17 Then the king of Assyria sent (A)Tartan, Rab-saris, and Rabshakeh from Lachish to King Hezekiah with a large army to Jerusalem. So they went up and came to Jerusalem. And when they went up, they came and stood by the (B)conduit of the upper pool, which is on the road of the [a]fuller’s field. 18 Then they called to the king, and (C)Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, who was in charge of the household, (D)Shebnah the scribe, and Joah the son of Asaph the secretary, went out to them.

19 And Rabshakeh said to them, “Say now to Hezekiah, ‘This is what the great king, the king of Assyria says: “(E)What is this confidence that you [b]have? 20 You say—but they are only [c]empty words—‘I have a plan and strength for the war.’ Now on whom have you relied, (F)that you have revolted against me? 21 Now behold, you have [d](G)relied on the [e]support of this broken reed, on Egypt; on which if a man leans, it will go into his [f]hand and pierce it. That is how Pharaoh king of Egypt is to all who rely on him. 22 However, if you say to me, ‘We have trusted in the Lord our God,’ is it not He whose high places and (H)whose altars Hezekiah has removed, and has said to Judah and to Jerusalem, ‘You shall worship before this altar in Jerusalem’? 23 Now then, [g]come make a wager with my master the king of Assyria: I will give you two thousand horses, if you are able on your part to put riders on them! 24 How then can you drive back even [h]one [i]official of the least of my master’s servants, and [j]rely on Egypt for chariots and horsemen? 25 Have I now come up without [k]the Lords approval against this place to destroy it? The Lord said to me, ‘Go up against this land and destroy it.’”’”

26 Then Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, Shebnah, and Joah, said to Rabshakeh, “Speak now to your servants in Aramaic, because we [l]understand it; and do not speak with us in [m](I)Judean [n]so that the people who are on the wall hear you.” 27 But Rabshakeh said to them, “Has my master sent me only to your master and to you to speak these words? Has he not also sent me to the men who sit on the wall, doomed to eat their own dung and drink their own urine with you?”

28 Then Rabshakeh stood up and shouted with a loud voice in Judean, [o]saying, “Hear the word of the great king, the king of Assyria! 29 This is what the king says: ‘(J)Do not let Hezekiah deceive you, for he will not be able to save you from [p]my hand. 30 And do not let Hezekiah lead you to trust in the Lord by saying, “The Lord will certainly save us, and this city will not be handed over to the king of Assyria.” 31 Do not listen to Hezekiah, for this is what the king of Assyria says: “Make [q]your peace with me and come out to me, and eat, (K)each one, from his vine and each from his fig tree, and drink, each one, the waters of his own cistern, 32 until I come and take you (L)to a land like your own land, a land of grain and new wine, a land of bread and vineyards, a land of olive trees producing oil, and of honey, so that you will live and not die.” But do not listen to Hezekiah, because he misleads you by saying, “The Lord will save us.” 33 (M)Has any of the gods of the nations actually saved his land from the hand of the king of Assyria? 34 (N)Where are the gods of Hamath and (O)Arpad? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim, Hena, and [r](P)Ivvah? Have they saved Samaria from my hand? 35 Who among all the gods of the lands are there who have saved their land from my hand, (Q)that the Lord would save Jerusalem from my hand?’”

36 But the people were silent and did not answer him with even a word, because it was the king’s [s]command: “Do not answer him.” 37 Then (R)Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, who was in charge of the household, and Shebna the scribe and Joah the son of Asaph, the secretary, came to Hezekiah (S)with their clothes torn, and they reported to him the words of Rabshakeh.

Isaiah Encourages Hezekiah

19 (T)Now when King Hezekiah heard the report, he (U)tore his clothes, (V)covered himself with sackcloth, and entered the house of the Lord. Then he sent Eliakim, who was in charge of the household, with Shebna the scribe and the elders of the priests, (W)covered with sackcloth, to (X)Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz. And they said to him, “This is what Hezekiah says: ‘This day is a day of distress, rebuke, and humiliation; for children have come to the point of birth, and there is no strength to deliver them. (Y)Perhaps the Lord your God will hear all the words of Rabshakeh, whom his master the king of Assyria has sent (Z)to taunt the living God, and will avenge the words which the Lord your God has heard. Therefore, offer a prayer for (AA)the remnant that is [t]left.’” So the servants of King Hezekiah came to Isaiah. And Isaiah said to them, “This is what you shall say to your master: ‘The Lord says this: “Do not be fearful because of the words that you have heard, with which the (AB)servants of the king of Assyria (AC)have blasphemed Me. Behold, I am going to put a spirit in him so that (AD)he will hear news and return to his own land. And (AE)I will make him fall by the sword in his own land.”’”

Sennacherib Defies God

Then Rabshakeh returned and found the king of Assyria fighting against (AF)Libnah, for he had heard that the king had left (AG)Lachish. When he heard them say about Tirhakah king of [u]Cush, “Behold, he has come out to fight you,” he sent messengers again to Hezekiah, saying, 10 “This is what you shall say to Hezekiah king of [v]Judah: ‘Do not (AH)let your God in whom you trust deceive you by saying, “(AI)Jerusalem will not be handed over to the king of Assyria.” 11 Behold, you yourself have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all the lands, destroying them completely. So will you be saved? 12 (AJ)Did the gods of the nations which my fathers destroyed save them: (AK)Gozan, (AL)Haran, Rezeph, and (AM)the sons of Eden who were in Telassar? 13 (AN)Where is the king of Hamath, the king of Arpad, the king of the city of Sepharvaim, and of Hena and Ivvah?’”

Hezekiah’s Prayer

14 Then (AO)Hezekiah took the [w]letter from the hand of the messengers and read it, and he went up to the house of the Lord and [x]spread it out before the Lord. 15 Hezekiah prayed before the Lord and said, “Lord, God of Israel, [y](AP)enthroned above the cherubim, (AQ)You are the God, You alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and earth. 16 (AR)Incline Your ear, Lord, and hear; (AS)open Your eyes, Lord, and see; and listen to the words of Sennacherib, which he has sent (AT)to taunt the living God. 17 It is true, Lord; the kings of Assyria have laid waste the nations and their lands, 18 and have [z]hurled their gods into the fire; (AU)for they were not gods, but only the work of human hands, wood and stone. So they have destroyed them. 19 But now, Lord our God, please, save us from his hand, (AV)so that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that You alone, (AW)Lord, are God.”

God’s Answer through Isaiah

20 Then Isaiah the son of Amoz sent word to Hezekiah, saying, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel says: ‘Because you have prayed to Me about Sennacherib king of Assyria, (AX)I have heard you.’ 21 This is the word that the Lord has spoken against him:

‘She, (AY)the virgin daughter of Zion, has shown contempt for you and mocked you;
She, the daughter of Jerusalem, (AZ)has shaken her head behind you!
22 Whom have you (BA)taunted and (BB)blasphemed?
And against whom have you raised your voice,
And [aa]haughtily raised your eyes?
Against the (BC)Holy One of Israel!
23 (BD)Through your messengers you have taunted the Lord,
And you have said, “With my many chariots
I went up to the heights of the mountains,
To the remotest parts of Lebanon;
And I cut down its tall cedars and its choicest junipers.
And I entered its farthest resting place, its (BE)thickest forest.
24 I dug wells and drank foreign waters,
And with the soles of my feet I (BF)dried up
All the streams of Egypt.”

25 (BG)Have you not heard?
Long ago I did it;
From ancient times I planned it.
(BH)Now I have brought it about,
That you would turn fortified cities into ruined heaps.
26 Therefore their inhabitants were [ab]powerless,
They were shattered and put to shame.
They were (BI)like the vegetation of the field and the green grass,
Like grass on the housetops that is scorched before it has grown.
27 But (BJ)I know your sitting down,
Your going out, your coming in,
And your raging against Me.
28 Because of your raging against Me,
And because your complacency has come up to My ears,
I (BK)will put My hook in your nose,
And My bridle in your lips,
And (BL)I will turn you back by the way by which you came.

29 ‘Then this shall be (BM)the sign for you: [ac]you will eat this year what grows of itself, in the second year what grows by itself, and in the third year sow, harvest, plant vineyards, and eat their fruit. 30 (BN)The survivors that are left of the house of Judah will again take root downward and bear fruit upward. 31 For out of Jerusalem will go a remnant, and survivors (BO)out of Mount Zion. (BP)The zeal of [ad]the Lord will perform this.

32 ‘Therefore this is what the Lord says about the king of Assyria: “(BQ)He will not come to this city nor shoot an arrow there; and he will not come before it with a shield nor heap up an assault ramp against it. 33 (BR)By the way that he came, by [ae]the same he will return, and he shall not come to this city,”’ declares the Lord. 34 (BS)For I will protect this city to save it for My own sake, and (BT)for My servant David’s sake.’”

35 (BU)Then it happened that night that the angel of the Lord went out and struck 185,000 in the camp of the Assyrians; and when the rest got up early in the morning, behold, all of [af]the 185,000 were [ag]dead. 36 So (BV)Sennacherib the king of Assyria departed and [ah]returned home, and lived at (BW)Nineveh. 37 Then it came about, as he was worshiping in the house of Nisroch his god, that [ai](BX)Adrammelech and Sharezer killed him with the sword; and they escaped to (BY)the land of Ararat. And his son (BZ)Esarhaddon became king in his place.

Hezekiah’s Illness and Recovery

20 (CA)In those days Hezekiah became [aj]mortally ill. And Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz, came to him and said to him, “This is what the Lord says: ‘(CB)Set your house in order, for you are going to die and not live.’” Then he turned his face to the wall and prayed to the Lord, saying, “Please, Lord, just (CC)remember (CD)how I have walked before You wholeheartedly and in truth, and have done what is good in Your sight!” And (CE)Hezekiah wept [ak]profusely. And even before Isaiah had left the middle courtyard, the word of the Lord came to him, saying, “Return and say to (CF)Hezekiah the leader of My people, ‘This is what the Lord, the God of your father David says: “(CG)I have heard your prayer, (CH)I have seen your tears; behold, I am going to heal you. On the third day you shall go up to the house of the Lord. And I will add fifteen years to your [al]life, and I will save you and this city from the hand of the king of Assyria; and (CI)I will protect this city for My own sake and for My servant David’s sake.”’” Then Isaiah said, “Take a cake of figs.” And they took it and placed it on the inflamed spot, and he recovered.

Now Hezekiah said to Isaiah, “What will be the sign that the Lord will heal me, and that I will go up to the house of the Lord on the third day?” Isaiah said, “(CJ)This shall be the sign to you from the Lord, that the Lord will perform the word that He has spoken: shall the shadow go forward ten steps or go back ten steps?” 10 So Hezekiah said, “It is easy for the shadow to decline ten steps; no, but have the shadow turn backward ten steps.” 11 Then Isaiah the prophet called out to the Lord, and (CK)He brought the shadow on the [am]stairway back ten steps by which it had gone down on the [an]stairway of Ahaz.

Footnotes

  1. 2 Kings 18:17 I.e., launderer’s
  2. 2 Kings 18:19 Lit trust
  3. 2 Kings 18:20 Lit a word of lips
  4. 2 Kings 18:21 Lit relied for yourself
  5. 2 Kings 18:21 Or staff
  6. 2 Kings 18:21 Lit palm
  7. 2 Kings 18:23 Lit please exchange pledges
  8. 2 Kings 18:24 Lit the face of one
  9. 2 Kings 18:24 Or governor
  10. 2 Kings 18:24 Lit rely for yourself
  11. 2 Kings 18:25 Lit the Lord
  12. 2 Kings 18:26 Lit hear
  13. 2 Kings 18:26 I.e., Hebrew
  14. 2 Kings 18:26 Lit in the ears of...wall
  15. 2 Kings 18:28 Lit and spoke, saying,
  16. 2 Kings 18:29 MT his
  17. 2 Kings 18:31 Lit with me a blessing
  18. 2 Kings 18:34 In 2 Kin 17:24, Avva
  19. 2 Kings 18:36 Lit command, saying
  20. 2 Kings 19:4 Lit found
  21. 2 Kings 19:9 Or Ethiopia
  22. 2 Kings 19:10 Lit Judah, saying,
  23. 2 Kings 19:14 Lit letters...read them
  24. 2 Kings 19:14 Lit Hezekiah spread
  25. 2 Kings 19:15 Lit sitting
  26. 2 Kings 19:18 Lit given
  27. 2 Kings 19:22 Lit on high
  28. 2 Kings 19:26 Lit short of hand
  29. 2 Kings 19:29 Lit to eat
  30. 2 Kings 19:31 Some ancient mss the Lord of armies
  31. 2 Kings 19:33 Lit it
  32. 2 Kings 19:35 Lit them
  33. 2 Kings 19:35 Lit dead bodies
  34. 2 Kings 19:36 Lit went and returned
  35. 2 Kings 19:37 Some ancient mss his sons Adrammelech
  36. 2 Kings 20:1 Lit sick to death
  37. 2 Kings 20:3 Lit great weeping
  38. 2 Kings 20:6 Lit days
  39. 2 Kings 20:11 Lit steps
  40. 2 Kings 20:11 Lit steps

Sennacherib Undermines Hezekiah

After this (A)Sennacherib king of Assyria sent his servants to Jerusalem while he was [a]besieging Lachish with all his forces with him, against Hezekiah king of Judah and against all of Judah who were in Jerusalem, saying, 10 “This is what Sennacherib king of Assyria says: ‘On what are you trusting that you are staying in Jerusalem under siege? 11 Is Hezekiah not misleading you to give yourselves over to die by hunger and by thirst, saying, “The Lord our God will save us from the [b]hand of the king of Assyria”? 12 (B)Is it not the same Hezekiah who removed His high places and His altars, and said to Judah and [c]Jerusalem, “You shall worship before one altar, and on it you shall [d]burn incense”? 13 Do you not know what I and my fathers have done to all the peoples of the lands? (C)Were the gods of the nations of those lands at all able to save their land from my hand? 14 (D)Who was there among all the gods of those nations which my fathers utterly destroyed who could save his people from my hand, that your God would be able to save you from my hand? 15 Now then, do not let Hezekiah deceive you or mislead you like this, and do not believe him, for (E)no god of any nation or kingdom was able to save his people from my hand or from the hand of my fathers. How much less will your God save you from my hand?’”

16 His servants spoke further against the Lord God and against His servant Hezekiah. 17 He also wrote letters to insult the Lord God of Israel, and to speak against Him, saying, “(F)As the gods of the nations of the lands [e]have not saved their people from my hand, so the God of Hezekiah will not save His people from my hand.” 18 (G)They called this out with a loud voice in the language of Judah to the people of Jerusalem who were on the wall, to frighten and terrify them, so that they might take the city. 19 They spoke [f]of the God of Jerusalem as they did against (H)the gods of the peoples of the earth, the work of human hands.

Hezekiah’s Prayer Is Answered

20 But King Hezekiah and Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz, prayed about this and called out to heaven for help. 21 And the Lord sent an angel who destroyed every warrior, commander, and officer in the camp of the king of Assyria. So he returned [g]in shame to his own land. And when he had entered the temple of his god, some of his own sons killed him there with the sword. 22 So the Lord (I)saved Hezekiah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem from the hand of Sennacherib the king of Assyria and from the hand of all others, and [h]guided them on every side. 23 And (J)many were bringing gifts to the Lord at Jerusalem and valuable presents to Hezekiah king of Judah; so thereafter (K)he rose in the sight of all nations.

24 (L)In those days Hezekiah became [i]mortally ill; and he prayed to the Lord, and [j]the Lord spoke to him and gave him a sign.

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Footnotes

  1. 2 Chronicles 32:9 Lit against
  2. 2 Chronicles 32:11 Lit palm
  3. 2 Chronicles 32:12 Lit Jerusalem, saying,
  4. 2 Chronicles 32:12 Lit offer up in smoke
  5. 2 Chronicles 32:17 Lit who have
  6. 2 Chronicles 32:19 Lit to
  7. 2 Chronicles 32:21 Lit in shame of face
  8. 2 Chronicles 32:22 Another reading is gave them rest
  9. 2 Chronicles 32:24 Lit sick to the point of death
  10. 2 Chronicles 32:24 Lit He

And the (A)king of Assyria sent Rabshakeh from Lachish to Jerusalem to King Hezekiah with a large army. And he stood by the (B)conduit of the upper pool on the road to the [a]fuller’s field. Then (C)Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, who was over the household, and (D)Shebna the scribe, and Joah the son of Asaph, the secretary, went out to him.

And (E)Rabshakeh said to them, “Say now to Hezekiah, ‘This is what the great king, the king of Assyria says: “What is this confidence that you have? I say, ‘Your plan and strength for the war are only [b]empty words.’ Now on whom have you relied, that (F)you have revolted against me? Behold, you have relied on the (G)staff of this broken reed, on Egypt, on which if a man leans, it will go into his [c]hand and pierce it. (H)So is Pharaoh king of Egypt to all who rely on him. But if you say to me, ‘We trust in the Lord our God,’ is it not He (I)whose high places and whose altars Hezekiah has taken away and has said to Judah and to Jerusalem, ‘You shall worship before this altar’? Now then, come make a wager with my master the king of Assyria: I will give you two thousand horses, if you are able on your part to put riders on them! How then can you [d]drive back even one [e]official of the least of my master’s servants and [f](J)rely on Egypt for chariots and horsemen? 10 And have I now come up [g]without the Lords approval against this land to destroy it? (K)The Lord said to me, ‘Go up against this land and destroy it.’”’”

11 Then Eliakim, Shebna, and Joah said to Rabshakeh, “Please speak to your servants in (L)Aramaic, for we [h]understand it; and do not speak to us in [i](M)Judean [j]so that the people who are on the wall hear you.” 12 But Rabshakeh said, “Has my master sent me only to your master and to you to speak these words, and not to the men who sit on the wall, doomed to eat their own dung and drink their own urine with you?”

13 Then Rabshakeh stood and (N)called out with a loud voice in Judean and said, “Hear the words of the great king, the king of Assyria! 14 This is what the king says: ‘Do not let Hezekiah (O)deceive you, for he will not be able to save you; 15 and do not let Hezekiah lead you to (P)rely on the Lord, saying, “The Lord will certainly save us. This city will not be handed over to the king of Assyria!” 16 Do not listen to Hezekiah,’ for this is what the king of Assyria says: ‘[k]Surrender to me and come out to me, and eat, each one, of his (Q)vine and each of his fig tree, and each drink of the (R)waters of his own cistern, 17 until I come and take you away to a land like your own land, a land of grain and new wine, a land of bread and vineyards. 18 Beware that Hezekiah does not mislead you, saying, “(S)The Lord will save us.” Has any one of the gods of the nations saved his land from the hand of the king of Assyria? 19 Where are the gods of (T)Hamath and Arpad? Where are the gods of (U)Sepharvaim? And when have they (V)saved Samaria from my hand? 20 Who among all the (W)gods of these lands have saved their land from my hand, that the (X)Lord would save Jerusalem from my hand?’”

21 But they were silent and did not (Y)answer him so much as a word; for the king’s command was, “Do not answer him.” 22 Then (Z)Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, who was over the household, and (AA)Shebna the scribe, and Joah the son of Asaph, the secretary, came to Hezekiah with their clothes torn, and reported to him the words of Rabshakeh.

Hezekiah Seeks Isaiah’s Help

37 Now (AB)when King Hezekiah heard the report, he tore his clothes, covered himself with sackcloth, and entered the house of the Lord. Then he sent (AC)Eliakim, who was in charge of the household, with (AD)Shebna the scribe and the elders of the priests, covered with sackcloth, to (AE)Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz. And they said to him, “This is what Hezekiah says: ‘This day is a (AF)day of distress, rebuke, and humiliation; for (AG)children have come to the point of birth, and there is no strength to [l]deliver them. Perhaps the Lord your God will hear the words of Rabshakeh, whom his master the king of Assyria has sent to (AH)taunt the living God, and will avenge the words which the Lord your God has heard. Therefore, offer a prayer for (AI)the remnant that is left.’”

So the servants of King Hezekiah came to Isaiah. And Isaiah said to them, “This is what you shall say to your master: ‘This is what the Lord says: “(AJ)Do not be afraid because of the words that you have heard, with which the servants of the king of Assyria have blasphemed Me. Behold, I am going to put a spirit in him so that he will (AK)hear news and (AL)return to his own land. And I will make him fall by the sword in his own land.”’”

Then Rabshakeh returned and found the king of Assyria fighting against (AM)Libnah, for he had heard that [m]the king had left (AN)Lachish. Now he (AO)heard them say regarding Tirhakah king of [n](AP)Cush, “He has come out to fight against you,” and when he heard it he sent messengers to Hezekiah, saying, 10 “This is what you shall say to Hezekiah king of [o]Judah: ‘(AQ)Do not let your God in whom you trust deceive you by saying, “Jerusalem will not be handed over to the king of Assyria.” 11 (AR)Behold, you yourself have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all the lands, destroying them completely. So will you be saved? 12 Did the gods of the nations which my fathers destroyed save them: (AS)Gozan, (AT)Haran, Rezeph, and the sons of Eden who were in Telassar? 13 Where is the king of Hamath, the king of Arpad, the king of the city of Sepharvaim, and of Hena and Ivvah?’”

Hezekiah’s Prayer in the Temple

14 Then Hezekiah took the [p]letter from the hand of the messengers and read it, and he went up to the house of the Lord and [q]spread it out before the Lord. 15 Hezekiah prayed to the Lord, saying, 16 Lord of armies, God of Israel, (AU)who is enthroned above the cherubim, You are the (AV)God, You alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth. (AW)You made heaven and earth. 17 (AX)Incline Your ear, Lord, and hear; open Your eyes, Lord, and see; and (AY)listen to all the words of Sennacherib, who sent them to (AZ)taunt the living God. 18 Truly, Lord, the (BA)kings of Assyria have laid waste all the countries and their lands, 19 and have thrown their gods into the fire, for they were not gods but only the (BB)work of human hands, wood and stone. So they have (BC)destroyed them. 20 But now Lord, our God, (BD)save us from his hand, so that (BE)all the kingdoms of the earth may know that You alone, [r]Lord, are God.”

God Answers through Isaiah

21 Then (BF)Isaiah the son of Amoz sent word to Hezekiah, saying, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel says: ‘Because you have prayed to Me about Sennacherib king of Assyria, 22 this is the word that the Lord has spoken against him:

“She has shown contempt for you and derided you,
The (BG)virgin (BH)daughter of Zion;
The daughter of Jerusalem has (BI)shaken her head behind you!
23 Whom have you (BJ)taunted and blasphemed?
And against whom have you raised your voice
And [s]haughtily (BK)raised your eyes?
Against the (BL)Holy One of Israel!
24 Through your servants you have taunted the Lord,
And you have said, ‘With my many chariots I came up to the heights of the mountains,
To the remotest parts of (BM)Lebanon;
And I cut down its tall (BN)cedars and its choice junipers.
And I will come to its [t]highest peak, its thickest (BO)forest.
25 I dug wells and drank waters,
And (BP)with the sole of my feet I dried up
All the canals of [u]Egypt.’
26 (BQ)Have you not heard?
Long ago I did it,
From ancient times I (BR)planned it.
Now (BS)I have brought it about
That (BT)you would turn fortified cities into (BU)ruined heaps.
27 Therefore their inhabitants were [v]powerless,
They were shattered and put to shame;
They were like the (BV)vegetation of the field and the green grass,
Like (BW)grass on the housetops [w]that is scorched before it has grown.
28 But I (BX)know your sitting down,
Your going out, your coming in,
And your raging against Me.
29 Because of your raging against Me
And because your (BY)complacency has come up to My ears,
I will put My (BZ)hook in your nose
And My (CA)bridle in your lips,
And I will turn you back (CB)by the way that you came.

30 “Then this shall be the sign for you: [x]you will eat this year what (CC)grows of itself, in the second year what grows from the same, and in the third year sow, harvest, plant vineyards, and eat their fruit. 31 The (CD)survivors that are (CE)left of the house of Judah will again (CF)take root downward and bear fruit upward. 32 For out of Jerusalem a (CG)remnant will go, and out of Mount Zion survivors. The (CH)zeal of the Lord of armies will perform this.”’

33 “Therefore, this is what the Lord says about the king of Assyria: ‘He will not come to this city nor shoot an arrow there; and he will not come before it with a shield, nor heap up an (CI)assault ramp against it. 34 (CJ)By the way that he came, by the same he will return, and he will not come to this city,’ declares the Lord. 35 ‘For I will (CK)protect this city to save it (CL)for My own sake, and for My servant David’s sake.’”

Assyrians Destroyed

36 Then the (CM)angel of the Lord went out and struck 185,000 in the camp of the Assyrians; and when the rest got up early in the morning, behold, all of [y]the 185,000 were [z]dead. 37 So Sennacherib the king of Assyria departed and [aa]returned home and lived in (CN)Nineveh. 38 Then it came about, as he was worshiping in the house of Nisroch his god, that his sons Adrammelech and Sharezer killed him with the sword; and they escaped to the land of (CO)Ararat. And his son (CP)Esarhaddon became king in his place.

Hezekiah Healed

38 (CQ)In those days Hezekiah became [ab]mortally ill. And (CR)Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz, came to him and said to him, “This is what the Lord says: ‘(CS)Set your house in order, for you are going to die and not live.’” Then Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the Lord, and said, “(CT)Please, Lord, just remember how I have (CU)walked before You (CV)wholeheartedly and in truth, and (CW)have done what is good in Your sight.” And Hezekiah (CX)wept [ac]profusely.

Then the word of the Lord came to Isaiah, saying, “Go and say to Hezekiah, ‘This is what the Lord, the God of your father David says: “I have heard your prayer, I have seen your tears; behold, I will add (CY)fifteen years to your [ad]life. And I will (CZ)save you and this city from the hand of the king of Assyria; and I will protect this city.”’

“And this shall be the (DA)sign to you from the Lord, that the Lord will perform this word that He has spoken: Behold, I will (DB)make the shadow on the stairway, which has gone down with the sun on the stairway of Ahaz, go back ten steps.” So the (DC)sun’s shadow went back ten steps on the stairway on which it had gone down.

Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 36:2 I.e., launderer’s
  2. Isaiah 36:5 Lit a word of lips
  3. Isaiah 36:6 Lit palm
  4. Isaiah 36:9 Lit turn away the face of
  5. Isaiah 36:9 Or governor
  6. Isaiah 36:9 Lit rely on for yourself
  7. Isaiah 36:10 Lit without the Lord
  8. Isaiah 36:11 Lit hear
  9. Isaiah 36:11 I.e., Hebrew
  10. Isaiah 36:11 Lit in the ears of...wall
  11. Isaiah 36:16 Lit Make with me a blessing
  12. Isaiah 37:3 Lit give birth
  13. Isaiah 37:8 Lit he
  14. Isaiah 37:9 Or Ethiopia
  15. Isaiah 37:10 Lit Judah, saying
  16. Isaiah 37:14 Lit letters
  17. Isaiah 37:14 Lit Hezekiah spread
  18. Isaiah 37:20 As in DSS and 2 Kin 19:19; MT are the Lord
  19. Isaiah 37:23 Lit on high
  20. Isaiah 37:24 Lit farthest height
  21. Isaiah 37:25 Or the besieged place
  22. Isaiah 37:27 Lit short of hand
  23. Isaiah 37:27 As in DSS and 2 Kin 19:26; MT and as a terraced field
  24. Isaiah 37:30 Lit eating
  25. Isaiah 37:36 Lit them
  26. Isaiah 37:36 Lit dead bodies
  27. Isaiah 37:37 Lit went and returned
  28. Isaiah 38:1 Lit sick to death
  29. Isaiah 38:3 Lit great weeping
  30. Isaiah 38:5 Lit days

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