear a rumor and he shall return to his land, and I will cause him to fall by the sword in his land.” ’ ”
8And Rabshakeh returned and found the king of Assyria fighting against Libnah, for he had heard that he had left from Lachish. 9Now#Or “And” he#That is, the king heard concerning Tirhakah the king of Cush, saying, “He has set out to fight against#Or “with” you.”
When#Or “And” he heard it, he sent messengers to Hezekiah, saying, 10“You shall say this to Hezekiah, king of Judah: ‘Do not let your God in whom you trust in him deceive you by saying, “Jerusalem will not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria.” 11Look! you have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all lands to destroy them, and you—shall you be delivered? 12Did the gods of the nations that my predecessors#Literally “fathers” destroyed deliver them—Gozan, Haran, Rezeph, and the sons of Eden who were in Telassar? 13Where is the king of Hamath, the king of Arpad, the king of the city of Sepharvaim, Hena, or#Or “and” Ivvah?’ ”
Hezekiah’s Prayer
14And Hezekiah took the letter from the hand of the messengers, and he read#Or “called” it. Then#Or “And” he went up to the temple#Or “house” of Yahweh, and Hezekiah spread it out before the presence#Literally “face” of Yahweh. 15And Hezekiah prayed to Yahweh, saying, 16“Yahweh of hosts, God of Israel who is enthroned on#Literally “sitting” the cherubim, you are the one, God by yourself, of all the kingdoms of the earth; you are the one who made the heavens and the earth. 17Yahweh, extend your ear and hear! Yahweh, open your eyes and see, and hear all the words of Sennacherib that he has sent to taunt the living God! 18Truly, Yahweh, the kings of Assyria have laid waste all the lands#The parallel text in 2 Kings has “nations” and their land, 19to set#Literally “give” their gods in the fire, for they were not gods, but the work of human hands, wood and stone, and they destroyed them. 20So#Or “And” now, Yahweh, our God, save us from his hand so that#Or “and” all the kingdoms of the earth may know that you are Yahweh, you alone!”
God’s Answer
21And Isaiah son of Amoz sent to Hezekiah, saying, “Thus says Yahweh the God of Israel: ‘Because you have prayed to me concerning#Literally “to” Sennacherib, king of Assyria, 22this is the word that Yahweh has spoken concerning him:
She shows contempt for you; she derides you, virgin daughter of Zion;
she shakes her head behind you, daughter of Jerusalem.
23Whom have you taunted and blasphemed,
and against whom have you raised up your voice and lifted your eyes upward?
To the holy one of Israel!
24By the hand of your servants you have taunted the Lord,
and you have said, “With my many chariots,#Hebrew “chariot”
I myself have gone up the height of the mountains,
to the remote areas of Lebanon.
And I cut off its tall cedars,#Literally “the height of its cedars”
the choicest of its junipers.
And I came to the height of its limit,
the forest of its orchard.#Or “Carmel”
25I myself dug and drank waters,
and I caused all the streams of Egypt to dry up by the sole of my feet.”
26Have you not heard from a long time ago?#Literally “distant” I have made it
from days of primeval time, and I formed it.
Now I have brought it about,
and it is for fortified cities to collapse into heaps of destroyed stones.
27And their inhabitants are weak;#Literally “short of hand”
they are dismayed, and they are ashamed;
they have become like plants#Hebrew “plant” of the field,
and like greens of grass,
like grass on#Or “of” the roofs
and a cultivated field before#Literally “before the face of” the standing grain.
28And I know your sitting down and your going out,
and your coming in, and your raging against#Literally “to” me.
29Because you were enraged against#Literally “to” me,
and your noise#Or “complacency” has come up to#Literally “in” my ears,
I will put my hook in your nose
and my bridle on your lips,
and I will turn you back on the way by which you came.
30And this shall be the sign for you: the eating of volunteer plants#Hebrew “plant” this#Literally “the” year, and in the second year self-seeded plants,#Hebrew “plant” and in the third year sow, reap, plant vineyards, and eat their fruit. 31And the remnant of the house of Judah that remain shall grow#Literally “add” roots#Hebrew “root” downwards and make fruit upwards.
32For a remnant shall go out from Jerusalem
and survivors#Hebrew “survivor” from mountain Zion.
The zeal of Yahweh of hosts will do this.’
33Therefore thus says Yahweh concerning#Or “to” the king of Assyria:
‘He shall not come to this city,
and he shall not shoot an arrow there,
and he shall not meet it with a shield,
and he shall not heap a siege ramp up against her.
34He shall return by the way that he came,
and he shall not come to this city,’
declares#Literally “declaration of” Yahweh.
35‘And I will defend this city, to save it for my sake and for the sake of David, my servant.’ ”
Sennacherib’s Defeat
36And the angel of Yahweh set out and struck one hundred and eighty-five thousand in the camp of the Assyrians. When#Or “And” they rose in the morning, look! All of them were dead corpses. 37Then#Or “And” Sennacherib king of Assyria left, went, and returned and lived at Nineveh. 38And this happened: he was bowing in worship in the house of Nisroch his god, and Adrammelech and Sharezer, his sons, struck him with the sword. And they themselves escaped to the land of Ararat, and Esar-haddon his son reigned as king in his place.
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