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Isaiah 36-39
New English Translation

Sennacherib Invades Judah

36 In the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah’s reign,[a] King Sennacherib of Assyria marched up against all the fortified cities of Judah and captured them. 2 The king of Assyria sent his chief adviser[b] from Lachish to King Hezekiah in Jerusalem, along with a large army. The chief adviser[c] stood at the conduit of the upper pool that is located on the road to the field where they wash and dry cloth.[d] 3 Eliakim son of Hilkiah, the palace supervisor, accompanied by Shebna the scribe and Joah son of Asaph, the secretary, went out to meet him.

4 The chief adviser said to them, “Tell Hezekiah: ‘This is what the great king, the king of Assyria, says: “What is your source of confidence?[e] 5 Your claim to have a strategy and military strength is just empty talk.[f] In whom are you trusting, that you would dare to rebel against me? 6 Look, you must be trusting in Egypt, that splintered reed staff. If someone leans on it for support, it punctures his hand and wounds him. That is what Pharaoh king of Egypt does to all who trust in him! 7 Perhaps you will tell me, ‘We are trusting in the Lord our God.’ But Hezekiah is the one who eliminated his high places and altars and then told the people of Judah and Jerusalem, ‘You must worship at this altar.’ 8 Now make a deal with my master the king of Assyria, and I will give you 2,000 horses, provided you can find enough riders for them. 9 Certainly you will not refuse one of my master’s minor officials and trust in Egypt for chariots and horsemen.[g] 10 Furthermore it was by the command of the Lord that I marched up against this land to destroy it. The Lord told me, ‘March up against this land and destroy it!’”’”[h]

11 Eliakim, Shebna, and Joah said to the chief adviser, “Speak to your servants in Aramaic,[i] for we understand it. Don’t speak with us in the Judahite dialect[j] in the hearing of the people who are on the wall.” 12 But the chief adviser said, “My master did not send me to speak these words only to your master and to you.[k] His message is also for the men who sit on the wall, for they will eat their own excrement and drink their own urine along with you!”[l]

13 The chief adviser then stood there and called out loudly in the Judahite dialect,[m] “Listen to the message of the great king, the king of Assyria. 14 This is what the king says: ‘Don’t let Hezekiah mislead you, for he is not able to rescue you! 15 Don’t let Hezekiah talk you into trusting in the Lord by saying, “The Lord will certainly rescue us; this city will not be handed over to the king of Assyria.” 16 Don’t listen to Hezekiah!’ For this is what the king of Assyria says, ‘Send me a token of your submission and surrender to me.[n] Then each of you may eat from his own vine and fig tree and drink water from his own cistern, 17 until I come and take you to a land just like your own—a land of grain and new wine, a land of bread and vineyards. 18 Hezekiah is misleading you when he says, “The Lord will rescue us.” Have any of the gods of the nations rescued their lands from the power of the king of Assyria?[o] 19 Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim?[p] Indeed, did any gods rescue Samaria from my power?[q] 20 Who among all the gods of these lands have rescued their lands from my power? So how can the Lord rescue Jerusalem from my power?’”[r] 21 They were silent and did not respond, for the king had ordered, “Don’t respond to him.”

22 Eliakim son of Hilkiah, the palace supervisor, accompanied by Shebna the scribe and Joah son of Asaph, the secretary, went to Hezekiah with their clothes torn[s] and reported to him what the chief adviser had said.

37 When King Hezekiah heard this,[t] he tore his clothes, put on sackcloth, and went to the Lord’s temple. 2 Eliakim the palace supervisor, Shebna the scribe, and the leading priests,[u] clothed in sackcloth, sent this message to the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz: 3 “This is what Hezekiah says:[v] ‘This is a day of distress, insults,[w] and humiliation,[x] as when a baby is ready to leave the birth canal, but the mother lacks the strength to push it through.[y] 4 Perhaps the Lord your God will hear all these things the chief adviser has spoken on behalf of his master, the king of Assyria, who sent him to taunt the living God.[z] When the Lord your God hears, perhaps he will punish him for the things he has said.[aa] So pray for this remnant that remains.’”[ab]

5 When King Hezekiah’s servants came to Isaiah, 6 Isaiah said to them, “Tell your master this: ‘This is what the Lord has said: “Don’t be afraid because of the things you have heard—these insults the king of Assyria’s servants have hurled against me.[ac] 7 Look, I will take control of his mind;[ad] he will receive a report and return to his own land. I will cut him down[ae] with a sword in his own land.”’”

8 When the chief adviser heard the king of Assyria had departed from Lachish, he left and went to Libnah, where the king was campaigning.[af] 9 The king[ag] heard that King Tirhakah of Ethiopia[ah] was marching out to fight him.[ai] He again sent[aj] messengers to Hezekiah, ordering them: 10 “Tell King Hezekiah of Judah this: ‘Don’t let your God in whom you trust mislead you when he says, “Jerusalem will not be handed over to the king of Assyria.” 11 Certainly you have heard how the kings of Assyria have annihilated all lands.[ak] Do you really think you will be rescued?[al] 12 Were the nations whom my predecessors[am] destroyed—the nations of Gozan, Haran, Rezeph, and the people of Eden in Telassar—rescued by their gods?[an] 13 Where is the king of Hamath or the king of Arpad or the kings of Lair,[ao] Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivvah?’”

14 Hezekiah took the letter[ap] from the messengers and read it.[aq] Then Hezekiah went up to the Lord’s temple and spread it out before the Lord. 15 Hezekiah prayed before the Lord: 16 “O Lord of Heaven’s Armies, O God of Israel, who is enthroned on the cherubim![ar] You alone are God over all the kingdoms of the earth. You made the sky[as] and the earth. 17 Pay attention, Lord, and hear! Open your eyes, Lord, and observe! Listen to this entire message Sennacherib sent and how he taunts the living God![at] 18 It is true, Lord, that the kings of Assyria have destroyed all the nations[au] and their lands. 19 They have burned the gods of the nations,[av] for they are not really gods, but only the product of human hands manufactured from wood and stone. That is why the Assyrians could destroy them.[aw] 20 Now, O Lord our God, rescue us from his power, so all the kingdoms of the earth may know that you alone are the Lord.”[ax]

21 Isaiah son of Amoz sent this message to Hezekiah: “This is what the Lord God of Israel has said: ‘As to what you have prayed to me concerning King Sennacherib of Assyria,[ay] 22 this is what the Lord says about him:[az]

“‘The virgin daughter Zion[ba]
despises you—she makes fun of you;
daughter Jerusalem
shakes her head after you.[bb]
23 Whom have you taunted and hurled insults at?

At whom have you shouted
and looked so arrogantly?[bc]
At the Holy One of Israel![bd]
24 Through your messengers you taunted the Lord,[be]
“With my many chariots I climbed up
the high mountains,
the slopes of Lebanon.
I cut down its tall cedars
and its best evergreens.
I invaded its remotest regions,[bf]
its thickest woods.
25 I dug wells
and drank water.[bg]
With the soles of my feet I dried up
all the rivers of Egypt.”’
26 [bh] Certainly you must have heard![bi]

Long ago I worked it out,
in ancient times I planned[bj] it,
and now I am bringing it to pass.
The plan is this:
Fortified cities will crash
into heaps of ruins.[bk]
27 Their residents are powerless;[bl]
they are terrified and ashamed.
They are as short-lived as plants in the field
or green vegetation.[bm]
They are as short-lived as grass on the rooftops[bn]
when it is scorched by the east wind.[bo]
28 I know where you live
and everything you do
and how you rage against me.[bp]
29 Because you rage against me
and the uproar you create has reached my ears,[bq]
I will put my hook in your nose,[br]
and my bit between your lips,
and I will lead you back
the way you came.’

30 [bs] “This will be your reminder that I have spoken the truth:[bt] This year you will eat what grows wild,[bu] and next year[bv] what grows on its own. But the year after that[bw] you will plant seed and harvest crops; you will plant vines and consume their produce.[bx] 31 Those who remain in Judah will take root in the ground and bear fruit.[by]

32 “For a remnant will leave Jerusalem;
survivors will come out of Mount Zion.
The zeal of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies[bz] will accomplish this.
33 So this is what the Lord says about the king of Assyria:

“‘He will not enter this city,
nor will he shoot an arrow here.[ca]
He will not attack it with his shielded warriors,[cb]
nor will he build siege works against it.
34 He will go back the way he came—
he will not enter this city,’ says the Lord.
35 I will shield this city and rescue it
for the sake of my reputation and because of my promise to David my servant.”[cc]

36 The angel of the Lord went out and killed 185,000 troops[cd] in the Assyrian camp. When they[ce] got up early the next morning, there were all the corpses![cf] 37 So King Sennacherib of Assyria broke camp and went on his way. He went home and stayed in Nineveh.[cg] 38 One day,[ch] as he was worshiping[ci] in the temple of his god Nisroch,[cj] his sons Adrammelech and Sharezer struck him down with the sword.[ck] They ran away to the land of Ararat; his son Esarhaddon replaced him as king.

The Lord Hears Hezekiah’s Prayer

38 In those days Hezekiah was stricken with a terminal illness.[cl] The prophet Isaiah son of Amoz visited him and told him, “This is what the Lord says, ‘Give instructions to your household, for you are about to die; you will not get well.’” 2 Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the Lord, 3 “Please, Lord. Remember how I have served you[cm] faithfully and with wholehearted devotion,[cn] and how I have carried out your will.”[co] Then Hezekiah wept bitterly.[cp]

4 The Lord’s message came to Isaiah, 5 “Go and tell Hezekiah: ‘This is what the Lord God of your ancestor[cq] David says: “I have heard your prayer; I have seen your tears. Look, I will add fifteen years to your life. 6 I will also rescue you and this city from the king of Assyria. I will shield this city.”’” 7 Isaiah replied,[cr] “This is your sign from the Lord confirming that the Lord will do what he has said: 8 Look, I will make the shadow go back ten steps on the stairs of Ahaz.”[cs] And then the shadow went back ten steps.[ct]

Hezekiah’s Song of Thanks

9 This is the prayer of King Hezekiah of Judah when he was sick and then recovered from his illness:

10 “I thought,[cu]
‘In the middle of my life[cv] I must walk through the gates of Sheol,
I am deprived[cw] of the rest of my years.’
11 “I thought,

‘I will no longer see the Lord[cx] in the land of the living,
I will no longer look on humankind with the inhabitants of the world.[cy]
12 My dwelling place[cz] is removed and taken away[da] from me
as a shepherd’s tent.
I rolled up my life like a weaver rolls cloth;[db]
from the loom he cuts me off.[dc]
You turn day into night and end my life.[dd]
13 I cry out[de] until morning;
like a lion he shatters all my bones;
you turn day into night and end my life.[df]
14 Like a swallow or a thrush I chirp,
I coo[dg] like a dove;
my eyes grow tired from looking up to the sky.[dh]
O Lord,[di] I am oppressed;
help me![dj]
15 What can I say?
He has decreed and acted.[dk]
I will walk slowly all my years because I am overcome with grief.[dl]
16 O Lord, your decrees can give men life;
may years of life be restored to me.[dm]
Restore my health[dn] and preserve my life.’
17 “Look, the grief I experienced was for my benefit.[do]

You delivered me[dp] from the Pit of oblivion.[dq]
For you removed all my sins from your sight.[dr]
18 Indeed[ds] Sheol does not give you thanks;
death does not[dt] praise you.
Those who descend into the Pit do not anticipate your faithfulness.
19 The living person, the living person, he gives you thanks,
as I do today.
A father tells his sons about your faithfulness.
20 The Lord is about to deliver me,[du]
and we will celebrate with music[dv]
for the rest of our lives in the Lord’s temple.”[dw]
21 [dx] (Isaiah ordered, “Let them take a fig cake and apply it to the ulcerated sore and he will get well.” 22 Hezekiah said, “What is the confirming sign that I will go up to the Lord’s temple?”)

Messengers from Babylon Visit Hezekiah

39 At that time Merodach Baladan son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent letters and a gift to Hezekiah, for he heard that Hezekiah had been ill and had recovered. 2 Hezekiah welcomed[dy] them and showed them his storehouse with its silver, gold, spices, and high-quality olive oil, as well as his whole armory and everything in his treasuries. Hezekiah showed them everything in his palace and in his whole kingdom.[dz] 3 Isaiah the prophet visited King Hezekiah and asked him, “What did these men say? Where do they come from?” Hezekiah replied, “They come from the distant land of Babylon.” 4 Isaiah[ea] asked, “What have they seen in your palace?” Hezekiah replied, “They have seen everything in my palace. I showed them everything in my treasuries.” 5 Isaiah said to Hezekiah, “Listen to the message of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies: 6 ‘Look, a time is coming when everything in your palace and the things your ancestors[eb] have accumulated to this day will be carried away to Babylon; nothing will be left,’ says the Lord. 7 ‘Some of your very own descendants whom you father[ec] will be taken away and will be made eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.’” 8 Hezekiah said to Isaiah, “The Lord’s message that you have announced is appropriate.”[ed] Then he thought,[ee] “For[ef] there will be peace and stability during my lifetime.”

Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 36:1 tn The verb that introduces this verse serves as a discourse particle and is untranslated; see note on “in the future” in 2:2.
  2. Isaiah 36:2 sn For a discussion of this title see M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 229-30.
  3. Isaiah 36:2 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the chief adviser) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  4. Isaiah 36:2 tn Heb “the field of the washer”; traditionally “the fuller’s field” (so KJV, ASV, NAB, NASB, NRSV).
  5. Isaiah 36:4 tn Heb “What is this object of trust in which you are trusting?”
  6. Isaiah 36:5 tn Heb “you say only a word of lips, counsel and might for battle.” Sennacherib’s message appears to be in broken Hebrew at this point. The phrase “word of lips” refers to mere or empty talk in Prov 14:23.
  7. Isaiah 36:9 tn Heb “How can you turn back the face of an official [from among] the least of my master’s servants and trust in Egypt for chariots and horsemen?” In vv. 8-9 the chief adviser develops further the argument begun in v. 6. His reasoning seems to be as follows: “In your weakened condition you obviously need military strength. Agree to the king’s terms, and I will personally give you more horses than you are capable of outfitting. If I, a mere minor official, am capable of giving you such military might, just think what power the king has. There is no way the Egyptians can match our strength. It makes much better sense to deal with us.”
  8. Isaiah 36:10 sn In v. 10 the chief adviser develops further the argument begun in v. 7. He claims that Hezekiah has offended the Lord and that the Lord has commissioned Assyria as his instrument of discipline and judgment.
  9. Isaiah 36:11 sn Aramaic was the diplomatic language of the Assyrian empire.
  10. Isaiah 36:11 tn Or “in Hebrew” (NIV, NCV, NLT); NAB, NASB “in Judean.”
  11. Isaiah 36:12 tn Heb “To your master and to you did my master send me to speak these words?” The rhetorical question expects a negative answer.
  12. Isaiah 36:12 tn Heb “[Is it] not [also] to the men…?” The rhetorical question expects the answer, “Yes, it is.”sn The chief adviser alludes to the horrible reality of siege warfare, when the starving people in the besieged city would resort to eating and drinking anything to stay alive.
  13. Isaiah 36:13 tn The Hebrew text includes “and he said.”
  14. Isaiah 36:16 tn Heb “make with me a blessing and come out to me.”
  15. Isaiah 36:18 tn Heb “Have the gods of the nations rescued, each his land, from the hand of the king of Assyria?” The rhetorical question expects the answer, “Of course not!”
  16. Isaiah 36:19 tn The rhetorical questions suggest the answer, “Nowhere. They seem to have disappeared in the face of Assyria’s might.”
  17. Isaiah 36:19 tn Heb “that they rescued Samaria from my hand?” But this gives the impression that the gods of Sepharvaim were responsible for protecting Samaria, which is obviously not the case. The implied subject of the plural verb “rescued” must be the generic “gods of the nations/lands” (vv. 18, 20).
  18. Isaiah 36:20 tn Heb “that the Lord might rescue Jerusalem from my hand?” The logic runs as follows: Since no god has ever been able to withstand the Assyrian onslaught, how can the people of Jerusalem possibly think the Lord will rescue them?
  19. Isaiah 36:22 sn As a sign of grief and mourning.
  20. Isaiah 37:1 tn The verb that introduces this verse serves as a discourse particle and is untranslated; see note on “in the future” in 2:2.
  21. Isaiah 37:2 tn Heb “elders of the priests” (so KJV, NAB, NASB); NCV “the older priests”; NRSV, TEV, CEV “the senior priests.”
  22. Isaiah 37:3 tn In the Hebrew text this verse begins with “they said to him” (cf. NRSV).
  23. Isaiah 37:3 tn Or “rebuke” (KJV, NAB, NIV, NRSV), or “correction.”
  24. Isaiah 37:3 tn Or “contempt”; NAB, NIV, NRSV “disgrace.”
  25. Isaiah 37:3 tn Heb “when sons come to the cervical opening and there is no strength to give birth.”
  26. Isaiah 37:4 tn Heb “all the words of the chief adviser whom his master, the king of Assyria, sent to taunt the living God.”
  27. Isaiah 37:4 tn Heb “and rebuke the words which the Lord your God hears.”
  28. Isaiah 37:4 tn Heb “and lift up a prayer on behalf of the remnant that is found.”
  29. Isaiah 37:6 tn Heb “by which the servants of the king of Assyria have insulted me.”
  30. Isaiah 37:7 tn Heb “I will put in him a spirit.” The precise sense of רוּחַ (ruakh, “spirit”) is uncertain in this context. It may refer to a spiritual being who will take control of his mind (see 1 Kgs 22:19), or it could refer to a disposition of concern and fear. In either case the Lord’s sovereignty over the king is apparent.
  31. Isaiah 37:7 tn Heb “cause him to fall” (so KJV, ASV, NAB), that is, “kill him.”
  32. Isaiah 37:8 tn Heb “and the chief adviser returned and he found the king of Assyria fighting against Libnah, for he heard that he had departed from Lachish.”
  33. Isaiah 37:9 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the king) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  34. Isaiah 37:9 tn Heb “Cush” (so NASB); NIV, NCV “the Cushite king of Egypt.”
  35. Isaiah 37:9 tn Heb “heard concerning Tirhakah king of Cush, ‘He has come out to fight with you.’”
  36. Isaiah 37:9 tn The Hebrew text has, “and he heard and he sent,” but the parallel in 2 Kgs 19:9 has וַיָּשָׁב וַיִּשְׁלַח (vayyashav vayyishlakh, “and he returned and he sent”), i.e., “he again sent.”
  37. Isaiah 37:11 tn Heb “Look, you have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all the lands, annihilating them.”
  38. Isaiah 37:11 tn Heb “and will you be rescued?” The rhetorical question expects the answer, “No, of course not!”
  39. Isaiah 37:12 tn Heb “fathers” (so KJV, NAB, NASB); NIV “forefathers”; NCV “ancestors.”
  40. Isaiah 37:12 tn Heb “Did the gods of the nations whom my fathers destroyed rescue them—Gozan and Haran, and Rezeph and the sons of Eden who are in Telassar?”
  41. Isaiah 37:13 sn Lair was a city located in northeastern Babylon. See M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 235.
  42. Isaiah 37:14 tc The Hebrew text has the plural, “letters.” The final mem (ם) may be dittographic (note the initial mem on the form that immediately follows). Some Greek and Aramaic witnesses have the singular. If so, one still has to deal with the yod that is part of the plural ending. J. N. Oswalt refers to various commentators who have suggested ways to understand the plural form (Isaiah [NICOT], 1:652).
  43. Isaiah 37:14 tn In the parallel text in 2 Kgs 19:14 the verb has the plural suffix, “them,” but this may reflect a later harmonization to the preceding textual reading of “letters.”
  44. Isaiah 37:16 sn The cherubim (singular “cherub”) refer to the images of winged angelic creatures that were above the ark of the covenant.
  45. Isaiah 37:16 tn Or “the heavens.” The Hebrew term שָׁמַיִם (shamayim) may be translated “heavens” or “sky” depending on the context.
  46. Isaiah 37:17 tn Heb “Hear all the words of Sennacherib which he sent to taunt the living God.”
  47. Isaiah 37:18 tn The Hebrew text here has “all the lands,” but the parallel text in 2 Kgs 19:17 has “the nations.”
  48. Isaiah 37:19 tn Heb “and they put their gods in the fire.”
  49. Isaiah 37:19 tn Heb “so they destroyed them” (NASB similar).
  50. Isaiah 37:20 tn The parallel text in 2 Kgs 19:19 reads, “that you, Lord, are the only God.”
  51. Isaiah 37:21 tn The parallel text in 2 Kgs 19:20 includes a verb, “What you have prayed … I have heard.”
  52. Isaiah 37:22 tn Heb “this is the word which the Lord has spoken about him.”
  53. Isaiah 37:22 sn Zion (Jerusalem) is pictured here as a young, vulnerable daughter whose purity is being threatened by the would-be Assyrian rapist. The personification hints at the reality which the young girls of the city would face if the Assyrians conquered it.
  54. Isaiah 37:22 sn Shaking the head was a mocking gesture of derision.
  55. Isaiah 37:23 tn Heb “and lifted your eyes on high?” Cf. NIV “lifted your eyes in pride”; NRSV “haughtily lifted your eyes.”
  56. Isaiah 37:23 sn See the note on the phrase “the Holy One of Israel” in 1:4.
  57. Isaiah 37:24 tn The Hebrew term translated “Lord” here is אֲדֹנָי (ʾadonay).
  58. Isaiah 37:24 tn Heb “the height of its extremity”; ASV “its farthest height.”
  59. Isaiah 37:25 tc The Hebrew text has simply, “I dug and drank water.” But the parallel text in 2 Kgs 19:24 has “foreign waters.” זָרִים (zarim, “foreign”) may have accidentally dropped out of the Isaianic text by homoioteleuton (cf. NCV, NIV, NLT). Note that the preceding word, מַיִם (mayim, “water) also ends in mem (ם). The Qumran scroll 1QIsaa has “foreign waters” for this line. However, in several other passages the 1QIsaa scroll harmonizes with 2 Kgs 19 against the MT (Isa 36:5; 37:9, 20). Since the addition of “foreign” to this text in Isaiah by a later scribe would be more likely than its deletion, the MT reading should be accepted.
  60. Isaiah 37:26 tn Having quoted the Assyrian king’s arrogant words in vv. 23-24, the Lord now speaks to the king.
  61. Isaiah 37:26 tn Heb “Have you not heard?” The rhetorical question expresses the Lord’s amazement that anyone might be ignorant of what he is about to say.
  62. Isaiah 37:26 tn Heb “formed” (so KJV, ASV).
  63. Isaiah 37:26 tn Heb “and it is to cause to crash into heaps of ruins fortified cities.” The subject of the third feminine singular verb תְהִי (tehi) is the implied plan, referred to in the preceding lines with third feminine singular pronominal suffixes.
  64. Isaiah 37:27 tn Heb “short of hand”; KJV, ASV “of small power”; NASB “short of strength.”
  65. Isaiah 37:27 tn Heb “they are plants in the field and green vegetation.” The metaphor emphasizes how short-lived these seemingly powerful cities really were. See Ps 90:5-6; Isa 40:6-8, 24.
  66. Isaiah 37:27 tn Heb “[they are] grass on the rooftops.” See the preceding note.
  67. Isaiah 37:27 tc The Hebrew text has “scorched before the standing grain” (perhaps meaning “before it reaches maturity”), but it is preferable to emend קָמָה (qamah, “standing grain”) to קָדִים (qadim, “east wind”) with the support of 1Q Isaa; cf. J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah (NICOT), 1:657, n. 8.
  68. Isaiah 37:28 tc Heb “your going out and your coming in and how you have raged against me.” Several scholars have suggested that this line is probably dittographic (note the beginning of the next line). However, most English translations include the statement in question at the end of v. 28 and the beginning of v. 29. Interestingly, the LXX does not have this clause at the end of v. 28 and the Qumran scroll 1QIsaa does not have it at the beginning of v. 29. In light of this ambiguous manuscript evidence, it appears best to retain the clause in both verses.
  69. Isaiah 37:29 tc Heb “and your complacency comes up into my ears.” The parallelism is improved if שַׁאֲנַנְךָ (shaʾananekha, “your complacency”) is emended to שְׁאוֹנְךָ (sheʾonekha, “your uproar”). See M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 237-38. However, the LXX seems to support the MT, and Sennacherib’s cavalier dismissal of Yahweh depicts an arrogant complacency (J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah [NICOT], 1:658, n. 10).
  70. Isaiah 37:29 sn The word-picture has a parallel in Assyrian sculpture. See M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 238.
  71. Isaiah 37:30 tn At this point the word concerning the king of Assyria (vv. 22-29) ends, and the Lord again addresses Hezekiah and the people directly (see v. 21).
  72. Isaiah 37:30 tn Heb “and this is your sign.” In this case the אוֹת (ʾot, “sign”) is a future reminder of God’s intervention designated before the actual intervention takes place. For similar “signs” see Exod 3:12 and Isa 7:14-25.
  73. Isaiah 37:30 sn This refers to crops that grew up on their own (that is, without cultivation) from the seed planted in past years.
  74. Isaiah 37:30 tn Heb “and in the second year” (so ASV).
  75. Isaiah 37:30 tn Heb “in the third year” (so KJV, NAB).
  76. Isaiah 37:30 tn The four plural imperatival verb forms in v. 30b are used rhetorically. The Lord commands the people to plant, harvest, etc. to emphasize the certainty of restored peace and prosperity.
  77. Isaiah 37:31 tn Heb “The remnant of the house of Judah that is left will add roots below and produce fruit above.”
  78. Isaiah 37:32 tn Traditionally, “the Lord of hosts.” In this context the Lord’s “zeal” refers to his intense devotion to and love for his people that prompts him to protect and restore them.
  79. Isaiah 37:33 tn Heb “there” (so KJV, NASB, NRSV). In terms of English style “here” is expected in collocation with “this” in the previous line.
  80. Isaiah 37:33 tn Heb “[with] a shield” (so ASV, NASB, NRSV).
  81. Isaiah 37:35 tn Heb “for my sake and for the sake of David my servant.”
  82. Isaiah 37:36 tn The word “troops” is supplied in the translation for smoothness and clarity.
  83. Isaiah 37:36 tn This refers to the Israelites and/or the rest of the Assyrian army.
  84. Isaiah 37:36 tn Heb “look, all of them were dead bodies”; NLT “they found corpses everywhere.”
  85. Isaiah 37:37 tn Heb “and Sennacherib king of Assyria departed and went and returned and lived in Nineveh.”
  86. Isaiah 37:38 sn The assassination of King Sennacherib probably took place in 681 b.c.
  87. Isaiah 37:38 tn The verb that introduces this verse serves as a discourse particle and is untranslated; see note on “in the future” in 2:2.
  88. Isaiah 37:38 sn No such Mesopotamian god is presently known. Perhaps the name Nisroch is a textual variation of Nusku, the Mesopotamian god of light and fire. Other proposals have tried to relate the name to Ashur, the chief god of the Assyria, or to Ninurta, the Assyrian god of war.
  89. Isaiah 37:38 sn Extra-biblical sources also mention the assassination of Sennacherib, though they refer to only one assassin. See M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 239-40.
  90. Isaiah 38:1 tn Heb “was sick to the point of dying”; NRSV “became sick and was at the point of death.”
  91. Isaiah 38:3 tn Heb “walked before you.” For a helpful discussion of the background and meaning of this Hebrew idiom, see M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 254.
  92. Isaiah 38:3 tn Heb “and with a complete heart”; KJV, ASV “with a perfect heart.”
  93. Isaiah 38:3 tn Heb “and that which is good in your eyes I have done.”
  94. Isaiah 38:3 tn Heb “wept with great weeping”; NCV “cried loudly”; TEV “began to cry bitterly.”
  95. Isaiah 38:5 tn Heb “father” (so KJV, NAB, NIV).
  96. Isaiah 38:7 tn The words “Isaiah replied” are supplied in the translation for clarification. In the present form of the Hebrew text v. 7 is joined directly to v. 6, but vv. 21-22, if original to Isaiah 38, must be inserted here. See 2 Kgs 20:7-8.
  97. Isaiah 38:8 tn Heb “the shadow on the steps which it [the sun] had gone down, on the steps of Ahaz, with the sun, back ten steps.”sn These steps probably functioned as a type of sundial. See HALOT 614 s.v. מַעֲלָה and M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 256.
  98. Isaiah 38:8 tn Heb “and the sun returned ten steps on the steps which it had gone down.”
  99. Isaiah 38:10 tn Or “I said” (KJV, NIV, NRSV, NLT).
  100. Isaiah 38:10 tn The precise meaning of the phrase בִּדְמִי יָמַי (bidmi yamay, “in the [?] of my days”) is uncertain. According to HALOT 226 s.v. דְּמִי this word is a hapax legomenon meaning “half.” Others derive the form from דַּמִי (dami, “quiet, rest, peacefulness”).
  101. Isaiah 38:10 tn The precise meaning of the verb is uncertain. The Pual of of פָּקַד (paqad) occurs only here and in Exod 38:21, where it appears to mean “passed in review” or “mustered.” Perhaps the idea is, “I have been called away for the remainder of my years.” To bring out the sense more clearly, one can translate, “I am deprived of the rest of my years.”
  102. Isaiah 38:11 tn The Hebrew text has יָהּ יָהּ (yah yah, the abbreviated form of יְהוָה [yehvah] repeated), but this probably should be emended to יְהוָה.
  103. Isaiah 38:11 tc The Hebrew text has חָדֶל (khadel), which appears to be derived from a verbal root meaning “to cease, refrain.” But the form has probably suffered an error of transmission; the original form (attested in a few medieval Hebrew mss) was likely חֶלֶד (kheled, “world”).
  104. Isaiah 38:12 tn According to HALOT 217 s.v. דּוֹר this noun is a hapax legomenon meaning “dwelling place,” derived from a verbal root meaning “live” (see Ps 84:10). For an interpretation that understands the form as the well-attested noun meaning “generation,” see J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah (NICOT), 1:679, n. 4.
  105. Isaiah 38:12 tn The verb form appears to be a Niphal from גָּלָה (galah), which normally means “uncovered, revealed” in the Niphal. Because of the following reference to a shepherd’s tent, some prefer to emend the form to וְנָגַל, a Niphal from גָלָל (galal, “roll”) and translate “is rolled [or “folded”] up.”
  106. Isaiah 38:12 tn Heb “I rolled up, like a weaver, my life” (so ASV).
  107. Isaiah 38:12 sn For a discussion of the imagery employed here, see J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah (NICOT), 1:684.
  108. Isaiah 38:12 tn Heb “from day to night you bring me to an end.”
  109. Isaiah 38:13 tn The verb form in the Hebrew text is a Piel from שָׁוַה (shavah). There are two homonyms שָׁוַה, one meaning in the Piel “level, smooth out,” the other “set, place.” Neither fits in v. 13. It is likely that the original reading was שִׁוַּעְתִּי (shivvaʿti, “I cry out”) from the verbal root שָׁוַע (shavaʿ), which occurs exclusively in the Piel.
  110. Isaiah 38:13 tn Heb “from day to night you bring me to an end.”
  111. Isaiah 38:14 tn Or “moan” (ASV, NAB, NASB, NRSV); KJV, CEV “mourn.”
  112. Isaiah 38:14 tn Heb “my eyes become weak, toward the height.”
  113. Isaiah 38:14 tn The Hebrew term translated “Lord” here and in v. 16 is אֲדֹנָי (ʾadonay).
  114. Isaiah 38:14 tn Heb “stand surety for me.” Hezekiah seems to be picturing himself as a debtor who is being exploited; he asks that the Lord might relieve his debt and deliver him from the oppressive creditor.
  115. Isaiah 38:15 tn Heb “and he has spoken and he has acted.”
  116. Isaiah 38:15 tn Heb “because of the bitterness of my soul.”
  117. Isaiah 38:16 tn The translation offered here is purely speculative. The text as it stands is difficult and obscure. It reads literally, “O Lord, on account of them [the suffix is masculine plural], they live, and to all in them [the suffix is feminine plural], life of my spirit.”
  118. Isaiah 38:16 tn The prefixed verbal form could be taken as indicative, “you restore my health,” but the following imperatival form suggests it be understood as an imperfect of request.
  119. Isaiah 38:17 tn Heb “Look, for peace bitterness was to me bitter”; NAB “thus is my bitterness transformed into peace.”
  120. Isaiah 38:17 tc The Hebrew text reads, “you loved my soul,” but this does not fit syntactically with the following prepositional phrase. חָשַׁקְתָּ (khashaqta, “you loved”), may reflect an aural error; most emend the form to חָשַׂכְת, (khasakht, “you held back”).
  121. Isaiah 38:17 tn בְּלִי (beli) most often appears as a negation, meaning “without,” suggesting the meaning “nothingness, oblivion,” here. Some translate “decay” or “destruction.”
  122. Isaiah 38:17 tn Heb “for you threw behind your back all my sins.”
  123. Isaiah 38:18 tn Or “For” (KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT).
  124. Isaiah 38:18 tn The negative particle is understood by ellipsis in this line. See GKC 483 §152.z.
  125. Isaiah 38:20 tn The infinitive construct is used here to indicate that an action is imminent. See GKC 348-49 §114.i, and IBHS 610 §36.2.3g.
  126. Isaiah 38:20 tn Heb “and music [or perhaps, “stringed instruments”] we will play.”
  127. Isaiah 38:20 tn Heb “all the days of our lives in the house of the Lord.”sn Note that vv. 21-22 have been placed between vv. 6-7, where they logically belong. See 2 Kgs 20:7-8.
  128. Isaiah 38:21 tc If original to Isaiah 38, vv. 21-22 have obviously been misplaced in the course of the text’s transmission, and would most naturally be placed here, between Isa 38:6 and 38:7. See 2 Kgs 20:7-8, where these verses are placed at this point in the narrative, not at the end. Another possibility is that these verses were not in the original account, and a scribe, familiar with the 2 Kgs version of the story, appended vv. 21-22 to the end of the account in Isaiah 38.
  129. Isaiah 39:2 tn Heb “was happy with”; NAB, NASB “was pleased”; NIV “received the envoys gladly.”
  130. Isaiah 39:2 tn Heb “there was nothing which Hezekiah did not show them in his house and in all his kingdom.”
  131. Isaiah 39:4 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Isaiah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  132. Isaiah 39:6 tn Heb “fathers” (so KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV).
  133. Isaiah 39:7 tn Heb “Some of your sons, who go out from you, whom you father.”
  134. Isaiah 39:8 tn Heb “good” (so KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT); NAB “favorable.”
  135. Isaiah 39:8 tn Heb “and he said.” The verb אָמַר (ʾamar, “say”) is sometimes used of what one thinks (that is, says to oneself).
  136. Isaiah 39:8 tn Or “surely”; cf. CEV “At least.”
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Isaiah 36-39
New International Version

Sennacherib Threatens Jerusalem(A)

36 In the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah’s(B) reign, Sennacherib(C) king of Assyria attacked all the fortified cities of Judah and captured them.(D) 2 Then the king of Assyria sent his field commander with a large army from Lachish(E) to King Hezekiah at Jerusalem. When the commander stopped at the aqueduct of the Upper Pool, on the road to the Launderer’s Field,(F) 3 Eliakim(G) son of Hilkiah the palace administrator,(H) Shebna(I) the secretary,(J) and Joah(K) son of Asaph the recorder(L) went out to him.

4 The field commander said to them, “Tell Hezekiah:

“‘This is what the great king, the king of Assyria, says: On what are you basing this confidence of yours? 5 You say you have counsel and might for war—but you speak only empty words. On whom are you depending, that you rebel(M) against me? 6 Look, I know you are depending(N) on Egypt,(O) that splintered reed(P) of a staff, which pierces the hand of anyone who leans on it! Such is Pharaoh king of Egypt to all who depend on him. 7 But if you say to me, “We are depending(Q) on the Lord our God”—isn’t he the one whose high places and altars Hezekiah removed,(R) saying to Judah and Jerusalem, “You must worship before this altar”?(S)

8 “‘Come now, make a bargain with my master, the king of Assyria: I will give you two thousand horses(T)—if you can put riders on them! 9 How then can you repulse one officer of the least of my master’s officials, even though you are depending on Egypt(U) for chariots(V) and horsemen[a]?(W) 10 Furthermore, have I come to attack and destroy this land without the Lord? The Lord himself told(X) me to march against this country and destroy it.’”

11 Then Eliakim, Shebna and Joah(Y) said to the field commander, “Please speak to your servants in Aramaic,(Z) since we understand it. Don’t speak to us in Hebrew in the hearing of the people on the wall.”

12 But the commander replied, “Was it only to your master and you that my master sent me to say these things, and not to the people sitting on the wall—who, like you, will have to eat their own excrement and drink their own urine?(AA)”

13 Then the commander stood and called out in Hebrew,(AB) “Hear the words of the great king, the king of Assyria!(AC) 14 This is what the king says: Do not let Hezekiah deceive(AD) you. He cannot deliver you! 15 Do not let Hezekiah persuade you to trust in the Lord when he says, ‘The Lord will surely deliver(AE) us; this city will not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria.’(AF)

16 “Do not listen to Hezekiah. This is what the king of Assyria says: Make peace with me and come out to me. Then each of you will eat fruit from your own vine and fig tree(AG) and drink water from your own cistern,(AH) 17 until I come and take you to a land like your own(AI)—a land of grain and new wine,(AJ) a land of bread and vineyards.

18 “Do not let Hezekiah mislead you when he says, ‘The Lord will deliver us.’ Have the gods of any nations ever delivered their lands from the hand of the king of Assyria? 19 Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad?(AK) Where are the gods of Sepharvaim?(AL) Have they rescued Samaria(AM) from my hand? 20 Who of all the gods(AN) of these countries have been able to save their lands from me? How then can the Lord deliver Jerusalem from my hand?”(AO)

21 But the people remained silent and said nothing in reply, because the king had commanded, “Do not answer him.”(AP)

22 Then Eliakim(AQ) son of Hilkiah the palace administrator, Shebna the secretary and Joah son of Asaph the recorder(AR) went to Hezekiah, with their clothes torn,(AS) and told him what the field commander had said.

Jerusalem’s Deliverance Foretold(AT)

37 When King Hezekiah heard this, he tore his clothes(AU) and put on sackcloth(AV) and went into the temple(AW) of the Lord. 2 He sent Eliakim(AX) the palace administrator, Shebna(AY) the secretary, and the leading priests, all wearing sackcloth, to the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz.(AZ) 3 They told him, “This is what Hezekiah says: This day is a day of distress(BA) and rebuke and disgrace, as when children come to the moment of birth(BB) and there is no strength to deliver them. 4 It may be that the Lord your God will hear the words of the field commander, whom his master, the king of Assyria, has sent to ridicule(BC) the living God,(BD) and that he will rebuke him for the words the Lord your God has heard.(BE) Therefore pray(BF) for the remnant(BG) that still survives.”

5 When King Hezekiah’s officials came to Isaiah, 6 Isaiah said to them, “Tell your master, ‘This is what the Lord says: Do not be afraid(BH) of what you have heard—those words with which the underlings of the king of Assyria have blasphemed(BI) me. 7 Listen! When he hears a certain report,(BJ) I will make him want(BK) to return to his own country, and there I will have him cut down(BL) with the sword.’”

8 When the field commander heard that the king of Assyria had left Lachish,(BM) he withdrew and found the king fighting against Libnah.(BN)

9 Now Sennacherib(BO) received a report(BP) that Tirhakah, the king of Cush,[b](BQ) was marching out to fight against him. When he heard it, he sent messengers to Hezekiah with this word: 10 “Say to Hezekiah king of Judah: Do not let the god you depend on deceive(BR) you when he says, ‘Jerusalem will not be given into the hands of the king of Assyria.’(BS) 11 Surely you have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all the countries, destroying them completely. And will you be delivered?(BT) 12 Did the gods of the nations that were destroyed by my predecessors(BU) deliver them—the gods of Gozan, Harran,(BV) Rezeph and the people of Eden(BW) who were in Tel Assar? 13 Where is the king of Hamath or the king of Arpad?(BX) Where are the kings of Lair, Sepharvaim,(BY) Hena and Ivvah?”(BZ)

Hezekiah’s Prayer(CA)

14 Hezekiah received the letter(CB) from the messengers and read it. Then he went up to the temple(CC) of the Lord and spread it out before the Lord. 15 And Hezekiah prayed(CD) to the Lord: 16 “Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, enthroned(CE) between the cherubim,(CF) you alone are God(CG) over all the kingdoms(CH) of the earth. You have made heaven and earth.(CI) 17 Give ear, Lord, and hear;(CJ) open your eyes, Lord, and see;(CK) listen to all the words Sennacherib(CL) has sent to ridicule(CM) the living God.(CN)

18 “It is true, Lord, that the Assyrian kings have laid waste all these peoples and their lands.(CO) 19 They have thrown their gods into the fire(CP) and destroyed them,(CQ) for they were not gods(CR) but only wood and stone, fashioned by human hands.(CS) 20 Now, Lord our God, deliver(CT) us from his hand, so that all the kingdoms of the earth(CU) may know that you, Lord, are the only God.[c](CV)”

Sennacherib’s Fall(CW)

21 Then Isaiah son of Amoz(CX) sent a message to Hezekiah: “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: Because you have prayed to me concerning Sennacherib king of Assyria, 22 this is the word the Lord has spoken against him:

“Virgin Daughter(CY) Zion(CZ)
    despises and mocks you.
Daughter Jerusalem
    tosses her head(DA) as you flee.
23 Who is it you have ridiculed and blasphemed?(DB)
    Against whom have you raised your voice(DC)
and lifted your eyes in pride?(DD)
    Against the Holy One(DE) of Israel!
24 By your messengers
    you have ridiculed the Lord.
And you have said,
    ‘With my many chariots(DF)
I have ascended the heights of the mountains,
    the utmost heights(DG) of Lebanon.(DH)
I have cut down its tallest cedars,
    the choicest of its junipers.(DI)
I have reached its remotest heights,
    the finest of its forests.
25 I have dug wells in foreign lands[d]
    and drunk the water there.
With the soles of my feet
    I have dried up(DJ) all the streams of Egypt.(DK)’

26 “Have you not heard?
    Long ago I ordained(DL) it.
In days of old I planned(DM) it;
    now I have brought it to pass,
that you have turned fortified cities
    into piles of stone.(DN)
27 Their people, drained of power,
    are dismayed and put to shame.
They are like plants in the field,
    like tender green shoots,
like grass(DO) sprouting on the roof,(DP)
    scorched[e] before it grows up.

28 “But I know where you are
    and when you come and go(DQ)
    and how you rage(DR) against me.
29 Because you rage against me
    and because your insolence(DS) has reached my ears,
I will put my hook(DT) in your nose(DU)
    and my bit in your mouth,
and I will make you return
    by the way you came.(DV)

30 “This will be the sign(DW) for you, Hezekiah:

“This year(DX) you will eat what grows by itself,
    and the second year what springs from that.
But in the third year(DY) sow and reap,
    plant vineyards(DZ) and eat their fruit.(EA)
31 Once more a remnant of the kingdom of Judah
    will take root(EB) below and bear fruit(EC) above.
32 For out of Jerusalem will come a remnant,(ED)
    and out of Mount Zion a band of survivors.(EE)
The zeal(EF) of the Lord Almighty
    will accomplish this.

33 “Therefore this is what the Lord says concerning the king of Assyria:

“He will not enter this city(EG)
    or shoot an arrow here.
He will not come before it with shield
    or build a siege ramp(EH) against it.
34 By the way that he came he will return;(EI)
    he will not enter this city,”
declares the Lord.
35 “I will defend(EJ) this city and save it,
    for my sake(EK) and for the sake of David(EL) my servant!”

36 Then the angel(EM) of the Lord went out and put to death(EN) a hundred and eighty-five thousand in the Assyrian(EO) camp. When the people got up the next morning—there were all the dead bodies! 37 So Sennacherib(EP) king of Assyria broke camp and withdrew. He returned to Nineveh(EQ) and stayed there.

38 One day, while he was worshiping in the temple(ER) of his god Nisrok, his sons Adrammelek and Sharezer killed him with the sword, and they escaped to the land of Ararat.(ES) And Esarhaddon(ET) his son succeeded him as king.(EU)

Hezekiah’s Illness(EV)

38 In those days Hezekiah became ill and was at the point of death. The prophet Isaiah son of Amoz(EW) went to him and said, “This is what the Lord says: Put your house in order,(EX) because you are going to die; you will not recover.”(EY)

2 Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the Lord, 3 “Remember, Lord, how I have walked(EZ) before you faithfully and with wholehearted devotion(FA) and have done what is good in your eyes.(FB)” And Hezekiah wept(FC) bitterly.

4 Then the word(FD) of the Lord came to Isaiah: 5 “Go and tell Hezekiah, ‘This is what the Lord, the God of your father David,(FE) says: I have heard your prayer and seen your tears;(FF) I will add fifteen years(FG) to your life. 6 And I will deliver you and this city from the hand of the king of Assyria. I will defend(FH) this city.

7 “‘This is the Lord’s sign(FI) to you that the Lord will do what he has promised: 8 I will make the shadow cast by the sun go back the ten steps it has gone down on the stairway of Ahaz.’” So the sunlight went back the ten steps it had gone down.(FJ)

9 A writing of Hezekiah king of Judah after his illness and recovery:

10 I said, “In the prime of my life(FK)
    must I go through the gates of death(FL)
    and be robbed of the rest of my years?(FM)”
11 I said, “I will not again see the Lord himself(FN)
    in the land of the living;(FO)
no longer will I look on my fellow man,
    or be with those who now dwell in this world.
12 Like a shepherd’s tent(FP) my house
    has been pulled down(FQ) and taken from me.
Like a weaver I have rolled(FR) up my life,
    and he has cut me off from the loom;(FS)
    day and night(FT) you made an end of me.
13 I waited patiently(FU) till dawn,
    but like a lion he broke(FV) all my bones;(FW)
    day and night(FX) you made an end of me.
14 I cried like a swift or thrush,
    I moaned like a mourning dove.(FY)
My eyes grew weak(FZ) as I looked to the heavens.
    I am being threatened; Lord, come to my aid!”(GA)

15 But what can I say?(GB)
    He has spoken to me, and he himself has done this.(GC)
I will walk humbly(GD) all my years
    because of this anguish of my soul.(GE)
16 Lord, by such things people live;
    and my spirit finds life in them too.
You restored me to health
    and let me live.(GF)
17 Surely it was for my benefit(GG)
    that I suffered such anguish.(GH)
In your love you kept me
    from the pit(GI) of destruction;
you have put all my sins(GJ)
    behind your back.(GK)
18 For the grave(GL) cannot praise you,
    death cannot sing your praise;(GM)
those who go down to the pit(GN)
    cannot hope for your faithfulness.
19 The living, the living—they praise(GO) you,
    as I am doing today;
parents tell their children(GP)
    about your faithfulness.

20 The Lord will save me,
    and we will sing(GQ) with stringed instruments(GR)
all the days of our lives(GS)
    in the temple(GT) of the Lord.

21 Isaiah had said, “Prepare a poultice of figs and apply it to the boil, and he will recover.”

22 Hezekiah had asked, “What will be the sign(GU) that I will go up to the temple of the Lord?”

Envoys From Babylon(GV)

39 At that time Marduk-Baladan son of Baladan king of Babylon(GW) sent Hezekiah letters and a gift, because he had heard of his illness and recovery. 2 Hezekiah received the envoys(GX) gladly and showed them what was in his storehouses—the silver, the gold,(GY) the spices, the fine olive oil—his entire armory and everything found among his treasures.(GZ) There was nothing in his palace or in all his kingdom that Hezekiah did not show them.

3 Then Isaiah the prophet went to King Hezekiah and asked, “What did those men say, and where did they come from?”

“From a distant land,(HA)” Hezekiah replied. “They came to me from Babylon.”

4 The prophet asked, “What did they see in your palace?”

“They saw everything in my palace,” Hezekiah said. “There is nothing among my treasures that I did not show them.”

5 Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, “Hear the word(HB) of the Lord Almighty: 6 The time will surely come when everything in your palace, and all that your predecessors have stored up until this day, will be carried off to Babylon.(HC) Nothing will be left, says the Lord. 7 And some of your descendants, your own flesh and blood who will be born to you, will be taken away, and they will become eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.(HD)”

8 “The word of the Lord you have spoken is good,(HE)” Hezekiah replied. For he thought, “There will be peace and security in my lifetime.(HF)”

Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 36:9 Or charioteers
  2. Isaiah 37:9 That is, the upper Nile region
  3. Isaiah 37:20 Dead Sea Scrolls (see also 2 Kings 19:19); Masoretic Text you alone are the Lord
  4. Isaiah 37:25 Dead Sea Scrolls (see also 2 Kings 19:24); Masoretic Text does not have in foreign lands.
  5. Isaiah 37:27 Some manuscripts of the Masoretic Text, Dead Sea Scrolls and some Septuagint manuscripts (see also 2 Kings 19:26); most manuscripts of the Masoretic Text roof / and terraced fields
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