Sennacherib’s Threat and Hezekiah’s Prayer^(A)

⁸ Then the Rabshakeh returned, and found the king of Assyria warring against Libnah, for he heard that he had departed from Lachish. ⁹ And the king heard concerning Tirhakah king of Ethiopia, “He has come out to make war with you.” So when he heard it, he sent messengers to Hezekiah, saying, ¹⁰ “Thus you shall speak to Hezekiah king of Judah, saying: ‘Do not let your God in whom you trust deceive you, saying, “Jerusalem shall not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria.” ¹¹ Look! You have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all lands by utterly destroying them; and shall you be delivered? ¹² Have the ^(B)gods of the nations delivered those whom my fathers have destroyed, Gozan and Haran and Rezeph, and the people of Eden who were in Telassar? ¹³ Where is the king of ^(C)Hamath, the king of Arpad, and the king of the city of Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivah?’ ”

¹⁴ And Hezekiah received the letter from the hand of the messengers, and read it; and Hezekiah went up to the house of the Lord, and spread it before the Lord. ¹⁵ Then Hezekiah prayed to the Lord, saying: ¹⁶ “O Lord of hosts, God of Israel, the One who dwells between the cherubim, You are God, You ^(D)alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and earth. ^17 (E)Incline Your ear, O Lord, and hear; open Your eyes, O Lord, and see; and ^(F)hear all the words of Sennacherib, which he has sent to reproach the living God. ¹⁸ Truly, Lord, the kings of Assyria have laid waste all the nations and their ^(G)lands, ¹⁹ and have cast their gods into the fire; for they were ^(H)not gods, but the work of men’s hands—wood and stone. Therefore they destroyed them. ²⁰ Now therefore, O Lord our God, ^(I)save us from his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may ^(J)know that You are the Lord, You alone.”