Yeshayah 37
37
1And it came to pass, when HaMelech Chizkiyah heard it, that he tore his begadim, and covered himself with sackcloth, and went into the Beis Hashem.
2And he sent Elyakim, who was over the Bais, and Shevna the Sofer, and the Ziknei HaKohanim covered with sackcloth, unto HaNavi Yeshayah Ben Amotz.
3And they said unto him, Thus saith Chizkiyah, This yom is a yom tzarah, and of tokhechah, and of ne'atzah; for the banim are come to the mashber, and there is not ko'ach to bring forth.
4It may be Hashem Eloheicha will hear the words of Rav Shakeh, whom Melech Ashur adonav hath sent to ridicule the Elohim Chai, and will rebuke the devarim which Hashem Eloheicha hath heard; therefore lift up thy tefillah for the she'erit that are left surviving.
5So the avadim of HaMelech Chizkiyah came to Yeshayah.
6And Yeshayah said unto them, Thus shall ye say unto adoneichem, Thus saith Hashem, Be not afraid before the words that thou hast heard, wherewith the na'arei Melech Ashur have made gidduf (blasphemy) against Me.
7Hineni, I will put a ruach in him, when he shall hear a shemuah (report), and return to his own land; and I will cause him to fall by the cherev in his own land.
8So Rav Shakeh left [Yerushalayim], and found Melech Ashur warring against Livnah; for he had heard that he#37:8 Melech Ashur was departed from Lakhish.
9And he heard concerning Tirhakah Melech Kush, He is come forth to make war with thee. And when he heard it, he sent malachim to Chizkiyah, saying,
10Thus shall ye speak to Chizkiyah Melech Yehudah, saying, Let not Eloheicha, in Whom thou trustest, deceive thee, saying, Yerushalayim shall not be given into the yad Melech Ashur.
11Hinei, thou hast heard what the melachim of Ashur have done to all lands by destroying them utterly; and shalt thou be saved?
12Have the elohei HaGoyim delivered them which my avot have destroyed, as Gozan, and Charan, and Retzeph, and the Bnei Eden which were in Telassar?
13Where is Melech Chamat, and Melech Arpad, and the Melech of the Ir of Sepharvayim, Hena, and Ivah?
14And Chizkiyah received the sefarim (letters) from the yad hamalachim, and read it; and Chizkiyah went up unto the Beis Hashem, and spread it before Hashem.
15And Chizkiyah davened unto Hashem, saying,
16 Hashem Tzva'os, Elohei Yisroel, that dwellest between the keruvim, Thou art HaElohim, even Thou alone, of kol mamlechot ha'aretz; Thou hast made Shomayim and HaAretz.
17Incline Thine ear, Hashem, and hear; open Thine eyes, Hashem, and see; and hear all the words of Sancheriv, which he sent to insult the Elohim Chai.
18Truly, Hashem, the melachim of Ashur have laid waste all the countries and their lands,
19And have cast eloheihem into the eish; for they were no elohim, but the ma'aseh yedei adam, etz and even (stone); therefore they have destroyed them.
20Now therefore, Hashem Eloheinu, save us from his yad, that kol mamlechot ha'aretz may know that Thou art Hashem, even Thou only.
21Then Yeshayah Ben Amotz sent unto Chizkiyah, saying, Thus saith Hashem Elohei Yisroel, Whereas thou hast davened to Me against Sancheriv Melech Ashur;
22This is the davar which Hashem hath spoken concerning him; The Betulat Bat Tziyon, hath despised thee, and laughed thee to scorn; the Bat Yerushalayim hath shaken her head at thee.
23Whom hast thou insulted and made gidduf against? And against whom hast thou raised thy voice, and lifted up thine eyes marom? Even against Kadosh Yisroel.
24By thy avadim hast thou insulted Adonoi, and hast said, By the multitude of my chariots am I come up marom harim, to the heights of Levanon; and I will cut down the tall cedars thereof, and the choice pine trees thereof; and I will enter into its most remote height, and the ya'ar (forest) of its fruitful land.
25I have dug, and drunk mayim; and with the sole of my feet have I dried up all the streams of the besieged places.
26Hast thou not heard long ago, how I have done it; and of yemei kedem (days of old), that I have formed it? Now have I brought it to pass, that thou shouldest be to lay waste fortified cities into ruinous heaps.
27Therefore their inhabitants were of small power, they were dismayed and put to shame; they were as the esev of the sadeh, and as the green herb, as the khatzir (grass) on the gagot (rooftops) is sun-scorched before it is grown up.
28But I know thy sitting, and thy going out, and thy coming in, and thy rage against Me.
29Because thy rage against Me, and thy insolence, is come up into Mine ears, therefore will I put My hook in thy nose, and My bit in thy sfatayim (lips), and I will turn thee back by the derech by which thou camest.
30And this shall be HaOt unto thee, Ye shall eat this year such as groweth of itself; and the second year that which springeth from the same; and in the third year sow ye, and reap, and plant kramim (vineyards), and eat the fruit thereof.
31And the remnant that is escaped of the Bais Yehudah shall again take shoresh (root) downward, and bear pri upward;
32For out of Yerushalayim shall go forth She'erit (remnant) and they that escape out of Mt Tziyon; the zeal of Hashem Tzva'os shall accomplish this.
33Therefore thus saith Hashem concerning Melech Ashur, He shall not come into this city, nor shoot khetz (an arrow) there, nor come before it with mogen, nor cast a siege ramp against it.
34By the derech that he came, by the same shall he return, and shall not come into this city, saith Hashem.
35For I will defend this city to save it for Mine Own sake, and for the sake of Dovid Avdi.
36Then the Malach Hashem went forth, and struck down in the Machaneh Ashur a hundred and fourscore and five elef; and when they arose early in the boker, hinei, they were all pegarim mesim (dead corpses).
37So Sancheriv Melech Ashur departed, and went and returned, and dwelt in Nineveh.
38And it came to pass, as he was worshiping in the Bais Nisroch elohav, that Adramelech and Saretzer, his banim, cut him down with the cherev; they escaped into Eretz Ararat; Esar-Chaddon bno reigned in his place.
Currently Selected:
Yeshayah 37: TOJB2011
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
THE ORTHODOX JEWISH BIBLE
FOURTH EDITION © Artists For Israel Intl Inc., 2002-2011, 2021.
Isaiah 37
37
Hezekiah Seeks the Lord’s Help
1When King Hezekiah heard their report, he tore his clothes and put on burlap and went into the Temple of the Lord. 2And he sent Eliakim the palace administrator, Shebna the court secretary, and the leading priests, all dressed in burlap, to the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz. 3They told him, “This is what King Hezekiah says: Today is a day of trouble, insults, and disgrace. It is like when a child is ready to be born, but the mother has no strength to deliver the baby. 4But perhaps the Lord your God has heard the Assyrian chief of staff,#37:4 Or the rabshakeh; also in 37:8. sent by the king to defy the living God, and will punish him for his words. Oh, pray for those of us who are left!”
5After King Hezekiah’s officials delivered the king’s message to Isaiah, 6the prophet replied, “Say to your master, ‘This is what the Lord says: Do not be disturbed by this blasphemous speech against me from the Assyrian king’s messengers. 7Listen! I myself will move against him,#37:7 Hebrew I will put a spirit in him. and the king will receive a message that he is needed at home. So he will return to his land, where I will have him killed with a sword.’”
8Meanwhile, the Assyrian chief of staff left Jerusalem and went to consult the king of Assyria, who had left Lachish and was attacking Libnah.
9Soon afterward King Sennacherib received word that King Tirhakah of Ethiopia#37:9 Hebrew of Cush. was leading an army to fight against him. Before leaving to meet the attack, he sent messengers back to Hezekiah in Jerusalem with this message:
10“This message is for King Hezekiah of Judah. Don’t let your God, in whom you trust, deceive you with promises that Jerusalem will not be captured by the king of Assyria. 11You know perfectly well what the kings of Assyria have done wherever they have gone. They have completely destroyed everyone who stood in their way! Why should you be any different? 12Have the gods of other nations rescued them—such nations as Gozan, Haran, Rezeph, and the people of Eden who were in Tel-assar? My predecessors destroyed them all! 13What happened to the king of Hamath and the king of Arpad? What happened to the kings of Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivvah?”
14After Hezekiah received the letter from the messengers and read it, he went up to the Lord’s Temple and spread it out before the Lord. 15And Hezekiah prayed this prayer before the Lord: 16“O Lord of Heaven’s Armies, God of Israel, you are enthroned between the mighty cherubim! You alone are God of all the kingdoms of the earth. You alone created the heavens and the earth. 17Bend down, O Lord, and listen! Open your eyes, O Lord, and see! Listen to Sennacherib’s words of defiance against the living God.
18“It is true, Lord, that the kings of Assyria have destroyed all these nations. 19And they have thrown the gods of these nations into the fire and burned them. But of course the Assyrians could destroy them! They were not gods at all—only idols of wood and stone shaped by human hands. 20Now, O Lord our God, rescue us from his power; then all the kingdoms of the earth will know that you alone, O Lord, are God.#37:20 As in Dead Sea Scrolls (see also 2 Kgs 19:19); Masoretic Text reads you alone are the Lord.”
Isaiah Predicts Judah’s Deliverance
21Then Isaiah son of Amoz sent this message to Hezekiah: “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: Because you prayed about King Sennacherib of Assyria, 22the Lord has spoken this word against him:
“The virgin daughter of Zion
despises you and laughs at you.
The daughter of Jerusalem
shakes her head in derision as you flee.
23“Whom have you been defying and ridiculing?
Against whom did you raise your voice?
At whom did you look with such haughty eyes?
It was the Holy One of Israel!
24By your messengers you have defied the Lord.
You have said, ‘With my many chariots
I have conquered the highest mountains—
yes, the remotest peaks of Lebanon.
I have cut down its tallest cedars
and its finest cypress trees.
I have reached its farthest heights
and explored its deepest forests.
25I have dug wells in many foreign lands#37:25 As in Dead Sea Scrolls (see also 2 Kgs 19:24); Masoretic Text lacks in many foreign lands.
and refreshed myself with their water.
With the sole of my foot,
I stopped up all the rivers of Egypt!’
26“But have you not heard?
I decided this long ago.
Long ago I planned it,
and now I am making it happen.
I planned for you to crush fortified cities
into heaps of rubble.
27That is why their people have so little power
and are so frightened and confused.
They are as weak as grass,
as easily trampled as tender green shoots.
They are like grass sprouting on a housetop,
scorched#37:27 As in Dead Sea Scrolls and some Greek manuscripts (see also 2 Kgs 19:26); most Hebrew manuscripts read like a terraced field. before it can grow lush and tall.
28“But I know you well—
where you stay
and when you come and go.
I know the way you have raged against me.
29And because of your raging against me
and your arrogance, which I have heard for myself,
I will put my hook in your nose
and my bit in your mouth.
I will make you return
by the same road on which you came.”
30Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, “Here is the proof that what I say is true:
“This year you will eat only what grows up by itself,
and next year you will eat what springs up from that.
But in the third year you will plant crops and harvest them;
you will tend vineyards and eat their fruit.
31And you who are left in Judah,
who have escaped the ravages of the siege,
will put roots down in your own soil
and grow up and flourish.
32For a remnant of my people will spread out from Jerusalem,
a group of survivors from Mount Zion.
The passionate commitment of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies
will make this happen!
33“And this is what the Lord says about the king of Assyria:
“‘His armies will not enter Jerusalem.
They will not even shoot an arrow at it.
They will not march outside its gates with their shields
nor build banks of earth against its walls.
34The king will return to his own country
by the same road on which he came.
He will not enter this city,’
says the Lord.
35‘For my own honor and for the sake of my servant David,
I will defend this city and protect it.’”
36That night the angel of the Lord went out to the Assyrian camp and killed 185,000 Assyrian soldiers. When the surviving Assyrians#37:36 Hebrew When they. woke up the next morning, they found corpses everywhere. 37Then King Sennacherib of Assyria broke camp and returned to his own land. He went home to his capital of Nineveh and stayed there.
38One day while he was worshiping in the temple of his god Nisroch, his sons Adrammelech and Sharezer killed him with their swords. They then escaped to the land of Ararat, and another son, Esarhaddon, became the next king of Assyria.
Currently Selected:
:
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
Holy Bible, New Living Translation copyright 1996, 2004, 2007, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation.
For more information about the NLT: