Isaiah 37
37
XXXVII
1And it came to pass when king Hezekiah heard it, that he rent his clothes, and covered himself with sackcloth, and went into the house of Jehovah. 2And he sent Eliakim, who was over the household, and Shebna the scribe, and the elders of the priests covered with sackcloth, unto Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz. 3And they said unto him: Thus saith Hezekiah, This day is a day of distress, and of rebuke, and of contumely: for the children are come to the birth, and there is not strength to bring forth. 4It may be that Jehovah, thy God, will hear the words of Rabshakeh, whom his master the king of Assyria hath sent to reproach the living God, and will reprove the words which Jehovah, thy God, hath heard: wherefore lift up thy prayer for the remnant that is yet left.
5And the servants of king Hezekiah came to Isaiah. 6And Isaiah said unto them: Thus shall ye say to your master, Thus saith Jehovah: Be not afraid because of the words which thou hast heard, with which the servants of the king of Assyria have blasphemed me. 7Behold, I will bring a tremour upon him; and he shall hear a rumour, and return to his own land; and I will cause him to fall by the sword in his own land.
8So Rabshakeh returned, and found the king of Assyriah warring against Libnah: for he had heard that he was departed from Lachish. 9And he heard say concerning Tirhakah, king of Cush, He is come forth to make war with thee. And when he heard it, he sent messengers to Hezekiah, saying: 10Thus shall ye speak unto Hezekiah, king of Judah, saying Let not thy God, in whom thou trustest, deceive thee, saying, Jerusalem shall not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria. 11Behold, thou hast heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all these lands by destroying them utterly; and shalt thou be delivered? 12Have the gods of the nations delivered those, whom my father have destroyed? as Gozan, and Haran, and Rezeph, and the children of Eden which were in Telassar? 13Where is the king of Hamath, and the king of Arpad, and the king of the city of Sepharvaim, of Henah, and of Ivah?
14And Hezekiah received the letter from the hand of the messengers, and read it; and he went up unto the house of Jehovah, and Hezekiah spread it before Jehovah. 15And Hezekiah prayed unto Jehovah, saying: 16O Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel, who dwellest between the Cherubims, Thou art the God, even thou alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth: Thou hast made the heavens, and the earth. Incline thine ear, O Jehovah, and hear; 17open thine eyes, O Jehovah, and see; and hear all the words of Sennacherib, which he hath sent to reproach the living God. 18In truth, O Jehovah, the kings of Assyria have destroyed all the nations, and their lands; 19and have cast their gods into the fire: for they were no gods, but the work of men’s hands, wood and stone: therefore they have destroyed them. 20And now, O Jehovah, our God! save us from his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that thou art Jehovah, even thou only.
21Then Isaiah, the son of Amoz, sent unto Hezekiah, saying: Thus saith Jehovah, the God of Israel: Whereas thou hast prayed unto me, concerning Sennacherib king of Assyria: 22This is the word which Jehovah hath spoken against him:
The virgin daughter of Zion hath despised thee, she hath laughed thee to scorn;
The daughter of Jerusalem hath shaken her head at thee.
23Whom hast thou reproached, and blasphemed;
And against whom hast thou exalted thy voice?
And hast lifted up thine eyes on high?
Even against the Holy One of Israel.
24By thy servants hast thou reproached the Lord, and hast said:
By the multitude of my chariots have I ascended
The height of the mountains, the sides of Lebanon;
And I will cut down his tallest cedars, his choicest fir-trees;
And I will enter into his extreme height, into the forests of his fruitful field.
25I have digged, and drunk water;
And with, the sole of my feet have I dried up all the rivers of the besieged places.
26Hast thou not heard, that, from of old, I had disposed it?
And that, from ancient times, I had formed it?
Now have I brought it to pass, that thou shouldest be to lay waste defenced cities into ruinous heaps.
27Therefore were their inhabitants of small power,
They were dismayed and confounded:
They were as the grass of the field, and as the green herb,
As the grass of the house-tops; and as the corn blasted before it be grown up.
28But thy sitting down, and thy going out, and thy coming in, have I known;
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 bridle in thy lips;
And I will turn thee back by the way by which thou earnest.
30And this shall be a sign unto thee:
Eat this year that which groweth up of itself,
And the second year that which groweth up of the same;
And in the third year sow ye, and reap,
And plant vineyards, and eat the fruit thereof.
31And the escaped of the house of Judah, which remain,
Shall again strike root downward, and bear fruit upward.
32For from Jerusalem shall go forth the remnant,
And they that have escaped from mount Zion:
The zeal of Jehovah of hosts shall do this.
33Therefore thus saith Jehovah concerning the king of Assyria:
He shall not come into this city,
Nor shall he shoot an arrow there;
Nor shall he present a shield before it,
Nor shall he cast up a mound against it.
34By the way through which he came, by the same shall he return;
And into this city shall he not come, saith Jehovah.
35And I will protect this city to deliver it,
For mine own sake, and for my servant David’s sake.
36Then an angel of Jehovah went forth, and smote in the camp of the Assyrians an hundred and fourscore and five thousand men; and when man arose early in the morning, behold, they were all dead corpses. 37Then Sennacherib king of Assyria departed, and went, and returned; and dwelt at Nineveh. 38And it came to pass, as he was worshipping in the house of Nisroch his god, Adrammelech and Sharezer, his sons, smote him with the sword; and they escaped into the land of Ararat: and Esarhaddon, his son, reigned in his stead.
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Isaiah 37: TEG
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Translated by Rev John Jones (Ioan Tegid).Published at Oxford in 1830, second edition 1842.
Isaiah 37
37
Hezekiah Seeks Isaiah’s Counsel
1When King Hezekiah heard their report, # 2Kg 19:1-34 he tore his clothes, put on sackcloth, # Gn 37:34; 2Sm 3:31; 1Kg 21:27; Is 3:24 and went to the Lord’s temple. 2Then he sent Eliakim, who was in charge of the palace, Shebna the court secretary, and the leading priests, who were wearing 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 for 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 Yahweh your God will hear all the words of the Rabshakeh, 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 Yahweh 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 this, ‘The Lord says: Don’t be afraid # Is 7:4; 35:4 because of the words you have heard, which the king of Assyria’s attendants have blasphemed Me with. # 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 Rabshakeh heard that the king of Assyria had left Lachish, # Jos 10:31-32 he returned and found him fighting against Libnah. # Nm 33:20; Jos 10:29 9The king had heard this about Tirhakah king 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 Hezekiah king of Judah: ‘Don’t let your God, whom you trust, 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 Sepharvaim, Hena, or Ivvah? ’ ”
Hezekiah’s Prayer
14Hezekiah took the letter from the messengers, 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:
16Lord of Hosts, God of Israel, who is enthroned above 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 by human hands # Is 2:8,20; 17:8; 31:7; 41:24,29; 44:9-20; 46:6 — wood and stone. # Dt 4:28; 28:36,64; 29:17; Ezk 20:32 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 are the Lord # Jos 4:24; 1Kg 8:60; 20:13; Is 45:3,6 — You alone. # Is 37:16
God’s Answer through Hezekiah
21Then Isaiah son of Amoz sent a message to Hezekiah: “The Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘Because you prayed to Me about Sennacherib king of Assyria, 22this is the word the Lord has spoken against him:
Virgin Daughter Zion # Is 1:8; 3:16-17; 4:4; 52:2; 62:11; Lm 2:13
despises you and scorns you:
Daughter Jerusalem shakes her head # Ps 22:7; 109:25; Jb 16:4; Jr 18:16; Lm 2:15
behind your back. # Lit behind you
23Who is it you have mocked # Ps 74:10,18; Is 37:4; Gl 6:7 and blasphemed?
Who have you raised your voice against
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 # Lit by the hand of 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 # DSS add in foreign lands and drank water.
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. # DSS; MT reads rooftops, field before standing grain
28But I know # DSS read know your rising up and 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 Hosts 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
or shoot an arrow there
or come before it with a shield
or build up an assault 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
because of Me # Is 43:25; 48:9,11
and because 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 185,000 in the camp of the Assyrians. When the people got up the next morning — there were all the dead bodies! 37So Sennacherib king 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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