Isaiah 37
37
Jerusalem’s deliverance foretold
1When King Hezekiah heard this, he tore his clothes and put on sackcloth and went into the temple of the Lord. 2He sent Eliakim the palace administrator, Shebna the secretary, and the leading priests, all wearing sackcloth, to the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz. 3They told him, ‘This is what Hezekiah says: this day is a day of distress and rebuke and disgrace, as when children come to the moment of birth and there is no strength to deliver them. 4It may be that the Lord your God will hear the words of the field commander, whom his master, the king of Assyria, has sent to ridicule the living God, and that he will rebuke him for the words the Lord your God has heard. Therefore pray for the remnant that still survives.’
5When King Hezekiah’s officials came to Isaiah, 6Isaiah said to them, ‘Tell your master, “This is what the Lord says: do not be afraid of what you have heard – those words with which the underlings of the king of Assyria have blasphemed me. 7Listen! When he hears a certain report, I will make him want to return to his own country, and there I will have him cut down with the sword.” ’
8When the field commander heard that the king of Assyria had left Lachish, he withdrew and found the king fighting against Libnah.
9Now Sennacherib received a report that Tirhakah, the king of Cush,#37:9 That is, the upper Nile region was marching out to fight against him. When he heard it, he sent messengers to Hezekiah with this word: 10‘Say to Hezekiah king of Judah: do not let the god you depend on deceive you when he says, “Jerusalem will not be given into the hands of the king of Assyria.” 11Surely you have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all the countries, destroying them completely. And will you be delivered? 12Did the gods of the nations that were destroyed by my predecessors deliver them – the gods of Gozan, Harran, Rezeph and the people of Eden who were in Tel Assar? 13Where is the king of Hamath or the king of Arpad? Where are the kings of Lair, Sepharvaim, Hena and Ivvah?’
Hezekiah’s prayer
14Hezekiah received the letter from the messengers and read it. Then he went up to the temple of the Lord and spread it out before the Lord. 15And Hezekiah prayed to the Lord: 16‘Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, enthroned between the cherubim, you alone are God over all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and earth. 17Give ear, Lord, and hear; open your eyes, Lord, and see; listen to all the words Sennacherib has sent to ridicule the living God.
18‘It is true, Lord, that the Assyrian kings have laid waste all these peoples and their lands. 19They have thrown their gods into the fire and destroyed them, for they were not gods but only wood and stone, fashioned by human hands. 20Now, Lord our God, deliver us from his hand, so that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that you, Lord, are the only God.#37:20 Dead Sea Scrolls (see also 2 Kings 19:19); Masoretic Text you alone are the Lord’
Sennacherib’s fall
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 the Lord has spoken against him:
‘Virgin Daughter Zion
despises and mocks you.
Daughter Jerusalem
tosses her head as you flee.
23Who is it you have ridiculed and blasphemed?
Against whom have you raised your voice
and lifted your eyes in pride?
Against the Holy One of Israel!
24By your messengers
you have ridiculed the Lord.
And you have said,
“With my many chariots
I have ascended the heights of the mountains,
the utmost heights of Lebanon.
I have cut down its tallest cedars,
the choicest of its junipers.
I have reached its remotest heights,
the finest of its forests.
25I have dug wells in foreign lands#37:25 Dead Sea Scrolls (see also 2 Kings 19:24); Masoretic Text does not have in foreign lands.
and drunk the water there.
With the soles of my feet
I have dried up all the streams of Egypt.”
26‘Have you not heard?
Long ago I ordained it.
In days of old I planned it;
now I have brought it to pass,
that you have turned fortified cities
into piles of stone.
27Their people, drained of power,
are dismayed and put to shame.
They are like plants in the field,
like tender green shoots,
like grass sprouting on the roof,
scorched#37:27 Some manuscripts of the Masoretic Text, Dead Sea Scrolls and some Septuagint manuscripts (see also 2 Kings 19:26); most manuscripts of the Masoretic Text roof / and terraced fields before it grows up.
28‘But I know where you are
and when you come and go
and how you rage against me.
29Because you rage against me
and because your insolence has reached my ears,
I will put my hook in your nose
and my bit in your mouth,
and I will make you return
by the way you came.
30‘This will be the sign for you, Hezekiah:
‘This year you will eat what grows by itself,
and the second year what springs from that.
But in the third year sow and reap,
plant vineyards and eat their fruit.
31Once more a remnant of the kingdom of Judah
will take root below and bear fruit above.
32For out of Jerusalem will come a remnant,
and out of Mount Zion a band of survivors.
The zeal of the Lord Almighty
will accomplish this.
33‘Therefore this is what the Lord says concerning the king of Assyria:
‘He will not enter this city
or shoot an arrow here.
He will not come before it with shield
or build a siege ramp against it.
34By the way that he came he will return;
he will not enter this city,’
declares the Lord.
35‘I will defend this city and save it,
for my sake and for the sake of David my servant!’
36Then the angel of the Lord went out and put to death a hundred and eighty-five thousand in the Assyrian camp. When the people 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 worshipping in the temple of his god Nisrok, his sons Adrammelek and Sharezer killed him with the sword, and they escaped to the land of Ararat. And Esarhaddon his son succeeded him as king.
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Isaiah 37: NIVUK
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The Holy Bible, New International Version® (Anglicised), NIV®
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Isaiah 37
37
Hezekiah Seeks Isaiah’s Help
1And when King Hezekiah heard this, he tore his clothes and covered himself with sackcloth and went into the house of the Lord. 2Then he sent Eliakim, who was in charge of the [royal] household, and Shebna the scribe, and the elders of the priests, covered with sackcloth, to Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz. 3They said to him, “This is what Hezekiah says, ‘This day is a day of distress, rebuke and disgrace; for children have come to birth, and there is no strength to deliver them. 4It may be that the Lord your God will hear the words of the Rabshakeh [the commander], whom his master the king of Assyria has sent to taunt and defy the living God, and will avenge the words which the Lord your God has heard. Therefore, offer a prayer for the remnant [of His people] that is left.’ ”
5So the servants of King Hezekiah came to Isaiah. 6Isaiah said to them, “You shall say the following to your master: ‘This is what the Lord says, “Do not be afraid because of the words that you have heard, with which the servants of the king of Assyria have blasphemed Me. 7Listen carefully, I will put a spirit in him so that he will hear a rumor and return to his own land. And I will make him fall by the sword in his own land.” ’ ”
8So the Rabshakeh returned and found the king of Assyria fighting against Libnah [a fortified city of Judah], for he had heard that the king had left Lachish. 9And Sennacherib king of Assyria, heard them say concerning Tirhakah king of Cush (Ethiopia), “He has come out to fight against you.” And when he heard it, he sent messengers to Hezekiah, saying, 10“You shall say to Hezekiah king of Judah, ‘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.” 11Listen carefully, you have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all lands, utterly destroying them. So will you be rescued? 12Did the gods of the nations which my fathers destroyed rescue them—#The place-names in this verse are all found on the Assyrian monuments. For further information, see E.S. Schrader, Cuneiform Inscriptions and the Old Testament, and his comments on 2 Kin 19:12.Gozan, Haran [of Mesopotamia], Rezeph, and the sons of Eden who were in Telassar? 13Where is the king of Hamath, the king of Arpad [of northern Syria], the king of the city of Sepharvaim, [the king of] Hena, or [the king of] Ivvah?’ ”
Hezekiah’s Prayer in the Temple
14Then Hezekiah took the letter from the hand of the messengers and read it, and he went up to the house of the Lord and spread it out before the Lord. 15And Hezekiah prayed to the Lord saying, 16“O Lord of hosts, God of Israel, who is enthroned above the cherubim, You are the God, You alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and earth. 17Incline Your ear, O Lord, and hear; open Your eyes, O Lord, and see; and hear all the words of Sennacherib that he has sent to taunt and defy the living God. 18It is true, O Lord, that the kings of Assyria have laid waste all the countries and their lands, 19and have cast the gods [of those peoples] into the fire, for they were not gods but the work of men’s hands, wood and stone. Therefore they have destroyed them. 20Now, O Lord our God, save us from his hand so that all the kingdoms of the earth may know and fully realize that You alone, Lord, are #So DSS and 2 Kin 19:19; MT omits God.God.”
God Answers through Isaiah
21Then Isaiah son of Amoz sent word to Hezekiah, saying, “For the Lord, the God of Israel says this, ‘Because you have prayed to Me about Sennacherib king of Assyria, 22this is the word that the Lord has spoken against him:
“She has shown contempt for you and mocked you,
The Virgin Daughter of Zion (Jerusalem);
She has shaken her head behind you,
The Daughter of Jerusalem!
23Whom have you taunted and blasphemed?
And against whom have you raised your voice
And haughtily lifted up your eyes?
Against the Holy One of Israel!
24Through your servants you have taunted and defied the Lord,
And you have said, ‘With my many chariots I have gone up to the heights of the mountains,
To the remotest parts of Lebanon.
I cut down its tallest cedars and its choicest cypress trees;
And I will go to its remotest height, its most luxuriant and thickest forest.
25I dug wells and drank [foreign] waters,
And with the sole of my feet I dried up
All the canals [of the Nile] of Egypt.’
26Have you not heard [says the God of Israel]
That I did it long ago,
That I planned it in ancient times?
Now I have brought it to pass,
That you [king of Assyria] would [be My instrument to] turn fortified cities into ruinous heaps.
27Therefore their inhabitants had little power,
They were terrorized and shamed;
They were like the grass of the field and the green vegetation,
Like grass on the housetops and like a field [of grain] scorched before it is grown.
28But I know your sitting down
And your going out and your coming in [every detail of your life],
And your raging against Me.
29Because your raging against Me
And your arrogance has come up to My ears,
I will put My hook in your nose
And My bridle in your #Lit lips.mouth,
And I will turn you back by the way you came.
30“This shall be the sign [of these things] to you [Hezekiah]: you are to eat this year #Called “second growth,” this ordinarily referred to uncultivated produce that grew during the Sabbath year (when sowing was forbidden) from seed that fell outside the boundaries of the field the preceding year.what grows of itself, and in the second year that which springs from the same, and in the third year you are to sow and harvest, and plant vineyards and eat their fruit. 31The surviving remnant of the house of Judah will again take root downward and bear fruit upward. 32For out of Jerusalem will come a remnant and from Mount Zion a band of survivors. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.” ’
33“Therefore, the Lord says this concerning the king of Assyria, ‘He will not come into this city or shoot an arrow there, or come before it with shield, or raise an assault ramp against it. 34By the way that he came, by the same way he will return, and he will not come into this city,’ declares the Lord. 35‘For I will defend this city to save it, for My own sake and for the sake of My servant David.’ ”
Assyrians Destroyed
36And the #See note Gen 16:7.angel of the Lord went out and #This is the fulfillment of the prophecy made in Is 31:8, 9. See also 10:33, 34; 14:25; 17:14; 30:31.struck 185,000 in the camp of the Assyrians; and when the [surviving] men got up early the next morning, they saw all the dead. 37So Sennacherib king of Assyria departed and returned and lived at Nineveh. 38It came to pass as he was worshiping in the house of Nisroch his god, that Adrammelech and Sharezer his sons killed him with the sword; and they escaped into the land of Ararat [in Armenia]. And Esarhaddon his son became king in his place.
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