Isaiah 37
37
1And it cometh to pass, at the king Hezekiah's hearing, that he rendeth his garments, and covereth himself with sackcloth, and entereth the house of Jehovah,
2and sendeth Eliakim, who [is] over the house, and Shebna the scribe, and the elders of the priests, covering themselves with sackcloth, unto Isaiah son of Amoz the prophet,
3and they say unto him, ‘Thus said Hezekiah, A day of distress, and rebuke, and despising, [is] this day; for come have sons unto the birth, and power there is not to bear.
4‘It may be Jehovah thy God doth hear the words of Rabshakeh with which the king of Asshur his lord hath sent him to reproach the living God, and hath decided concerning the words that Jehovah thy God hath heard, and thou hast lifted up prayer for the remnant that is found.’
5And the servants of king Hezekiah come in unto Isaiah,
6and Isaiah saith unto them, ‘Thus do ye say unto your lord, Thus said Jehovah, Be not afraid because of the words that thou hast heard, with which the servants of the king of Asshur have reviled Me.
7Lo, I am giving in him a spirit, and he hath heard a report, and hath turned back unto his land, and I have caused him to fall by the sword in his land.’
8And Rabshakeh turneth back and findeth the king of Asshur fighting against Libnah, for he hath heard that he hath journeyed from Lachish.
9And he heareth concerning Tirhakah king of Cush, saying, ‘He hath come out to fight with thee;’ and he heareth, and sendeth messengers unto Hezekiah, saying,
10‘Thus do ye speak unto Hezekiah king of Judah, saying, Let not thy God lift thee up in whom thou art trusting, saying, Jerusalem is not given into the hand of the king of Asshur.
11Lo, thou hast heard that which the kings of Asshur have done to all the lands — to devote them — and thou art delivered!
12Did the gods of the nations deliver them whom my fathers destroyed — Gozan, and Haran, and Rezeph, and the sons of Eden, who [are] in Telassar?
13Where [is] the king of Hamath, and the king of Arpad, and the king of the city of Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivvah?’
14And Hezekiah taketh the letters out of the hand of the messengers, and readeth them, and Hezekiah goeth up to the house of Jehovah, and Hezekiah spreadeth it before Jehovah.
15And Hezekiah prayeth unto Jehovah, saying,
16‘Jehovah of Hosts, God of Israel, inhabiting the cherubs, Thou [art] God Himself — Thyself alone — to all kingdoms of the earth, Thou hast made the heavens and the earth.
17Incline, O Jehovah, Thine ear, and hear; open, O Jehovah, Thine eyes and see; and hear Thou all the words of Sennacherib that he hath sent to reproach the living God.
18‘Truly, O Jehovah, kings of Asshur have laid waste all the lands and their land,
19so as to put their gods into fire — for they [are] no gods, but work of the hands of man, wood and stone — and they destroy them.
20And now, Jehovah our God, save us from his hand, and all kingdoms of the earth do know that Thou [art] Jehovah, Thyself alone.’
21And Isaiah son of Amoz sendeth unto Hezekiah, saying, ‘Thus said Jehovah, God of Israel, That which thou hast prayed unto me concerning Sennacherib king of Asshur —
22this [is] the word that Jehovah spake concerning him: Trampled on thee, laughed at thee, Hath the virgin daughter of Zion, Behind thee shaken the head hath the daughter of Jerusalem.
23Whom hast thou reproached and reviled? And against whom lifted up the voice? Yea, thou dost lift up on high thine eyes Against the Holy One of Israel.
24By the hand of thy servants Thou hast reviled the Lord, and sayest: In the multitude of my chariots I have come up to a high place of hills, The sides of Lebanon, And I cut down the height of its cedars, The choice of its firs, And I enter the high place of its extremity, The forest of its Carmel.
25I — I have dug and drunk waters, And I dry up with the sole of my steps All floods of a bulwark.
26Hast thou not heard from afar? — it I did, From days of old — that I formed it. Now, I have brought it in, And it is to make desolate, Ruinous heaps — fenced cities,
27And their inhabitants are feeble-handed, They were broken down, and are dried up. They have been the herb of the field, And the greenness of the tender grass, Grass of the roofs, And blasted corn, before it hath risen up.
28And thy sitting down, and thy going out, And thy coming in, I have known, And thy anger towards Me.
29Because of thy anger towards Me, And thy noise — it came up into Mine ears, I have put My hook in thy nose, And My bridle in thy lips, And I have caused thee to turn back In the way in which thou camest.
30— And this to thee [is] the sign, Food of the year [is] self-sown grain, And in the second year the spontaneous growth, And in the third year, sow ye and reap, And plant vineyards, and eat their fruit.
31And it hath continued — the escaped Of the house of Judah that hath been left — To take root beneath, And it hath made fruit upward.
32For from Jerusalem goeth forth a remnant, And an escape from mount Zion, The zeal of Jehovah of Hosts doth this.
33Therefore, thus said Jehovah, Concerning the king of Asshur: He doth not come in unto this city, Nor doth he shoot there an arrow, Nor doth he come before it [with] shield, Nor doth he pour out against it a mount.
34In the way that he came, in it he turneth back, And unto this city he doth not come in, An affirmation of Jehovah,
35And I have covered over this city, To save it, for Mine own sake, And for the sake of David My servant.’
36And a messenger of Jehovah goeth out, and smiteth in the camp of Asshur a hundred and eighty and five thousand; and [men] rise early in the morning, and lo, all of them [are] dead corpses.
37And journey, and go, and turn back doth Sennacherib king of Asshur, and dwelleth in Nineveh.
38And it cometh to pass, he is bowing himself in the house of Nisroch his god, and Adrammelech and Sharezer his sons have smitten him with the sword, and they have escaped to the land of Ararat, and Esar-Haddon his son reigneth in his stead.
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Isaiah 37: YLT98
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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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