Isaiah 37
37
1And when the King Hezekiah heard it, he rent his clothes, and put on sackcloth and came into the House of the Lord. 2And he sent Eliakim the stewarde of the house, aud Shebna the chanceller, with the Elders of the Priestes, clothed in sackcloth vnto Isaiah the Prophet, the sonne of Amoz. 3And they sayd vnto him, Thus saith Hezekiah, This day is a day of tribulation and of rebuke and blasphemie: for the children are come to the birth, and there is no strength to bring foorth. 4If so be the Lord thy God hath heard the wordes of Rabshakeh, whom the King of Asshur his master hath sent to raile on the liuing God, and to reproch him with wordes which the Lord thy God hath heard, then lift thou vp thy prayer for the remnant that are left. 5So the seruants of the King Hezekiah came to Isaiah. 6And Isaiah sayde vnto them, Thus say vnto your master, Thus saith the Lord, Be not afrayd of the wordes that thou hast heard, wherewith the seruants of the king of Asshur haue blasphemed me. 7Beholde, I wil send a blast vpon him, and he shall heare a noyse, and returne to his owne land, and I will cause him to fall by the sword in his owne land. 8So Rabshakeh returned, and found the King of Asshur fighting against Libnah: for he had heard that he was departed from Lachish. 9He heard also men say of Tirhakah, King of Ethiopia, Beholde, he is come out to fight against thee: and when he heard it, he sent other messengers to Hezekiah, saying, 10Thus shall ye speake to Hezekiah King of Iudah, saying, Let not thy God deceiue thee, in whom thou trustest, saying, Ierusalem shall not be giuen into the hand of the King of Asshur. 11Beholde, thou hast heard what the Kings of Asshur haue done to all lands in destroying them, and shalt thou be deliuered? 12Haue the gods of the nations deliuered them, which my fathers haue destroyed? as Gozan, and Haran, and Rezeph, and the children of Eden, which were at Telassar? 13Where is the King of Hamath, and the King of Arpad, and the King of the citie of Sepharuaim, Hena and Iuah? 14So Hezekiah receiued the letter of the hand of the messengers and read it, and he went vp into the House of the Lord, and Hezekiah spread it before the Lord. 15And Hezekiah prayed vnto the Lord, saying, 16O Lord of hostes, God of Israel, which dwellest betweene the Cherubims, thou art very God alone ouer all the kingdomes of the earth: thou hast made the heauen and the earth. 17Encline thine eare, O Lord, and heare: open thine eyes, O Lord, and see, and heare all the wordes of Saneherib, who hath sent to blaspheme the liuing God. 18Trueth it is, O Lord, that the Kings of Asshur haue destroyed all lands, and their countrey, 19And haue cast their gods in ye fire: for they were no gods, but the worke of mans hands, euen wood or stone: therefore they destroyed them. 20Nowe therefore, O Lord our God, saue thou vs out of his hand, that all the kingdomes of the earth may knowe, that thou onely art the Lord. 21Then Isaiah the sonne of Amoz sent vnto Hezekiah, saying, Thus sayth the Lord God of Israel, Because thou hast prayed vnto me, concerning Saneherib king of Asshur, 22This is the worde that the Lord hath spoken against him, the virgine, the daughter of Zion, hath despised thee, and laughed thee to scorne: the daughter of Ierusalem, hath shaken her head at thee. 23Whome hast thou railed on and blasphemed? and against whome hast thou exalted thy voyce, and lifted vp thine eyes on hie? euen against the holy one of Israel. 24By thy seruants hast thou railed on the Lord, and sayd, By the multitude of my charets I am come vp to the top of the mountaines to the sides of Lebanon, and will cut downe the hie cedars thereof, and the faire firre trees thereof, and I will goe vp to the heightes of his top and to the forest of his fruitfull places. 25I haue digged and drunke the waters, and with the plant of my feete haue I dryed all the riuers closed in. 26Hast thou not heard howe I haue of olde time made it, and haue formed it long ago? and should I now bring it, that it should be destroyed, and layde on ruinous heapes, as cities defensed? 27Whose inhabitants haue small power, and are afrayd and confounded: they are like the grasse of the field and greene herbe, or grasse on the house tops, or corne blassed afore it be growen. 28But I know thy dwelling, and thy going out, and thy comming in, and thy fury against me. 29Because thou ragest against me, and thy tumult is come vnto mine eares, therefore will I put mine hooke in thy nostrels, and my bridle in thy lips, and wil bring thee backe againe the same way thou camest. 30And this shalbe a signe vnto thee, O Hezekiah, Thou shalt eate this yeere such as groweth of it selfe: and the second yeere, such things as growe without sowing: and in the third yeere, sowe ye and reape, and plant vineyards, and eate the fruite thereof. 31And the remnant that is escaped of the house of Iudah, shall againe take roote downward and beare fruite vpward. 32For out of Ierusalem shall goe a remnant, and they that escape out of mount Zion: the zeale of the Lord of hostes shall doe this. 33Therefore thus sayth the Lord, concerning the King of Asshur, He shall not enter into this citie, nor shoote an arrow there, nor come before it with shield, nor cast a mount against it. 34By the same way that he came, he shall returne, and not come into this citie, saith the Lord. 35For I will defend this citie to saue it, for mine owne sake, and for my seruant Dauids sake. 36Then the Angel of the Lord went out, and smote in the campe of Asshur an hundreth, fourescore, and fiue thousand: so when they arose early in the morning, beholde, they were all dead corpses. 37So Saneherib king of Asshur departed, and went away and returned and dwelt at Nineueh. 38And as he was in the temple worshipping of Nisroch his god, Adramelech and Sharezer his sonnes slewe him with the sword, and they escaped into the land of Ararat: and Esarhaddon his sonne reigned in his steade.
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Isaiah 37: GNV
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Isaiah 37
37
Hezekiah Seeks Isaiah’s Counsel
1When King Hezekiah heard their report,#2Kg 19:1–34 he tore his clothes, covered himself with sackcloth,#Gn 37:34; 2Sm 3:31; 1Kg 21:27; Is 3:24 and went to the Lord’s temple. 2He sent Eliakim, who was in charge of the palace, Shebna the court secretary, and the leading priests, who were covered with sackcloth, to the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz. 3They said to him, “This is what Hezekiah says: ‘Today is a day of distress, rebuke, and disgrace.#Is 22:5; 26:16; 33:2; Nah 1:7; Hab 3:16 It is as if children have come to the point of birth, and there is no strength to deliver them.#Is 26:17–18; 66:9; Hs 13:13 4Perhaps the Lord your God will hear all the words of the royal spokesman, whom his master the king of Assyria sent to mock the living God,#Dt 5:26; 1Sm 17:26,36; Jr 10:10 and will rebuke him for the words that the Lord your God has heard. Therefore offer a prayer for the surviving remnant.’”#Is 1:9; 46:3
5So the servants of King Hezekiah went to Isaiah, 6who said to them, “Tell your master, ‘The Lord says this: Don’t be afraid#Is 7:4; 35:4 because of the words you have heard, with which the king of Assyria’s attendants have blasphemed me.#Ps 44:7,13–16; Is 52:5; Rm 2:24 7I am about to put a spirit#Nm 5:14; Is 19:14; Hs 4:12; Zch 13:2; 2Tm 1:7 in him and he will hear a rumor and return to his own land, where I will cause him to fall by the sword.’”#Is 37:36–38
Sennacherib’s Letter
8When the royal spokesman heard that the king of Assyria had pulled out of Lachish,#Jos 10:31–32 he left and found him fighting against Libnah.#Nm 33:20; Jos 10:29 9The king had heard concerning King Tirhakah of Cush,#Is 18:1; 20:5 “He has set out to fight against you.” So when he heard this, he sent messengers to Hezekiah, saying, 10“Say this to King Hezekiah of Judah: ‘Don’t let your God, on whom you rely, deceive you#Is 36:14–15 by promising that Jerusalem won’t be handed over to the king of Assyria. 11Look, you have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all the countries: they completely destroyed them. Will you be rescued? 12Did the gods of the nations#Is 36:18 that my predecessors destroyed rescue them — Gozan,#2Kg 17:6; 18:11 Haran,#Gn 11:31; 12:1–4; Ac 7:2 Rezeph, and the Edenites in Telassar? 13Where is the king of Hamath, the king of Arpad, the king of the city of#37:13 Or king of Lair, Sepharvaim, Hena, or Ivvah? ’”
Hezekiah’s Prayer
14Hezekiah took the letter from the messengers’ hands, read it, then went up to the Lord’s temple and spread it out before the Lord.#Dt 22:17; 1Kg 8:22; Ezk 2:10 15Then Hezekiah prayed#2Ch 32:20 to the Lord:
16 Lord of Armies, God of Israel, enthroned between the cherubim,#Ex 25:22; Nm 7:89; 1Sm 4:4; 2Sm 6:2; Ps 80:1; 99:1 you are God#Dt 10:17; 2Sm 7:28; Ps 86:10; 90:2; 136:2–3 — you alone#1Kg 8:39; Neh 9:6; Ps 4:8; 83:18; 86:10; Rv 15:4 — of all the kingdoms of the earth.#2Ch 36:20; Ps 68:32; Rv 11:15 You made the heavens and the earth.#Ex 20:11; Neh 9:6; Ps 146:6; Ac 4:24 17Listen closely, Lord, and hear;#2Ch 6:40; Ps 17:6; Dn 9:18 open your eyes, Lord, and see.#Is 42:5; 45:12; Jr 10:12 Hear all the words that Sennacherib has sent to mock the living God.#Is 37:4 18Lord, it is true that the kings of Assyria have devastated all these countries and their lands. 19They have thrown their gods into the fire, for they were not gods#Dt 32:17; 2Ch 13:9; Jr 2:11; 5:7; 16:20; Hs 8:6; Ac 19:26; Gl 4:8 but made from wood and stone#Dt 4:28; 28:36,64; 29:17; Ezk 20:32 by human hands.#Is 2:8,20; 17:8; 31:7; 41:24,29; 44:9–20; 46:6 So they have destroyed them. 20Now, Lord our God, save us from his power so that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that you, Lord, are God#37:20 are God supplied for clarity; see v. 16#Jos 4:24; 1Kg 8:60; 20:13; Is 45:3,6 — you alone.#Is 37:16
God’s Answer through Isaiah
21Then Isaiah son of Amoz sent a message to Hezekiah: “The Lord, the God of Israel, says, ‘Because you prayed to me about King Sennacherib of Assyria, 22this is the word the Lord has spoken against him:
Virgin Daughter Zion#Lm 2:13; Is 1:8; 3:16–17; 4:4; 52:2; 62:11
despises you and scorns you;
Daughter Jerusalem shakes her head#Jb 16:4; Ps 22:7; 109:25; Jr 18:16; Lm 2:15
behind your back.
23Who is it you have mocked#Ps 74:10,18; Is 37:4; Gl 6:7 and blasphemed?
Against whom have you raised your voice
and lifted your eyes in pride?#Is 2:11; 5:15,21
Against the Holy One of Israel!#Gn 12:3; Ex 23:22
24You have mocked the Lord through your servants.
You have said, “With my many chariots#Ex 14:26–28; 15:4,19; Dt 20:1; Jos 11:4–9; 2Ch 16:8; Ps 68:17
I have gone up to the heights of the mountains,
to the far recesses of Lebanon.
I cut down its tallest cedars,
its choice cypress trees.
I came to its distant heights,
its densest forest.
25I dug wells and drank water in foreign lands.#37:25 DSS, 2Kg 19:24; MT omits in foreign lands
I dried up all the streams of Egypt
with the soles of my feet.”#Dt 11:10; 1Kg 20:10
26Have you not heard?#Is 40:21,28
I designed it long ago;
I planned it in days gone by.#Is 5:19; 10:5–6; 14:24–26; 22:11; 46:11; Jr 18:11; Ac 2:23; 4:27–28; 1Pt 2:8
I have now brought it to pass,
and you have crushed fortified cities#Is 34:13
into piles of rubble.
27Their inhabitants have become powerless,
dismayed, and ashamed.
They are plants of the field,
tender grass,
grass on the rooftops,
blasted by the east wind.#37:27 DSS; MT reads rooftops, field before standing grain
28But I know your sitting down,
your going out and your coming in,#Ps 139:1
and your raging against me.
29Because your raging against me
and your arrogance have reached my ears,#Is 10:12
I will put my hook in your nose#Ezk 19:9; 29:4; 38:4
and my bit in your mouth;#Is 30:28
I will make you go back
the way you came.
30“‘This will be the sign for you:#Ex 3:12; 1Sm 2:34; 1Kg 13:3; Is 7:14; 38:7; Jr 44:29; Lk 2:12 This year you will eat what grows on its own, and in the second year what grows from that. But in the third year sow and reap, plant vineyards and eat their fruit. 31The surviving remnant of the house of Judah will again take root#Is 27:6 downward and bear fruit upward. 32For a remnant#Ezr 9:14; Is 10:20–22 will go out from Jerusalem, and survivors from Mount Zion. The zeal of the Lord of Armies will accomplish this.’#2Kg 19:31; Is 9:7; 59:17; Jl 2:18; Zch 1:14
33“Therefore, this is what the Lord says about the king of Assyria:
He will not enter this city,
shoot an arrow here,
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.
This is the Lord’s declaration.
35I will defend this city and rescue it
for my sake#Is 43:25; 48:9,11
and for the sake of my servant David.”#1Kg 11:13,32–38; 2Kg 20:6; Ezk 34:23
Defeat and Death of Sennacherib
36Then#2Kg 19:35–37; 2Ch 32:21 the angel of the Lord#Gn 16:7–11; Ex 3:2; Nm 22:22–35; Jdg 6:11–12; 2Sm 24:16; Ps 34:7 went out and struck down one hundred eighty-five thousand in the camp of the Assyrians. When the people got up the next morning, there were all the dead bodies! 37So King Sennacherib of Assyria broke camp and left. He returned home and lived in Nineveh.#Gn 10:11; Jnh 1:2; 3:3; 4:11; Zph 2:13
38One day, while he was worshiping in the temple of his god Nisroch, his sons Adrammelech and Sharezer struck him down with the sword and escaped to the land of Ararat.#Gn 8:4; Jr 51:27 Then his son Esar-haddon#Ezr 4:2 became king in his place.
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