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
Isaiah’s Message of Deliverance
(2 Kings 19:1–7)
1On hearing this report, King Hezekiah tore his clothes, put on sackcloth, and entered the house of the Lord. 2And he sent Eliakim the palace administrator, Shebna the scribe, and the leading priests, all wearing sackcloth, to the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz 3to tell him, “This is what Hezekiah says: Today is a day of distress, rebuke, and disgrace; for children have come to the point of birth, but there is no strength to deliver them. 4Perhaps the Lord your God will hear the words of the Rabshakeh, whom his master the king of Assyria has sent to defy the living God, and He will rebuke him for the words that the Lord your God has heard. Therefore lift up a prayer for the remnant that still survives.”
5So the servants of King Hezekiah went to Isaiah, 6who replied, “Tell your master that this is what the Lord says: ‘Do not be afraid of the words you have heard, with which the servants of the king of Assyria have blasphemed Me. 7Behold, I will put a spirit in him so that he will hear a rumor and return to his own land, where I will cause him to fall by the sword.’”
Sennacherib’s Blasphemous Letter
(2 Kings 19:8–13)
8When the Rabshakeh heard that the king of Assyria had left Lachish, he withdrew and found the king fighting against Libnah.
9Now Sennacherib had been warned about Tirhakah king of Cush:#37:9 That is, the upper Nile region “He has set out to fight against you.”
On hearing this, Sennacherib sent messengers to Hezekiah, saying, 10“Give this message to Hezekiah king of Judah:
‘Do not let your God, in whom you trust, deceive you by saying that Jerusalem will not be delivered into the hand of the king of Assyria. 11Surely you have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all the other countries, devoting them to destruction.#37:11 Forms of the Hebrew cherem refer to the giving over of things or persons, either by destroying them or by giving them as an offering. Will you then be spared? 12Did the gods of the nations destroyed by my fathers rescue those nations—the gods of Gozan, Haran, and Rezeph, and of the people of Eden in Telassar? 13Where are the kings of Hamath, Arpad, Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivvah?’”
Hezekiah’s Prayer
(2 Kings 19:14–19)
14So Hezekiah received the letter from the messengers, read it, and went up to the house of the Lord and spread it out before the Lord. 15And Hezekiah prayed to the Lord:
16“O Lord of Hosts, God of Israel, enthroned above the cherubim, You alone are God over all the kingdoms of the earth. You made the heavens and the earth. 17Incline Your ear, O Lord, and hear; open Your eyes, O Lord, and see. Listen to all the words that Sennacherib has sent to defy the living God.
18Truly, O Lord, the kings of Assyria have laid waste all these countries and their lands. 19They have cast their gods into the fire and destroyed them, for they were not gods, but only wood and stone—the work of human hands.
20And now, O Lord our God, save us from his hand, so that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that You alone, O Lord, are God.#37:20 DSS (see also 2 Kings 19:19); MT You alone are the Lord”
Sennacherib’s Fall Prophesied
(2 Kings 19:20–34)
21Then Isaiah son of Amoz sent a message to Hezekiah: “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: Because you have prayed to Me concerning Sennacherib king of Assyria, 22this is the word that the Lord has spoken against him:
‘The Virgin Daughter of Zion
despises you and mocks you;
the Daughter of Jerusalem
shakes her head behind you.
23Whom have you taunted and blasphemed?
Against whom have you raised your voice
and lifted your eyes in pride?
Against the Holy One of Israel!
24Through your servants you have taunted the Lord,
and you have said:
“With my many chariots
I have ascended
to the heights of the mountains,
to the remote peaks of Lebanon.
I have cut down its tallest cedars,
the finest of its cypresses.#37:24 Or pines or junipers or firs
I have reached its farthest heights,
the densest of its forests.
25I have dug wells
and drunk foreign #37:25 DSS (see also 2 Kings 19:24); MT does not include foreign. waters.
With the soles of my feet
I have dried up all the streams of Egypt.”
26Have you not heard?
Long ago I ordained it;
in days of old I planned it.
Now I have brought it to pass,
that you should crush fortified cities
into piles of rubble.
27Therefore their inhabitants, devoid of power,
are dismayed and ashamed.
They are like plants in the field,
tender green shoots,
grass on the rooftops,
scorched #37:27 DSS, some MT manuscripts, and some LXX manuscripts (see also 2 Kings 19:26); most MT manuscripts on the rooftops and terraced fields before it is grown.
28But I know your sitting down,
your going out and coming in,
and your raging against Me.
29Because your rage and arrogance against Me
have reached My ears,
I will put My hook in your nose
and My bit in your mouth;
I will send you back
the way you came.’
30And this will be a sign to you, O Hezekiah:
This year you will eat
what grows on its own,
and in the second year
what springs from the same.
But in the third year you will sow and reap;
you will plant vineyards and eat their fruit.
31And the surviving remnant of the house of Judah
will again take root below
and bear fruit above.
32For a remnant will go forth from Jerusalem,
and survivors from Mount Zion.
The zeal of the Lord of Hosts
will accomplish this.
33So this is what the Lord says about the king of Assyria:
‘He will not enter this city
or shoot an arrow into it.
He will not come before it with a shield
or build up a siege ramp against it.
34He will go back the way he came,
and he will not enter this city,’
declares the Lord.
35‘I will defend this city
and save it
for My own sake
and for the sake of My servant David.’”
Jerusalem Delivered from the Assyrians
(2 Kings 19:35–37; 2 Chronicles 32:20–23)
36Then the angel of the Lord went out and struck down 185,000 men in the camp of the Assyrians. When the people got up #37:36 Hebrew When they got up the next morning, there were all the dead bodies!
37So Sennacherib king of Assyria broke camp and withdrew. He returned to Nineveh and stayed there. 38One day, while he was worshiping in the temple of his god Nisroch, his sons Adrammelech and Sharezer put him to the sword and escaped to the land of Ararat. And his son Esar-haddon reigned in his place.
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The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible, BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee. This text of God's Word has been dedicated to the public domain.